lanka property house for rent

welcome! the location is india!anywhere in india. the time is the present. ''and our characters...well, let me introduce them'' our main charactersstay in this house. ''there are a few outsiders,but the majority are here.'' the name of the houseis shantl niwas. now don't be misleadby the name. go inside and you'll seefull-fledged war.

''the owner is a retiredpostmaster, shivnath.'' he named the house afterhis deceased wife. come! let's meet him! meet mr shivnath sharma. he was an artistic young man!he even sang! ''meet shivnath'seldest son, ramnath.'' he is a head clerkin this office. he is a kind-hearted manbut evey evening... he needs a littlecheaply-made liquor.

this is his wifeseeta devi. this is his daughtermeeta b.a. shivnath's second sonharinath and... his wife were killedin a car accident. their daughter krishnais a vey sweet girl. shivnath's third sonis kashinath. he is a scholar andteaches at school. this is his wifeshobha devi. as a compliment to her beauty...

shivnath did notask for any dowy. ''they have a son, rintu.'' shivnath's youngest sonvishwanath or babloo. he is an assistant musicdirector in films. he has copied innumerableenglish sons but... no one has been able tocatch him to date. there are a few other characters.like mr arun. apart from excercising he isgiving his m.a. exams. l don't know his name buteveyone calls him guruji.

then there is one more veyimportant character : a cook. let's go back to wherewe started: shantl niwas. what about myjob?- what's the hury? l gave up a bearer's jobto become a cook. now l am neither a cooknor a bearer. l thought a home would bebetter than a hotel... but this home isworse than a hotel. lt seems as if l am workingin some cheap lodging house. there is anotherjob.but the wages are not high.

what do you think l get here?fifty rupees... ....food and clothes anda place to stay awake. a place to stay awake?- what else? where is the time to sleep? the wages are forty rupees. also food and clothes anda play to stay in. then let's go at once!- go and settle your account. l've worked for a monthand three days. l don't mind not gettingpaid for three days.

l only feel bad forthe old man. he'll need tea. why is father calling outfor me so early? did you hear him?- you also heard him! what happened? l don't know when youwill all learn. l've been asking you to get upearly since your schooldays. l'm doing my best.- nonsense! did you call me for that?

l've been dying for teasince morning. hasn't the cook givenyou tea as yet? would l have called youhad he given it? looks like he hasalso run away. what?- is it such a big tragedy? ''ln my days, the women ofthe house did evemhing.'' ''nowadays, the daughters-in-laware not like daughters.'' they are daughters onlyin the legal sense. now who will get into legalmatters so early?

that is why l called you. push the box inside. how often have l told you not tokeep jewelley at home? lt will be stolen some day.keep it in the bank. forget the jewelley andarrange for some tea. lt's seven and still no tea!l hope he hasn't run away. don't talk ill earlyin the morning. o my god! the cook reallyhasn't come! now what? what else? search foranother cook!

krishna! krishna!- coming! make some tea. quick!- why? has the cook gone?- god knows! all right! l'll make it. why are you strutting about?it's slippey there! l forgot!- can't you even see? look! l can't handle thiseveyday problem. now who will cook and cleanfor the whole house? ''there's didi, krishna andmeeta to help you.''

enough! don't talkabout young nieces! ''as for didi, she'll get goutwhen she hears this.'' what can l do? l'm justa school-master. l can't rent a houseand live separately. why not? there are justthe three of us! how much money do we need?- it's not a matter of expense. ''lf we stay separately, brother willpoison father's mind.'' l'll be disinherited fromthe house and estate. haven't you seen the boxunder father's bed?

yes! l've also seen thehuge lock on it. why is why l'm quiet. your younger brother'snoisy music again. what a madhouse this is! the cook has left.- left? wasn't he given a medal?- why? has anyone stayedbeyond a week? he lasted an entire month.should he get a medal? get me a cup if youare making tea.

a beautiful tune isstuck in between. lt will come out oncehot tea goes in! ln a minute.- yes! come in! come! heard the news?- yes. gout has been troubling mesince last night. l can't even die in peace. tea! hot tea! l knew this would happen!- what?

eveyone would sit backwhile you made tea. so what? there's no shamein doing house work! they also don't have shame!but they won't work! grandpa! don't you darecriticise my aunts! look! you've messed upa beautiful tune! what kind of a tune was that? like a railway trainon the tracks. ''don't give your opinionon music, krishna.'' what do you know about whatsells in the market?

look! a half-beat isin two-four! now if we increase the paceof this beat to one metre... you won't understand allthese technical things. that's true. it's veyexacting labour! ''first get an english record,play it, hear it...'' ....record it and then fithindi words into it. so many technical problems! this is a trade secret. ''lf revealed, it willruin my market.''

the tea is getting ruined.drink it first! o god! the eggs must havebecome stone by now! uncle! tea!- god bless you! aunty! tea!- also wake up meeta. ''no, no! she slept attwo o'clock last night.'' here! don't drink teaon an empty stomach. uncle! tea!- thank you! aunty! tea! pintu baba! get up! up!

give me a kiss! what about me?- wash your face first. ''come, krishna! let'swash the vessels.'' l'll die workingfor this house. no servant! and now eventhe cook has left! so what? we are here to work!why else did they mary us? cook food... wash clothes....clean the vessels. lt's not even a small place!as big as sri lanka! as if they are princessesfrom ayodhya! damn it!

good! don't you know it isslippey there? why go there?- l forgot! are you hurt?- no! l enjoyed it! well! what's the score? aren't you ashamed?can't you help her up? why should l? who vowed tohelp her all her life? l'll be late.- won't l be late? don't l have office? is thisthe way to rush inside?

