The Miller Woman's Well - Part IV

Harnath had collected the money from his buyers so that he could repay his debts to his trading partners.  It was this money that he had thrown at Chaudhary when he gave him the ultimatum.  He had planned to steal it back and then raise an alarm about a thief having broken into the house.  Thus he would have got the money back while the blame would go to the thief of his imagination.  The plan failed miserably.

The creditors started mounting pressure on Harnath.  Harnath could no longer put them off with his empty promises and pleadings.  Some of the creditors threatened Harnath with a lawsuit.  One of them went ahead and actually filed a suit against him.

Though Chaudhary was not associated with Harnath's business, it was his image, creditworthiness and goodwill that had enabled Harnath to raise money from the market.  This created problems for Chaudhary.  Though nobody had yet directly approached him for recovery, he started avoiding meeting people.  He repeated to himself his resolve not to misuse Gomati's corpus.

One evening a recovery agent came to Chaudhary's doorsteps and started calling Harnath names in a loud voice.  This angered Chaudhary and he felt like rushing outside and hitting the boorish fellow.  He told himself that a father was under no obligation to repay his son's debts.  He could restrain himself with much difficulty.

At dinner time Chaudhary's wife asked, "Things have come to such a pass: what is going on in our family?"

Chaudhary dryly responded with a counter-question, "Am I responsible for it?"

"Of course!  My poor boy swears to me that he has got only a small stock left with him.  And at this critical juncture you have chosen to take away all his cash.", said the lady.

Chaudhary responded, "So, do you expect me to let him appropriate funds entrusted to me by a dead woman?"

"And it is okay with you if creditors attack our honor!", retorted his wife.

"How can I help matters?  It is five years since Gomati passed away.  When are we going to fulfill the task she entrusted me with?", said Chaudhary.

"My son has skipped dinner and he hardly ate anything for lunch.", rued his wife.

Chaudhary looked at his wife and said, "Skipping meals will only make things worse.  You must persuade him to eat properly."

"Why don't you talk to him?", asked his wife.

"Right now I am his biggest enemy in his eyes.", said Chaudhary.

His wife said, "I say let us hand the money back to him.  The well can wait for some more time."

"No. That will amount to betraying the trust of a dead person.  We must not do that whatever be the consequences.", Chaudhary pleaded.

His wife paid no attention to him and proceeded towards  the room where the cash was kept.  As she was about to reach for it, she gave out a shriek and hurriedly stepped back.  She was trembling like a leaf.

Chaudhary asked her with much concern, "What happened? Are you feeling dizzy?"

His wife turned her frightened gaze towards the shelf and exclaimed, "Damn it!  The witch is standing right there."

Chaudhary took a look at the shelf and said, "What witch?  I don't see anyone there."

"She caught my wrist.  My heart is still pounding so hard."

"You are seeing things.  Gomati passed away five years ago.  She is no more!"

"No, no.  I saw her with my own eyes.  Even Harnath claims to have seen her last night holding the cash in her hands."

"Did he come to my room last night?  What for?"

"He wanted to talk to you about the money but ran away after encountering the witch."

"Ok.  You go and fetch the money.  I am keeping an eye on you."

"No, I will never step into that room again."

"Alright then, I will fetch it myself."

Chaudhary walked into the room and picked up the cash.  He had no apprehensions.  There was no trace of any ghostly presence.  His wife was peeking from outside.  Chaudhary walked up to her and said with a hint of pride in his voice, "I saw nothing here.  If she was here, where did she go?"

His wife responded, "I do not know why you cannot see her.  Maybe she liked you that is why she is sparing you the scare."

"It was just a hallucination that you suffered."

"Was my boy hallucinating too?  Would you like to check with him?"

"Why don't you check it out yourself once again?  I am right here."

Encouraged by her husband she again walked into the room and gingerly tried to pick the cash up.  Before she could do so, she let out a scream and ran away into the courtyard.

Chaudhary followed her to the courtyard and said in a surprised voice, "There was absolutely nothing there. Why did you run away?"

His wife replied breathlessly, "The witch!  She scared me to death.  She is still there.  What is wrong with your eyes?  Why can't you see him?"

As this was going on, Harnath arrived at the scene.  He looked at his mother and asked, "Mother, are you okay?"

She responded, "That witch scared me twice today.  I was trying to give the money to you.  Your need is urgent.  We can always get the well constructed once the crisis blows over.  The witch caught my wrist even before I could touch the money.  I was frightened to death."

Harnath said, "Let us call a good witch doctor who can exorcise her."

