In the heart of the traditional northern localities of India’s Kolkata city, right opposite to the Mukul Bithi Children’s School on the Abhedananda Road previously known as the Beadon Street; survives a hundred-year-old barbershop under the main staircase of an equally antique mansion in a room measuring ten feet by four feet.
Rain, hail, or thunderstorm, right at 6:00 AM every morning barring holy Thursdays dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, Chidam Napit would lift the clangy corrugated shutters of ‘Lokhi Art Salon,’ his beloved haircutting enterprise, a barely surviving flicker amidst an inferno of dazzling and fast-evolving businesses in the cosmopolitan city at the end of the twentieth century.
While the central throne in this business establishment, a reclining metal barber chair reserved for special loyal customers was operated by Chidam himself, three four-legged wobbly wooden ones were manned by his second in command baldy barber Konok Kanti and two apprentices Rajen and Chedi.
Everything in the shop was an antique. Right from the backdated steel straight razors, blotchy mirrors of disintegrating wooden frames, ebony handled pig bristle shaving brushes, blue-bordered white enamelled iron mugs, a Direct Current (DC) mini ceiling fan kept alive through an alternator, to the bakelite and copper electric switches, everything was reminiscent of a long-forgotten bygone time.
Chidam had inherited the shop from his celibate mentor Lokhi Ronjon Kachi, in 1960, when his guruji suddenly kicked the bucket due to an unfortunate case of blood dysentery. Now in the year 2000 after forty years of running this hundred-year-old business, for the first time Chidam was seriously considering bringing down the shutters of his beloved shop permanently.
It was not that Chidam was a bad barber. On the contrary, he was perhaps the best that anyone could anywhere find. The man claimed that he was the fastest haircutter in the world and perhaps stood true to his claims. Chidam was lightning fast with the scissors. During the heydays of Lokhi Art Salon, people would just come to the shop to see him cut hair at super-fast speeds.
Now with time, all those days were gone. No one was so much interested in an old barber’s haircutting speed. The younger generation just did not find the place happening and preferred to spend more money and indulge in the bells and whistles of a modern parlour or a hair clinic.
To make matters worse, the highly acclaimed and successful Jamal Hafiz beauty chain had set up their brand-new outlet just within a walking distance of two minutes from the antique barbershop. Chidam’s craftsmanship and years of reputation were no match for Jamal Hafiz’s solid marketing strategy, social media promotions and local media advertising. How could Chidam and his pyjama-clad barbers compete with the bleach-streak haired ultra-modern stylers of Jamal Hafiz?
Few flickering oldtimers remained loyal to Chidam and the meagre earnings from their weekly visits were no longer sufficient to keep the business functioning. Lokhi Art Salon was gradually sinking in the shifting quicksands of time, and it was no longer viable to keep the place running.
Chidam and his men tried their best to survive. The old barber tore his hair to come up with some new services such as the hot towel face wash, bleach and streaks, groom face pack, and the Hollywood head massage. These were chalked on the century-old slate board showcasing the services and their prices. Whatever they did it was just not sufficient to reel in new customers and save the business.
The old barber was not obtuse. He was open to new ideas, welcomed progress and was ready to adapt to survive. He had always supported a change for the good but simply did not knew exactly what to do or have the means to do something revolutionary that would help the business revive.
“The ungrateful Rajen and Chedi also left,” shouted Chidam while clipping the few remaining strands of hair on the shiny dome of Mukherjee babu, one of the shop’s last remaining customers, a pan chewing stick-wielding eighty-year-old.
“I heard the rascals are undergoing a six-month course from the Jamal Hafiz hair institute on completion of which they would be hired in their new outlet next door,” replied Mukherjee babu spitting droplets of red beetle leaf juices from the gaps of his toothless mouth.
“Kaka (uncle) it’s only me and Chidam da (big brother) remaining, and soon we would be gone too. Then you can get your mains chopped by the young ladies at Jamal Hafiz, he he he…,” chuckled baldy barber Konok Kanti, sitting idle at one corner of the shop scanning the pages of Anandabazar Patrika one of Bengal’s favourite regional dailies.
