Me and Babulal

The apprentice…part 2

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After two rounds  i leisurely walked towards the bench by the side of lake to enjoy the cool breeze blowing. Not much crowd was there, i was enjoying the solitude in the cool shade of the tree.

I heard a feeble coughing sound, looked up from my book and found Babulal standing  with a broad smile. I was pretty surprised to see him though I had given him 500 rupees about two weeks back but I could not keep my promise to engage him in some work. I rather hesitantly asked him how he was managing to keep himself engaged.

“I used a part of the money given by you to purchase some dot pens and rest I spent for food.” He said unabashedly.

So many questions were crowding in my mind about him so I asked those related with his shelter, spending time, earning money etc ,the usual things required for sustenance.

He disarmed me by his reckless answer.

“I have managed to make friend with that muscular guy who used to chase you for massaging, of course I promised him that I will help him to convince you in getting messaged by him. He took me to a football club located at the other half of the lake facing Menaka cinema hall and introduced me with some young men of my age. One of them took pity on me and offered a bed in the shanty near Tollygunge.”

I remembered to have brushed off that muscular guy who very often would try to befriend me. It was my mistake that initially I exchanged some pleasantries with him when he told me that he did massaging, he had a rolled up yoga mat with him. Then I understood his interest in me and I started avoiding him and now Babulal has again brought that fellow back. Babulal could sense that I was not happy, he hurriedly said, “ Don’t worry about that guy I will manage to keep him away from you.”

I was relieved and asked, “ Ok! Are you doing any work?”

“I told you I purchased some dot pens, I sell those pens in front of temples. Just now I was selling opposite to that Lake Kali temple. Seeing you I quickly changed my dress and came here. When I am selling then I am dressed up as sadhu, you know that I was with sadhu so I have that garb with me. I sell these dot pens at 200 to 300 rupees whereas I paid 2 rupees each.”

“Why someone will purchase the silly dot pens for that kind of money?”

With a beatific smile he and said, “ The scam runs like this “ and he narrated .

I have targeted a few temples and this one at Lake is one of those. I have fixed up some street urchins at each of the temples. I put on my Sadhu garb and sit outside the temple. These boys surround me keep on shouting , “ Show some miracle! “

I will pick up a retractable knife and push that on my cheek, for any onlooker it will appear that I have pierced my cheek. All will be in awe. Then one of them would ask ,”what do you eat?” I will show them coal and pick up a lump of coal and will start chewing it. By the time a crowd will gather around me. Then one of them will ask, “Have you brought those miracle pen which my friend purchased from you before the examination?”

“You mean that pen where I have put special power so that any student purchasing that and using in exam will pass?” saying that I will pull out three sealed boxes and say , “Last night I could put mantra in three only as moon was visible for a very short time.”

Then that boy will ask me the cost. I will say, “ It is 400 but to you I will give for 300.”

As he is my side kick so happily he will pay 300 and take one sealed box of pen. I will warn him not to open the box now. He should go back take bath and should open it when no one is around. Once he did the purchase there will be scramble from other on lookers to get the magic pen as the final exams are within one month. After that selling the first one other two hardly takes 10 minutes ,as you know every second a sucker is born.

“Wait wait not that fast!” I said.

“The retractable knife thing I understood but chewing lump of coal! How can you digest those? They are unhygienic!”

He laughed loudly and said, “No no those which I ate are not coal, those are black sugar crystals kept in the heap of coal.”

That was very clever of him.

He quickly told me about his ploy of the magic pen. “As the exams are one month away so till then merrily I can sell these pens in front of temples. I pay some 10 buck each to those urchins and I have a neat margin. As of now my business of selling the miracle pens is going well, later on with this capital I will think of other schemes or you may have some assignment for me. I am usually available in front of that temple in the morning.”

I was impressed by his business acumen and timing. Those  parents who purchased those pens with divine power will never know that they have been fooled. If the students pass then it will be because of the pen and if they fail then the parents will conclude that even God could not help their son or daughter in passing the exam. It was neat trick where fooled guy doesn't declare that he has been cheated.

I patted him, to keep him in loop gave 500 bucks and promised to call on him for any exigency.