Virtue Goes Unrewarded

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This was my first attempt at writing a story... Please post your valuable comments...

Life was so very simple for Ashok, the local simpleton of the small village Anantpur on the outskirts of Gorakhpur. To him the world meant nothing but four walls of a muddy thatched house, one lantern, a total of seven steel wares & five mouths to feed including his own. Of course he had his neighbors. There was one Kalicharan who did nothing except puffing and blowing at the hookah all day long under that oak tree by the side of Ashok’s tiny dwelling. There was another Manohar who had a piece of land under his bona fide possession where he ploughed & soiled twelve hours a day. He was a good friend to Ashok & post harvest he made it a point to deliver a few kilos of rice & vegetables at his doorstep every year. Neither Ashok nor Manohar wished that the service should be honorary but the latter had a very kind heart for Ashok so he never asked him to subsidise. There were another fifteen families in and around the village but none were as starving as Ashok’s family.

Ashok did all kinds of work starting from fetching articles for people, escorting people from Gorakhpur and taking rounds of the village with them, cleaning the road that led to the town and occasionally taking the Zamindar’s cows and buffaloes to the pond for a bath & feeding them later. Says Ashok with a wink in his eyes- “I wish the census people come every month. The last time they visited, they paid me fifty rupees for taking them round my village!” Obviously this was the only time he got so much wealth at one go. Really his happiness knew no bounds that day. So much so that he went to the sole grocery shop in his area and got ten & five rupee notes in exchange and having tied the small bundle with a rubber band & covered it with a cloth he roamed around with the thing tied to his waist for the next five days. It seemed he wouldn’t have used it ever had his youngest son not fallen sick on the sixth day. What else he cherishes about that lucky day is the way one of them patted his back with the words- “You made our job easier”. “Over here. What a pat!” said Ashok once to the Zamindar’s boys pointing at his back with a large smile on his face.

If something Ashok wanted to accomplish then that was the marriage of his eldest daughter. He somehow wished that his daughter should marry a rich person who would take her away from poverty which she has at home. He had no clues where he was going to find such a match but this thing seemed to be his greatest desire. He used to ponder- ‘My second daughter is already thirteen. I shall have to look a groom for her in two years’ time. The sooner I finish my present duty, the better’. But who was going to give his son’s hand to the poor, not-so-good looking daughter of a simpleton? Amidst all this he however thought- “I wish I had a son as my second child. He could have worked with me & that would have made more money within a lesser time”

Munshi bhaiya had few customers attending him but he had a respectable position in the village. He ran the only grocery shop in the village and eighty percent of his income was from purchases made by the attendants of Manoj Lal, the Zamindar. Manoj also had some kind of obligation towards Munshi bhaiya. Two years ago when the family astrologer suggested Lal to conduct a yajna to overcome a bad omen, Lal got the entire supply of ghee from Munshi even though his brother-in-law proposed to bring it from New Delhi. Now, Munshi made it sure to see Ashok every day. The latter used to drop in to have a chat about Gorakhpur’s affairs and mainly to check the picture on the calendar page. This was how Ashok knew that one month has passed. Typical of a businessman, Munshi had a habit to change the calendar page by 5am on the first day of every month and each page had a different picture. Ashok also had this habit of counting his savings at the start of every month. He had managed to save Rs.350 after working for more than a year now. And this was told to him by Munshi because he couldn’t count beyond thirty.

Every year in the month of April, their village had a bit of hustle. The local Shiv temple used to be crowded with many people from nearby areas. The temple was called Bharateshwar temple after the name of Lal’s father. The people held that the Shiva Linga worshipped at the temple was accidentally discovered when Lal’s father stumbled over a stone in his compound one morning and later that day he found ten thousand rupees on the road. Legend has it that he got enlightened & he went with the wealth to the mound shaped rock & found a small locket of Lord Shiva beneath it. So he decided to build a temple and the stone to be placed there as deity. He used more than half of the money in its construction. And the Lals celebrated the birthday of that influential person in the month of April every year by organizing a grand offering to the God and giving away goodies to people. The rituals continued for three days & three nights starting from the twelfth day of Hindu calendar.