Now Jamal Hafiz was a real case study of success in the world of hairstyling. After great struggles, the man had established eight-hundred-and-fifty salons and sixty-five hair academies across twenty-four states and one-hundred-and-fifteen Indian cities.
His salons had even transcended beyond borders to the countries of Dubai, Singapore, Nepal, and Bangladesh and of all the things that Jamal was proud of, his greatest achievement was for holding the record for 410 nonstop haircuts in twenty-four hours, etching his name in the Coca-Cola published book of records for Indians.
Now Jamal had heard about Chidam and his claim to be the fastest haircutter in India. This was something that was greatly disturbing the young entrepreneur, who had laminated copies of Coca-Cola’s certificate declaring him so, displayed at all of his salons. Every, now and then he would hear reports of customers from his Beadon Street salon mentioning that Chidam was the fastest barber and that would boil his blood to the core.
One day when he heard a customer from another of his salon in a posh locality of South Calcutta, mock his laminated certificate saying that it was not true, as Chidam from Lokhi Art Salon at Beadon Street was undoubtedly the fastest, Jamal could no longer take it anymore.
He barged out of his parlour and started his car and drove madly till he reached Lokhi Art Salon. “Hi there, you must be India’s fastest barber about whom I have heard so much. Could you give me one of your legendary superfast haircuts,” requested Jamal politely to Chidam who was grossly engaged in reading the Anandabazar Patrika, while Konok Kanti was massaging the toothless Mukherjee Babu.
“Oh! I do not know if that is true. People say I am the fastest,” replied Chidam humbly inviting Jamal to sit on the central reclining throne. Not knowing who Jamal was, Chidam began cutting his hair. Jamal pressed his stopwatch and after two minutes fifteen seconds heard Chidam say, “It’s done young man, was that fast enough for you.”
Jamal could not believe what he just experienced. Of course, his hair was already neatly cut, so Chidam did not have much to do, still, the old man was unbelievably fast, this simply could not be true. For a moment Jamal became speechless. He did not know what to say. He felt like tearing up all the certificates from his salons. A single question kept lingering in his mind, “The old man’s fast but is he faster than me too?”
The young entrepreneur went home, all torn up inside. The whole night he could not sleep and kept on twisting and turning in his bed. He kept on questioning himself, “am I making a false claim? Am I lying to my customers?” Then finally at the break of dawn early morning, a solution came to his mind.
The next day he went to meet Chidam and revealed who he was. “Everyone says you are the fastest haircutter but I have a record certified by Coca-Cola for completing 410 nonstop haircuts in twenty-four hours. I want to invite them to test your claim. If you can beat my record, I promise you that I will close my Beadon Street store so that Lokhi Art Salon can prosper like before,” said Jamal to a flabbergasted Chidam, who gaped speechless holding on to the page-three section of the Anandabazar Patrika Bengali daily.
For the next one hour, Jamal convinced Chidam to take up the challenge. Then on the agreed date, Jamal made all the arrangements. He invited officials from Coco-cola, got students from the neighbouring schools and local residents to register their name to get a free haircut. Timeslots were given to all the customers. Jamal brought many employees from his stores to make sure that the hair cutting lineup was uninterrupted.
With the clip-clop of Chidam’s antique grooming paraphernalia, the competition began sharp at 7:00 AM and Lokhi Art Salon was filled with life once again after many years of its existence.
As the day progressed, Chidam saw how tirelessly Jamal’s employees kept on feeding the line of customers with people. Baldy barber Konok Kanti was at Chidam’s side constantly supporting him in the haircutting process. Mukherjee Babu had taken up a special seat at the corner of the salon and had come prepared with his coffee flask and food basket. He would not miss a minute of this happening event.
Now the moment of truth was just thirty-five minutes away. Chidam had completed somewhere near to four-hundred haircuts, and it seemed that he could win the bet and save his century-old business. Jamal had not moved from his spot in the salon the whole day apart from three washroom breaks which he took when Chidam also took the same. As the last thirty-five minutes progressed, he observed that Chidam would perhaps not make it.