lf a teacher is late how canhe enforce discipline? does that mean you'llforce your way in? what can l do?you take hours! now it's impossibleto stay here. ruffians have taken over. what a zoo! bloody idiots! who can work all day aftereating such food? ls this cury? not asingle grain in it! we made whatever was available.

do you also expect us todo the marketing? what does bablu do all day?can't he do it? he is with his musicalinstruments all day. you fool around thewhole day long. can't you buy vegetablesfor the house? vegetables? l buy them? l am an artiste!talk of art to me! doesn't an artiste feel hungy? eveyone feels hungy but noteveyone is an artiste.

how can a dealer in tunesdeal in vegetables? get lost! artistes like youare a dime a dozen! now look! l'll...- all right. now don't fight. l'll bring something onmy way back home. ''good morning, sir.- come! sit!'' krishna! bring your books!arun has come to teach! krishna!- what is it? help me! heaven will not fallif you don't study for a day. saw that? you teach her free!even that they can't bear!

wash the clothes while l lookafter the cooking. here is my soap!don't waste it. keep whatever is leftin my room. also wash my clothes!here's my soap. the boss has calledfor you twice. please sit down.- l am sory! l am late again! the most often used wordin english is sory. whatever mistake the person makeshe thinks... saying sory will solveall his problems.

that's not true!l am really vey sory! l have a suggestion!don't feel bad. you've a year for retirement!why not retire now? don't say that! l'll facegreat difficulties! l am an officer and yetl have come 10 minutes early. you are the head clerk andyet you're late evey day. this will not happen again. we've a servant problem and sonothing gets done on time. forgive me! this willnot happen again!

that tender...- let me settle down! the servant you gave ushas also run away. no! it's not his fault.our house is like that. ''now get me another servantquickly, or else...'' l'll lose myjobat this old age. we'll give him anotherfive rupees. not a single good news!problems eveywhere! what happened?- look! two murders onthe front page and...

one! two! three! four! four murders on the second page.there's more... there's a murder evenon the playground. murder has becomea national event. lt's an international event. sometime back there wasa newspaper strike. how peaceful it was then. no murders! no wars!nothing at all! you always lookat the dark side.

why don't you look at thepaper's good side? did you read the paperyesterday? a handsome young manran away from jail. the police warned that hewas a dangerous murderer. look at the newspaper today. o god! an educated young manfrom a good family... he poses as a tutoror a servant and... ....enters a house and gainsthe family's confidence. then one day he cleans outthe house and vanishes.

think about it. saved! just in time!ramu! get the register. ramu! get a servant!the house is in bad shape! where are you going?- college! college! there's so muchwork to be done! just for one important class!l'll be back soon! first give this to meeta. meeta! get up!get up! god! l am getting late.

get up! it's ten o' clock! o god! vividh bharati musthave begun broadcast. of course! would they waitfor you to get up? drink the ovaltine. right? aunty! l am going to college!grandpa! l am going! how will you go?aren't you late? l'll run! it's not far. l thought you must havegone! l am late! a good news!- what?

goverdhandas is dead!- who is that? the college chairman!- what's good about it? the good news is incidental. he's dead and so thecollege is closed. you haven't missed any period. let's go and sit inthe park for some time. what if my aunt finds out?- then go home! l'll go to the funeralof mr goverdhandas. you get angy vey fast!- you talk like that!

you made me wait foran hour and now... all right! let's go. l didn't mean that!- then? l want to watch when meetabegins her dance practice. why?- l like it! l wish l could alsoiearn to dance. forget it! concentrateon your studies. what's the use of studying?you won't let me work. how will dance help?

why are you laughing?- no! you'll scold me. tell me! go on! most men tend to strayafter marriage. ''so you sit back and relax,while l dance for you.'' wonderful! really beautiful! no one can win against you. you'll stand first in thecompetition this year. l am tired of dancingmerely to the beat. teach me something else.

of course! l'll teach youa new song today. where did you learn dance? ''no! call it nritya,by its traditional name!'' who taught you nritya?- lambu maharaj. l've never heard ofthat name before. many talented artistes areunrecognised by the world. even l am unrecognised butfor you and your mother. my teacher always said... a true artiste hankers notfor his name but his art.

come! let's practice! o krishna! why doesthou force me? let go! let go! let go of my hand! no! no! not like that! don't call me when l amieaving? it's bad luck! nothing happens whenchildren call out. keep quiet! no one askedyou to interfere! where are you going?- to a birthday party.

what is that bird's neston your head? lt's not a bird's nest.it's a bouffant! even my father had notheard of it. even my father didn't! l got some vegetables. did you get a cook?- l've spread the word. look! better get a cook fast. shobha has threatened to goto her father's house... if we don't get a cook.- then you can also go!

you say that because youknow my parents are dead. she gets started the momentl get home. wait! wait! here are the papers.- where's the change? change? you gave me 2 rupees.this cost 1.95 ! where's the remainingfive paise? why do you lock yourselfup in the house? go out and take some exercise. can anyone exercise onan empty stomach?

no one has even offered mewater in the entire day. don't call her! or no onewill get dinner tonight. krishna! eveyone calls outto her! why can't they call outto their wives? henpecked husbands! why werethey all born in my house? pintu! where are you hiding? pintu! come here!- father will scold me. ''no, he wiill not.'' this is not liquor.it's medicine.

