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Laxman Rao
Laxman Rao
He is a tea seller
Who sits under a tree
Near Delhi’s ITO metro station
A well-respected author
Who has penned down many books
And my inspiration
Since last 7 to 8 years
Even when I didn’t met him in person
It happened like this
That I was aspiring to be a writer
But, didn’t had the confidence
While I was worrying
My eyes fell down
On one of his articles in Economic Times
It had words author and tea seller
This grabbed my attention
I picked the paper
And read the whole article
His story inspired me
Not because he had everything
But, because Rao didn’t had much in life
Rao is a man
Who didn’t had much in his life
Neither financially nor in terms of education
But, still he worked for many years
Read many papers, journals and books to craft his work
He was not lucky
While aspiring to be a writer
But, worked hard to get lucky
He even told me that there was a time
When people used to insult him
And mocked him
For being thinking to be a writer
Even after those words
He continued
Struggled and toiled
And became
A tea sell
er who is an author of many books
And won many prestigious awards
Given by eminent personalities like Pratibha Patil
While being a Delhiite
I never have the confidence to meet him
But, after few years of writing
I grasped the courage to meet him in person
That’s how
I started visiting him
After my office hours
No
Not for
Chai and mathi
But, for taking tips for writing
Under that tree
Sitting with him
I learnt a lot
About him
And life as well
More about life
Than about writing
Apart from different life lessons
The main one I learnt was that our respect lies in our work
Not in the social position we hold in the society
He worked no matter
People respect him or not
There was a group of young students and journalists that appreciated him
While there were people from his own strata the Chaiwalas and Rickshawalas
Who called him mad
But, no matter what
Rao continued to work
His daily routine is intact
Starting his writing at 9 am
In the first half he writes
While in the second half
He sells tea and his books
That’s how this simple man lives his life
