When in Goa, Milton’s words ring loud and clear as Goan waiters are always eager to stand and wait; in fact, too eager.
Whenever I enter a restaurant along the coastal belt in particular the waiters greet me with a welcome and familiarity of a long lost friend. Frankly, at times, I’m embarrassed beyond words but then given a choice, extra warmth is better than a cold chill. In Japan where I work waiters are efficient background music.
Where one stands on this planet is a matter of geography, a matter of detail. Some Goans stand and serve in a shack on a beach in Goa while others stand and serve in a foreign country as I do. We both are standing and serving somewhere on this planet – Mother Earth – people in the service of other people.
Thankfully, in the mist of time and space in a lot of countries nowadays nationality, language, religion, race, culture and other differences are a blur and mere footnotes.
International corporations are making cries of nationalistic fervor sound more like the braying of donkeys or is it asses? The wealth of some companies, and perhaps even individuals compares favorably with the GDP of a small country or state. In the twentieth-first century a lot more than wind, clouds, rain and smog cross our international borders. And so we need to learn how to live together in harmony or we may not live at all. And there is no harm in remembering it has rained blood at one time or other in every country in the world so no one need live in self-denial. Human history, that’s all.
As an expatriate Goan and Indian living away from the place of my birth I can only say how wonderful it is for me to feel at home anywhere in the world. “Nice to meet you, Mr Human Being.” “And, you too Ms Human Being.” No problem.
Some folks run away from their villages, and as they used to say in the good old days – all roads lead to Bombay! Nowadays all roads lead to Goa, though. Come by ship, rail, road, train, fly – but come! You are all welcome.
We’re slowly entering a world without borders with all kinds of amazing advances in science and technology. Our world is shrinking faster than the shirt I bought the other day at the Saturday Night Bazaar. It is no doubt a tight fit. Too tight. And here is a life lesson I learned from it: next time buy a bigger size. Experiences, good and bad, teach us the art of living and adjusting to a variety of circumstances in a rapidly changing world.
The waiter serving tourists from all over the world in Goa is working as much in an international space as I do in Japan. There is a continuum which we should not overlook and need to appreciate much more, even as we know job descriptions differ among us who stand and wait around the world including Goa.
All work has dignity if done honestly and sincerely. Without electricians we’d all be in the dark. And, teachers too. And chefs no doubt give us a taste of food culture as we don’t simply eat but live to eat. And, last but in no way least, the waiters who serve us the food and drinks.
Yes, the list of people who we need to thank goes on and on, and so does the story.