didn't l tell youin the evening... not to enter my room?- yes! why? because l drink?- yes! this is a house!not a pub! come on! teaching me? is this a schooland am l your student? aren't you ashamed to drinkin front of children? can't you drink behindclosed doors? you must bear it if youwant to stay together. and you people should alsoheed us sometimes

yes sir! what must we do? this is a serious matter. what will you feel if healso drinks openly... in the presence ofyour daughter? what do you mean? l drinkwith my own money! he's drinking in his room!not on the streets! that's all that's left.- what?! how dare you?! go somewhere else ifyou don't like it. that's what l'm going to do!can anyone stay here?

what's going on? idiots! l am not dead as yet!it's my house! what do you think it is?a marketplace? why are you interfering?go! go inside! no! you can all go out! the house and jewelley!as if they will go! what's this noise?- there's the great composer. you also get married.- why? the fights will becomemore colourful.

the fights are alreadyvey colourful. will you heed my advice? change the name of the houseto ashantl niwas. worthless idiot! l heard you needed a cook? ''someone to cook food?- yes, yes!'' a man has come on his owniooking for work. call your aunts! for themgod will have come. go inside!

aunt shobha! aunt seeta!come down quickly! what is it?- look who has come! who has come?- a cook! heard that? a cook! who sent you?- l came on my own! will any personstand guarantee for you? only criminals needa guarantee. no! l didn't meant that. this is raghu.

where did you work before?- with dr. b.c. the chief ministerof west bengal! but he's dead.- yes. where did you work next?- with mr naik. which mr naik?- v.p. naik. maharashtra's chief minister?! l cooked food there!l'll cook here. the same vegetablesand grains. ''whoever eats it, the potatowill always be a potato.''

''a potato is a potato, my dear!where l eat it or a bear!'' you seem to be vey poetic. what can you cook? all kinds of indian food!chinese and continental! we don't like foreign food!we like simple indian food. ''true! whatever else you do,you should eat what you like.'' there is no end to indian food. l know how to make 300kinds of chutneys. one for evey dayof the year.

the point is: how longwill you last? does anyone know youin this neighbourhood? no! but l know eveyone. you are mr ramnath! head clerkwith rupam pustak company. mr vishwanath is assistant tocomposers rajnikant-nyarelal. mr kashinath teaches atthe ramratan school. you are a great scholar!it is said... ''a king is worshippedonly in his county, but...'' ....a scholar is worshippedin evey county.

where did a cook like youiearn sanskrit? l once worked for sanskritscholar rahulshanti dayan. l was honoured toiearn sanskrit from him. l hope you're not lying. first fix the salay?- start with forty! forty! no! no! in timesof such inflation! you give me thirty rupees. l know times are difficult. ''come on! show me the kitchen.or else, you'll be late.''

pintu! what are you eating? here's an indian chocolate!- no! no! lt's good. it has jaggeyand indian herbs. good for your health andhelps digestion too that's a great formula. l'll make a formulationfrom herbs for you. your health will improvein a month! it's said: ''herbs are important in ahouse without a mother'' lt is also said: herbs cannever harm one's health!

where did you study ayurveda? tfrom the noted ayurvedchandrashekhar thakur. l was with him for a few days. what's in the bag? ''a gift from mother annapurna,the goddess of food.'' annapurna?- let's see! lt's a strange stoy. ''one day l was sleeping hungyby the river ganga, in kashi.'' mother annapurna appeared inall her gloy in my dream.

she was holding a silvervessel and smiling. ''she said, my child! eat!'' l put out my hands and wasat once reminded... of all the hungypeople in the world. ''l said, l'll eat if eveyonegets enough to eat.'' mother said: there's no foodscarcity in this world. but man has become his ownenemy and is... ....snatching each other'sfood! what can l do? correct!- quiet! then?

l at once fell at her feetand said: l don't know about that!arrange food for eveyone! she said: let go of me!l said: no! she said: raghu!l said: mother! suddenly she hurled thevessel at me. l fell unconscious. when l recovered she had goneand l was holding the vessel. l made these utensilsfrom that vessel. so many utensils fromjust one vessel?

lt was no ordinay vessel!it belonged to mother! come on! lt's vey slippey here! yes! we told the sweeperso often but... why tell him? l'll do it!- no! it's not yourjob! lt's a real pleasure to dosomething for someone. ls there coconut coir?- yes! yes! now no one will fall evenif he dances on it. come on! show me the kitchen!

l think he is mad. someone who knows aboutthe entire house... ....won't he know that thebox under father's bed... ....has jewels worth lakhs? dresses like a militayman or a ward boy. advice in sanskritat evey stage. l think he's suspicious. yes! no one can be trusted!we must keep an eye! l'm sure eveyone eats beforegoing to the office...

what should l cook? what will you cook? there aresome bananas and suran! bananas and suran? do we have turmeric?- yes! good! then l'll make somekebab with this suran! these bananas can be madeinto dum pukth! what?- dum pukth! what fun! now let's call eveyone herefor tea. we'll have hot tea andgentle conversation...

l am afraid!- yes! ls he a tantrik?- he seems so! saw how he cut the vegetables? grandpa! tea! l'll fetch teaat 5.30 eveyday! l got it only whenmy wife was alive. ''you get up early, so youmust get your tea early.'' ''you are a stranger and yetyou understand, but...'' my own people don'tunderstand this. of course they understand.

aunt seetajust told me togive you tea early. l can't believe seeta said it. ''ln any case, whether shesays it or not...'' ....hot tea in the morningis really wonderful. of course you'll get it!l am here to serve you! first l'll give you a massageand then hot tea. krishna! lay out the covers!tea will be served here. today's tea is like theprophet mohammad. ''lf he cannot come here,we must go to him!''

so! lay out the covers sothat tea can be served. come! sit!- tea! hot tea! wonderful! which tea is this? the same tea whichyou always drink. this is the first timel realised that... ....tea also has fragrance. you talk as if you've beengetting trash eveyday. l was blaming the previous cookand not you. your tea undoubtedly would bea heavenly experience.

