People are finding new ways to earn money, but they are doing it in style and with innovative ideas. For instance, Yesterday, I was in Gurugram for an interview, in search of a job and to earn money when I saw this great café in the next building which they call "Chaist." Incidentally, "chai" is tea in our language.
It was not only their tea but what attracted my attention was people were going back with saplings. Would you believe that they charge a very nominal amount for the sapling that they offer you in the same earthen cup which you used for drinking tea only a few minutes ago? So it was like, drink tea and take a plant for your garden.
Along with earning based on their new ideas, they also want to do something for the environment, which I loved. Now Gurugram’s ‘Chaist‘ is going to be my permanent den, and more so if I get a job in this city.
I am fond of coffee, but I ordered tea because I liked the Kulhar idea, which I had never seen before anywhere in Gurugram. Oh, before I forget, Kulhar is the name of that earthen cup which is "Use and Throw‘. Here, at Chaist, they don’t throw it away, but if you pay a small extra amount, they will give you your favorite fruit or flower plant.
Incidentally, the co-owner of the Chaist cleans those earthen cups well himself and fixes a lovely plant in them, as they believe that instead of throwing them away, these cups can be used as flowerpots. Along with this, he is also making people aware of the planting of saplings.
I asked him to serve me coffee, but his reply stunned me. He said that coffee drinkers are a little bit fussy as they consider themselves a class apart. I wanted to say something but stopped. I loved the idea that their tea is converting a few tea lovers into nature lovers.
But maybe it’s not possible that when I talk about coffee and Rooney doesn’t come to my mind.
I thought she would come and say, "Hey, what are you doing here in a tea shop drinking tea in a kulhar?"
I said, "I am dreaming of a job and am thinking about you."
Then I recall how I met her for the first time. That was my first day on the job. When I entered the bank for the first time, she was sitting on a pile of files. The rest of the coworkers had not come yet.
I sat at the table she showed me, and then she handed me a mug of tea, and I kept looking at her. But I later told her, "I was wondering if this was a prank or maybe someone was eavesdropping, or maybe there was a camera recording my activities." I was really nervous.
It had happened to me time and again in college. A beautiful girl would bet with her friends, give me flowers, and propose, and then I’d hear laughter from behind the trees. I was not a fool, but I loved playing innocent.
But there was something in her eyes that made my eyes shine and smile for the first time. It was probably the first time in my life that someone had done something for me. You said nothing, and I couldn’t say that I prefer drinking coffee. The touch of your fingers struck a chord in my mind for the first time. Or was that in my heart?
Then it was as if you had made a routine by being around me, reducing my workload and continuing to make my world better.
I can keep praising you, but it will never end. So thank you, Chaist, thank you, Gurugram, and thank you, Rooney. I have my own sapling of a flower right in front of me.
Images my work