Finally, the moment of truth arrived and everyone in the crowd resonated with a reverse countdown from sixty to zero and the Coca-Cola officials blew the final whistle at 7:00 AM the next day. An exhausted Chidam rested his scissors and sat beside Jamal on the small wooden bench.
After several minutes of joint consultations and comparing of notes among the judges, a Coca-Cola official opened the door of Lokhi Art Salon and standing on a high stool announced, “from 7:00 AM of 12 September 2000 to 7:00 AM the next day, in a twenty-four-hours time or one-thousand-four-hundred-and-forty minutes, Chidam Napit of Lokhi Art Salon has properly cut the hair of 408 people. His name will not be etched in the Coca-Cola book of records and Jamal Hafiz continues to hold the record at 410 haircuts, that is the official verdict and statement.”
It was a sea of mixed emotions amongst the overflowing crowd. The young employees of Jamal Hafiz danced and celebrated. Mukherjee Babu stomped his foot and left the salon in rage. An expression-less Konok Kanti went on to sit at his favourite corner in the salon to glance at page-three of the Anandabazar Patrika as he always did.
After few hours when all the humdrum had subsided and Chidam was all alone in the shop casually sipping a cup of hot chai, Jamal came to speak with the old barber. “Dada (big brother) I know you purposely slowed down during the last thirty-five minutes. I just want to know why you threw away such an opportunity to earn so much name and fame and also save your business,” asked Jamal with much wonder in his eyes to Chidam, who appeared calm and triumphant even in his defeat.
With a caring smile, Chidam placed his right hand on the young entrepreneur’s shoulder and said, “you see Jamal, though I welcome change and development, I never had the potential to initiate it. As the competition progressed, I saw multitudes of your young and aspiring employees running around trying to save your name.”
Looking into Jamal’s eyes with great appreciation Chidam continued, “I came to realise that you are the future. Through your eight-hundred-and-fifty salons and sixty-five hair academies, you have just started. You have given so many youths employment, hope for a better future, and have created a revolution in hair care. I might be the fastest barber, but I am not the future. I have some money saved, it’s time I laid down my scissors and perhaps visit a few other places.”
Copyright © 2021 TRISHIKH DASGUPTA
This work of fiction, written by Trishikh Dasgupta is the author’s sole intellectual property. All rights are reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including printing, photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send an email to the author at trishikh@gmail.com or get in touch with Trishikh on the CONTACT page of this website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trishikh Dasgupta
Adventurer, philosopher, writer, painter, photographer, craftsman, innovator, or just a momentary speck in the universe flickering to leave behind a footprint on the sands of time... READ MORE
wow you nailed it again 👏👏👏👏
Sometimes one has to act practically according to need of the time despite of what emotions one feels
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Thank you so much. Yes, indeed at times we really need to sacrifice our emotions and act practically. I think we always need to balance things in life and act for the greater good.
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Chidam is a wise old man!
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Yes, that he certainly is.
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🙏🙏🙏
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thanks for reblogging my story Ned. Much appreciate.
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An excellent story. There are moments when the elderly do understand the young and times when the young do appreciate that the elderly are not always stuck in a rut while the world passes them by.
Hugs
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Thank you David for such an encouraging feedback. You are right – to add to your thought I think it is necessary for generations to share their ideas and experiences, only then can humanity progress.
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Wonderful!
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Thank you Bob, always a pleasure.
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I couldn’t help but have tears in my eyes reading what Chidam did, not just for Jamal but for the barber industry and for India.
You also revealed the twist in a compelling way, with Jamal acknowledging what Chidam did for him (Nice of him to be honest to Chidam, but Jamal could have been a better person though by declining the victory since he was aware what was going on! But it’s a realistic rendition of a character, I’ve certainly met some people who are like that, accepting praise or reward when they know they don’t really deserve it.)
I can only hope I will age with such dignity and generosity as Chidam’s, and if given such a test to have the humility and wisdom to put the big picture before my own interest as he does. Thanks again for an entertaining as well as profoundly thoughtful story, Trishikh!
And by the way, thanks so much for reading my posts and liking them! Cheers
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Well have you have done it again. I myself can never analyse my own stories so deeply as you do. Yes, I too pray that when the time comes and I am tested, may God grant me the courage to act according to the greater good.
