‘Perhaps for you. But not for me.’
‘I had come here with a lot of hope.’
‘I’m really sorry. If I had the money, I would have given it right away.’
‘Can you withdraw it from your provident fund?’
‘I’m paying monthly instalments for a loan I’d taken earlier.’
‘I’ll leave now,’ he said, getting up hurriedly. I made him sit down again.
‘Tell me, why do you need this amount?’
‘I need to buy a typewriter. I can type my notes instead of writing them down, and save time.’
‘Oh, is that it? Then I have a solution.’
‘What is it?’
‘Let me do your typing. I can spare an hour in the morning and in the evening, every day.’
I was hoping to see him react positively to my offer. But he kept quiet. I continued,
‘I’ll be able to help you in your education in some manner. It will give me immense satisfaction. And there’d be no need to spend five hundred rupees either.’
He remained silent. He sat around for another ten minutes, then left without saying a word. I rang him at his desk the next morning, but he replied by saying he was busy. When I called him after a couple of hours, he gave the same reply. I was surprised and disappointed by his reaction. What can one say if a person who was a chatterbox until the previous day now refuses to even talk on the phone?
The effort of trying to find a logical answer got tiring after a while.
That evening, Sushma vahini came to visit. She was alone. She seemed distraught, but we welcomed her warmly. Seeing us behave as usual, she said with a deep sigh,
‘I’m happy you haven’t taken his behaviour to heart. I was worried you wouldn’t speak to me.’
‘Why would you say that?’
‘The way he behaved…’
‘Come on now! I’ve forgotten all about it. And I’m sure he has, too.’
Sushma vahini’s face fell. She got up to leave. She put on her sandals, then sat down on the sofa again. She said pitifully,
‘Can I make a request?’
She couldn’t continue, choking on her words, and held her handkerchief to her eyes, which were brimming with tears. Sumati exclaimed,
‘Sushma! Sushi, are you crazy? Is this what you think of us?’
Trying to regain her composure, Sushma vahini said,
‘He has his idiosyncrasies, you know that.’
‘That’s all? I know how to deal with his whims.’
‘Bhauji, that won’t be necessary now.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘I don’t think he’ll ever speak to you again.’
‘He will. I’m sure. Don’t worry unnecessarily.’
‘No, Bhauji. I know he’ll never speak to you again.’
‘Be that as it may. Will you speak to us?’ my wife asked.
‘Sumi, that is precisely why I’m here. Let the men do what they want with each other. We shouldn’t let it affect our friendship.’
‘Vahini, it’s not like we’ve had a fight or anything of that sort.’
‘I know.’
‘Do you think I did something wrong?’
‘If I felt that way, would I have come over here to meet you?’
‘Sushi, isn’t all this a little odd?’
‘I know it is. But I have no choice. I’m forced to hang my head in shame each time he does something like this. I can’t visit my brother any more. I’m lucky I can still go to my mother’s place. But I hesitate to go there too.’
‘Think of this as your mother’s house as well,’ Sumati consoled Sushma vahini.
I asked,
‘What exactly does he accuse me of?’
‘He believes you didn’t lend him money despite having it. He says…’
‘Go on. Tell me what he said. I won’t take it to heart.’
‘He says, “Had Tambe asked me for money, I would’ve given it to him even if I had to pledge my wife’s jewels.”’
I said,
‘Vahini, had it been a question of life and death, I would’ve done the same. But I had suggested another way out.’
‘Don’t take his words to heart, and don’t break our friendship. That’s all I want to say.’
‘You don’t need to worry on that count.’
Since that day, Khambete the Great dropped me like a hot potato. Sushma vahini continued visiting us as before. Rajesh and Mukesh would come over during their holidays. Our daughters, Lata and Hema, enjoyed their company. It was a pleasure to see them get along splendidly. Khambete had once jested about adopting one of my daughters, so that he could reap the benefits of performing a kanyadaan. I had jokingly asked him whether he was too tired to produce a daughter of his own.
‘Not at all. But I don’t like uncertainties in life.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I make all the effort and take all the risk, while god up there will do as he wishes. That’s unacceptable to me. I wonder why we can’t be given what we ask for.’
‘You can file a petition against god when you start your law practice.’
‘Whom shall I appoint as my lawyer?’
‘Won’t you fight your own case?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I won’t be able to afford my fees.’
He was really crazy. It would’ve been fun to have had him around as a friend.
When Khambete became a practising lawyer, he came by to celebrate his success and handed me a box of sweets. He said,
‘I knew you’d envy my success. Which is why I came to give you the sweets.’
‘You’re free to arrive at your own conclusions. But I’ll happily accept the sweets.’
I came to know that he’d resigned from the office. He had started his practice in partnership with a friend.
The moment I found out his address from Vahini, I went to meet him at his new office.
He received me without a smile. He introduced his partner to me.
I said,
‘Khambete, I’m willing to work here every day in the morning and evening as a typist. For no pay.’
‘Why would you do that?’
‘You had the tenacity to clear the exams, and the guts to leave your job in the municipality. I admire your courage.’
‘That’s nothing to admire.’
‘It is, in my view. The very thought of sitting in a classroom with young boys and girls and writing exams scares the hell out of
