Mention not...

He stood dumbfounded. I looked at him and smiled. “What happened?”

“What did you say right now?” he was curious.

Pradeep, our company driver is twenty-five. I had forgotten to get one important document from my place. I rang him up and made sure that he gets it while coming to office. A low-income-below average family brought up, he studied only till seventh standard. From then he had tried finding a living driving taxis, rickshaw’s, trucks and now in our company.

He had a flashing memory, at least regarding the roads and places. That’s what I had prejudged about him when he joined our company. But he shows interest in other things also and learns things very fast. He had sneaked on others computer when he was free and learnt many things with ever evolving questions. Now he can switch on a computer, log in to his company id and play ‘Solitaire’, create a drawing in ‘Paint’, scribble something in ‘Word’ etc.

Only knowing his mother tongue Marathi and national language Hindi, he used to listen when I spoke in English or in my regional dialect Malayalam. He asks its meaning very curiously and try to pronounce the way I used to. And every time he used to use those words with while conversing.

“What did you say?” He asked me again. I got out from my thoughts. I had thanked him when he brought me the document I had left at home. When I thanked he was very happy and said “Welcome!” giving an extra stress to the second syllable. He was feeling an overweening pride. It was then I said “No mention please.” He hasn’t heard that term used before. I instilled its usage into him. He was very happy. He skedaddled from there reciting those words in joy.

How its true, curiosity is the mother of invention.