. . . All right, I don’t deny that you are smart. Indeed, you are exceptionally smart, he addressed the merchant Daulat Ram. That lively face of yours! Your eyes and your hands and your lips, they are constantly busy, getting things done. That lucky face of yours is sure to charm both men and women and draw them to your store. I don’t deny any of this. The moment you wake up in the morning, Goddess Lakshmi is likely to be sitting by your feet, pouring gold and silver and grains from her large measuring bowls. I don’t deny that either. That’s how beautifully your stars are aligned. But none of this means you are the only one destined to enjoy these fortunes. There’s always a place for anyone who is smart and skillful, who has a vision, and who speaks well. Such people can thrive anywhere. Imagine such a man. Now perhaps Goddess Lakshmi might shower him with a little less gold and silver. But that still does not mean you are the smartest among them all. That thought, that sense of “I am the best, there is no one like me,” that’s not very becoming, you know? Not just for you, for anyone. That’s why I am telling you this. Look, I have decided to open my own store. But don’t pooh-pooh it. Don’t say, “That’s nothing! Such a small store.” So what if it is not a big business? I have some means. Let’s assume I sell ten bushels of paddy and use that as capital. Then, if the time is right and everything works out, I might make a little profit. Then I will invest that profit again. What? You think I can’t do it? I have ten years of military experience. I speak beautiful English. No, no, I am not saying your English isn’t good. You speak well, and your pronunciation is just like a white man’s. Sure, go ahead and believe that. But my English sounds exactly like a white man’s! You’ll see what I plan to do. Listen, how about this? One of these days, for Holi or Deepavali, you might take your wife and children on a holiday to Kanyakumari, right? Nagercoil is just on the way. Why don’t you stop and ask for Gopala Iyer’s shop and come and pay me a visit? What? No? Why not? You think it is beneath you? So what? I may not be equal to you, but you can at least be curious to see how far I have come. What do you say? Do you accept? Hey, I am talking to you! Are you so proud . . .

“Sir! You are muttering in your sleep,” the conductor said, shaking him. He turned to the rest of the bus and announced: “Clock tower, clock tower!”