Poverty and Luck by BR Sunkara (classic novels .TXT) 📖

Poverty and Luck

Poverty and Luck

BR Sunkara

 

Luck is event or events that influence one's life and are seemingly beyond one's control. Luck is something purposeless, unpredictable and uncontrollable force that shapes events favorably or unfavorably for an individual, group or cause. So it may be good or bad. Luck is just good luck. Luck is a chance. In the prescriptive sense, luck is a supernatural and deterministic concept that there are forces like gods or spirits that prescribe that certain events occur very much the way laws of physics will prescribe that certain events occur. It is the prescriptive sense that people mean when they say they "do not believe in luck"

 

I know that after twenty two, luck comes to me searching.

 

Somebody told me this in a way that I have to believe in my luck.

 

"Do not believe in luck. It is in your hard work hidden." My friends said.

 

I don't believe this. I believe in hard work and I believe hard work only brings real luck

 

I came to Madras few years before my twenty two and I have to work hard. I started working hard.

I worked hard for few years and nothing happened.

 

Luck did not spark in my life. I have the dreams of a car, a house and a good family. But I have not even one from all these three. I know all these three come together. I don't have a bike at least. I don't know where the luck is hidden.

 

I am working in a Fruit juice shop in the city where I get food and shelter plus thousand rupees a month. I know how to work hard. If I have a place, I can start my own Fruit juice shop. I don't have the minimum need to start my own business, so I remained as a worker in the juice stop.

 

I know, my twenty two has finished. But Luck has not come till now.

 

It is midsummer and the sun is burning people with thirst. I saw the old man sitting at the shop. He is so much hungry and thirsty. He is seeing at my face. I understood that he needs something to drink,at least some water is enough. I gave a glass of sugar cane juice to the old man.

 

"I have no money to pay you." The old man said.

 

I am wondering at his poverty and said, "No problem. Have this sugarcane juice. You need not pay me anything."

 

He drank and looking at my face, he asked me. "Can you give me ten rupees, I have to eat something."

I gave him fifty rupees note. He wondered.

 

"I know, you are not the owner, you are working here?"

 

I did not see him before. Then how he knows that I am not a owner.

 

"How you know that?" I asked.

 

He smiled at my question. He looked at me and said, "I know something more too, don’t wonder."

 

He paused for a while and he looked again in to my face with curious looks. Then the old man said.

 

"You have two thousand in your inner pocket. That is what you saved from your services in this city. You are a hard worker, but you have no money to invest and start your business."

 

I wondered. Wondered to know that are there people to know what we have in our inner pockets also.

There is no one in the shop. I and old man are two, speaking. Owner will come after five only, only then real business will start.

 

"I don't ask you to believe in luck. But I will give you a copper coin of olden days. Keep it with you, you may get good luck if God wants you to come up." The old man said and he gave me a copper coin.

 

I have kept the coin in my purse and said, "Thank you papa."

 

He is happy and he went away to have some food. After that I did not see him. The old man is gone forever.  I did not see again. I see every day my lucky coin before coming to juice shop.

 

*****

In a month I received my lucky coin from the old man, I saw the luck. But not good, it is bad luck. I lost the job in juice shop, as the owner got a man from his village and he wants to give weight to his village person than me.

 

I tried for job in many places and I could not get. The money with me is not enough to eat and live with no job. So was very careful in spending. Somehow, I could not get a source to work for living.

 

I understood that living is difficult. But I cannot leave the coin. I have confidence on the wonder old man who told me how much money I have in my inner pocket.

 

I am in a nearby city and the last rupee with me is also spent. Yet I have confidence in my luck.

 

I was wondering near a park. I have nothing to eat or nothing to drink.

 

I am thirsty and hungry. I am about to faint. Then I saw the old man who is sitting on the nearby bench, reading the news paper.

 

When I woke up, I am in a posh Bungalow. A garden is there. The old man is near me with a doctor.

 

"Nothing to worry sir, he needs good food. This is under nutrition problem, nothing else." Doctor said and went away.

 

The old man looked at me and said with a smile.

 

"After giving the coin to you, I lost my luck. Do you have the coin with you?' Old man asked me.

 

I wonder at his question. I opened my purse, returned the old copper coin to the old man.

 

Then old man looked at me with a smile.

 

"You know, this old copper coin is peace. When it is with me, I feel peaceful, happy. Physical needs like food, water, shelter are the needs of body and care less for these things. I care much for peace of mind, which I get when this coin is with me. This coin makes me poor and poorer and so become rich and richer with my spiritual power" The old man said.

 

I wondered at his deduction and I said that I really wondered when he said about the money I had in my inner pocket on that day.

 

"I am saying about that only. I was happy in those days and I know what people around me need. I understood that you are in need of money. But I don’t need. I f I get some food some where I eat. If not, I don’t. "old man said.

 

"If that is the truth, why did you ask for ten rupees? Is not to satisfy your physical need called hunger?"

 

I asked, with understanding his philosophy. He again smiled at my question.

 

"You know, I asked just ten rupees. You are very greedy."

 

"Greedy?" I asked as I could not understand him.

 

How I can be greedy by giving someone fifty rupees instead of just ten rupees?

 

He explained me.

 

"I asked that money for you. I want to purchase lottery ticket for you. A ticket costs ten rupees. So I asked just ten rupees. You don't know the purpose of ten rupees, but it reflected as greedy for me as unknowingly you gave me fifty rupees." The old man said with a broad smile.

 

"You have a big house like this, you are so rich. Why you were so poor on that day?" I asked.

 

The old man again smiled.

 

"These riches are not mine. You are rich, my boy. As I told you, I did not use your money for eating something on that day. I have purchased five different lottery tickets in five places for your luck. Your luck smiled and all the five tickets won best prizes"

 

As old man is telling this, I wondered that I am rich.

 

"You are now a multimillionaire and I have invested all the amount in different businesses. I came to give you this money, but I cannot find you. Your juice shop owner told me that you left the job and he does not where you have gone." The old man said.

 

I cannot believe what I am hearing. But truth is something one cannot deny. The old man got all the properties transferred to my name. He did not take even a hundred rupees from this money. He said he is going to spend his days as usual. He again disappeared. My luck came to me from old man's hands.

 

_THE END_

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Text: Sunkara Bhaskara Rao
Images: Sunkara Bhaskara Rao
Editing: Sunkara Bhaskara Rao
Translation: -
Publication Date: 06-22-2015

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