DRUMROLL

I am male 30, with a big moustache and ample sideburns. I come from a family of business entrepreneurs: My grandfather had been a hotelier and my father had run a workshop making press tools but I am a software engineer with big ambitions. About 3 years ago I had floated a start up named Track Three to cater to certain needs of urban citizens. It had a slow start but had picked up steam. Now my start up has nearly 100 operatives.

I live in a posh residential area in a duplex apartment. I own 2 new cars one for me and one for my wife. That speaks of my prosperity. There will be more on that!

That morning I was in my residence browsing the newspaper when my wife joined me.

She said “Interior designer Jane will be here tomorrow.”

I said “I thought she had been here earlier too.”

“You know she is my friend as well. But she is coming tomorrow to plan modernizing our interior.”

I said “You will be throwing away a lot of money on that needless exercise.”

“Aren’t you a successful entrepreneur? Don’t your business associates come home often? Should you let them see our haphazard interior?”

“We’ve already invested heavily on our home and in buying cars. I’m financially over-extended. I’ve told you the Modus group wants to take over and run my company and I’m resisting it. It would be better if you put off needless expenditure.”

“You keep saying that often.”

“It’s a fact my finances have run short. I already owe a month’s salary to my employees. The bank won’t advance me any more money. So rethink.”

She changed the topic and said “There, in our display shelf is a toy: A cart which will drum when it is pulled by a cord. Jane said it is ugly. Why not throw it away?”

She was referring to a toy cart with a drum mounted in front. It had been constructed such that when the cart rolls the drumsticks operate and there is a soft sound of drumming. The drum itself had a pottery base. The cart was no doubt flimsy having been made of slivers of wood and bamboo but I had preserved it within a plastic bag. The reason for my preserving it was simple: It was said to be a talisman. The founder of our dynasty who had it seems been very rich had said that luck would  favor whoever had the toy.  I believed it despite being short of funds!

I said “It has been in our family since generations and has sentimental value. If you don’t like it on display I can hide it.”

She said “It’s crude. Besides, such carts intended to be drawn by bullocks don’t exist now.”

                                                                                                                       I said “True. It must have been created for entertaining yesteryear’s young.  Let it remain. I’ll remove it later.”

The following week my employees went on strike seeking salaries. It was a traumatic experience. Modus which was watching said “Track Three is bankrupt.” There were rumors of Modus taking over. However my employees were not exactly happy to join Modus workforce. There had been labor unrests there as well and it was known that the company exploited its employees for instance by denying bonuses and so on. I appealed to my employees saying that better times were coming and I would pay them soon. But they were unrelenting though I kept appealing to them to bear with me.

That night my wife said “Jane has a contact in Traditional Toys. That company is a large manufacturer and exporter of toys. She had taken pictures of the cart and the firm was interested in making it. It seems they are willing to buy our toy for use as a prototype.”

I said definitely “I’m not willing to sell this heirloom.”

“It’s junk and they will pay for it.”

“I’m not parting with it.”

“But you need money.”

“That company will only pay a pittance whereas I need a lot more cash.”

The following week I received some money from a few customers and started paying overdue salaries. My auditor suggested that I sell my apartment to raise money for immediate needs. As the move progressed we started clearing our residence in preparation for moving to a smaller house on rent. I unwrapped the toy cart when it unexpectedly came apart. I saw that the wood had decayed and the parts couldn’t be reassembled. I started making drawings of the toy after taking measurements. I came to the drumsticks. They were of round cross section, slender and of good wood. Their ends were plugged with ball shaped metal. As I was taking measurements the metal came loose and something dropped from within.  The drumstick had been packed with 3 diamonds. I opened the second drumstick also and found 2 more diamonds. I wasn’t sure about the quality of the stones and showed them to my wife.

She said “These are diamonds. These could be set in rings for instance.”

I wasn’t satisfied with her appraisal and immediately took them to a jeweler.

After examining the diamonds the jeweler said “These are valuable expertly cut diamonds.”

I asked their value and was stunned to be told they would cover my immediate financial requirements and I would have money left over. Very soon I sold the diamonds and settled the staff salaries. I was running my firm normally again. But here was a surprise:  There was a sudden surge in requirement of my firm’s services which should be sustained and I knew I didn’t need to fear Modus any more.

A few days later Traditional Toys again sought the toy. I said “The toy has disintegrated and only the drawings exist.”

The representative of the toy company came home, studied my drawings and said “We had sent photos of the toy to our dealer in Japan. They are very interested in buying. We expect an order for 500 pieces. Your drawings are very clear and we can make the toy easily. Only instead of metal ball ended drum sticks we will use oval plastic for styling and modernization. We will gift you a set after we take up production.”

I told my wife about the developments. I said “The wealthy founder of our clan was a man with imagination. He has left concealed wealth for his successors.”

She laughed and said “I don’t agree. What would have happened if I had given it away in all innocence?”

“Let us not speculate about his forethought. He has helped me tide over a crisis and to restore confidence in myself. It was certainly a talisman. I’ve preserved the parts and will try to reassemble them in original form.”

She laughed and said “But without diamonds!”

“Who knows? May be if my prosperity increases……..”

“You don’t think of me!” She had understood what I had implied!

I hurriedly added “Of course after your need is satisfied. Will the toy again be an eyesore? Surely not!”

END