Chaudhary asked Harnath, "Did you see her too last night?"

Harnath replied, "Yes, I had come to seek your advice on a business issue.  As I entered the room I saw her standing next to the shelf.  I got scared and ran away."

Chaudhary said, "Could you go inside the room once again?"

Harnath's mother intervened, "No, I wouldn't let him go into the room even if you were to give me a fortune."

Harnath nodded agreement with his mother and declined to go into the room.

Chaudhary said, "But then why can't I see her?"

Harnath responded, "Who knows; she may be afraid of you.  I propose to call a witch doctor today itself."

Chaudhary said, "This beats me.  I cannot make head or tail of the whole episode.  By the way where does the suit filed by Baijnath Pandey against you srand?"

Harnath was so cross with his father that he seldom discussed business matters with him.  He shifted his gaze away from his father and stared blankly in the air, "Let things take their own course.  How can I help matters?  There is no way I can get back the money that I borrowed and lost."

Chaudhary asked, "What if he chooses to enforce his decree?"

Harnath replied, "In that case whatever little stock is left over will get auctioned off!"

Chaudhary asked, "Wouldn't that mean closing down the business?"

Harnath said with exasperation, "What can I do at this stage?  Had I known your impatience I wouldn't have thought of expanding the business.  I was able to make both the ends meet even without expansion.  Now my ambitions are likely to land me in the jail.  So be it."

His mother intervened, "Who dares take you to the jail as long as I am alive?"

Harnath responded philosophically, "Your parents bring you into this world and bring you up.  Thereafter one is on one's own.  Parents cannot share in the punishment for one's deeds."

Chaudhary truly loved his son.   He insisted on repayment of the corpus because he thought that Harnath was wifully avoiding repayment.  Now he could see that his son was in trouble indeed.  If he were to be jailed or the business declared bankrupt, the honor of the family will be compromised as well.  Why not give the money back to Harnath and take it back after the business revives?

Suddenly someone called for Harnath in a harsh voice from the outside.  Chaudhary asked Harnath, "Who is it?"

Harnath said, "It must be the government official for enforcing the decree."

"Is he here to seize the godown?"

"Looks like it."

"What is the amount decreed?"

"Rupees one thousand two hundred."

"Can we bribe him away for now?"

"I do not think so.  He must already have received tips from the other party. And the other party must be accompanying him."

"In that case let us use Gomati's funds to pay off the decreed amount."

"I wouldn't touch her money.  God knows what havoc she might wreak upon us."

"We are not embezzling it.  It will be returned.  If you are afraid, I will go and get it."

Chaudhary had a slight apprehension that Gomati might stop him too.  But no such thing happened.  He removed 1200 rupees from the wad and handed it to Harnath.

By evening whole of Gomati's fund was gone.

To be continued ...

The Miller Woman's Well - Part III

Several years passed by.  Harnath kept paying varying amounts towards interest on Gomati's funds to Chaudhary, but evaded repayment of the principal on one pretext or the other .  All attempts by Chaudhary to get the principal amount back failed even though Harnath's business seemed to be doing well.

Finally Chaudhary served an ultimatum on his son, "I want my money back by the end of this month.  I don't care how it is going to affect your business."  Harnath pleaded hard with him but Chaudhary didn't budge.  He refused to accept any of the excuses offered by Harnath.

His voice quivering with rage, Harnath made one last attempt, "Alright, I will give your money back to you.  But surely you could give me a couple of months' time!  I would be able to sell off some of the stocks within this time."

Chaudhary remained firm and hardened his stand, "Two months will never come to an end for you.  Nor will you ever be able to get the right deal for selling your stock.  I want my money back right now."

Harnath turned red with rage and walked away.  He soon came back with a wad of cash in his hand and dropped it in front of his father with a thud.

Chaudhary said with some embarrassment in his voice, "So you did have cash with you, didn't you!"

Harnath retorted, "How else could I run my business?  One can't last in business without liquid cash."

Chaudhary said in a conciliatory tone, "Well, let me keep only five hundred rupees.  After all, the whole of it will not get spent in a day. You keep the rest and return it to me after two months."

Harnath peevishly responded, "It is your money and you may do whatever you like with it.  I will have nothing to do with it.  Why should I suffer this indignity at your hands?  There is no dearth of moneylenders in this world."

Chaudhary suddenly appeared to have lost all enthusiasm for constructing the well and adding embellishments and conveniences to it.  He listlessly picked up the money and placed it on an open shelf in the wall.

