The Shopkeeper Nani

She was known as shop keeper Nani far and wide in her locality.After accomplishing her house hold chores she locked the two-room house and went slowly with a basket on her head packed in it , daily necessities of life like ; Mustard oil, coconut oil, turmeric , ginger, all sorts of pulses , cumin, onion ,mint ; so and so.some times she took ripe bananas in a bag procured in her area . 

   She had to call out loudly while walking in the village streets to draw attention of the buyers to sell out her merchandise.she was acclimated with the weather , be it a heavy rainy day or scorching sun . She goes to the villages out reached from the towns in rainy days ,she crossed the Stoney rivers by country made boats knowing distinctively the inhabitilities . In a way and the other the inhabitants were solely dependable on Subarna, to accost their daily essentials.The buyers paid with rice, millets, maize and the seasonal productions for the commodities they bought even as they didn't earn in paper notes but the grains .

  In low pressure days when it rained non-stop , it was impossible for her to go out of the house and the alcove which was well-fit to her height, as she was astonishingly dwarf , exposed to the street, remain opened 

   Her elder sister Sita exclusively dependant on her after her husband's death . Unfortunately both the sisters were sterile and widows. Having comeoff a higher caste ,unluckily they had a wretched living less than a live stock.

      Subarna was the seventh wife of her husband who had married the other sixes from different caste and cadre when he worked in Assam , Rengun and in different fabrications in Kolakata . Nevertheless ,any body of the females blessed him with a feminine or masculine gender and died without a successor . Before his death he adopted the son of his younger brother as the heir of his immovable property subject to the knowledge of Subarna as in the deed it was written both will enjoy the possession. Subarna was happy with it and nurtured and spent large sum of money out of the sale of the pedy for his education To her bad luck the boy left her helpless, and went out in search of job after he accomplished his higher studies  . He was engaged in government job and never returned to her. He forgot the woman who was dying after him .  He left her lamenting ,  incapably . Like the bees surrounded the honey comb  relatives jammed her . They acted as if they felt her agonies and consoled her and proposed her to sell the landed properties and spend her life comfortably as nobody was her own . 

    She replied, " It's a joint property and can't be sold as Akshaya is absent ."

    Their ostentation was opened when  they disappeared successively and never visited her once. An intricate problem overweighed Subarna's head was eased after their evacuation.She was was not loosened up though scarcity clasping the hands .

 A solace to them was the government money ,Sita and Subarna got   retired age allowances. Sita gave away the amount, deducting a small sum for the helping girl whom she set to made her move to the river to perform her morning function  

  As well as with her help , she  did cooking .   Subarna returned home when the darkness enveloped the earth .She was dissatisfied when she sow the house was not properly cleaned .There after dispute arose.She didn't think for a while, her elder sister was blind . She charged for unappetizing .Also charged her for the cattle eaten up the bringal, beans , tomato, cauliflower , gourd, bitter gourd plants which were about to be picked up . Sita didn't know how to make her intelligible that she was quite guiltless in this regard. The gate made from bamboo sticks had broken down and needed repairs.Could she have the eyes she had not alleviated it to happen . Her eyes were watery.She went to the corner of the un repaired thatched room and wept silently.Later Subarna repented , for rebuking the blind woman . The insult was unbearable . Sita wished she would bounce in to the over-flooded river to make an end to her tormenting life . Practically, none of them were wrong . The folk were jealous of them not going begging but managing their lives without dependence . Ultimately, tried their best to cause all sorts of trouble .They opened the dilapidated broken flak bamboo flap door and allowed their cattle to chow down the veggies  leaving behind only the origin and source . when Sita learnt about the cruel truth she burst in to tears .She blew the walking stick to wards them and reprimanded in colocal and volgar words . Subarna went past the village and challenged the folk to come forward and tell the certitude before the deity Mangala .Nobody had the courage to unleash the fact .She promised, tit for tat. 

