Delhiwale: Into the head bearer's head

Proust questionnaire with a fellow citizen.

Buzzy, affordable, unpretentious, class-transcending, iconic, and unique to the sprawling National Capital Region. The Indian Coffee House, established in 1957, at Mohan Singh Place. A living landmark here is cheery-chatty head bearer Rajesh Kumar, a familiar face for more than 25 years. Elegantly uniformed (as always) in a starched turban and red cummerbund, he agreed to be a part of our Proust Questionnaire series in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences.

At the Indian Coffee House in Delhi's Mohan Singh Place

Your favourite virtue.

I serve food and coffee to people. I do that with a smile and a cheer.

Your favourite qualities in people.

Handy with smiles. Patient temperament. Dayalu (generous). Always striving for self-improvement, not staying forever at one place in life.

Your main fault.

Sometimes I raise my voice in defence of truth. People mistake it for anger.

Your favourite occupation.

Investing time with family.

Your idea of happiness.

When I’m giving—like putting money in a temple’s donation box., handing blankets to the homeless during winter, giving rotis to street dogs, leaving water for birds on summer afternoons. I feel equally happy when I see others doing any of these things.

If not yourself, who would you be?

A businessman.

Where would you like to live?

Canada, or any other place where people are not constantly fighting each other.

Your favourite bird.

Can’t remember its name. It is a very small bird, you would see it in homes, in balconies and terraces. It is disappearing.

Your heroes/heroines in real life.

Manju Kumar, my wife.

Your favourite food and drink.

Aloo matar, musambi juice.

Your favourite names.

Rahul, Aman—the name of my son, Harshit.

What do you hate the most?

The way people behave after they get drunk.

The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with.

Dancing.

What is your present state of mind?

I’m thinking that it is a rare chance for me to express myself to the world. So I have to answer these questions very honestly, by dipping deep into my heart.

Faults for which you have the most tolerance.

Sometimes in my line of work, I encounter customers who talk rudely. I forgive them. It’s a part of public dealing.