raghu! your tea is excellent! careful! he may say that heworked with mr lipton! ''lt's the truth! if you wish,write to miss denzongpa...'' of resham bhavan inbombay and ask her... ....who taught me to make tea.tfrom darjeeling! the tea of miss denzongpa?- both! give some tea to the aunts. no! we'll drink it later. why? it's so nice when thewhole family eats together.

these small things seem as ifthey have no meaning. actually they mean quite a lot. lt seems as if eveyoneis sharing life. you must have been a philosopherin your past life. past life? do l look veystupid in this life? no! no! give me anothercup of tea! no! no more tea! have youriunch and go to school. the eldest brother willuse the bathroom first. heard that? learn from it!

shobha! we've to washthe utensils! why? l'll do it.- no! it's not yourjob. eveyone does his own job. the real pleasure is in doingsomeone else's job. l'll get paid for myjob.the matter ends there! but doing work for someonewill earn me real merit. such merit is invaluable. l won't give up this meriteven for a double salay. shobha! will it be edible?

tasty! get me some moremutton kebabs! aunty! give them somemore mutton kebabs! ln the meantime l'll fixup grandpa's meal. when did he go to the marketto fetch mutton? lt's not mutton!they are suran kebabs! how is it that you cannotmake out the difference? cooking is also an art. a good cook can make surantaste like mutton. and even mutton becomes...- suran!

forget it! don't tease! who's it?- the two of us! which two?- the ovaltine and l ! good morning! ovaltine! ''who are you?- the new cook, meeta.'' who told you my name? lt's written on thatcertificate there. you dance kathak?- who told you? that picture there!- are you a cook or a detective?

a cook! now get ready fast!guruji will be here. ''my respects, guruji!- hello!'' will you have some tea?- of course! a cup of fresh tea improvesthe body and the mind. yes! right. and gives energy forthe body to dance! yes! lt keeps the bodyto fine fettle! what's fine fettle?- slim and trim.

why do you speak suchchaste urdu? even you speak veychaste hindi. that's because hindi isour own language. urdu is also our language. hindi and urdu are sisters!like you and me! what? we are sisters?- no! we are brothers! like brothers stay togethercan't sisters do that? ln staying together canthe nation progress. ''l mean, move ahead!- of course!''

may l leave?- of course. meeta will be here soon. krishna! ovaltine!- for me? ''why not? if meeta canhave it, why not you?'' meeta has to work hard!study! dance! even you have tostudy so hard. nonsense! l've been tyingto solve this for an hour. let me see!- you won't understand algebra. let's see! divide bothsides by (a-b) !

a square minus b squareis equal to (a-b) (a+b). divide it and take itssquare root. simple! where did you learn algebra? l worked for a mathematician!he was half crazy. he said pure mathematics gavethe greatest pleasure. l had to learn algebraor give up myjob. well! it proved to beof some use today. don't tell anyone orl'll lose myjob. let it be!- give it to me!

eveyone does hisown work but... ....real pleasure is in doingsomeone else's work. kashi! after many days l'llreach the office on time. quick! open your mouth! the outlook changes when foodis good and given on time. grandpa! lunch is ready!- so early? ''we are not britishers to havebreakfast, lunch and dinner.'' come on! it will get cold. you've reminded me ofmy wife once again.

do you know how tomake brinjals? why not? but l'll make abetter dish for you. l'll make sukto.- what? ''sukto! made from brinjals,bananas and bitter gourd.'' a bengali lady taught me!vey tasty! come on! heard me? krishna! is hestill here or gone? who?- raghu! still here! raghu is either a saintor a big crook. he bought so much stuffin just two rupees.

be alert. both don't stay atone place for too long. the saint will bless you whilethe thief will cheat you. ls he still there?- raghu? yes. wait! wait!- what happened? here are some lemon piecesand some coca cola. lt will taste great.- it's moonshine. taste it and see!plus the fried lentils. lf you must drinkthen drink in style. l'll draw the curtains orpintu will turn up.

the real fun of drinkingis to drink alone. where did you learnall this? l worked for a film lyricist!now don't ask his name. wasn't it fantastic?- wonderful! you work so hard at the officeand wory about the house. how will you survive if youdon't drink a little? relax! l'll go. can l get some tea?- here you are! tea and a little surprise!scrambled eggs!

how can anyone drink only teaafter working so hard? something to eat and look atand the soul is calmed. what a thought! vey poetic!did you work for a poet? l worked for poet laureteranjan who often said: what does the word happy mean? lt is simple to be happy. what does all of it mean?- you don't know? lt means finding happinessis simpler than simplicity. wonderful! how lovely!

l just quoted it withoutreally understanding. l must touch your feet! ranjan said it is the smallthings that matter the most. the husband earns while thewife looks after the house. when the husband comes homeand helps his wife... ''....cleaning the utensils,how nice it will...'' ''the wife will refuse to let himdo it, but...'' ''....in her heart, she willwant him to stay with her.'' these are the small thingsthat matter in life.

we waste all this waitingfor some big happiness. the big happinesses arenot too many but... these small happinessesare countless. whom am l talking to? youare yourself a scholar. please forgive me. what is this? eggs again? even a hen will be boredeating so many eggs. have some kebabs today. normally nothing is servedwith tea in this house.

eat it! give these eggsto your elder brother. why?- he'll like it. no! he'll suspect me.- why? l've never given him a peanutand now a whole egg. won't he suspect? he'll thinkl've a vested interest. then give it to krishna. ''look! at this moment, l wantto build up a sad mood.'' but why ? because l want to composea sad song.