I enjoy reading all sorts of things. I like your blog too. Just keep on writing. Is’nt today your last day of Quarantine?
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Thank you, Trishikh.
No, it hasn’t been ‘just’ 14 days for the past few weeks. Due to a spike in cases I believe, it has been raised to 21 days 😭, so I still have a week more to go. Except if one comes from a select few countries where Covid case numbers are low, such as Australia, New Zealand, China, etc, but I came from Malaysia next door, which is not in this group of countries, so it’s 21 days for me.
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Oh! That’s good, you have nearly finished it, just a few more days then. Take care be safe.
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Thank you! Be safe too. Cheers
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Oh this is such a heartwarming story. I was really rooting for Chidam kaka. And I let out a sigh of disappointment when he fell short by 2 people. But clearly, he’s much wiser than me. I like that Jamal has not let money and fame get to his head. Great story. Beautifully written.
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Thank you Shweta. I am also happy with the outcome of this story.
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This is another fine story, and I appreciated reading a more contemporary tale for a change. (Though I enjoy the historical ones a great deal!) Here, the competition that appears often in your stories reaches a wise and gentle conclusion. And once again, your descriptions and characters are finely detailed. Very nice!
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Thank you Annie for analysing the story so well. Through your words, I come to realise how I have been writing and creating my plots and characters. Yes, O do love to write about history, but there are many contemporary stories too in my blog, I am sure you would love them. Cannot thank you enough for all the love, appreciation, and encouragement that you have given me.
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Great! I very much love stories about India history, culture and nature!
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Thank you. I am sure you will like some of my other stories as well. By now you have read quite a few of them I know, but there are many more, which I encourage you to read whenever you have the time.
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You got excellent storytelling skills…great job!
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Thank you Indira, much appreciate your kind comment.
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Another great read!! Thank you for sharing this with us!!
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It’s my pleasure to share the story. So glad that you liked it.
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I did – very much! 🙂
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Stupendous! Keep on writing and continue to give us nice stories like this.
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Thank you Anamika, knew you would love this one.
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Great story, i hope more Chidam in the world so many people get more help
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Yes Wayan, you are right, we need more such people who are ready to let go of their self interest for the greater good.
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Great 👍👍
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Thanks Ravi. 🙏
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Welcome !!
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A very beautiful story! So lively and looking so real !! It has emotions and benevolence. Trishikh, you have a mastery in storytelling. Keep shining and penning, my friend😊🌻🎉
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Thank you so much KK. Really happy that you liked my story. Your words of appreciation mean a lot to me. I will do my best to keep on writing such stories. It is one of life’s true calling.
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Thanks for your short stories I enjoy on every week Ends and wait for the next week edition.
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Thank you so much Prosenjit’da. It means a lot. I am so happy that you love and follow my stories.
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Wao!! This is amazing!! 🌟
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Thank you Arpita. I am really happy that you liked the story.
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It was amazing story…YBR
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Thank you so much Ybr. Nothing gives me more joy than to have a friend admire my story at the start of a day.
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My Pleasure…were do you get the inspiration to write such a wonderful stories??… since past 3 weeks I have been following you… and all the three stories are unique and different. You are wonderful writer my friend…i love the way you create an imaginative world in readers mind …will be waiting for the next weekend to read another wonderful story by you…YBR
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It’s all by the grace of God dear Ybr and through the constant support and well wishes of friends like you. I just start writing, sometimes I just have a name for a story idea, sometimes I just have a topic, sometimes I simply have no idea but I keep on writing and over the 7 days of a week a story slowly unfolds. Sometimes till right the very end I am not sure how to end a story, but it somehow works out. There are many more stories in my blog, do take take your time and read, I am sure you would love some of them.
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I am sure will like all of them..will definitely go through your stories in my free time.. they for sure will teach a lot… Have you any plans of writing a novel …YBR
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Well to speak honestly Ybr, I find it easier to write a novel and more challenging to write short stories, where every word is precious and a writer has very little space to convey their thoughts. I want to leave behind a legacy of short stories, that is my true calling. Well saying all that, I love novels too and would love to write one someday perhaps. Publishers dig novels and are not so excited with short stories, so if anyday I want to publish I might have to seriously consider a novel. For now though O want to go blazing guns with short stories and hopefully find a publisher one day to publish a collection of these.
