When I was a boy, I sometimes visited a roadside snack bar. This was run on a thatched roof structure by a man helped by a boy. The man would make delicious South Indian snacks like Vada, Bajji, Pakoda etc. The Masal Vadas he made were especially popular and they would be sold instantly. In fact people ordering for this item would have to wait a few minutes till the man made them and served them hot. His assistant would take the orders and supply. But the man would collect the cash and out it in the drawer of the antiquated wooden table he used more as a barricade than as a table.
One of my neighbors was his regular customer. He was a connoisseur of food. He would relish the snacks passionately. While paying the bill, he would say, "You make excellent vadas, man. I wonder whether anyone in this world can make them tastier than you do." But the man would not even appear to have listened to the words of appreciation. Without even looking at the face of my neighbor, he would just collect the money, pay out any change due and then abruptly go back to resume the task of making vadas and other items.
I once asked my neighbor who was much elder to me, "Uncle, why do you continue to praise him when he doesn't even bother to acknowledge your praise, leave alone thanking you?"
My neighbor said, "Young boy, I won't allow a man like him to change my behavior!"
Now, please go back to the previous post and read it again.
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