The place wasn’t far – a couple of hours drive. I wrapped some cheese sandwiches in foil, took a flask of coffee and was on my way. I got there in two hours and found the room easily. There was a villager standing watching my progress up the path to the house; he had both hands on his hips. “There’s no one here.” he said sharply. Where did they go? I asked “I don’t know.” He looked sullen, “they haven’t paid my rent. Who’s going to pay my rent?” he asked belligerently. “I saw them go at 6 o’clock. They went in a taxi without paying me. I knew I should have asked for advance rent…they didn’t look right to me. I don’t think they was married, though they said they was. He was always squeezing her bottom – married folk don’t do that. My father will kill me if I don’t have the rent.” How much is it? “Are you going to pay it? Are you related to them?” Just tell me how much it is? “Well as they was going to stay just for a few days, the rent is higher. It’s always higher for short term - you can ask anybody. Had them stayed for a month or more I would charge them the normal rent of 12 Rupees a day. And I told them that it would be 15 Rupees a day and they agreed. How was I to know they would go away without paying me? Could that be a plan they had in mind– to leave without paying me? So even if I said 17 Rupees they would likely agree as they had planned to flee without paying me….” Look, just tell me how much rent they owe you, how many days were they here? “They was here three days, but I can give you a rebate if you are going to pay me for all three days. I’ll give you a rebate of a Rupee a day… there! So you can take off three rupees from the forty-five and give me just forty-two. I think that’s reasonable. But if you want more, you will have to speak to my father….” I slapped a fifty rupee note in his hand and told him to keep the change and walked away quickly before he had time to blink an eye or close his wide open mouth.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 04:49:25 +0000
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