For Harnath this wasn't the end of the transaction.  He had a plan up his sleeves.  In the dead of the night he quietly entered Chaudhary's room.  Chaudhary was fast asleep.  Harnath moved towards the shelf very quietly.  Just as he was about to pick up the cash, Gomati suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  She was clutching the cash in both her hands.

Harnath stopped dead in his tracks.  He reasoned to himself that he must be seeing things.  As he extended his hand a second time, he again saw Gomati.  This time her eyes were red and her face bore a fierce expression.  Harnath turned about and ran out of the room.  As he got into the verandah, he fainted and fell on the ground.

To be continued ...

The Miller Woman's Well - Part II

Chaudhary performed Gomati's last rites avoiding all extravagance.  As soon as these were over, he summoned his son, Harnath Singh.  Harnath was a businessman and he traded in foodgrains.  He spoke with Harnath for listing out all the items needed for constructing the well and working out an estimate of total cost.  Harnath seemed to be paying scant attention.  He interrupted his father and asked him, "Is this well business so urgent?  Can it not wait for a few months?"

His father replied, "Hmm..., why wait?  The funds from Gomati are more than adequate.  And some goodwill will come our way too for carrying out her wishes.  Above all it was her last wish to have the well constructed without any delay."

Harnath said, "All that is quite okay.  But don't you see this is harvest time.  We can buy grains for a few thousand rupees now and hold it for a few months.  Thereafter we would be able to sell it for a hefty profit.  I won't mind paying some interest to you."

This put Chaudhary in two minds.  If this investment could really add a few hundred rupees to Gomati's funds, he may be able to add a few conveniences to the well.  But what if there is a loss and it turns bad?

Finally he spoke out, "But loss too is a possibility: isn't it?"

"And, pray, why would there be a loss?", Harnath said rather testily.

Chaudhary said, "Well, we cannot rule out the possibility."

Harnath flared up, "Why don't you admit that you are too concerned about your image to help your own son?"

Like most people of his age Chaudhary too felt uneasy about confronting his son.  He said meekly, "I didn't say I won't lend the money to you.  But this isn't our money and we need to be careful.  There always is a risk in trading.  Prices could fall.  Pests could destroy our stock.  An envious competitor could even stealthily set our godown on fire.  We must give a thought to all the possibilities."

Harnath responded with sarcasm in his voice, "And have you given any thought to the possibility of this cash getting stolen; or the well collapsing midway through the construction?"

By this time poor Chaudhary felt like not-so-courageous a soldier staring at the enemy's shiny sword moving towards him.  He stopped looking into his son's eyes and his gaze shifted downwards.  Finally he asked, "Well, how much do you want?"

Harnath could sense that his father was about to give in.  He said sharply, "I want the whole of it.  We are talking of big ticket business here and not small change!"

Chaudhary gave in.  He consoled himself that there was no possibility of his image taking a beating.  After all no one knew about what transpired between Gomati and him during former's last moments.

Harnath bought a huge stock of grains.  Chaudhary was much worried about the safety of the stock and lost his sleep.  He started guarding the stock almost round the clock.  Six months went by.  Harnath made a sizeable profit of five hundred rupees.  From this he offered fifty rupees, a tenth, to his father.

Chaudhary felt very irritated.  He said, "Are you giving me alms?  Had you borrowed this sum from a moneylender, you would have to cough up at least two hundred rupees towards interest.  I will make you some concession but not accept your ridiculous offer."  Harnath didn't bargain too hard and settled the matter by paying one hundred fifty rupees to Chaudhary.

That night as Chaudhary lay in his bed, a smiling Gomati made an appearance before him.  Chaudhary was startled and he could feel his heart thumping in his chest.  He wasn't intoxicated and was wide awake.  He felt sure that he had seen none other than Gomati herself.  The good thing was that she looked happy.

To be continued ...

The Miller Woman's Well - A Tale by Munshi Premchand

Chaudhary Vinayak Singh was visiting Gomati, the miller woman, who was lying in her deathbed.  Gomati said, "Chaudhary, this is the only wish I have nurtured in my life."

Chaudhary replied in a somber manner, "Have no worries, Kaki.  Your wish will certainly be fulfilled.  I will put workers on the job right away.  God willing, you will get to drink the water from your well.  By the way, did you count how much you have been able to save for this noble task of constructing a well for public use?"

Gomati closed her eyes and strained her memory hard.  Finally she opened her eyes and said, "Dear, I have but little idea of how much I have.  Here, take this pot: It is all that I have.  I do hope that this will suffice and you will not have to go around seeking contributions."

