FROWNS OF FORTUNE

I am fond of visiting flea markets where antiques and objet d’art are offered at reasonable prices. That Sunday I went to a restricted one – by a group. I saw 17^th century coins on sale. The sales pitch: “Even museums don’t have these”. I saw a young man with a beard signal to me and went to him. He said “I am Ross. I am a student and my parents don’t have enough money to buy me a computer. Instead they have given me various vintage articles left behind by an ancestor who had been in the British army in times of yore. I’ve decided to sell whatever can be sold so that I could buy a computer. If you would go with me I can show you what I have. My house is hardly a kilometre away. I’ll drop you back.”

The earnestness of the student appealed to me and i went with him seated on the pillion of his scooter. We parked in front of an old house needing repairs and opening the locked door he led me in. We climbed a staircase and entered a dingy room smelling of disinfectant.

He said “I cleaned up this room just yesterday so that visitors at the flea market could visit this day. The items here are what had belonged to my ancestor.”

I saw a few benches piled with objects. Ross said pointing “Sir that grandfather clock isn’t running but someone has said it could be used and has made an offer. So that isn’t for sale.”

There were pocket watches and a fan which could run on kerosene. Seeing me showing no interest in the exhibits Ross said “Sir, please look around and see if there is anything which interests you.”

I studied the objects when a pyramid on a shelf caught my attention. I lifted it with Ross’s permission when he said “My ancestor had it seems stayed in Egypt during the finding of King Tut’s tomb. May be this is from the tomb.”

I studied the neatly carved pyramid of grey granite. On one of its faces there was a carving of a vulture in flight. I liked it and sought to buy it.

Ross said “I don’t know if it is a genuine antique but I’ll accept a three figure amount as donation.”

I paid him exactly one hundred rupees and carried the pyramid home. It was about 200 mm in height and placing it on a shelf showed it to my wife saying “Here is an object found in the tomb of king Tut. It is an amulet.”

My wife seemed angry and said “Don’t you know that there is a curse on articles found in that tomb? Whoever gets one will face perhaps danger to life. Howard Carter himself who discovered the tomb was a victim. I suggest you throw it away.”

I was disappointed but said “I’m not sure if this was exactly found in the tomb. Let it rest on the shelf.”

Two days later the school bus in which my little son was travelling dashed into a wayside tree resulting in minor injuries to a few children. My son escaped.

My wife said “This is the start of problems due to the pyramid.”

I said “The driver was drunk and has been dismissed. Nothing to do with the pyramid.”

A week passed and our outhouse was on fire. Fire engines came and put it off before the it could spread.

I said to my wife “The watchman stays in that outhouse. He had piled extra bed rolls beside a can of kerosene in that room. He says he had left his phone on charge when the connection broke and fell and the kerosene caught fire. Lucky as he had also a full cooking gas cylinder in that room.”

A day later my wife lost her phone. She had ordered a taxi for travel and had left it in the vehicle. She said “It has never happened. I attribute it to the pyramid. It’s an old phone and I’ve to get a new simcard and put in all those numbers. Look at the trouble that I’ve to take.”

A day later the taxi driver phoned and her phone was back with my wife.

I faced a setback in my job as instead of me, another had been promoted. My wife said “That ill luck is due to the pyramid. Give it away to someone.”

My friend Oberoi, an elderly man, lives in the third floor of the complex where I reside. He had run a workshop in Botswana, Africa and had retired to his homeland. He isn’t very learned and giving the pyramid to him I said “This is said to be an object found in king Tut’s tomb. I can leave this with you if you don’t mind accepting it. Objects from there are said to have curses.”

“Never heard of that king.” Studying the amulet he said “I thought kings had objects made of gold or silver. This fellow used only stone! But it is nicely shaped and beautifully polished. I can use it as a hammer when I need to hang up something on the wall.”

The next day Oberoi came to me and said “My wife and I are leaving for Finland the day after tomorrow to see our daughter who has given birth recently. We are likely to be away 3 to 4 months. There was a problem with visas which just came. I assume it was due to the stone you gave me.”

My wife heard it and I said “I should’ve kept that stone myself.”

“Remember you’ve been bypassed for promotion. That was due to that stone.”

A fortnight later there was sad news in the newspaper: Indian national Oberoi was killed in Finland as his car skidded on the ice. I said to my wife “Oberoi was a simple and helpful man. I’m sorry he is gone. Don’t say that was also the doing of the pyramid or stone.”

“You killed him. I’m sure of it.”

Two days later came the news that the man killed in Finland was a Colonel Oberoi. I showed my wife the news.

A piece of good news reached me a week later: The man who had been promoted instead of me  was  found guilty of some criminal doing and was suspended. I was promoted!

I told my wife I wanted the stone back.

She said “I’m confused about the happenings. Oberoi may not part with the stone. Let it remain with him. And in future don’t buy such ancient junk.”

I still like to go the flea market. May be I’ll acquire something of real value some time!

END