This year there was a bonus. The ‘Panchgani’ fair people from Gorakhpur had for the first time set up their dwelling places in Anantpur and the fifteen day fair was about to start very soon. The celebrations had become the talk of the town. People coming and going talked only about this- “This year Bharateshwar is really pleased on His people. We have heard that there will a good number of contests at the fair. People winning them shall be rewarded with money. It’s a double bonanza- gifts at the temple plus earning money at the fair!” For a day or two Kalicharan was also seen talking to people and asking about the fair with his hookah pipe lying stranded under the tree and naughty kids sneaking in and trying to puff it.

The news had well perceived Ashok’s ears. He had his own thoughts- ‘I will purchase some jewellery from the fair for my daughter. I need not go all the way to town. Maybe one of the fair men will be pleased to see my daughter and ask me her hand.’ Ashok’s senses couldn’t guess how a fair looked like. The picture that came into his mind was of a good number of shops in a row selling numerous articles never seen or heard of. There is a person calling people and asking them to milk his cows saying the person who shall milk the fastest would be paid fifty rupees (Ashok knew a bit about milking cows) and there is another person offering money gift to anyone who could run hither & thither from Manoj Lal’s mansion to the maidan and complete at the first position. He was captivated in these thoughts when someone called at the door. It was Manohar who had come with a few vegetables. He handed over the vegetables to his wife & then embraced Ashok. Then he spoke- “You must have heard of the fair. I am looking forward to its start. I have heard that they are going to sell seeds & sprouts along with pesticides. I have heard people talking that date plants are well suited to the climate we have here. If I manage to get the seeds, I will start cultivating. My condition will improve. Why don’t you try something at the fair? Who knows, you may have your hands at something really fortunate!” His words moved Ashok. “Arre, what will I try at? I don’t know any profession. I am suited to these odd jobs. Maybe if someone calls me to sell his wares for some hours and then pays me some money...”

Soon the fair started. The rituals at the temple were about to start in a week’s time. No soul was seen inside his domicile. People ran here & there. When Ashok visited the fair with his family, he was amazed. Rides of various kinds, sideshows, shops that trebled his expectations selling ten times as many articles as he must have thought, and no sign of milking cows and people offering jobs of his kind. Eagerly he ransacked the shops with the idea of purchasing a few articles for his daughter. He couldn’t decide anything though. Moreover prices were not what he expected. Imitations had become costlier even though the stones were as fake as before. Roaming for more than an hour he could only manage to buy a balloon for his son and a pair of slippers for his wife. They returned after that.

On the other side Lal’s family was getting dressed up for both the occasions. The rituals at the temple carried greater importance. Many articles were getting piled up in the stores. Sweets, sandalwood, oils, perfumery, clothes, etc were among the valuable articles being collected. Gayatri Devi was busy choosing her selection of sarees & jewellery. The attendants were running errands all day & the maids were busy cleaning the house & decorating it. Many guests were about to visit their place at short notice. The house was all set to have a grand birthday celebration in unison with the fair crowd.

Ashok decided that he would visit the fair once more carrying a portion of his savings and come back home with a few articles for his daughter’s marriage. He decided to visit on the first day of start of rituals at the temple. He searched for more and more work during the period to save more money and went starving many times to save even a rupee. He succeeded half way through. At the end of the week, he and his family got ready to visit the fair. Ashok took out an old saree from a box which was gifted by Munshi bhaiya’s wife. He asked his wife to put on the saree and then both of them set off. They planned to visit the temple first and pay obeisance to the Lord.