Chaudhary weighed the pot in both his hands and said, "Yes, Kaki, we will make do with whatever we have.  People here are such misers!  They won't give a pinch of food to a hungry man, let alone contribute to a charitable cause.  You indeed are an exception.  You are donating your lifetime savings to this most noble task."

Gomati said with just a hint of pride in her voice, "My dear, you were only a kid when my husband passed away.  All his savings were spent on his treatment.  God must have loved him much for nothing could keep your Kaka from meeting his Maker at that early age.  I took to working on my flour mill for a living.  In those days I could mill half a quintal of grains every night with these very hands.  People wondered how could I do it.  What propelled me was this desire to construct a well in the name of my deceased husband.  People crave for sons and daughters so they may be remembered by and through them.  The well will immortalize your Kaka in the public memory."

Having entrusted Chaudhary Vinayak Singh with the task and her lifetime savings, Gomati passed away that night.  Her last words to Chaudhary were, "For God's sake, don't delay the construction of the well."  During her life, Gomati used to hide her money like a woman would hide a scar on her face. Chaudhary found two thousand rupees in the pot.  He could hardly believe that the old woman had saved a small fortune for the task.  She had carefully chosen Chaudhary for the task because was head of the village and known for his integrity.

To be continued ....

Pakistani Awam

I have little knowledge of Pakistan and its people except what I learn through various media.  And I must admit that what I learn through media isn't something to go gaga about.

Recently the media is agog with a news about how irate passengers turned back an ex-minister and a legislator who had kept an aircraft waiting for them for two hours beyond its scheduled departure time.  And this has made me look upon the Pakistani awam with a new found respect.

Of course, such delays seldom take place in India.  Whatever delays do take place on account of VIP movement here are because of their movement in their official or chartered planes or those belonging to their cronies, and not because of any movement by them in or out of a plane patronized by PLUs (People Like US.)  Those who have to suffer the ignominy of travelling in a plane shared by cattle-class public seldom think of themselves as VIP enough to cause such unconscionable delay.

Having said that, I must admit that I am not too sure if the Indian awam, under similar circumstances, would have just as boldly stood up to and chased away an offending VIP.  And even if they did I am not too sure if the offending VIP would have backed out.

I salute the Pakistani awam for being boldly assertive against VIP culture and do hope that they will display similar assertiveness against mullahs, terrorists and other state and non-state players who have been holding up their journey to peace and prosperity for decades.

Mardani

Watched Mardani and found it entertaining.  Indian cinema has consistently been reinforcing the belief that systemic changes are not possible and the only resort available is personal heroics.  The heroics in Mardani are performed by the heroine, Rani Mukherjee.

Our heroine finally and physically prevails upon the villain running a human trafficking gang.  Thereupon the villain smiles and says, "Go ahead and beat me if it gives you any satisfaction for that is all that you can do:  This is India and people like me with the right connections always go scot-free in the end."  Surprisingly, the heroine acknowledges the observation as a fact and then hands over the bruised and defeated villain to his victims.  Then she walks away after making a loud observation that it is precisely for this reason that many criminals get subjected to "public outrage."  The victims beat the villain to death.

The chief minister of UP has much appreciated the film and exempted it from the hefty entertainment tax burden.  Is that an encouragement for using "public outrage" as the only available weapon against well connected criminals and an admission that government and law are helpless in the matter?

U++ or One-upmanship

It seems to have begun with JL Nehru.  We were made to believe that he worked almost round the clock.  His daughter had justified use of luxury airconditioned cars in an era of strict socialism on the ground that she was working ALL the time.  Now our Pradhan Sevak, numero uno mazdoor, has promised to outdo all of us by working one hour more than us.  The big question is what happens if we start working round the clock, 24 hours a day?

The answer to that question was provided to me quite some time back by a very aggressive boss.  He demanded an impossible throughput from the training system.  It was demonstrated to him that the system will fall much short of the target even if all the resources were deployed for 24 hours a day.  He said without blinking an eyelid, "In that case work 36 hours a day!"

With a view to spare our PS such mathematical absurdities, I have stopped working altogether.  In fact I did that four years ago.  Thus, as far as I am concerned, the PS would have fulfilled his promise by working one hour each day.

My own experience in a PS Bank has convinced me that using hours input instead of objective targets as a measure of performance is the surest sign of an incompetent and lost executive.  This has caused untold miseries to the working class.  It is time that people at the top stopped fueling this myth.