ALL AVOIDABLE TALK

ALL AVOIDABLE TALK
HE was told to avoid all quarrels that day. The stars were out to trouble him, and even
the mildest of his remarks likely to offend and lead to a quarrel. The planets were set
against him, and this terrified him beyond description. Many things that were
prophesied for him lately were coming true. He sat in a corner of a big jeweller's shop
and added up numbers all day. He left it at the end of a day, and on his way home,
dropped in for a moment to exchange tit-bits with a friend near his house, who affected
great knowledge of the stars. Occasionally the friend gave out free prophecies. Many
things that he said came true.
" You will have bother about money matters . . . for a fortnight. Even your legitimate
dues will not reach your hand in time. . . ."
Too true. The usual rent he received from his village by money order went all over
India before coming to him because of a slight error in the addressing. And then his
friend told him : " Saturn will cause minor annoyances in the shape of minor ailments at
home. . . ."
And the following week everyone, from his old mother down to the four-month-old,
went down with cold and fever. He himself felt like taking to bed, but his jeweller chief
would not let him go. And now his friend had told him on the previous evening, " Now, I
see your worst period is coming to an end, but avoid all avoidable talk tomorrow the
whole of Monday. There is always the danger of your irritating others and finding
others irritating."
The moment he opened his eyes and lay in bed, he told himself : " Must not talk to
anyone today who can see where a word will lead ? " He pinched the cheek of the
youngest, patted the back of another, found the boy of seven unwilling to start for
school : was about to shout at him, but decided not to interfere, a happy godsend for
the boy.
His wife appealed : " Why do you allow him to have his own way ? "
He merely shook his head and went off to the bathroom. His daughter had locked
herself in that meant she would not come out for an hour ; she had once again broken
the specific order not to go in to bathe at office time. He tapped the door twice or thrice,
glared at it, and went away and put himself under the tap in the front garden. All
through his dinner he sat with bowed head, maintaining a determined silence,
answering his wife's questions with a curt " Yes " or " No/* While starting for his office it
was his usual practice to stand in the passage and ask for a little betel-nut and leaves,
with a cynical remark that they might have consideration for a man who had to catch
an early tram. . . .
Today he stood on the threshold waiting to see if anyone would serve him and stepped
out into the street, with the reflection : " If they have not the sense to do a piece of
regular duty without reminder ... I won't chew betel, that is all. . . ."
The tram was crowded as usual. Somebody stood on his toe. He bore it patiently. The
tram conductor pushed him aside and uttered rude remarks for standing in the way. He
kept quiet. The inspector who hopped into the tram for checking would not budge at
the rjiagic word " Pass " but insisted on seeing it, and fretted and swore while Sastri
fumbled with his buttons and inner pocket. Sastri never uttered a word, and bore it like
a martyr.
At the office he was only two minutes late, but his employer, already seated on his
cushion, glared at him and behaved as if he had been two hours late. Sastri stood
before him dumb, listening patiently to all the charges. " You stand there like a statue,
saying nothing, it must be very convenient, I suppose . . ." said his employer, looking
him up. " What has come over you ? " nearly escaped Sastri's lips, but he checked
himself as he came to " What has . . ."
" Eh ? " demanded his employer.
" What is ... What is the time now, sir ? " he sked.
" You ask me the time ! Go, go to your seat, Sastri, before I am very angry with you. . .
." Sastri slunk back to his place. The routine of office life started. The attendant wiped
and rearranged the showcases : customers started coming in to buy and sell gold
trinkets and jewels, the small fan whirred and gyrated, wafting cool air on his chiefs
face, the other partner came in at about midday and took his seat. The younger son of
the master came in demanding some cash for some extravagance, and went away,
and Sastri sat in his corner surrounded by heavy registers. Looking at the figures in the
pages, he reflected, " Nearly two o'clock ; another eight hours of this place, and the day
will be over."
A customer stopped before him, held up a trinket and asked : " Look here, can this
diamond be taken out and reset in platinum?" Sastri looked dully at the trinket and said
: " You must ask over there." " It's all right, I know that," replied the customer haughtily.
"Answer my question first. . . ." Sastri shook his head. " Evidently you know nothing
about these matters."
" I know nothing," Sastri said.
" Then get out of a shop like this," answered the other, and moved on and sat before
the proprietor. The proprietor presently called, " Sastri, come here."