AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 7 – Panorama CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 281 of 332 resistance, he literally thrust them in my hand to be used as prizes for the sports events at the Mela. Humbled and chastened by my experience, I left his office with troubled emotions about accepting the metalware. Coming outside, I conversed with a few local people who were well aware of Ashokji’s travails and misfortune. They made it a point to praise the man and point out that his credibility was so high that not one customer had gone to the police for lodging a complaint. The mela was a success story, notwithstanding the fact that people could not quite comprehend the mystery behind the costly prizes at the sporting events. As a courtesy call, I rang up Ashokji after the mela to thank him for his support. Still enamoured by his story, we got talking once again and I inquisitively asked him, “Ashokji, did you ever think of running away from all of this and starting a new business venture in some other city?” “Rajeevji, many well-wishers came to me with that idea” he answered, “But how far can I run away from the bitter truth that I have been the cause behind these people’s misery and despair?” With my eyes getting moist, suddenly I realised that I had no more questions to ask. Epilogue Since the time this story got published, a great many people have asked me, "What finally happened to Ashokji?" In fact, a very dear friend of mine Amit who grew up in Gorakhpur and is now residing abroad decided to do a bit of research on him. The response received from him today is reproduced verbatim: "I called a friend of mine from the Marwari Community in Gorakhpur upon reading the story. He is from one of the oldest Marwari families in Gorakhpur and I knew he would know about Ashokji. He told me that it took him some time to recover. His goodwill was such that the trading community lent himmoney and helped him resurrect his business. He was able to get back into fertilizer distribution and into real estate. He recently passed away battling covid." May your kind soul rest in peace Ashokji. They aren't making many of your kind anymore. With respect.........