But Seriously!
How to deal with friends who ask for a loan...
I was waiting to cross the road after a light snack at Naaz when someone slapped me on the back. I turned around irritated. Seeing the back-slapper did nothing to improve my mood.
‘Hi, Rajesh.’ I said coolly.
He grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. He had always been a physical type of person in college.
"How do you do, maan? Long time no see."
"I am doing okay." I said, and extricated my hand from his.
"Why don’t we have some tea at Naaz?"
"Sure." I said readily enough.
I never refuse tea, even from someone as insufferable as Rajesh.
We sat at a corner table, he ordered tea and I ordered samosas and brun maska.
"Don’t spare the maska." I told the waiter earnestly.
‘The trouble is,’ Rajesh said, ‘no one realizes it when I am joking. Last month, my wife asked me what I planned to get her for her birthday and I said ‘A diamond necklace.’
Now she reminds me about the necklace at least ten times daily. I have already explained to her that I was just joking and that it is just not possible for me to gift her a diamond necklace but she just seems to go into a trance and does not hear a word I say."
The waiter arrived with the samosas, brun maska and tea. I picked a samosa.
"Yesterday morning, just as I was leaving, she said, ‘Just another three days before my birthday.’ Then she clasped her neck and smiled happily.
"I was at my wit’s end. So I decided to ask my boss for a raise. You should have seen him laugh his head off! I told him I will have to quit unless I get a raise. He immediately rang for his secretary and instructed her to type my resignation letter. Since then, she is after my life to sign the resignation.
"I met my boss today, I apologized, I pleaded, I even touched his feet. ‘But this is not fair; you yourself said you are leaving.’ He repeats again and again, like a parrot."
I had already polished off two samosas and a brun during his sob story. I started sipping my tea, all the while, nodding my head in commiseration. I could see that he was getting to the climax of his narrative.
He closed his eyes for a few moments and then sighed a couple of times. Then he looked at me and spoke with the earnestness that is customary on such occasions.
"I am in a deep hole, brother. My boss refuses to pay my salary until I sign the resignation letter. Please can you help me? I just need a thousand bucks until I sort all this out. I will definitely repay you by the end of the month."
"You must be joking!" I exclaimed and left just as the waiter arrived with the bill.
‘Hi, Rajesh.’ I said coolly.
He grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. He had always been a physical type of person in college.
"How do you do, maan? Long time no see."
"I am doing okay." I said, and extricated my hand from his.
"Why don’t we have some tea at Naaz?"
"Sure." I said readily enough.
I never refuse tea, even from someone as insufferable as Rajesh.
We sat at a corner table, he ordered tea and I ordered samosas and brun maska.
"Don’t spare the maska." I told the waiter earnestly.
‘The trouble is,’ Rajesh said, ‘no one realizes it when I am joking. Last month, my wife asked me what I planned to get her for her birthday and I said ‘A diamond necklace.’
Now she reminds me about the necklace at least ten times daily. I have already explained to her that I was just joking and that it is just not possible for me to gift her a diamond necklace but she just seems to go into a trance and does not hear a word I say."
The waiter arrived with the samosas, brun maska and tea. I picked a samosa.
"Yesterday morning, just as I was leaving, she said, ‘Just another three days before my birthday.’ Then she clasped her neck and smiled happily.
"I was at my wit’s end. So I decided to ask my boss for a raise. You should have seen him laugh his head off! I told him I will have to quit unless I get a raise. He immediately rang for his secretary and instructed her to type my resignation letter. Since then, she is after my life to sign the resignation.
"I met my boss today, I apologized, I pleaded, I even touched his feet. ‘But this is not fair; you yourself said you are leaving.’ He repeats again and again, like a parrot."
I had already polished off two samosas and a brun during his sob story. I started sipping my tea, all the while, nodding my head in commiseration. I could see that he was getting to the climax of his narrative.
He closed his eyes for a few moments and then sighed a couple of times. Then he looked at me and spoke with the earnestness that is customary on such occasions.
"I am in a deep hole, brother. My boss refuses to pay my salary until I sign the resignation letter. Please can you help me? I just need a thousand bucks until I sort all this out. I will definitely repay you by the end of the month."
"You must be joking!" I exclaimed and left just as the waiter arrived with the bill.
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