Salman Khan on a wall clock !

Dharda Ganesh is one of the fourteen hundred fifty nine villages of Shivpuri district in the state of Madhya Pradesh – the heart of India. It is about an hour's drive from the district headquarter but seems more when one has to encounter bumpy roads with road less stretches. The village looks like a typical village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, cluster of mud huts, roofed with thatch or earthen tiles, narrow paths laded with mud and water (if it rains) which leads to the outside world. Probably when one is there it feels that times had a little effect on the life style of people there. I happen to be there as part of my travel to the district. Thought it was for few hours but could not miss Kirori Mal’s shop - Kirori Mal the barber. His shop is just at the entrance of the village, outside the Panchayat Bhawan. It was a make shift of shop with few inches above the ground, one has to climb a height to enter the same.

Probably he seems to be a huge fan of Bollywood. The walls of his shop were lacquered with the photographs of all the major known actresses. May be it was an added attraction to his shop for the clients who come for a haircut or for shave and sometimes had to wait for their turn. He was self confessed fan of Salman Khan. But I was bit puzzled as I could not see Salman Khan on the walls so got bit inquisitive. I dared ask him where is Salman Khan ?. He looked in my eyes and then guided his finger towards his wall clock, which was hanging on the wall of shop. There was the Khan!! Captured in the wall clock! Actually he had made a cut out of the Salman Khan and had replaced it with second's needle of the wall clock. Instead of 'seconds' needle on the clock it was Salman Khan's photograph cut in shape of it. Quite an interesting way to use photographs which is supposedly his idol. So it was Salman Khan on the move that too every second!! Not only Bollywood actress but moving Salman Khan was an added attraction to his young clients of the village to visit his shop every now and then. Well it was moving khan on the clock…

- anil gulati

(This is a personal contribution, hence all views expressed in this piece are personal opinions of the writer)