Greed.

Bless all thorns

24 Greed

Greed

The gentleman is a chain smoker.

The habit of a chain smoker is to hold one cigarette and not another. The gentleman didn't seem exactly normal. What a restless attitude. After a while, he is wetting his lips with his tongue. Itching head.

He looked at me and said in a hushed voice, I have only one daughter. Bring his name. Do you know the meaning of the word Annan?

Yes, no.

The word Annan means cloud. I used to call Meghwati.

Why did you call me? The girl is not alive?

Yes, no. I have come to tell that story. The writers are like psychiatrists. Talking to them lightens the mind. Tell you the story of Meghavati?

Tell me.

I won't take much time. Suppose ten minutes. Gump finished in ten minutes. Let's go.

The gentleman grabbed another cigarette. I mentally prepared to hear the sad story. It is not good to hear stories of suffering in the morning on holidays - the gentleman cannot be told that. He has come to lighten his mind by telling the story of his Meghwati.

The girl had leukemia.

Do you have one daughter?

Yes, one. Hearing that he had leukemia made my head feel bad. The doctor said he wanted to strangle her and kill her. I probably. I can't explain my thoughts to you. I can't speak fluently.

You are talking quite neatly.

The doctor told me to take the girl to Bombay Cancer Hospital. I calculate it looks like three lakh rupees. Where can I get three lakh rupees? I am one of the lower-middle class. The help of the lower-middle class means that he brings a little jewelry with his wife during marriage. How much income will be from selling jewelry! Yet all tied in a handkerchief. I took the jewelry to sell one day. Only twenty-three thousand rupees. And money. Where do I get it? Who do I go to borrow? I can advertise in newspapers with my daughter's picture. Help save the life of Meghwati, a death traveler. That humiliation, that shame is like death. I don't know what to do. Then one thing happened.

Guess what's funny?

Can't guess. You say.

The news is that the girl is dying - I have sold all my wife's jewelry for the girl. Help started coming in from all over the place that I never imagined. The headmistress of the school where the girl was studying came one day and paid ten thousand rupees. Raised money from school girls. Its two days. Then a girl from the same class attends with her father. I don't know the gentleman, I don't know. He brought a check for one lakh rupees. I cried with joy. Seeing my crying, the girl also started crying. The weeping scene is like the weeping scene of a play.

One day my office colleagues came. They brought a day's salary. - My relatives started bringing money. Terribly stingy. The one I knew, with whose hand not even ten pennies of aluminum could fall - he came with fifty thousand rupees. One of my neighbors, whose condition is mine. Like, he came up with five thousand rupees in my wife's hand. I was overwhelmed.

Those who could not help the money came forward with wisdom and advice. With their in mind, I wrote letters to various NGOs. Letters to the President of the United States, the President of France to these great men asking for help. I wrote. I wrote in Save the Children. I wrote a letter to the ministers of our country. Near-no one was left out. Even a letter was sent to Mother Teresa in Kolkata.

The reply to the letter began to come. Mostly good wishes for the girl and a sad prayer that there is no provision for financial help; However, some of them also sent checks. Thick amount check. One check was for five thousand pounds.

One day I calculated the money and saw that fourteen lakh seventy thousand rupees had been deposited. Then a thing called greed appeared in me. My head began to spin - let's raise some more money. Something more. I told my wife, this will be for money. No, I will take my daughter to America. I need a minimum of twenty lakh rupees. Asking for help, I was reluctant to advertise in newspapers with pictures. I advertised in all the newspapers with pictures of the girl.

I took my daughter to a TV magazine show. The presenter requested the rich to come forward to save the girl's life. My daughter sang a song on that occasion -

We are all kings in the kingdom of our King.

Did you watch the show?

Yes, no.

Many have seen. The event made it easy for me to raise money. When I go to some rich people in the country for money - after talking for a while they say - well, the girl with the big eyes sang that song - we. Everybody king?… Well well, very sad. You sit down, I'm writing you a check.

I saved twenty one lakh rupees in one month.

Twenty one lakh rupees?

Slightly less, but can catch a hundred million. Bangladesh Biman gave free tickets to Bombay for both of them. The girl died before she could go to Bombay.

The gentleman lit a cigarette. He smoked for a long time without saying a word. Looked at the clock. Then he stood up and said - I told you to take ten minutes, I took fifteen minutes. Please forgive me. I finished the story. Let's go now. The end of the story has not been told - the end is - I now have about two and a half million rupees in my account. Interest is accumulating, money is increasing. Sometimes I think - I spend the money on some public welfare work, I give it to a service organization. Can't give Greed prevents me. I can't afford it again. A strange situation. Do you know my job now? The job is to go to the bank every month and find out how much interest there is. Want to know how much compound interest will be twenty lakh rupees after thirty years? Tell me?