Don't Bargain

On a hot summer afternoon, I was traversing a path which had houses on either side of it. The temperature was humid and leaves were not moving a bit as there was no sign of breeze in the atmosphere. The sweat was running all over the body and my navy blue shirt got completely wet. I could sense the foul smell coming from it. Vegetable sellers were chanting the names of vegetables on the road-side and some customers were bargaining with them.

“How much for this vegetable?” one of the customer asked.

“Rs 40/kg,” vendor replied.

“It is so costly. I will give you Rs 30/kg,” customer replied in a fierce voice.

I gave a sarcastic smile and moved further.

As scorching heat was not letting my sweat to stop, I started feeling thirsty. My eyes searched for the water vendor. I saw him standing on the other side of road under an umbrella to fight the sun over his head. He was wearing a torn shirt and a dull green pants offering a glass of cold drinking water for two rupees. A car stopped by and a man wearing a denim shirt and black jeans with a gold chain around his neck came out.

“Hey give me a glass of lemon water,” He said in an arrogant voice.

After drinking it altogether, he took out his wallet and gave eight bucks to him. The vendor shouted,

“Sir, it is for ten rupees” The man admonished him and went away in the car.

I could see the vendor’s face in a despondent state. I constantly gazed his car and got bewildered after watching the whole incident.

“Don’t be surprised sir, we face similar type of people every day” Vendor said with a sarcastic smile.

“They will never understand that we do not earn for luxury but for a two-time meal for the whole family. They purchase things from huge malls and never dare to bargain there” He said

I paid him the money for the water and headed back home.

“Please refrain bargaining with them. They don’t earn for luxury.”