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Good Man With Bad Luck

by Vaman Acharya
(Bengaluru)

Madhusudan was staying in a rented house just opposite to my house. He had no time to meet the neighbours even after three months of coming to this house. He resigned earlier job and joined a Bengaluru firm. Out of curiosity, I was keenly observing his movements. He used to leave home at 8 am and return late in the night.


One day, in the evening, he saw me on the road. We were just exchanging smiles. I took initiative to introduce myself as a retired bank official. He introduced me as a chartered accountant. Irrespective of the age difference, we became friends. I understand from him that he was a top man in the chartered accountant firm. I liked his simplicity and the way of approach. Every meeting with him helped me to enhance my knowledge. I used to ask him several questions and getting answers on the variety of topics.

During our discussion, I came to know that he had composed many English poems. I asked him to send all his poems to me by mail. He promptly sent his poems to me by mail. All poems are beautiful. I read those poems several times to understand.

On another occasion, he asked me, "Vasudev, how do you spend your retired life?"
"Sir, my hobby is writing short stories. I am utilising the time in a best manner," I said.
"Can you send me your short stories?"

I promptly sent my short stories to him by mail. He appreciated my stories and advised me to continue writing. He gave me suggestions in the form of feedback for further improvement.

I wanted to know his personal story. He never disclosed his personal matters. I had some questions in my mind with no answers:
Why Madhusudan is unmarried even after attaining the age of 45+ ?
Why his younger sister Sunita is unamrried?
Why his old parents Muralidhar and Sunanda are dependent on their son?
Why his younger brother Shreedhar is not meeting his family members and not taking care of his old parents and unmarried sister?
Some thoughts were flashed to my mind to write a short story on him. Unless, I know his family background, I cannot proceed further.

I observed many issues unresolved in his family. His old father Muralidhar never liked his son Madhusudan work till late night daily, to earn money. His worry was his son may become sick after sometime.
Madhusudan's only sister was suffering from an incurable disease. He spent a lot of money for her treatment. Due to this reason, she was unmarried.
His younger brother Shreedhar was a software engineer working in Kerala. He rarely visited his elder brother's house to meet the family members. Probably, he may not be maintaining a good relationship with his family members.

Madhusudan was a braveman. He never shared his worries with others.

Note: (It is a real story. I have changed the real names.)
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