Mr Tiwari had begun to feel the arrival of this uneasiness in his life. He thought things would continue to be as they are and there would be no problem, after all he had given it a lot of effort throughout the years. He had spent time developing the trust, the closeness and now everything felt like things were falling apart.
Mr Tiwari had grown up in the area. His father, a school principal, was strict with pocket money and his mother followed the same. But there was more that he intended to buy than what his pocket money allowed and that’s when his friend suggested a grocery shop where they could get what they want and pay later.
Usually, these habits go away with time, especially when one steps into professional life, but here it remained and now Mr Tiwari at the forefront of running the household had made a habit to buy almost everything on a pay later basis from local shops, although he didn’t need to. He had good relations with the shopkeepers and spent considerable time talking to them to sustain a bond that would allow this buying and selling relation for the longest time. But time passed beyond anyone’s reach.
Initially there were more people with the same habit and the shopkeepers entertained it with no other choice. But things had begun to change with the next generations taking over as buyers and sellers. Although not directly, some shopkeepers had begun to ask for money on the spot, usually for shop expenses, one had even begun to become a bit rude with those asking to pay later. More and more buyers were becoming prompt with their payments everyday.
Mr Tiwari had begun to feel this uneasiness and had become a bit hesitant of just picking the things and asking to write the balance in the diary, the conversations were losing words in front of the new faces.
Mr Tiwari was feeling it as something of a culture ending but now it had to be done, as was the right way to begin with.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
The Hard Right Choice
Early Morning Memories 