The caretaker

The old couple consoled themselves on having found a 24-hour vigilant watchman.

My neighbour had an independent house which, once upon a time, was bursting with three generations of family, and with what amicableness! “They should have been given an award!” we would say, more with a trace of jealousy than appreciation. The magic-wand of that phenomenon lay in the iron-fisted grandee ruling over the household. But imperceptible changes began after his demise. Many left in search of fresh pastures, mostly abroad, leaving the eldest and oldest couple of the family in the headquarters, much like the last Mogul emperor in Red fort.

Renting the outhouse to helpful people, they tried living as comfortably as possible. “Times are dangerous; old people have become an easy target for robberies etc. Be careful while engaging  another watchman,” their old watchman warned before departing to his village.

“It is better to hire a full-time watchman in the compound,” the paper-boy  advised them. “All elderly people do so; I know a very honest person who will look after you like a son. Since he has no place to stay, it will be good if you provide him accommodation; he will be at your beck and call all the 24 hours, and watching your house – aye, even the tenants.”

“Yes, but where to give accommodation,” wondered the apprehensive couple. “There is so much space in your compound. Build a small room; I know one smart contractor who will do it for almost free,” came the readymade suggestion. “ The watchman, is he a bachelor or married?” the owners were cauti-ous. “A confirmed bachelor, assured the paper-boy, “like Swami Vivekananda.”

The contractor was summoned from the village and paper-boy also pitched in to help. Alas, the smart contractor proved to be too smart for the simple couple! The small room envisaged ran into two more rooms (kitchen and bathroom). The paper-boy became instantly prosperous, flaunting a brand new scooter, while the contractor flashed a Maruti!

The old people found themselves in a quandary but took consolation on having landed a 24-hour vigilant watchman. But, the consolation did not last long, for the myriad attractions of city life lost no time in changing the village-bumpkin into a dandy. With many pretty girls swarming around him, the parents descended from the village and got him married to their niece. They stayed back, first, under the pretext of helping out the village girl, then stuck on when she became pregnant and continued to stay when that condition seemed to become a never-ending process, transforming the once placid, spick-and-span compound into an unruly nursery!

Their dog, brought from the village, proved to be a road Romeo; and graced two beauties like the kings of past. Lo, there began a virtual shower of puppies, transforming the clean area into a bear garden! Naturally, that was too much to digest for the orthodox ‘outhouse tenants’, who moved out hurriedly without even collecting the advance! The watchman’s parents moved in then, coolly assuring the shocked couple that their lives were safe in their saintly son’s hands.

The owner got heart attack and the mistress, a fainting fit, when this saintly watchman announced one day that he had close contacts with a few bigwigs and that plans were afoot to take over all the heritage bungalows as ‘antiques’. And this house, being the most antique, was the very first on that list with him appointed as the sole caretaker!