‘So you received no money.’
‘No.’
‘But, I know quite a few people are interested in helping.’
‘Yes, some people did call. Said they have collected money. Wanted to know if they should send cash or cheque. Then they wanted to know some bank number. I told them I don’t know all this.’
‘So still no money.’
‘No.’
Just then a late middle-aged Panditji, probably a regular customer who lives nearby, walked into the shop and exchanged Namaskars with the Baker. Then it was business as usual. He asked about the price for Wangan Hat’ch (dried Brinjal, which seemed to have freshly arrived from Kashmir or Jammu). Then he started to bargain for a discount worth ten rupees.
I continued.
‘How much did you lose in fire? It was an electric short-circuit?’
‘Yes. Lost some quintals of walnuts, pulses (Var’muth), masalas and stuff like that. All from Kashmir. We were preparing for Shivratri season. It was a good thing I hadn’t ordered for new Janthris. I was going to order 8000 of them. But I didn’t have money at that time to pay upfront. It was a good thing. We would have lost them too.’
Panditji interjected,’Fire? Was there a fire here? That is bad. Very sad.’
I talked some more to the baker and then started to leave. But the Baker stopped me and handed me a some freshly baked warm biscuits packed in a sheet of newspaper. He refused to take money for it. It was free. Embarrassingly, I was still getting freebies from the bakery.
Again posting.
Name: Roshan Lal
Bank and Branch: J & K Bank. Sector 18, Noida. [IFSC Code: JAKA0GHAZIA]
Account No: 0319040100093092
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