Monday, May 21, 2007

Met Life?

I started my career as a salesman whose territory was “rural” Maharashtra. Essentially meant anything beyond Thane was part of my kingdom. Annexed from the larger Mumbai land, whose rulers had little time to look into the affairs of Nagpur, Nasik and the likes. As happens when you have no expectations any performance seems spectacular and I was scintillating. As a reward for my toils, and they were toils, the fabled land of Goa was handed over to me.

Which meant I could officially fly to Goa. Whenever I wanted. That was the good news. I had inherited a dealer whose last year sales was 4 printers. Annual sales. (We used to sell Panasonic dot matrix printers and HP laser printers) My Bombay sales genes were stirred. How could someone possibly sell just 4 printers. Even Aurangabad had managed 20.

I learnt that the only flight landed in Goa at 2:15 pm or something. So the zealous sales person took an overnight bus. Bad idea. When I got off at Panjim, I could barely walk. I needed food. I needed water. I needed sleep. It was 9 am and I stumbled into the first hotel that I could spot. I sat, grabbed a waiter and ordered an omelet and toast. The waiter stared for a while and then walked away. I gulped down a glass of water and then looked around. There were four solitary men at four lonely tables, all with an open pint, a glass and a happy expression.

I walked over to the Mandovi, registered and fell asleep. Got up at 1 pm, feeling guilty as hell. Called my dealer, No response. Got ready, forfeited lunch and rushed to the dealer’s shop. Felt a little like it was a bandh day, most shops seemed shut except the booze joints. Reached to find my dealer’s shutters down. These were the days of no-mobile. Called him from a PCO and soon had a very sleepy man meet me outside his shop. I had encountered siesta.

That first day, despite the Agudas and beaches and prawns that were to follow, remains my most memorable memory of Goa.

I think it was the day I met life.

3 comments:

Flutterby said...

Who's punishing you with a little bit of work, dear SGT, that you can't just peacefully while away the best of your middle-age in your sitting-room with a view but have to ransack your mind and memory to get back to When It First Started?

But good for us, of course, that you should choose to do so, for, what with one thing and the other, this is the summer vacation and time stretches as far as the sea outside of your window, and with as little to interrupt its wide sweep! So everything, and especially your little jewels, are welcome!

J. Alfred Prufrock said...

Bhaiti, things have changed. My last two trips to Goa, I slogged my ass off because THEY were running me ragged.

Of course, I took the afternoon flight out. And lazed on the balcony all morning.

J.A.P.

alex said...

And look here, William, http://www.jouqoech.info/?search=world+wide he added, it seems to me we are much more likely to take cold in our wet clothes if we rush through the air in this way.. is rendered less excitable by sleep than that directed http://www.jouqoech.info/?search=Saxonette to the P-systems...