No matter how much we try, some days are ought to be bad. I came home after a long day at work and had to rush to music class. I had not done the homework my teacher had asked me to do and it was making me a bit restless. With some idea of the songs I was taught last week, I managed through the class only to hurry to my usual hour-long yoga session. My Tuesday evenings are really busy!
While the rest of the evening was all about housework, plans for the next day and phone calls, when I finally got into the bed, I was not quite happy with how cold it was getting outside. I love winters but I hate being cold. I cannot sleep without a small window open in the bedroom, it gives me a sense of clean air entering into the room while we are asleep. But tonight, keeping this window open only meant inviting the super cold winds in (by the way, I am in my socks, a thick sweater and tucked up tight in a super thick comforter...), which were sure to ruin my sleep in spite of having the huge chill-blocking-mountain, my husband, beside me. He is my personal Himalayan range.
So...as expected, I wake up groggy from the sleeplessness of the cold night. I walk towards the kitchen to fetch the lunch box from the refrigerator for my husband, who is already wearing his usual dirty blue shirt in his usual hurry to make it to his 6.15 a.m. office cab. Too early you say? yep...we are morning people, even when sometimes I want to snuggle up and sleep a little more! My husband lovingly wishes me a good morning and I frown. He was supposed to be the chill-blocker, but all he did last night was - snore his night away lying flat on his back!
Anyway... I could not expect my day to start any better with the chill still in the morning air. At 7.00 a.m., I walk out all insulated in a jacket over my t-shirt and denims, shoes (my socks are the thickest ones from the lot today!), a stole around my neck and a scarf over my head. I feel prepared and protected. With a positive feel, I find my phone and try booking a cab to work. While on this task, I am thinking what all might go wrong with this whole cab thing. There might not be any cabs in the vicinity, the drivers might deny duties saying they are far away from the pickup location, if the cab turns up the driver might not like me paying through digital wallet (yes, some still have reservations towards the recent demonetization that happened in India), he might say it's too short a ride and ask for directions constantly even when Google Maps has it all figured out for him, he would complain all the way till the drop point and take me speeding over all the speed-breakers possible! Oh my!
... As for my fears, the driver denied duty.
Annoyed, I look outside the big window. The world is engulfed in fog and I have a feeling of going back to bed.
Still the OCD'd person in me frantically looks for another cab. The ride is confirmed. The driver agrees to pick me up. I prepare myself for the ride, climb down the stairs and get into the cab, which is already waiting there for me. The driver verifies my details and we start. I dig into the seat and pull-in all warmth within myself. To my surprise, the driver rolls up the windows, all four of them. He fiddles with the stereo and changes to a track which happens to be one of my favorites! Ahh! the sound of one's favorite music on a stupid morning can be rejuvenating! I decide to enjoy the song and not to give any directions to the driver today. He has the maps, he should navigate! I am still irritated from the sleeplessness. The warm car and the music were not yet fully doing their thing. I don't talk a word to the man and, like a sunny warm breeze on a chilly day, we ride and the driver stops exactly at the drop point! I know it sounds so very obvious and uninteresting to you. But for a person who has had a bad night and a bad start to her day, this was a miracle!
I quietly tell him that I am not paying by cash and keep myself ready for his complaints. He looks back at me and says with a smile - "Madam, it's taken care by your online wallet. No problem!"
I am happy but still not ready to believe that he is a nice guy I met on a dangerously cold morning. I utter a thank you, pick myself up and my bag and make it for the door. As I shut the door behind me, the driver calls out loudly - "Madam! Have a nice day!!", smiles, doesn't wait for my reply and drives away. He doesn't speed, he drives smoothly through the slowly building traffic. What an unusual sight in a city like mine. I stand there watching him for a moment. I smile at this serendipity and say - "Good day to you too, Sir."
While the rest of the evening was all about housework, plans for the next day and phone calls, when I finally got into the bed, I was not quite happy with how cold it was getting outside. I love winters but I hate being cold. I cannot sleep without a small window open in the bedroom, it gives me a sense of clean air entering into the room while we are asleep. But tonight, keeping this window open only meant inviting the super cold winds in (by the way, I am in my socks, a thick sweater and tucked up tight in a super thick comforter...), which were sure to ruin my sleep in spite of having the huge chill-blocking-mountain, my husband, beside me. He is my personal Himalayan range.
So...as expected, I wake up groggy from the sleeplessness of the cold night. I walk towards the kitchen to fetch the lunch box from the refrigerator for my husband, who is already wearing his usual dirty blue shirt in his usual hurry to make it to his 6.15 a.m. office cab. Too early you say? yep...we are morning people, even when sometimes I want to snuggle up and sleep a little more! My husband lovingly wishes me a good morning and I frown. He was supposed to be the chill-blocker, but all he did last night was - snore his night away lying flat on his back!
Anyway... I could not expect my day to start any better with the chill still in the morning air. At 7.00 a.m., I walk out all insulated in a jacket over my t-shirt and denims, shoes (my socks are the thickest ones from the lot today!), a stole around my neck and a scarf over my head. I feel prepared and protected. With a positive feel, I find my phone and try booking a cab to work. While on this task, I am thinking what all might go wrong with this whole cab thing. There might not be any cabs in the vicinity, the drivers might deny duties saying they are far away from the pickup location, if the cab turns up the driver might not like me paying through digital wallet (yes, some still have reservations towards the recent demonetization that happened in India), he might say it's too short a ride and ask for directions constantly even when Google Maps has it all figured out for him, he would complain all the way till the drop point and take me speeding over all the speed-breakers possible! Oh my!
... As for my fears, the driver denied duty.
Annoyed, I look outside the big window. The world is engulfed in fog and I have a feeling of going back to bed.
Still the OCD'd person in me frantically looks for another cab. The ride is confirmed. The driver agrees to pick me up. I prepare myself for the ride, climb down the stairs and get into the cab, which is already waiting there for me. The driver verifies my details and we start. I dig into the seat and pull-in all warmth within myself. To my surprise, the driver rolls up the windows, all four of them. He fiddles with the stereo and changes to a track which happens to be one of my favorites! Ahh! the sound of one's favorite music on a stupid morning can be rejuvenating! I decide to enjoy the song and not to give any directions to the driver today. He has the maps, he should navigate! I am still irritated from the sleeplessness. The warm car and the music were not yet fully doing their thing. I don't talk a word to the man and, like a sunny warm breeze on a chilly day, we ride and the driver stops exactly at the drop point! I know it sounds so very obvious and uninteresting to you. But for a person who has had a bad night and a bad start to her day, this was a miracle!
I quietly tell him that I am not paying by cash and keep myself ready for his complaints. He looks back at me and says with a smile - "Madam, it's taken care by your online wallet. No problem!"
I am happy but still not ready to believe that he is a nice guy I met on a dangerously cold morning. I utter a thank you, pick myself up and my bag and make it for the door. As I shut the door behind me, the driver calls out loudly - "Madam! Have a nice day!!", smiles, doesn't wait for my reply and drives away. He doesn't speed, he drives smoothly through the slowly building traffic. What an unusual sight in a city like mine. I stand there watching him for a moment. I smile at this serendipity and say - "Good day to you too, Sir."