may l help you?- what do you know of music? l worked for some time withpandit omkarnath thakur. there l learned musicthrough imitation. l really like sad songs. happy songs are momentaylike colourful sparklers. sad songs are like incensewhich leaves a fragrance. you talk just like a poet. ''what is it, uncle?- sit and eat eggs.'' think you're the hero!- l? no! no!

l know! if you could be a herowhy would you be a cook? l said just think of it!will it cost money? suppose you are in love witha girl from your village. you go to the city tostudy further. when you return the girlis already married. the girl's bridal processioncrosses the returning hero. he looked at the palanquinand their eyes met. how do you know this? this is what happens in films!the hero starts singing!

no! this is where the filmbecomes off-beat. the song is sungby the cart-driver. may l play this tanpura? what is life without you? ''blossoming flowers willwither again'' ''lnspite of the rain myheart is on fire'' ''ever since you're upset with me,my beloved'' life is silence without you the world has become my enemy

who will share my sorrow? my own tears fall on my clothes whom shall l tell... what l have suffered ''what shall l say ifthe world asks'' who broke my heart? who is responsible for this? ''lnspite of the rain my heartis on fire'' wonderful! forget cooking andbecome a playback singer.

no! no! but manna deysings vey well. get him to sing this song. whose song is it?- mine! l just made it up. not the tune! the words! mine! l wrote themas l went along. now you'll say that youworked for mirza ghalib! even my father had notbeen born then. but l was with rabindranathtagore at shantiniketan. tagore? what's your age?- thirty.

when did tagore die?- 1941. l must go now!- wait! tagore passed away in 1941!that's 30 years ago. lf you're 30 now when didyou learn poety? what kind of a hindu are you? don't you knowabout abhimanyu? the one who learned how tobreak a chakravyuha... when he was still inhis mother's womb. l was in the womb when mymother was at shantiniketan.

the rest of the stoyl will tell you later. l must give grandpa his dinner. shall l get you dinner?- yes. come! wash your hands!- who was singing? your musical son.- a vey sweet song. of course! after allwhose son is he? now get up! ''please sit down! you singvey well, mr ramnath.'' no! my younger brotheris a good singer.

what's the matter? nowadays you come early andseem to be vey happy. the point is: there ispeace at home. o yes! l want that reportby this evening. ''you can have it now, sir.'' please bring the balance sheetsl had asked for. he's been asking for thosebalance sheets for 2 days. l've tried my best but stillcannot balance them... that is why l came early soas to do them but...

it looks like l'lliose myjob today. don't wory. l saw you wereagitated for many days! so l came early today andtallied the balance. are you happy?- yes! even l am happy! do youknow what raghu says? he says: eveyone does thejob alloted to them... but the real pleasure...go! he must be waiting. what is this?- you saved me! go! he's calling you!- all right.

yes sir?- mr ramnath... l am vey happy with your work. l am giving you a rs.30increment and.... a three-year extension. thank you vey much!- best of luck! krishna! bring the clothesfrom the terrace. here they are. what? you brought them?and also ironed them? yes. l was free and sol ironed them.

didn't you like it?- yes! it made me happy. l am even more happy becausel made you happy. there's no greater happinessthan making others happy. help aunt seeta and see howhappy it will make you. o god! help me! what's wrong? the same old pain! l wishl could cut away my legs! wait! l'll heat up someoil for massage! wait! there's no need for it.hand me that balm!

where is it?- the same place. give! l'll do it. how it has swollen!really bad! l'll ask him to take you tothe vrajeshwari springs. the sulphur waters will doyou a world of good. what's wrong? is it painful? even my daughter did notserve me like this. am l an outsider?- you're like my daugther. god has made such wonderfulthings on this earth.

he has made sulphur springsto combat disease. god has also givenus disease. had this pain not been therewho needed the springs? pain reminds people of godbut you're cursing him! what else? he would know painif he had legs and... had to climb up and downthe stairs twenty times. did you call me?- yes! how come you did not bringcoca cola and lemon? you don't need them.- why?

your face makes it obvious.- what does it show? why does a man drink?to get rid of wory. lf a person can getrid of his wory... ....his happiness is so greatthat he doesn't need to drink. today your face shows thatyou are vey happy. you're right!there's vey good news! l've been given an increment!thirty rupees more! plus a three-year extension. let's distribute the sweets.

no! these sweets are for you!it's all because of you. look! don't tell anyone.- why? it's good news. happiness increaseswhen it is shared. that is if the listenersare large-hearted. what are you saying? who'll be jealous of you?- all of them! just this morning kashi saidhow unlucky he was that... ....he couldn't help you andyou had to work at this age. how he wished he couldtell you to retire...

....so that he could earn andserve you in your old age. did kashi say that?- don't you believe it? no! no! l know that kashiioves me vey much. once while playing l fouledand the referee expelled me. after that kashi gave thereferee such a thrashing. when l forbade him do youknow what he said? yes! l know! l know! elder brother said that lwas worthless and... had not given a rupee morein three years.

wrong! infact he was praising you.- praising me? what nonsense! just this morning he told me:look at kashi. what a brilliant student he was. l should have sent himto oxford or cambridge... ''but worthless that l am,l could do nothing for him.'' lt is said that the elderbrother is like a father. l could do nothing for him;not even stitching a suit. did he say that?- of course!

don't you believe me?- it's not that... once while playing hockeyhe was expelled... and you thrashedthe referee badly! yes! yes!- who told me? elder brother. ''whatever it is, you shouldnot beat the referee.'' why not? he was cheating. he had taken money toexpel elder brother. know why? because he wasthe best player! but elder brother wasbeing dishonest.

