At the Gatekeeper’s cabin he stopped, just to see if there were any mails for House No. A16. As he moved towards the letterbox, Srivasthava (that was the name of the gatekeeper) called him from behind. He turned back to hear, “I suppose you did not hear it?”
“What?” He asked him, a little anxious.
“Ramaji is gone. The body is there at A12.”
As he stood there in the mild shock of having heard about the sad demise of a good neighbour from the same apartment; thoughts of his company kept peeping in. Though Ramaji was 30 years older than him and was 76, he could always give him a good company, sometimes breaking great jokes and some times playing an experienced counselor. Ramaji is survived by his two sons, one daughter and their families. His son with whom he was is an officer in the state Health Department. Ramaji was abed since a week.
As he turned back slowly, Srivasthava added,
“He was a good man always buying the best.”
He told everything as it happened and asked me what a good man has got to do with buying the best. What I thought first was about the purpose of one’s buying something. A purchase can be for a short period or a long period. Long period clearly means that the purchaser has an eye on a chain of people who might use it or he is particular that everybody should have the best quality item. I told my friend that it makes a lot of difference. Purchasing always the best thing means that one has consideration for himself and his family, no doubt. Putting everything in another words, Ramaji should have been a person who loved himself and his family very much. I thought about the latest market trends and throw of articles that keep gushing into any market. Everything is smart. Doesn’t the word also mean short living? Smart things are not the best things at least according to Srivasthava, a poor village man destined to spend his life just opening and closing a gate. His definition of a good man could be ones’ love for others and never the smartness displayed somewhere.
Joseph Mattappally
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