At the temple, Ashok placed a portion of his earning at God’s altar & prayed for its best value. He then took out a fiver coin from his pocket & slid it inside the donation box. This was the highest donation made by him ever because that was roughly the amount he earned per day on an average. After praying the Lord, they set off towards the maidan. It was getting darker. They reached the place in twenty minutes. Just at the entrance to the village ground a beggar boy stopped them for a rupee. Now Ashok’s plight was no better. But just because he had his hard-earned bread with him, he was a rich man. Proudly he took out a rupee from his pocket whilst saying to his wife- “You know dear, feeding a hungry mouth is the best virtue”. Just then, he was accidentally pushed by an onlooker. Ashok felt a jerk & the coin fell from his hand. As he bent down to pick that, he noticed a key lying on the ground. Preoccupied with thoughts, he picked up both the things and they walked ahead.

No sooner had they started taking rounds of the fair when they saw Munshi’s shop boy. This stout fellow was the local story-teller. He greeted them & said- “Bhabhi, you know there’s a bit of mishappening going around Lalji’s place. The main offerings are yet to be done. All the members are out. Now it has come to hearing that someone has misplaced the main door key. There’s a bunch of wealth inside. Lalji is under an adrenaline attack. If someone trespasses and steals away the articles, oh God! What will he do?” The words started echoing in Ashok’s ears. Is the key which he has in his pocket the same one? He at once became thoughtful. For a moment he stood still. Then just as the boy left, he said to his wife- “Look dear, it seems I have the key with me. You go home. We will come again tomorrow. I am going to Lalji’s place. If God is merciful we may earn a fortune!”

Presently, Ashok headed towards the Lal residence. His steps were large & steady. He kept on thinking- ‘I have never seen a hundred rupee note in my life. I have heard that it’s bigger than a fifty rupee note. For this act of mine Lalji may reward me with a hundred rupee note. Or else if each member starts rewarding me some money I should have a lot of money by tonight. I always knew helping the needy never goes unrewarded. Aha! A hundred rupee note! God knows how many fifty rupee notes I will get in exchange, maybe three or maybe five also. I will render the best parting ceremony to my daughter…’. He never knew when his thoughts carried him to Lalji’s vicinity.

Just when he was nearing the entrance, he saw there was a crowd in front of the door. He whispered at an onlooker- “Is anything the matter over here?” The man replied- “Don’t you know? Lalji’s younger brother lost the main door key somewhere. They searched for it amidst utter apprehensions; they got no trace of the key but finally got one person who is a blacksmith by profession. He is trying to use a duplicate key failing which he will break the locks”. Hearing this Ashok ran inside the building but managed to reach the door just when the locks were broken. Someone noticed him & asked- “What brings you here Ashok? Can’t you see we are all tensed? Come after the celebrations. Now off you go”. Ashok intervened- “Pardon me sirs, but I think I have the key”. “But what’s the use now? We…”. Gayatri Devi stepped forward and the man lost his voice. “What did you just say Ashok? You have got the key! And do you think we are fools to fall trap in your plan?”. Looking at her men she said- “Search this person’s clothes. I suspect he must have visited this place before & laid his hands on something. Now he is pretending to act smart”. Three men headed towards him & even at his denial they searched his clothes & found a cloth tied to the waistline. Upon untying the cloth, they saw a bunch of notes lying securely concealed inside. They showed it to Gayatri Devi. She at once remarked- “Two hundred rupees with this person who is living from head to mouth! Surely this must be from the donation account we have with us. Ashok, is this how you return our favour?” Ashok’s face had turned blue by then, “But ma’am…”. Gayatri Devi turned a deaf year to him and ordered an attendant to add the money in the donations fund.

Ashok stood still for a long time with teary eyes but no one seemed to care. People came and went but no one bothered to take note of his misery. Slowly night was setting in and the weather was getting chilly. Ashok thought there was no point waiting anymore and so with a heavy heart he started walking towards home. Throughout the way he felt like killing himself. All his wishes sailed away from him and took along with them his hard-earned bread. Hopelessness made the night darker for him.

Just as he neared the oak tree, Kalicharan called at him- “Ashok, heard you had been to the fair to purchase jewellery? You family people have a better sense of duty. You know what, I sometimes wish I too had things to worry about but no, I am happy in my hookah’s company. Now off you go. Good night!”