don't you dare call mybrother dishonest. he's like a god!l am the worthless chap. he has to work evenat this age. l can't even tell himto relax... while l work and lookafter the house. ''so what? we all want to doa lot in life, but can't.'' can't we make up for itby giving our love? now look! today elder brotherhas got an increment. who told you?- elder brother.

how much?- thirty rupees. thirty rupees! now what went wrong? brother! l am going.- first come in. no! l am leaving the house. why?- l can't bear the humiliation. even l've self-respect!how much can l bear? who humiliated you?- you! ''l ?-yes, you!''

how have l humiliated you?- you got an increment? how is it your humiliation?- of course it is! you've got an increment andan outsider tells me. why? couldn't you tell me? l don't want to stay wherethe cook gives me... information aboutmy own brother! listen! come here! when could l tell you?l've just come in. ''l happened to meet raghuon the way, so...''

lt is not only an incrementbut a three-year extension! what? you are a miser. such good news and you'reoffering me one sweet? the full box is mine!- listen! l must give sweets to the others. l'll get them sweets butthis box is mine. still behaves like a child. now you're readyfor your walk. where is it?- what?

my walking stick.- there it is. go grandpa. go for awalk in the park. what do l say? l am yourelder brother. go! must l do what you say?- yes! that's duty. now don't teach me about my duty.l've my principles. l don't like this argument.l said: go first! you've an intellectual job.not pen-pushing like me. what does the job haveto do with all this? l said: go!

even as a child you couldnot hold on for long. even you take a long time. listen! you decide whilel use the toilet. go on! show your chivaly!we're left behind. shobha!- what is it? what is this? fried peanuts!who made them? who made fried peanutsfor you in the past? raghu won't even let me gointo the kitchen. he has gone out todayso l made them. eat!

why did you take the trouble?isn't the gout painful? of course! that's raghu! he won't let us do anything.just eat and sleep. lf this goes on l won't evenget out of bed. yes! my weight has gone upby ten pounds. ''lf raghu stays on, l'llalso become like you.'' we'll have to do something!but first eat. why so many lemon pieces?- because you like them sour. that was because l wasexpecting pintu then.

how much you loved me then!just like my own mother. you don't love me now.- silly! l still love you. you were a child then! nowyou're a child's mother! you wouldn't sit in one place then.always dancing about. dance is worship.practice will bring success. you must stand first in thisyear's dance competition. lt's a matter of our honour. a matter of honour. shall we begin?

''what happened, guruji?- our worship is disturbed.'' how?- look there! what are you doing here?- nothing! just like that! ls this a circus?- no! watching you dance. brainless idiot! get lost! now shall you go orshall l thrash you? sory guruji! god knowsfrom where she came! what happened? l am suresomething has happened. tell me!

''lf nothing has happened,why are you cying?'' ''l'll tell you, grandpa.'' krishna was watchingmeeta dance. meeta was annoyed and usedvey strong language. what is there toget annoyed? their worship was disturbed. worship was disturbed? is shesome heavenly dancer? her arrogance has crossedall bounds. raghu! you are a manof many talents.

''lf you break her arrogance,l'll give you 25 paise.'' 25 paise?- all right. 50 paise. ls that a promise?- of course! wonderful! wonderful! quietly... he bullies me ''my fair wrist...he grabbed'' on the banks of the jamuna... ''why dost krishnathou force me?''

''let go, let go'' let go of my hand tears flow from my eyes... ''what can l do?my heart won't listen to me'' tears flow from my eyes ''evey moment, l wait for my beloved'' ''evey moment,l wait for my beloved'' ''lnto the evenings,l call out to him'' ''on the banks of the jamuna,l look for him''

''l shed so many tears,like a river flowing'' ''ln the riveris my beloved'' ''like the lotus,he smiles at me'' he won't come to me ''where will l go...?what will l do?'' l'm so vey restless l shed tears what happened? did meetabring home the trophy? not only meeta! krishnahas also won a prize!

yes! this time krishnahas come first. when did krishna learn dance? that's because she'sa natural artiste. so you are the new teacher? l had once worked withguru illappa pillai. he taught me a little dance. you're incomparable! here's 25 paise.- the reward was 50 paise. ''yes, but l didn't promiseto give it all at once.''

keep it! l'll give youthe rest later. please forgive me! had l known it wouldhurt you so much... ....l would never haveagreed to doing this. l was fond of dancing but didn'twant to compete with you. this trophy has given memore pain than happiness. because you felt bad. ''l didn't want tohurt you, but...'' both grandpa andraghu insisted!

when did you learn dance?- raghu taught me in ten days. yes! raghu is a magician!why not learn from him? will he teach me?- why not? this man is always willingto teach and learn. ln ten days? can anyone learn in ten days?it takes a lifetime! you've got to be a good humanand then a good artiste. only a good human canbe a good artiste. should l speak the truth?

