OYE MADAM OYE TAPOORI

"Duggu, I am bored to death." Megha said to her pug puppy. Duggu sniffed her legs as he understood her feelings.

"No adventure...... No excitement ..... Duggu....Such a dullsville life."

"Woof woof." Duggu acknowledged.

Megha was an intern at the Legal and Associates, the most reputed law firm. Her life was flawless. She had distinction in law, internship at Legal and Associates and a steady boyfriend. Perfect life. Too too perfect.

But Megha felt dull. She wanted some thrill in her life. Sluggishly, she glanced at her bookshelf. She saw the book 'The 5 a.m. Club' by Robin Sharma.

The book aroused her excitement.

"Why 5 a.m.? Let's do our morning walk at 4 a.m. Our adjoining park opens at 4o'clock. What say duggu????" She said to her puppy.

"Bow wow.." He said merrily.

Much excited for a new start Megha and Duggu reached the park. After about two rounds of brisk walking they sat on the garden bench . Megha saw a Tapoori boy approaching them. She was terrified.

She immediately got and before she could give a loud scream,

The tapoori said. "Oye Madam. Sit with your kutta. I will not molest you. "

"What ????? " Megha looked at him in bewilderment.

"You look like bade baap ki bigade hui aulaad. Not my types." Tapoori said moving his head in a zig zag way .

Megha chuckled.

"So tapooris have types, ya?." She said amused by his funny audacity.

"Oye Madam Tapooris are not humans or what?? Apun ka bhi feelings hai." He said.

He stretched his hands up to loosen his muscles. Megha could see his underwear dangling on his thin waistline.

She giggled.

"Oye Tapoori. I can see your jockey underwear." She said in her jocular way.

"Oye Madam John bhai charges crores to show his underwear. I am giving this delicious sight for free. "

"Who is John bhai?"

"You don't know John ? John Abraham. What action he does in his movies. His muscles......"

"Oye Tapori. My boyfriend is more powerful than John Abraham."

"Oye Madam . Then why are you roaming with your Vodafone kutta? Your boyfriend's network is weak, kya. Aaaaahaaaaaasaa." He laughed at his own silly joke.

Duggu growled angirly. The scene was quite rib tickling for Megha.

"Your kutta didn't like my comment. Kya biddu."

"Very funny." Megha said and screamed as though she had seen a ghost.

"Snake..." Megha screamed again.

"Where?" Tapoori jerked and got up completely panicked.

"There on that bench." Megha said.

Tapori ran towards the park's main gate and bought the snake hook stick from the watch keeper. He trapped the green snake and put it in one basket.

"Kya mast wild life adventure kiya. " Tapoori said as he sat near Megha.

"I was so close to death. Green snakes are so poisonous."

"Oye madam. Humans are the most poisonous species. Snakes are harmless."

"Ugh!! Thanks." Megha said as she felt relieved.

"Apun more powerful hai than your boyfriend and John bhai. " He said showing his slim biceps.

"If you insist. " Megha said sarcastically.

"Oye Madam come tomorrow morning same time. Jhakaas party karenge. " Tapoori said and swanned away from the park.

Next day, Megha and Duggu were waiting for Tapoori to celebrate the jhakaas party. He came wearing a fluorescent gliterry shirt. Duggu started wagging his tail.

"Your kutta is so excited. "He said and handed over Megha something wrapped in a newspaper.

"Ouch!! It's hot. What's it??" Megha said.

"Oye Madam. Vadapav for our party."

"Your glittering shirt will make a perfect atmosphere for candlelight dinner." Megha smiled. She was actually enjoying the unique camaraderie with an unfamiliar funny tapoori.

"Give it to your kutta . Tommy take .... " Tapori gave one vadapav to Duggu and instantly Duggu started eating. This was the first time Duggu was getting junk food.

"Who made these hot vadapavs for you? "

"That Shreeji vadapav wala is my best yaar. Bas I said and he did. "

"At 3oclock at night????????" The timing amazed Megha.

