THE MAHOUT AND THE PEN

I was looking into the massive roll top desk which had belonged to an ancestor when I saw a stout old fashioned Sheaffer’s fountain pen with my name engraved on it. I remembered it was a costly American make. I took it out and unscrewing  the cover saw the big gold nib labelled 14K. It looked to be in good condition. Near it stood a bottle of Scripps ink. I lifted it and found it had a well on top which could be filled by inverting the bottle. That was to ease drawing up ink into the pen’s barrel.

Before I revert to the pen I will give you a little background. I am at my ancestral mansion in a rural district. I had inherited the house and its antique furniture. I had recently retired after years of service in various cities and had decided to live here. I found that the caretaker of the house had maintained it well. None of my belongings had been disturbed. So I wasn’t surprised at having found the fountain pen nor was I surprised to find my name on it. I will explain. It is a tradition in our tribe to give a second generation male newborn the name of the grandfather.  But I must say I don’t remember my forbear as he had passed on while I was perhaps a baby though my parents had told me about him and his ways. He had also been in service and wanting to enjoy the bounty which he had inherited, had settled in this rural area. My parents had told me about grandpa’s thrift and his unostentatious living. Considering this background I wondered if he would have bought an expensive pen when far cheaper ones would have been available. Particularly so when he had hoarded wooden handle steel nib pens which had to be dipped in ink to write! Not that he was a writer anyway!

Having moved into that locality I soon made a few acquaintances and readied myself to also take on the role of the hereditary administrator of our family endowed temple in the area.

 A couple of days later, the head priest of the temple visited me.

He said “Sir, I’m the hereditary priest of the temple.”

I greeted him and said “I’ve met you before. But now that I’ll be living here we’ll have opportunities for greater interaction. I’m still settling and haven’t visited the temple yet.”

He said “My family has served the temple for over 6 generations. My late father used to say we’ve served the temple 200 years. However the finances of the temple haven’t grown.”

I said “That’s true. From reports I’ve received you haven’t used your assets responsibly over the years. I was told the temple had even an elephant with mahout which would be a big expenditure.”

“Sir you know how.....”

I said “Yes my family predecessors were also involved in such decisions.”

The priest said “I’m not blaming anyone. My great grandfather had mooted the idea of adopting an elephant. He is said to have had a dream in which the deity appeared and ordered him to get an elephant to take part in ceremonies. He had prevailed on the then administrator to purchase the animal. The priest even gave from his personal finances for the acquisition. Finally a baby elephant was bought and a mahout was selected. Expenditure mounted and It came to such a pass that funds were insufficient even for the daily rituals. Then came the move to sell the elephant. There were no buyers.”

I said “Some of the temple jewellery was stolen. Investigation revealed that inside hands were responsible.”

“Sir a set of gold rings were stolen but have been returned. I’m sure you know about it.”

I knew about it. It was done by a devotee who hid the rings in the hollow of a bamboo pole of the palanquin used to carry the deity outside. The devotee needed money urgently for medical treatment of his wife. He had later sold some of his wife’s jewellery and had returned the stolen rings besides presenting one more as fine, anonymously.

I said “There would be daily pilferage of temple supplies. Besides strengthening security it would be necessary to monitor bills for temple supplies.”

“Sir, my quarter is in a bad state. I came about that. The roof has started to leak. I need your help.”

I told him I would look into all aspects after I had settled there. The priest left looking very unhappy.

It took me a few more days to settle and then I visited some acquaintances before assuming office as administrator of the family endowed temple. I started going to the temple daily. I studied the devotees and their offerings. I monitored the daily expenses of the temple.

That morning when I had just entered the temple I saw an old bearded man on a wheel chair being brought in by a younger woman. The man was in pyjamas with a loose shirt on top carrying something like a loudspeaker in his hand. Seeing me in the way the woman stopped. The old man put his palms together to wish me. I wished him back and stood aside giving them room to pass. The old man said something to the woman and she wished me and asked “My grandfather here wants to know if you’re the administrator.”

I nodded. The head priest now joined and said “I know these people well. He was formerly our mahout.”

I immediately said “I want to speak to mahout. You carry on with your duties.”

I led the way to my office in the temple. There the old man sat on his wheel chair facing me as his granddaughter sat on a chair alongside. He spoke into the mike and I could hear him clearly.

He said “I’ve a medical problem with my speech and so have to use this device. I was the mahout of the temple elephant. I’m 95 years old and live with my son not far away. I come whenever I can to this temple to offer thanks to the deity who has made me prosperous.”

I offered him water to drink but he said he didn’t want any. Despite his age he spoke clearly with complete command over his mental faculties. His granddaughter said he had a hearing aid on and could hear well.

He continued “I was greatly distressed when the temple decided to sell the elephant which had become my friend. The then administrator possibly your grandfather .....”

 I nodded.

“He told me he would take care of me by giving me alternate duties as there were no buyers for the elephant. Luckily Master circus came to my rescue. Master who owned the circus and was the lion tamer,  wanted one more elephant to be trained and I and my elephant were recruited.”

Again he paused and again refused water.

Then he said “Your grandfather was a dynamic person. It was due to his initiative that my elephant and I were taken into the circus. We became very popular and even visited a foreign country once. Master Circus made a lot of money. Master was benevolent and treated all his staff like his family. We wanted for nothing. Master once told me he wanted to visit your grandfather and thank him. He felt it was the baby elephant which had made him prosperous not the lion show. He prepared for the visit by buying various presents and did meet your grandfather at his home here.”

We chatted a little and then I got him a bag full of oblations to the deity. I wished him well and many more visits to the temple. His granddaughter then wheeled him away.

I sat wondering if the Sheaffer’s pen was one of Master’s gifts to my thrifty grandfather. I reasoned it could have been!

END