Nasta hua?

Not every hi/hello needs to be layered.
Not every gesture needs to bring in a train of uncomfortable thoughts.
Not every action needs to be mind games.

Life is not necessarily a game of chess.

if you know what i mean... well, you know it...

Some of the gestures are plain. They are simple. They do not come with a baggage.
They just show simple concern, a good intention, a friendly care.

And they are strong.
Strong to compel you to have a smile.

Well, luckily we have a set of outstanding individuals who do that.

Everyday.

Amma, Radha, Reshma,.. are some of the people who have been hired to clean our department. They are as iconic as the department itself is. Everyone who has graduated from here/or has worked here knows them.  Some of them (particularly Amma) have been working here for decades.

And one of them will, someone or the other, inevitably ask every morning "Nasta hua beta".

"Haan Amma hua, aur aapka?"

"Bas karti hun abhi".

Sometimes they will invite you to have food with them.

Sometimes, Reshma will give a small Parle-G biscuit and say,
"Bhaiya Khaliyejiye".

Amma will come and scold,
"Baal katwalo beta", "Nakhun dekho", "jeans dekho beta -- kitna ganda" etc. etc.

and then when you do get an haircut, she will come and say,
"Mera beta, Manoj kumar lagta hai"

Not to mention she once sang a song of his. (And, she has a beautiful voice)

Its enough to make your day.
Enough to force a smile.

Department grants, project money, hundreds of papers, years and years -- are sometimes not what you need.

You need sometimes, something as simple,
"Nasta hua?"

:)