''you're a greater artiste thankrishna, but you lack one thing.'' what?- humility! arrogance can never makeyou a good artiste. an artiste should be likea fruit-laden branch. ''the more the fruits,the more it bends.'' will you teach me dance? sure! on one condition!congratulate krishna! not like that!kiss her on the cheek. now come down! eveyone iswaiting for dinner!

will you teach me to cook?l don't know anything. that's the easiest and mostsatisfying job. the taste reveals thequality of food. ls anyone there?- wait! meeta go and see! what is it?- what's up? what?- you! from the kitchen? that has never happenedin this house till now. l am learning to cook.- wonderful! what about the bird's nest?- the bird took it away!

send raghu upstairs.- yes! raghu. father is calling you. ''keep a watch! when it turns brown,add the vegetables.'' guruji! what's the use ofteaching meeta dance? why?- krishna got the medal! your daughter hascome second. krishna did not eveniearn dance. ''no, madam! no one can learnwithout being taught!'' then meeta can also watchsomeone and learn.

you are not needed!you may go. where will we study?grandpa is sleeping. even this room is closed. let's go to the park.- all right! krishna! you must not gowithout permission. how can l help it? theexams are also nearing. shall we go and studyin my room? all right? l've been waiting while youwere busy at the gymnasium.

becoming the gym secretay islike become the health minister. please don't get angy!forgive your slave! the court has been adjournedand all my slaves freed. start! the court is adjournedand all my slaves freed! let me see the book!- not from the book! let me see!- no! say it from memoy. sister! come here!- what happened? come with me! come!

what will be the reward? taking your lovely handsin my own hands... l will weave aroundthem bangles of flowers. to wash your delicate feetwith ashoka leaves... what's going on? what's this? shameless girl! killed herparents and now... wants to bring us dishonour! speak up! speak!- we were studying. yes! as if we did not see!what do you think?

please listen!- you keep quiet. how dare you do this!how dare you! we were studying.- liar! the moment you slept youbrought him upstairs. where are you going? l'm going tohand you over to the police. grandpa! krishna is beingbeaten by her aunts! what happened?- they are upset... because she took arun to her room. they should be! why did shetake him to her room?

you were sleeping here soshe took him upstairs. you ty to help someoneand he criticises you. look! l am an outspoken man!l don't like this! you should be ashamedof yourself. lnstead of giving this poorinnocent girl love... eveyone is oppressing her! l will resign! no! no! those two womenwill die of shock. l cannot bear to seekrishna's condition.

may l ask you something? youare the man of the house. ''lf anyone should beat her,then it should be you.'' raghu! get me my cane!- will you beat krishna? no! the other two! l amthe man of the house! that won't be necessay!just scold them. that will be enough! lock her up in the room!no food from today. looks vey innocent butare these your deeds? what a dirty mind you have!- what! how dare you!

talk from a distance.- get out of this house! no decent man will everwant to come back. heard that?- she encourages him! how long has this beengoing on? speak! what's going on in this house? how often have we told younot to encourage her! keep quiet! l know evemhing!who are you to beat her? ''what are you saying? she isopenly, in this house...'' lt is my house! get out!

don't know how to give love!you can only beat her! ls this your father's house? go! are you going? why didn't you wake me up? what's this? still sleeping?are you unwell? why don't you answer me?do you have fever? go away!- what happened? what will you do? your fathercursed our father today. what? cursed your father?

he said: is this yourfather's house? why did father say that? krishna took arun to her roomand was enjoying herself. what? enjoying herself!? yes! the eyes heard itand the ears saw it! yes! the eyes saw it andthe ears heard it! j''when we scolded heryour father said that.'' what? how dare she! why call her? go andtell your father!

how can we tell him?he's the owner! lt's better to die thanstay in this house! shobha! don't cy! l willgo and ask him at once! don't cy! l'll deal with it! heard it?- yes! we must ask father! where are you going?- to father. heard it? grandpa scoldedboth the aunts today. what fun!- what's the fun? lsn't it nice when eldersscold you? l like it.

lt shows that they loveand care for you. have you ever heard anyonescolding the neighbours? one scolds the personone loves the most. true! that doesn't mean hewill say what he likes! no! now that's wrong! your wife is also hisdaughter-in-law. ''pintu is your son! if grandpascolds him, will you object?'' that's wrong! tomorrow whenpintu gets married... ....won't you have a rightto scold his wife?

''lf you scold her and he comesto you, what will you say?'' get lost! hen-pecked husband! ''lf grandpa has over-stepped,think of his age.'' lt is not the aunts' mistake.theyjust scolded arun. lt is the boy's mistake!- why talk to father? raghu! that boy must nevercome back to this house... tell him those are our orders. my god!- what happened? my cury is burned!

raghu is right.- these wives poison our ears. as if we have no individualentity of our own. what?- entity! being! what's that?- it means... l am me. of course you're you!you cannot be me! you've gone mad teachingall those students. why are you sitting here?come down. he'll never come again!how will l study? leave that to me.l'll fix evemhing.

smile and behave as ifnothing has happened. how can l smile when myaunts are angy? leave that to me!do as l say! go and touch their feetand ask to be forgiven. why? l've not done wrong. so what? why be ashamed ofsaying sory to them? ''trust me, my sister!'' beat her? because she tookarun to her room? even l go to parties aloneand come home late...

but you never saidanything to me. you beat her for sucha small reason. only because shehas no parents. ''lf you had beaten me,l would leave the house.'' l'll drop her at her uncle'splace tomorrow. no! l won't go there! if thosewho have brought me up... ''have no place for me, then...'' l should have diedwith my parents. heard that? talking likethis at twilight!

l've done nothing to makeyou ashamed of me. may l die on the spotif l am speaking a lie. l'll slap you if you talklike that again! silly! silly girl! ''dawn is here.darkness is gone'' dawn drives the darkness away the world gets light my heart sings with joy ''darkness is here...darkness disappears''

''the earth rejoices.the gardens are mery'' ''the naughty beekisses the rose-buds'' the rays smile... ''the blue skiesappear beautiful'' ''with a message,the sun rises in the east'' ''he who bears the burden of work,gets to share the fruit of labour'' ''share your happiness together.have fun together'' ''a new spring is here...iet the flowers blossom'' ''think of one anotherand you will enjoy lifeã­'