"Oye Madam. That's what friendship is all about." He said as he proudly lifted his shirt's collar up.

"How much shall I pay you?" Megha started digging her sling bag for coins.

"Oye oye friendship means no sorry, no thank you and no exchange of money ."

"Means free." Megha said and wondered if her best buddies could ever do this. She felt elated and her mind sailed in the euphoria.

"Oye madam you think too much. Never mess with life." Tapoori interrupted her euphoria.

"Sahi Guru." Megha laughed at spontaneity with which she used the slang language.

"I never interfere with my life. The things that are meant to happen will happen. See, now I am with you. Tomorrow I can be in lock up. "Tapoori said portraying a false intellectual face.

"Very true ...You are going to go in lockup , not tomorrow but just now." A policeman said as he caught Tapori's shirt.

"Aare sahib what did I do?" Tapoori said looking at the police officer with his perplexed eyes.

The police didn't listen and dragged him into the police van.

Megha got tensed.

"Duggu why did the police catch him? What crime he has committed?"" She felt scared and headed home immediately.

With great apprehension, Megha came to the park next morning. Tapoori was already siting on the bench. His face was bruised. He had a cream bottle in his hand.

"Oye Madam. Puri waat lag gayi. Police changed my face ka geography."

"What did you do? "

"Nothing. Reeta's father complained about me. They disapprove our relationship. But I will marry Reeta and only Reeta."

"Who's Reeta?"

"My girlfriend."

"Oye Tapori you have a girlfriend !!!!!!!!!"

"Oye Madam phir kya. Her name is Reeta. She works in a beauty parlor. "

"Take this." He said and handed the cream bottle to Megha.

"My girlfriend made this for you. It has orange, grapes, strawberry and papaya extract. Fulltoo fruit salad face pack, kya!!!!!!! Ekdum makkhan your skin will be..." He continued.

"You said everything about us." Megha asked him.

"Yes I did. I am very faithful to her." He replied.

"So she didn't get jealous???"

"Oye Madam I said you are not a chikni. Ekdum horrible you look. So she gave me this beauty face pack ."

"Oye tapoori how dare you call me horrible......"

"Just to keep her happy. Sometimes a sweet lie is better than a harsh truth. "

"So you will elope with her?"

"Let's see. Tapooris don't think. We act and leave it to God."

"Oye Tapori time to go now."

"Oye Madam . Bye bye.. will meet if our mathe ki lakeer wants us to meet. Till then make your life jhakaas. "

It was morning 11oclock . Megha was sitting on her office desk and gazing at all the law books arranged neatly on the book rack.

She thought.....

'Intelligent people like perfection. Sadly, we don't know the beauty of imperfection. We tie ourselves in a knot of perfection and become so cautious to be in that knot. Our over thinking spoils the creativity and adventure of life. We just become decorative robots.

But tapoori lives his life on his own terms. He takes all sorts of risk. He lands in jail for the girl he loves . He shares his entire life with me, a stranger to him. His heart is like an open book. He has no hidden secrets but has lots of hidden treasures. Whereas we have lots of hidden secrets but no treasures.

Will an intellectual person befriend a stranger so easily?? Will he have the courage to share his heart with a stranger so willingly?'

Tapoori is the best man I have ever met. She opened her quote book and wrote:

Let's make our heart an open book

With no hidden secrets on the hook

Let's make our heart an open book

Embodied with treasures

The treasures which everyone can glance and look.

From no where, she heard. "Oye Madam..." Megha saw the chaiwala boy standing in front of her.

"What Chotu?? I don't want tea now. " She said.

Tapoori gave you this letter. Chotu gave the letter to Megha and kept the chai glass on her desk.

"Chotu I said I don't want tea. " But Chotu didn't listen. He went away.

Quickly, Megha opened the letter.

The letter read as:

Oye Madam,

'I am marrying Reeta. Tomorrow is my wedding at St. Martin's church. Meri Reeta ki best girl banoge ?'

Yours Tapoori.

Megha gave a big smile and said

"Oye Tapoori banugi...."