Child is the father of man

Sydney Srinivas

Yesterday evening’s news was devastating. The stock market had collapsed. Only last month, I sold a well doing stock to buy that of the upcoming Rainbow Company. My hope was that it would rise steeply and my portfolio would hit the ten million mark by the end of the year. Instead, its share price had fallen from fifty dollars to fifteen dollars. This itself had made me lose five hundred thousand dollars. I made a quick calculation. My portfolio was now worth only about eight million. Reaching the ten million level was only a dream.

I woke up in the morning, had no mood for anything, and sat in front of the TV. How do I make up the loss? Shall I do some sudden selling and buying? Which one to sell? Where to bring the money? My wife Vimala does not allow me to channel money from the banks to shares. I repented having invested in stock and shares. As Vimala, always says “You should always invest in brick and mortar. You will never lose.”

I made my coffee mechanically and placed it in front of me. It just went cold. The TV was reeling news about Australia and the world. I could not concentrate on it. The only thought I had was – how do I overcome these losses? When such a collapse happened in the past, it took more than a year for the market to recover. Add to this, the caution from my wife, “Do not ignore. We must pay Veena and Varun by the end of the year. They need deposits to buy apartments. “

Having retired ten years ago, the only source of income for us were the dividends from shares and interests from the accounts in the banks. They were not small and allowed us to have a luxurious life. There was nothing to worry. However, I wanted to see the figure ten million dollars in my portfolio. What is my next step, I wondered.

All of a sudden, Vimala shouted from inside.

“The doorbell is ringing. What are you doing there? See who it is.”

Yes, the doorbell was ringing. I ran towards the front door and opened it. There stood my daughter Veena and her son Naveen. My daughter and son in law live close to us and work in the city. Veena works from home three or four days a week and takes care of the child. When she must go to her office, we take care of Naveen. Her husband does field work and has no facility of working from home.

Naveen with a round face with lots of hair, always smiling, has just begun to speak a few words. When he comes to our house, his usual habit is to go straight to his room, where we keep his toys. There he picks up his car, tricycle, bus, or some toy animal and comes to us to give a show. Sometimes, he brings any latest gadget he has got. It becomes a Show and Tell for us. Most importantly when he comes to us, he is the CEO. We must obey his orders.

Today, he came in and did none of these. Instead, he pulled my hand saying “Bed, Bed.” He took me to the kitchen and pointed towards the box where we keep the bread. I guessed he might be hungry and pulled out a slice of bread and gave it to him. He wanted another slice. Then he pulled my hand pointing to the front door. When I opened the door, I found two ibises loitering in our garden looking for food. It is my habit to throw left over bread, fruit, and vegetables onto the grass in the nature strip in front of our house. As a result, birds including Ibis visit us every day looking for food. It looks like Naveen had seen me do this and today he wanted me to feed the Ibises. Having found no food in the nature strip, the birds had crossed the fence and entered our garden. I tore the bread slices into small pieces and threw them on the grass on the Nature strip. In no time the birds rushed and started eating the bread. Naveen’s joy knew no bounds. He clapped, he smiled and pulled my hands and compelled me to look at them. A few more birds came in and started eating. One of the birds, took a piece of bread in its beak, spread its wings, and took off. It carried food to its offsprings waiting in its nest. This amused Naveen. He spread his arms and enacted the scene.

I was brought back home. I thought I could rest a while and watch TV. That was not to be. Naveen dragged me again to the front door and pointed at my walking shoes. I recollected; it was my walking time. Further, before I did my walking, I would take him for a short stroll around the neighbourhood.

I went to my room, put on my walking dress, and wore the shoes he had shown. As soon as we were out of the house, Naveen started running. I had to be behind him always. He might jump on to the street.

We had walked about three houses. Naveen stood in front of a house saying “bhow, bhow.” It was Julie’s house. She was a small dog well known to Naveen. In no time Julie appeared in front of him, wagging her tail and dancing around him. An excited Naveen bent down and patted her on her head. I was just watching. Naveen would not leave at that. He dictated that I too do so. I had to pat the dog on her head. Then he said “bye” to the dog and ran further.

His next stop was at about the eighth house where a lady again well known to us was watering the garden. Naveen stood smiling, pointed at the lady, and told me “Auntie, Auntie.”

The lady too smiled and asked, “Are you going for a walk with grandpa?” Naveen blew her a flying kiss. She returned it smiling. I just grinned.

We went ahead. Naveen waved at every car that passed. Some of the drivers smiled at him. He stopped at one of the houses where the garden was full of colourful flowers of varying sizes. He pointed his fingers at them and told something. Only he knew what.

We reached the end of the street. Naveen stopped and spread his arms around me showing that I should carry him. He was tired. I brought him home and thought he would go his grandma as usual. No, instead he showed me the door and said, “Bye.” I understood at once. He wanted me to do my regular walking. I too thought it was not a bad idea.

I set out on my ten thousand step walk. After spending some time with Naveen, the stock market, the loss, and other issues had vanished from me. I began to think “Look at this cute little fellow! He does not need a million dollars to be happy. He does not need a big house or big property. A bird that visits our house, a dog that wags her tail in front of him, a car that passes by are enough for him to be pleased. Look at me! More I have more I want. If I have ten million, I go for fifteen. Do I really see and enjoy all this money. No. I just look at my portfolio and count the number of zeros. More zeros the better. What a stupidity!

How did the few million dollars come in there after all? I started with ten thousand dollars twenty years ago. From then on, I have been buying and selling. It is all a manipulation of numbers. What a pressure, worry and agony I must go through just to be in business! Why not I live like Naveen – enjoy simple pleasures of life?

Looked like I had a flash. Why not I give it a try? All of a sudden, I started smiling at those I came across in my walk. They returned my smile. I started admiring the huge trees and innumerable birds in the park. I felt some joy. I stood at a spot where the sun’s rays percolated through the trees and threw a spotlight on the ground. Then I thought I should return to teacher, my grandson and see his pretty face. I had completed six thousand steps. Something in me told” Why compel yourself to complete ten thousand steps?” I cut short my walk and returned home. Vimala told me “He moved about a lot, had a banana and milk. Now he is fast asleep.”

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