     When the neighbouring people called her" Nani open the shop . We will purchase the essential commodities". she had a hard ear to them . She opened and sold out them the required goods she charged high price and in answering their request to diminish the price , she said ," No bargaining, it is upto you buy or deny_ it is airily .  The customer were compelled to purchase those in high rate as they were barely in need of the items . 

   As hope against hope , Sita and the helper girl replanted the roots and watered regularly .The vggies flourished with tweaks and flowers. Sita' s sorrow multiplied with gayness .God can never be so heartless to an honest labour . The veggies grew more than they expected .The  bringals, ladies finger, coch- patato ,chillies, spinach and cauliflowers had a luxuriant growth . Those were kept to be sold in the little shop . The  rivals' pride turned to pieces . They were astonished, how the two helpless beings made the impossibilities possible !  

      Always destiny smiles at diligence.She sold  Each kilo of bringal-50/ cauliflower - each , 50/ , spinach , for four bunches 20/. and tomato a kg 40/. The customers didn't ask Nani for bergaining as it is never granted and the fresh vegetables will be sold without complain. The demand was higher than supply.

In course of time,   the financial condition of the shop keeper Nani developed .She galvanized the part of the shop cover in tin sheets which expanded a bit to the street . A massive public went against it but remained silent as the extension part was within Subarna's territory.She bought the adjutant part of her   compass which was registered in high price. The small water hob was proded in to a big tank . She rounded a brick wall and an iron gate instead of bamboo stick one . She extended the area of the tank . There upon she cultured juvenile fish . A cello pomp she dug supplied water to veggies in non-rainy seasons . Subarna was considered the most respectable among the villagers . 

  Her financial rise expanded to great lengths. Her adopted son who was driven out of his job for laundering public money , returned to her and fissured fake tears to win her heart . In that case , Subarna was casted and allowed him to live with her .The rivals understand very quickly his pretention to Subarna .They instigated him against her and spoke ill of her . He impelled her 

  ," Maa, you are too old to work excessively and greet ailments of different types . I have returned in time to take your afflict . In this age you must take sufficient rest.I think we should sell the property enjoyed by others . They accord the one third of the portion of the produce which is bluff.under those circumstances, we should sell the possession and utilise the amount to enlarge the stock."

    Subarna and Sita discussed between them . They concluded ," It's agood piece of advise . Let's agree with him readily ."

       thus, tretourous Akshaya befooled Subarna . The whole estate was sold . It was autumanal equinox .Along with it he became all in all of her  businesses . He added a segment of the money he acquired from the sale of the property . He pocketed major part of the money 

    The sale increased but the profit ran fast to his pocket which he spent prodigally. Subarna had a weekly audit about the principal and profit to which he produced a false report. The system of lending goods for a huge sale couldn't be recovered. The trade ran down quickly. Misinterpretation arose between them as a result Akshaya fled with the Capital and gain and fled in the darkness of the night. The business, Subarna set up in the sweat of her brow   came down below littlest. She tried to recover the money; the customers borrowed according to the list Akshaya wrote. But none of them paid a penny. It was too difficult for her to stand it again 

Time doesn't support anybody every time. Cessation approaches without warning. One day Sita slipped down from the stony, rough and sloping steps of the steps led to the river, consequently one of her legs fractured. Gloomy days took over the two sisters. A single piece of grief followed by the other. Again, Sita became sick of paralysis and laid down invalid in bed. Subarna had nothing do to help her for lack of funds. In preceding time Sita went to comma stage. She had her last leave from Subarna. After her demise Subarna was altogether broken. Even she didn't get square meal a day. It was the point of begging, but she preferred to die than begging. The rivals were united to prove her a witch and they were successful in their mission. They tied her on the trunk of a tree and beat her mercilessly. She did not try to prove her innocence but abandoned the village. No sooner did she depart her rivals removed every piece of wood which supported the thatched roof, thereby, the walls fell down .and turned in to a mound.

   Nobody had any interest to know where she went, whether she was alive or dead. The area was being used commonly for grazing purpose. People say they have heard a woman's weeping at the dead of the night. Who she might be, Subarna or Sita? 

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