He comes knocking at my door every alternate day.
How much fruit can I consume?
Two floors he climbs at this age (he must be in
his seventies) to bring the fresh fruit for me. I am obliged to buy since I see
the effort he takes to climb two floors but I ask him not to come back for next
four days…till my stock lasts…but sometimes he forgets and comes back again the
next day and then I am angry that I am obliged to buy, sometimes I just refuse,
asking him to peep into my fridge to see that the fruit he sold me the previous
day is still left untouched but then again I buy since I feel bad that he had
to climb the stairs……
I live on second floor apartment and my building
has no lift, hence every visitor huffs and puffs when they visit me. In this
world of elevators I am quite primitive; not having one in my building, but
then my building is almost 50 years old.
There are many of my family members (it’s never
my friends) who have a good excuse not to visit me saying “I cannot climb two
floors, so I couldn’t visit you, so sorry” I understand they don’t love me
enough to bother climbing two stories… although they know that if they do, I
reward them with my hospitality skills.
But this fruit seller cares not for my
hospitality; he wants to sell his fruit at exorbitant price. He brings the
freshest fruit and I have never ever been disappointed with his stuff….He has
so many years of experience of selecting only the best stock, but he
overcharges me each time but I never bargain….what is the use?
My argument is that he gives me home service. It is too much of a hassle for me to go to the market, select from the stall which has mix
of good and bad fruits, select what I think is good and fresh, pick up the load
and climb two stories to get home,
Buying from him is so much easier……..
But he is also too much of a nag……. He will offer
me the fruit which I am prohibited from eating for health reasons…"I don’t want
figs that are sweet” I tell him and he will argue he will lower the price for me…. “I
don’t want oranges because I don’t like” and he promises that they are sweet……and healthy
I ask him to give me 250gms fruit and he weighs it
on a balance scale with stone that he claims it to be of 250grams. I ask him to
buy the proper weight and he complains he has no excess money. I give him Rs40 to buy, but one year now, he still uses stone saying he
never found time to buy it…….
Well…old man he is….all his life he has only sold
fruits, the choicest fruits, by just touching the fruits he knows its
freshness, its taste and even its quality, he can even advice me when it will
be ready to eat, He brings just enough that he is able to carry on his head and
peddles from door to door. Every day, fresh stock.
Since he buys just selected few, it’s always the
best.
Where else in the world can you afford such luxury of buying the best stuff at your door step?
