<p>It’s my weekly practice to take the clothes to the istriwala (the person who irons clothes), so that I don’t have to worry about what to wear throughout the week. Iqbal, my istriwala is from UP. He took over his father’s business after the latter’s death.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Whenever I pass by Iqbal’s shop, I hear old Hindi film songs emanating from his tiny two-in-one. I see him listening to songs sung by yesteryear singers like Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh with great interest and admiration. When I asked him if he was a fan of these singers, he said it was indeed so. <br /><br />One Sunday I went to his shop to collect my clothes around ten in the night. When I apologised to him for going so late, he assured me that his shop remained open till eleven in the night. In spite of such late closing hours, he would open his shop at seven in the morning. During our conversation, Mukesh’s “Sajan re jhooth mat bolo” song from “Teesri Kasam” began playing. He requested me to wait for a moment to listen to the entire song. After the song concluded, he told me that every human being must listen to this song each morning before leaving the house, as the song struck a chord with the human heart. <br /><br />He also made a mention of Mukesh’s voice while stating that the lyrics of the song could be understood by even an illiterate. When I informed him that the song was written by great lyricist Shailendra, he said he was not aware of it but affirmed that the person who wrote this song must have been a great lyricist and a compassionate, sensitive human being.<br /><br />One evening while returning from office, I found Iqbal coolly smoking beedi outside his shop. The moment he saw me he snuffed the beedi and stood up. I told him that whenever he was taking rest from his marathon duty, he should not be formal given that he works for 10 hours continuously on his feet. I again queried him about his fascination with the old Hindi film songs. <br /><br />Iqbal told me that he had to continue his father’s occupation because he was not educated. Poverty had led his father to Mumbai in search of a livelihood. But he has decided that his children will not share the same fate as him and hence, they are being sent to English medium schools. He wants them to be educated so that they can become white collared workers. <br /><br />But I was not convinced that these were his reasons for listening to old Hindi songs. When I persisted with my questions, he explained that his passion for old Hindi film songs kept him alive. These songs inspired him and filled his life with new meaning which helped him overcome the drudgery of ironing, on an average, over one hundred clothes every day. <br /><br />I was struck by the fact of how resilient people become when they dream big for their children and how they keep their dreams alive by finding motivations in whatever things that they can. <br /></p>
<p>It’s my weekly practice to take the clothes to the istriwala (the person who irons clothes), so that I don’t have to worry about what to wear throughout the week. Iqbal, my istriwala is from UP. He took over his father’s business after the latter’s death.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Whenever I pass by Iqbal’s shop, I hear old Hindi film songs emanating from his tiny two-in-one. I see him listening to songs sung by yesteryear singers like Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh with great interest and admiration. When I asked him if he was a fan of these singers, he said it was indeed so. <br /><br />One Sunday I went to his shop to collect my clothes around ten in the night. When I apologised to him for going so late, he assured me that his shop remained open till eleven in the night. In spite of such late closing hours, he would open his shop at seven in the morning. During our conversation, Mukesh’s “Sajan re jhooth mat bolo” song from “Teesri Kasam” began playing. He requested me to wait for a moment to listen to the entire song. After the song concluded, he told me that every human being must listen to this song each morning before leaving the house, as the song struck a chord with the human heart. <br /><br />He also made a mention of Mukesh’s voice while stating that the lyrics of the song could be understood by even an illiterate. When I informed him that the song was written by great lyricist Shailendra, he said he was not aware of it but affirmed that the person who wrote this song must have been a great lyricist and a compassionate, sensitive human being.<br /><br />One evening while returning from office, I found Iqbal coolly smoking beedi outside his shop. The moment he saw me he snuffed the beedi and stood up. I told him that whenever he was taking rest from his marathon duty, he should not be formal given that he works for 10 hours continuously on his feet. I again queried him about his fascination with the old Hindi film songs. <br /><br />Iqbal told me that he had to continue his father’s occupation because he was not educated. Poverty had led his father to Mumbai in search of a livelihood. But he has decided that his children will not share the same fate as him and hence, they are being sent to English medium schools. He wants them to be educated so that they can become white collared workers. <br /><br />But I was not convinced that these were his reasons for listening to old Hindi songs. When I persisted with my questions, he explained that his passion for old Hindi film songs kept him alive. These songs inspired him and filled his life with new meaning which helped him overcome the drudgery of ironing, on an average, over one hundred clothes every day. <br /><br />I was struck by the fact of how resilient people become when they dream big for their children and how they keep their dreams alive by finding motivations in whatever things that they can. <br /></p>