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I am 100 percent sure that one day all your short stories will be published👍….YBR
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So kind of you to say that. All in good time, through prayers and best wishes of good friends like you, and through the blessings of God.
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There is not much more to say, as that wisdom outweighs ambitions! I am continuously amazed about those contrasting images you use when describing the cultural conditions of the Indian subcontinent, at one moment a have that impression of you talking about times long past then suddenly I find myself in the present day. Thank you for your continuing afford in qualitative storytelling.
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This comment from you is like a “Medal of Honour” that I feel like won in my literary battles. Feedback is so important. Your words give me a clearer vision of my writing, as does many comments from other friends. This gives me direction, confidence, and unfathomable enthusiasm to continue stringing pearls to a garland of stories that I want to leave behind as my gift to the future generations. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, good old friend. Your appreciation has brought tears of joy to my eyes.
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Lovely story! Good lessons in all your stories! 🌻🙏
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Thank you so much Diana. Yes, I try to put in a message in my stories, something that would inspire my readers. So glad that you liked this tale.
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Very good story that this old barber gives way to a young one. It’s all in his honor!
Why are exhausted old people still working, while young people are unemployed?
Since the onset of the economic downturn, we have been unable or politically unwilling to meaningfully engage young people in the economy. This failure not only threatens the global economic system, but also the cohesion of our societies.
Young people are excluded from economic life because of unemployment and obstacles to starting a business. Unlocking the energy, entrepreneurship and technological genius of young people is not just a moral imperative, it is an economic necessity. It is high time that the generation at the top turned their rhetoric and political aspirations into energy and active measures to create the conditions for a change that will turn the lost new generation into a new one.
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Marie Anne, thank you so much for this painstaking and lovely review to my story. I am too overjoyed with your kind words of appreciation. In this story Jamal the entrepreneur is creating employment, perhaps we need more like him.
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Entrepreneurs in general think above all about giving people work for profitability, as much as possible and as little loss as possible. And from these profits, make them grow even more. I don’t think they think about the well-being of their employees. Sorry if there are any mistakes, but I’m using google translate.
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No you are right, by entrepreneurs I mean visionaries who think about others and are seriously interested in the wellbeing of others.
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Ah, yes visionaries! Yes indeed, I like your idea!
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This is such a touching tale Trishikh.. I am sure Jamal also learnt a great lesson from the wise old man. As always so beautifully written 💙💜
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Thank you Radhika. Yes, Jamal did learn a lot from the old man. Jamal also perhaps had a quiet a bit of honesty and good in him, that he arranged for the competition in the first place. Who knows in an unwritten next phase of events following the story he might have gone ahead to help Chidam in more ways, I leave that thought lingering in the minds of my readers imaginations. I think, perhaps both of the men are heroes in their own way. Always look forward to your words of appreciation, they act as fuel of great encouragement to my writing engine.
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Yes, absolutely Trishikh. Both men are heroes in their own way. The story can move forward in many ways, giving out an important message too. I truly believe we should have such stories in school text books . A healthy discussion on values and creative writing can be inculcated in the young minds.
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You are right Radhika. You see people like you and me and our generation grew up reading the masters of short stories such as Ruskin Bond, Rudyard Kipling, Anton Chekhov, and so many others. As you rightly say, their stories have impacted us greatly along with the Novels and longer stories that we read too. I hope to leave behind a as many stories as possible in my lifetime, who knows one day children may read it in their textbooks too.
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Robertson Marketing!! My Website: lakisha,net
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Thanks Robertson for sharing your website.
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Hello to you, a big thank you for subscribing to my blog and your likes for my articles, it’s a pleasure and an honor! I would do the same for you!
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You are most welcome Marie-Anne, it is my pleasure. I must thank you for liking my stories too.
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Thank you, no problem, the pleasure is shared
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A touching story.
