Paani Puri lessons
This post is not about the Paani Puri recipe. For those who don't know Paani Puri is a North-Indian chat item. Please google for the recipe and if you are in India, hop over to the nearest chat corner and have one plate of Paani Puri..
We were a group of six friends looking for a nice coffee shop after a very interesting afternoon. We saw a Paani Puri vendor on the way and one of us in the group suggested that we all taste this vendor's Paani Puri. I love Paani Puri, but had stopped taking Paani Puris anywhere outside. The scene around the vendor's Bamboo stall interested me. I decided to just take the Paani Puri with the confidence that shone on the vendor's face.
He served at least 10 of us in one go.. The speed was unbelievable. Before you knew there was a Panni Puri in your hand... There were some people who wanted some specifics ( spice, sweet, plain etc.,) and the vendor grasped all the specifications and served us exactly the kind of Puris we wanted. There were people making payments, ordering more plain Puri chats, along with the ten of us eating non-stop.
The potato filling got over in between and you should have seen the speed at which he refilled and spiced up the mashed potato and no one really had to wait. The sincere effort with which the vendor was doing his job caught my eye. He took care and attention to fill up every Puri just the way he did the first one... and did not skip any step or spice just because there were too many to fill up, or just because it was crowded or just because it was a monotonous job for him. There was a smile on his face, an intelligent way of answering questions, and a smartness in the way he noted what each one of us wanted.. He knew when one person was done and knew when one other wanted more paani puri.
There was commitment, speed, sincerity, smartness in this business that can easily pass off for a professional business tactic. I said a big Thank You that brought a Smile on his face, a smile of satisfaction that conveyed the importance of appreciating a job that is well done. :)
Somewhere, this vendor makes me think, we all need to learn much more when we take up a task to do, whether at home or work...
We were a group of six friends looking for a nice coffee shop after a very interesting afternoon. We saw a Paani Puri vendor on the way and one of us in the group suggested that we all taste this vendor's Paani Puri. I love Paani Puri, but had stopped taking Paani Puris anywhere outside. The scene around the vendor's Bamboo stall interested me. I decided to just take the Paani Puri with the confidence that shone on the vendor's face.
He served at least 10 of us in one go.. The speed was unbelievable. Before you knew there was a Panni Puri in your hand... There were some people who wanted some specifics ( spice, sweet, plain etc.,) and the vendor grasped all the specifications and served us exactly the kind of Puris we wanted. There were people making payments, ordering more plain Puri chats, along with the ten of us eating non-stop.
The potato filling got over in between and you should have seen the speed at which he refilled and spiced up the mashed potato and no one really had to wait. The sincere effort with which the vendor was doing his job caught my eye. He took care and attention to fill up every Puri just the way he did the first one... and did not skip any step or spice just because there were too many to fill up, or just because it was crowded or just because it was a monotonous job for him. There was a smile on his face, an intelligent way of answering questions, and a smartness in the way he noted what each one of us wanted.. He knew when one person was done and knew when one other wanted more paani puri.
There was commitment, speed, sincerity, smartness in this business that can easily pass off for a professional business tactic. I said a big Thank You that brought a Smile on his face, a smile of satisfaction that conveyed the importance of appreciating a job that is well done. :)
Somewhere, this vendor makes me think, we all need to learn much more when we take up a task to do, whether at home or work...
Comments
Thanks a tonne Yezdi... although this sounds like I must write about the grape juice episode, I'll see if I can keep from writing about it for a few more years :)
Yes, and I had to stop eating at some point, not because I couldnt eat more but because the word DIET came into picture at that odd hour..
Paani Puri is one gift in the north-indian chat delicacies :) I must say....