It was early morning. Rays of light from the east streamed down like a rivulet of tears. The cool breeze pierced one’s heart like a cry of grief. The open ground seemed impaled through the heart with arrows of light. The house was deathly silent, indicating the concealed sorrow of the owner. Neither the noise of the children’s voices nor the sound of the mother’s peacekeeping attempts broke the deceptive stillness. If the lamp itself is dying out, how does one light up the house? This was not the silence of hope, but that of grief, because today the government auctioneer was coming to sell off the house to the highest bidder.
Kailas burst out in agony, ‘Alas! Today will be the last day of my public life. The edifice that I built painstakingly over twenty-five years will be destroyed today. My paper will be killed, my feet will be shackled with the chains of mockery and ridicule, my face blackened, this peaceful abode destroyed, and my family scattered like flower petals in the wind. There is no shelter for it in this whole wide world. Public memory is short; soon, the memory of my services will be lost in the darkness of oblivion. No one will shed a tear for me.’
Suddenly, he remembered that he still had to write the editorial for the day. He had to inform his readers that today was the last day in the life of his paper. He would write seeking forgiveness from his readers for any wrongs done in the past, and thank them for their support and solidarity. He would tell them that he wasn’t grieving the untimely demise of the paper because this death was awarded only to those few who remained steadfast on the path of duty, and that the only thing he regretted was not being able to sacrifice more than this for the nation. He had conceptualized his editorial from beginning to end when he heard footsteps. He raised his head and saw that it was Naeem—the same smiling face, the same playful eyes. As soon as he entered, he enveloped Kailas in an embrace.
Kailas disengaged himself and asked, ‘Have you come to rub salt on my wounds?’ Naeem embraced him even harder, and replied, ‘Of course! That’s the fun of friendship.’
‘Don’t jest with me,’ Kailas warned. ‘I’ll kill you.’
Naeem’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Ah cruel one! I was desperate to hear these words from your lips. Berate me all you can, abuse me as much as you like, it’s music to my ears.’
Kailas retorted angrily, ‘When the auctioneer comes to sell off my house today, what will you do? You’ve saved your skin and left me in this mess.’
Naeem answered happily, ‘We’ll clap our hands and make him prance like a monkey.’
Kailas said, ‘I’m not going to spare you today. Couldn’t you have pity on my children?’
Naeem grinned. ‘Well, look who you took on this time. Once, the game belonged to you. Now it’s my turn. You didn’t even consider the suitability of the occasion. You just launched the attack.’
Kailas was solemn. ‘It was against my principles to ignore the truth.’
Naeem retorted, ‘And it was in keeping with my principles to strangle the truth.’
‘When I leave my whole family to your care, you’ll weep for your fate,’ Kailas snapped. ‘I may be half your size, but I’m equal to three of you when it comes to producing children. I have seven of them, neither less nor more.’
Naeem teased, ‘Okay, okay, now will you get me something to eat? I haven’t eaten anything since the morning.’
Kailas said, ‘We’re all on forced fasting today. When the whole family is dreading the arrival of the auctioneer, who’s going to ask for food? If you have something in your bag, let’s eat it together. God knows, after this day life is going to be worse.’
‘Will you do such a thing again?’ Naeem asked.
Kailas was defiant. ‘As long as the government uses brute force to rule over us, we shall keep opposing it. My only regret is that I may not get such an opportunity again. But you will not be able to get twenty rupees even, let alone twenty thousand.’
Naeem confidently replied, ‘I’ll extract five times the amount from you, don’t you worry.’
‘Go wash your face,’ Kailas laughed.
‘I need money,’ Naeem said. ‘Let’s make a compromise.’
Kailas was aghast. ‘You’ve just swallowed twenty thousand rupees from the prince and you still want more! Your government officers will be able to give it to you. Go to them. I wouldn’t have anything more valuable than these papers.’
Naeem said, ‘They would be enough to repay my loan. Okay, let’s agree that I may take whatever I wish from this house. Don’t cry about it afterwards.’
Kailas was unfazed. ‘Take what you wish, sell my house, my office, even me. I swear I will not utter a word.’
Naeem was resolute. ‘No. I want one and only one thing.’
Kailas was intrigued. He thought, What object of such value do I possess? I hope he won’t ask me to convert to Islam. My religion is the only thing that can be valued as nothing or as everything. Let me see what the gentleman has to say. He