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Thank you Anna. So happy that you like it. Always a pleasure to be able to bring forth a good story.
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This gripping narrative was a lovely read! I like how it has those nice, old, fascinating elements that one finds in the tales of the subcontinent. Great storytelling!
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Thank you so much Aaysid for liking my story. Yes, you are right it does have the nostalgic element in it, yet in a pretty modern setup.
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The pleasure was all mine.
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This was informative indeed and touching
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Thank you so much, so glad that you find the story informative and touching. I am really happy for your feedback. Much appreciate it.
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You are most welcome
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Thanks for reblogging this story of mine.
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So beautiful and touching story. Love it 😊💖
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Thank you, so glad that you found the story emotionally stimulating. Much appreciate the like. Do visit again, I write and release 1 story every weekend and I am sure you would love many of them.
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I will check. Thank you 🙂
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It would be my honour and privilege.
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You are most welcome 🙂
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Your weekend stories make even weekdays feel like weekend.
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Thank you so much. This really means a lot to me. Sometimes I am unable to complete a story in a week due to work pressure, family duties and other priorities, however, comments like your’s gives me great encouragement to carry on no matter what. Thank you good old friend.
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Your articles are always well thought out, and professionally written. Please keep up your good work.
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Thank you glad that you feel so about my short stories.
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You really are talented in writing.
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Very beautiful I am one of your biggest followers
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You honour me greatly.
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There does seem to be a sixth sense we possess to know when it’s truly time to “let it be”. I had this intuition when I felt the growing generational differences between myself and my students.
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You are absolutely right. I think it is the way of the wise, and those who can accept this will lead a happier and more contributing life.
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Amazing
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Glad that you liked it.
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Thanks for your like of my post, “Tribulation Prophecies And Doctrine 13 – Fulfillment Of The Sixty-Nine Weeks 5;” you are very kind.
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You are most welcome.
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I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog.
Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog
like this one these days.
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. The layout is just one of the free themes offered by WordPress, I have seen few other bloggers use it as well. Just that it works nicely with the weekly short stories that I write. You kind words gives me great encouragement. Do read some of my other short stories when you get the time, I am sure you would love some of them.
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Thanks for your like of my post, “Revelation Chapter 7 – Jews And Gentiles Saved During The Tribulation;” I appreciate your kindness.
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You are most welcome.
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A story of worthy morality on right decision in right time.
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Wow, what a befitting compliment. Thank you so much. If only we could take such decisions when needed, we would certainly be better human beings.
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Love this wise tale. May I ask if you drew the smashing illustration? 👏
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Thank you so much. No it’s just a photograph that I modified in photoshop. So glad that you liked my story.
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Your story is at the cutting edge 👌🙌
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Thanks a lot Lesley. Really treasure your comment.
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Clever use of Photoshop 👍
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Thank you Lesley, means a lot coming from such a brilliant artist such as you.
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Oh my word! Thank you 🙏
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interesting , didn’t know barbers compete
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Oh, I am sure that people in the most unimaginable fields compete. Thank you so much for liking my story. Always a pleasure to have you comment.
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Thank you so much for promoting this dear story of mine.
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Your stories, Trishikh, and your writing is the future of India’s literary output and fame. I read the work of the first African winner of The Nobel Prize, and your writing is better!
Joanna
PS could I have your email address, please?
Here is mine naturetailsuk@gmail.com
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Your encouragement and appreciation is already a big reward. I also pray, that someday some publisher might help me publish. For now atleast the world has a way to read my stories. I want to keep on writing and publishing on my blog throughout my life.
I have sent you a test email and also replied to one of your email that you sent me through my contact page.
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This would make a good movie to confound US audiences who believe winning is everything.
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Dear Rebecca, you are absolutely right, this story is indeed a good lesson that winning is not everything in life. In defeat can we also find victory many a times. Certainly this can be made into a movie. Hopefully someday, someone, somewhere will give fruition to my stories by publishing them or making them into movies. For now I am continuing writing and enjoying the love and response of my readers.
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Well, we your readers enjoy the stories very much. Thank you!
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That is a blessing from the Almighty, that I always treasure.
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