I was born in a building called The Mint. My parent was a metal strip from which we were made round. Thereafter we were embossed with two ears of corn and the figure with the words ‘Rupee’ and ‘1991’, to indicate the your of birth on one side. On the other side, the Lion Capital and the words, ‘Bharat in Hindi and ‘India’ in English were embossed. Each disc was given a milled edge too. After finishing they called us, ‘rupee coins’. In shining metal and with the figure and letters very beautiful and distinct, I was very proud of my smart appearance.
My active life began when I was removed from the Mint and paid ova the counter of a bank to a gentleman who cashed a cheque. He put me into a leather bag: but I was not there for long as he gave me to a confectioner. The confectioner was so pleased with me that he shut me up in a greasy drawer. I continued to be there a close prisoner for many months, till at last I was exchanged for two 50 paise pieces. My new master, to my unspeakable grief was a miserable old fellow. He clapped’ me into an iron chest, where I found five hundred more of my own species lying in the same confinement. The only relief was that we were carried now and then into the fresh air and counted and placed in different heaps. After an imprisonment of several years, we were taken out by a young man. He gave me to a young lady, who put me in her purse. She soon handed me to a servant to pay the grocer’s bill. I thus rambled merrily from pocket to pocket till I was worn out. The corn plant became faint and the lettering on my back became almost rubbed out. I was deemed useless for the world and every one turned up his nose at me. Eventually I was given away in charity to a blind beggar. The beggar bought tea in exchange for me and I was placed in the tea dealer’s box, only to be extracted by his son who took me to a pedlar as he wanted to buy a few toys. The pedlar banged me on the ground to see if I was genuine. He looked at me closely, made a few insulting remarks about my battered condition but in the end accepted me with great reluctance, At last I was sent back to the Mint.
There were many more of us there—all time honoured old fellows, but in bad shape now. It was being whispered around that we were to be cast into a furnace and turned again into the base material of our bodies—only to be recast again.
My active life began when I was removed from the Mint and paid ova the counter of a bank to a gentleman who cashed a cheque. He put me into a leather bag: but I was not there for long as he gave me to a confectioner. The confectioner was so pleased with me that he shut me up in a greasy drawer. I continued to be there a close prisoner for many months, till at last I was exchanged for two 50 paise pieces. My new master, to my unspeakable grief was a miserable old fellow. He clapped’ me into an iron chest, where I found five hundred more of my own species lying in the same confinement. The only relief was that we were carried now and then into the fresh air and counted and placed in different heaps. After an imprisonment of several years, we were taken out by a young man. He gave me to a young lady, who put me in her purse. She soon handed me to a servant to pay the grocer’s bill. I thus rambled merrily from pocket to pocket till I was worn out. The corn plant became faint and the lettering on my back became almost rubbed out. I was deemed useless for the world and every one turned up his nose at me. Eventually I was given away in charity to a blind beggar. The beggar bought tea in exchange for me and I was placed in the tea dealer’s box, only to be extracted by his son who took me to a pedlar as he wanted to buy a few toys. The pedlar banged me on the ground to see if I was genuine. He looked at me closely, made a few insulting remarks about my battered condition but in the end accepted me with great reluctance, At last I was sent back to the Mint.
There were many more of us there—all time honoured old fellows, but in bad shape now. It was being whispered around that we were to be cast into a furnace and turned again into the base material of our bodies—only to be recast again.
No comments:
Post a Comment