Savings

I saw this cartoon in a local newspaper...(last week)...

“Very practical” ... I thought... easy to sermonize.... difficult to hold on :)

(Just two dialogues:

Sarge : “Remember, Beetle, the journey of life begins with a single step”

Beetle: “I'm O.K. with a single step, it's all the other steps that worry me”)

....

At the branch of the bank where I had worked somewhere in 1992 or so... there was a 'handyman' employed by an engineering company. The company couldn't do well, and this fellow couldn't find a well-paying job, so the compromise left him impoverished.

He handled the bank work of that company, and his 4 to 5 trips per day happened to be more for 'begging' to delay the debits , rather than merely 'maintaining' track of the account.

It so happened that I was slightly different from other clerks, when they got irritated with this 'unproductive' waste of time conversing with this fellow's impractical requests. I instead managed to remain cheerful, and this brought us a little closer (the need was his, to 'maintain' me in good humor, and little did he know, that he was wasting his efforts in being extra polite/respectful/etc with me :)... I decided to encash this, for his own good!)..

I asked him, “How about a cup of tea for me from YOU?”...

He could smell it at once, and retorted, “well, I wouldn't sink too deep into a financial crisis, if I feed you a cup of tea :-( (anger)”..

I went along with him up to the main door, and said, “on 'second-thoughts'... let me say.... give me that Rs.2/- instead, in cash... I can drink when I like!”

He took out a folded/crumpled 2-rupee note, and flashed it to me...
I took it, pocketed it, and said, “well, let's go back to work”...
The next day, I teased him with an abrupt-surprise , “Tea?... like yesterday?”...
He was not going to cow-down... “Why not?' he said, and proceeded to dish out yet another 2 rupee note (suspecting, or rather 'judging' that I would repeat yesterday's feat, out of greed for hard-cash!)...
Then I took out his yesterday's 2-rupee note, and handing it back to him, I said, “keep this along, in safe-custody... I trust you...”
Now he asked, “what does it mean?”....
Time to let out my plan... :)
I said, “See... you seem to be able to afford a tea for almost each day, Rs.2/- that is... despite your meagre salary.. question of self-respect ... and I respect you for that..”
I continued, “why not make it Rs.60/- for 30 days?... and then, let me handle it into a recurring deposit account for you?... let us see, how far we travel... no deadlines, no goals, just keep walking each single step at a time?”...
He nodded..
Thus, the very first R.D. A/c( a recurring deposit account) of his life :)
An year later, I helped him collect the maturity value, and then led him to that lady who handled loans, and told her, “You had refused to finance him for a second-hand sewing machine, when he asked for it, so that his wife, a householder, can do some tailoring work privately and supplement his family-income, ... ... because he couldn't produce his own-margin money... Well, here it is... now please take up his case...”
Still, a collateral by way of 'guarantee' was an issue..
So, at my suggestion, the women folk of that branch agreed to give him their 'not-so-important' stitching work (for ladies, fashion, finish, perfection etc of garments is too precious, otherwise)... and the 'labor-charges' can be directly credited to that loan account... obviating the 'practical' aspect of a guarantor's presence... Yes, a nuisance value... indeed, but she decided to 'oblige'...
The arrangement worked well :)
Three years later, he placed a loan-proposal for two more such half-rate sewing-machines, when his wife's neighbor-hood ladies (in similar poverty), became 'assistants' to meet the growing 'bij-ness' :)

5 years later that fellow sneered at me mockingly, saying... “you know.. now I can just stay idle at home! My wife's earnings are good enough to live a little more-decently!” (their yardstick of that 'decency' translated as luxury of one or two movies in a theatre, a few trips to restaurants etc ).

I felt so-happy... he managed the rest of the few-early ones of the 'other-steps' after the proverbial “First step” of the journey of life!...

The 'fusion' .... seems to be the tricky thing, to happen, when support from others gets snapped too often due to lack of trust :)

(This time it worked, but.. I thank lady-luck! One fellow learned the work of 'savings' :-))..... )...

Oh! How do I tempt people to persuade themselves, into conserving/saving the energy expended by their mind ? (spiritual path.. makes every step, so-difficult, after the first one!)

extravagantly yours,

psn(30th May, 2016)