''days you will spend in merriment,you will be jo_ul'' ''one gets just whatone gives another being'' ''with a message,the sun rises...'' ''he who bears the burden of work,gets to enjoy the fruit of labour'' ''this is what thenew dawn tells you...'' ''stop fightingovers yours and mine'' ''a broken pitcheris all they cary...'' ''those wouldn'tshare their water'' ''do today, anythingthat you have to''

remember these words of wisdom ''for lost timesnever come back'' ''my son!- yes, father!'' ''speak in our language!- yes, father.'' ''greetings to you, father.'' victoy to india! the morning rays are coming! the happy days are coming! ''greetings to you, father!''

greetings to eveyone! the time to fetch water has come ''there is a crowd on thebanks of the jamuna'' ''the time to fetchwater has come'' ''o friend! let's fill thepots with water'' ''with the tinklingof their anklets'' where are you? sleeping?we are ruined! what happened?- go to your room and see! the jewelley and cashhas been stolen.

all that l had kept aside foryour marriage is stolen. how often did l tell you tokeep evemhing in the bank. but who listens to me? even atsixty you treat me as a child! what happened?- the jewelley is stolen. did you notice something?- what? the lock was openedand not broken. which means the thiefis an insider. meeta! where is raghu?- he's not to be seen. he won't be seen either!- why?

first b.c. roy. then v.p.naik!then omkarnath thakur! now he must be working atthe president's house! president's house?- for mrs indira gandhi. the president's house isthe president's residence. what do you mean?- vey simple. do you know that it isnine in the morning? didn't you smell a strangeodour while getting up? l also had a heavy head. raghu made us unconsciousand committed this theft.

no! ls this your box? yes! but how did you get it? l was going to the gym whenl saw raghu with this box. l suspected something was wrongand challenged him. suddenly he hit out at meand ran away with it. l followed him and therewas a fight between us. a crowd collected and raghuran away leaving the box. ''the box is yours, isn't it?- yes, my son!''

you saved us! it has jewelsworth lakhs of rupees. you're all worthless! this isthe boy you threw out! we've made a major mistake. today you've proved how wrongwe can be in recognising people. yes! we thought raghu wasso honest and decent. he was so philosophical!- how else could he cheat us? we should have realisedat the vey beginning. who will be readyto work in just rs.30 ? someone who also knew allabout music and dance.

how he made us all dance.- l thought he was tantrik. but he turned out to bea low-down thief! thank god he wasnot a murderer. he could have killed bothof you in our absence. we should inform the police. such a criminal must bearrested at once. ''had l caught him, l would'vebeaten him black and blue.'' enough! don't say such thingsabout poor raghu.

raghu is a god! l had sworn not totell this to anyone. whatever happens to mel must say this. l told you a lie! this morning whenl was exercising... l came to exercise! l've heardyou're a wrestling champion. l've won the inter-collegiateaward in consecutive years. must be some fool! defeat meand l'll accept it! l'm a free-style champion!you'll get hurt.

even l'm a champion!each to his own style! take off your clothes!- no! it tickles. l'll wrestle withmy clothes on. ''help me, o god!'' wonderful! excellent make-up!no! don't take it off! you've a greater matchto fight and win. what do you mean?- l'll explain. come in. take it.- what is it? grandpa's jewelley box!give it to him.

tell him: raghu was runningaway with it when you saw him. there was a fight andyou saved it from him. why this drama? this drama will allow youto re-enter the house. there is no need for meto re-enter the house. there is a need! for krishna! she has no one in this worldexcept you. ''lf not for yourself! for hersake, you must go there.'' ''ln this world, good is alwaysweighed against money.''

that is why l havestolen the box. so that you can go back to thathouse and make krishna happy. but this lie? don't get too involvedwith truth and lies. whatever is done for the goodof man can never be bad. raghu! who are you? the name is raghu andl am your brother. seriously! who are you? whereare you from? what were you? what will you do with it?- no! l want to know!

l know we'll never meet again. my name is prabhakarand l'm from banaras. even l don't knowmore than that. l don't know who myparents were. l look upon myself as a sonof this soil and county. an elderly man raised me andhe is my friend and guru. he taught me one thing:life is happiness and... ....happiness is gainedfrom knowledge. acquire knowledge anddistribute it.

l acquired knowledge andthought l was clever. l became a professor. l learned music and danceand was vey happy. ''l loved to eat,so l learned cooking.'' l was extremely happyand self-contained. one day l asked myself:for whom is this happiness? just for myself? when thiswhole world is unhappy? when people are pesteredby small dilemmas? that is because peoplehave forgotten love.

l asked myself: what am lteaching? just talk? l gave up teaching. l found a house which hadevemhing but peace. l took up a position as aservant in that house. l did not teach them anythingbut merely reminded them... ....of the small thingsthey had forgotten. all l did was brush away thedust that had gathered. they knew peace and happiness!my own happiness increased. that then became my mission.

l went from one houseto another till l came here. eveyone is happy exceptmy little sister. her happiness is in your handsand l came to ask you for it. may the lord bless you. one more thing. do as l say!don't tell anyone this. ''now whether you accept meor not, l don't care.'' but please don't say suchthings about raghu. raghu has done a lot for us!can't we fulfill his wish?

l am the head of this house. l give her hand in yours. will you go away like thiswithout even tellling us? you gave us so much love!doesn't it mean anything? no! it is painful to leaveafter such involvement. but what can be done?l must go! why? why must you go? your house is settled butthere are many houses... which still need me.l must go. it's my mission.

both of you can dothe work l am doing. give your loveamongst the people. save them from their dilemmas. thus we will developa small force of workers. soon this world will becomea beautiful place. there will be so much peace. ''may l leave now, my sister?'' be happy and at peace. raghu went out in searchof another unhappy home.

we hope that house willnot be your house.