His family had worked for the zamindars for generations. The zamindars were cruel and exploited them. He was sent to the city in the hope that he might do better.


He found work with an elderly widower who stayed alone. His master was soft and nursed a fond guilt at being over privileged.


The servant stood with a bent back and a subservient smile, ready to rush to do his master’s biding.

His master was polite to him and treated him well. He was apologetic if he felt he inconvenienced the servant too much. When the servant made an excuse sometimes explaining why something could not be done, the master would hastily accept it and tell him not to worry.


Slowly, the servant began to grow fat and insolent. The reasons for not doing a task became more frequent. Occasionally, his tone changed to subtly threatening.

Now the master increasingly began to feel resentful. He soothed himself that the servant was also human and had had a tough life.


However, one night, in a drunken fit he lashed out. The servant had refused to wake up to make fries claiming there was no oil. He showered abuses and threatened to fire him. The servant slept unmoved. Finally, the master walked away impotently ranting that poor people like him would never appreciate humane behavior and that was their inherent nature.


That night, the servant stole all the money from the cupboard and absconded.

He squandered the money away before returning to his village. He started working under a zamindar. His new master kept a vicious leash and the wages were miserable. There was a comfortable familiarity in this life.


Often, he thought of his old master and felt triumphant.