“NOT ENOUGH!”

                              “NOT ENOUGH!”

Long, long ago, during the pre independent time in India, when the “Zamindari” system was quiet prevalent, there lived this humble landlord who used to treat his employees with respect and care. One day a British officer came to him with an offer to increase his Lands and hence he could make entry into to league of Big Landlords in that area.

The man declined offer. The Brit was bewildered. No one would ever dare to refuse such a lucrative offer. He seek explanation from the man.

“The best treasure in the world is to be contend; greed always paves the way to inferno” he said. The Brit argued that his offer talks about growth not greed. The man countered saying that he already have enough land and more land would increase his worries as it brings with it an extra management effort.

The Brit was shell shocked and couldn’t decipher what he meant. The man understood his dilemma and said, “Well! Let me give you a practical example”

He called his most loyal servant and said to him that he was very happy with his services and would like to gift him the land, that he could cover by walking in one whole day and have to flag it and by evening return to the starting point. He asked him to come tomorrow morning at 4 am, as he would be start walking then.

The servant was very euphoric that Goddess of fortune have suddenly shove red all her blessings on him. On the other hand the other thought that the Landlord has gone insane.

The Brit was invited to witness the event of next day, which he curiously accepted. The servant couldn’t sleep whole night because of excitement. The whole night he kept on planning the whole scenario for “THE DAY”

Next morning, he came early and as soon as the clock strikes 4 am, he started running. He had to return by 5 in evening. He covered 5 km in east till 9am, and then he started walking in west; he flagged 5 km there also. It was 12noon, by then he hadn’t had his breakfast. He sat and then thought what a waste of time it would be, if he sit and eat. But when he couldn’t bare more hunger pangs, he sat there, in 10 minutes and galloped his food.

He again started walking north, he covered 3km more. The sun was high in the sky and his body was feeling the pain of exhaustion. At one moment he thought, that he had cover enough land and new he should rest for a while and retreat, but another thought followed, driving him to cover at least 2 more kilometres and if he achieved that landmark, then he would have enough land to be counted among local Zamindars. The time was running, his body was dehydrated and exhausted and he had to make a decision under the scotching equatorial sun.

The clock was almost about to stung 5, but the man was nowhere to be seen near the finishing line. The Zamindar and the British officer waited there for one more hour, but the man still couldn’t make to the finishing line. There was a rescue team of four person send in four different directions.

After the search of 3 hours, the man was found unconscious on the ground near a well, 5 km away from the finishing line. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared, “BROUGHT DEAD” and in his death certificate the cause of death mentioned was, Dehydration.

At his funeral, the Zamindar and the Brit officer stood there looking at his burning pyre. The Zamindar turned towards the officer and said, “How much land do we actually need?”

The Brit officer understood what he meant in the first place.

“NO PAIN, NO GAIN, ALWAYS PLAY A BIG GAME”

Well! This was the philosophy of the man, around whom the whole story revolves. It was his pet line, “No pain, No gain, always play a big game.” And actually he really played a very big game.

It started 13 years back. This man was a small businessman, into allopathic medicine wholesale, as God was kind and gave him a little jump. He was an intelligent man, so he utilized the money and started his manufacturing firm. Luck was with him and he had another high jump.

As he grew, he started to have a big circle. He made lots of contacts and he managed his way up, either through his influence or either through money marketing.

He became proud of choices he was making and drinking high on success he thought to start another part time business. He started his own cloth line. He opened one showroom.

Though it was not an instant success, huge amount of money was drained into it. But he was confident enough, revert the bank account sheets. He had started to yearn for success and money.

One of his friend suggested that he should heir a professional who could guide him in his business ventures. So he did.

A MBA was appointed and the very first fad he suggested was to take loan from bank to make a restart.

The man was already charmed by the new MBA and therefore he blindly followed his advice. And hence started the sequence of mortgaging the property he owned and getting a loan sanctioned and opening up the clothing line, even though it was going in losses. Big game, of course there would be little pain; after all it would end up in big gain. This was his motto and it was much aired by new smart-ass MBA. At first his shop was mortgaged, then his factory, followed by his house and ultimately the gold he possessed one after the other he started to lose everything, but you see, it’s like gambling, the person becomes so addict to it that there is always a hope to win it back.

But it is a mirage and till the traveler realizes it, the irreversible damage had been done.

THE FINAL STRAW

Things have changed now. This is 2013 and once so puffed up businessman had gone in severe depts. And lost everything. As the rule of nature, everyone salutes the rising sun and since he was at dusk of his life, his all influential contacts aka so called friends and even that smart MBA deserted him leaving him alone to his miseries.

His day is spent running to offices of lawyers and presenting him in the court of law for the civil cases filed against him by the firms who have given him loan.

He lives in the fear that how the new day will turn out the greed has not brought misery to him but his whole family.

He had written many suicide notes but lack courage to commit one and have had two mild heart attacks in past one year.

No one knows, how it will end, but any person with prudent mind would decipher, how it started and the answer would be one word, GREED

PHRENOLOGY OF GREED

1.   Picture a bulldog in your mind. You would definitely see his hefty cheeks falling like a flap over his chin.

2.  This is a typical phrenology trait seen on face of astute, shrewd and greedy people.

3.  Protruding upper jaw along with excessive spacing between the teeth of upper denture.

4.  Appreciable muscle filling above alae nasi, bilateral to the nose.

MORAL

“God have given enough for everyone’s need but not enough for one man’s greed.” –MAHATMA GANDHI