Ordinary People

I met this 65 year old gentleman, who was working post-retirement for the love of the job. He joined as a manager, and is taking orders from "boys" who worked for him in his previous organisation of 40 years. I asked him if he did not think that was an issue. He resembles a venerable old owl, minus the scary eyes. In fact his eyes twinkle with the life of man half his age, his ears flap open, his bald head is circumferenced with whitish hair. And he said, it doesn't matter if you really love what you are doing. Are you a Bengali? I asked him. Yes, yes. He nodded. How did you know? People can't usually guess that, he added. I told him he had a slight accent and I could tell by the way he stretched certain words. Sharp, he said. Are you a Bengali too? No, I said. You have to really love your job, he concluded, to be unaffected by these things.

I hadn't met anybody like him. Life is interesting.