This isn't about me.

No seriously.

Tamasha was NOT fucking around when they shot that auto driver trying to be an actor wala scene, but no this isn’t a man who did not hit his true potential, this is not a man who drinks himself asleep every night because circumstances fucked his life up. This is a man who did everything he could, and is content with the place he is in right now.

Sanjay Yadav (maybe, I don’t really know his surname) was from a gruesomely impoverished household. Impoverished enough that when his family consumed food, it was only the child who slept with a full belly. This would make you think that this man woke up with a pencil in his hand and decided to quench the hungry stomachs and roughened out hands of his parents but…Sanjay Ji ran away, not because he was afraid of the responsibilities, but because he couldn’t listen to the grumbles his mother’s stomach made every time they tried to sleep in that kaccha makaan. This child landed in a poet’s house, and the best part about a rich poet is that they hate themselves, they have rich guilt and recognise the silver spoons they are born with. The poet was Kunwar Narayan, a 90 year old Padma Bhushan award winning veteran who knew at least enough to take care of his servants as well as he takes care of his child and wife. Look at this loverboy, no shit he was kind to people.

इतना कुछ था - Kunwar Narayan (1927 - 2017)

Hired for a wage of 150 (it was 1999, calm your commie ass down), Sanjay Ji was working as a maid and was asked if he wanted to study because there is only much you can feel when you have a 10 year old throw his life away and massage your head every night. Sanjay Ji obviously said yes to school (Mata Gujri Public School, Kailash Colony). Why would a child born out of weeping blood neglect the importance of band-aid being provided. He finished his education and was soon put in a culinary course by Narayan’s wife, Bharti Narayan. What came out of the culinary course was a man fluent in more cuisines than you can count on your fingers, he started working as a chef in this household and was relieved of the duties of housekeeping (the salary was around 1500 at this point).

Kunwar Narayan’s son Apoorv Narayan is in France and if you are in France, there is a little you can do other than being in love. Apoorv asked for Sophie (girlfriend) to be his wife and as Sanjay Ji banger-ly quoted in the middle of the auto ride “Ishq ko kon chutiya mana kar sakta hai”. Sanjay Ji had been with Kunwar Narayan for more than a decade now, and logically, he was asked to pack his bag because why would there be a different chef when you have a child who grew up in front of you who makes better food than whatever the fuck baguette-eaters make. Everything was financed by Kunwar Sahab, Sanjay Ji’s passport, Sanjay Ji’s visa, Sanjay Ji’s flight, Sanjay Ji’s stay etc. This liberal poet flew out all of his family members (servants + his 100-200 relatives) to Paris and made sure this child from Bihar had more life experiences than most of us. Sanjay Ji came back and had to quit his job in 2014 because of tensions within the family but when you find yourself a second family, it is only a while when you rush back to the warmth. Sanjay Ji returned in 2016 for only a year, because in 2017, Kunwar Narayan (aged 90) succumbed to a heart attack. This did not mark the end of Narayan’s benevolence, every single part of their massive house was split equally between his 5 servants and the truck hired to take all of this stuff (45k; 2017) was financed by his wife, Bharti Narayan.

Sanjay Ji isn’t broke or passion-less, he works as an auto driver because it suits him more than any other job he is capable of. He earns around two thousand a day, and the entire wealth goes straight to his wife’s palm. She manages the house, and works as a thekedar on the side and under this power couple, 35 women are employed. Sanjay Ji’s passion isn’t money, his passion is his daughter (21 now) who is studying in a public medical college. He does everything for her, and makes sure that she never has to hear the rumbles of her parents’ stomach. His younger son is dead-set on becoming an engineer and just fucked around with his father into buying him a laptop (we see your minecraft launcher, 15 year old). Oh also, his village has electricity and better road than Delhi, he mentioned it too many times.

Wasn’t about me, I was not lying. I hope you meet Sanjay Ji, he would make you sit your ass down and keep your phone in the pocket.

Look at my well-loved man.