He didn't have a single ring on any of his fingers. Inside the shabby lane, within the shabbier building, stood out his chamber -- a delight made out of newspapers, for his name plate, which colourfully, a little unreliably gave out his name -- Vinayak Gupta, Astrolger -- in orange. Underneath it, a tinier sentence followed in green -- "No computer." Strangely enough, he was rather famous, but without the degrees to bestow him the amount he could charge a reading, he was average in monetary matters. His interest in the stars came from his love from Maths and combined with curiosity, he set out on his own, without a care for earning. No, this would be wrong to say. His interest in astrology came from the prediction of a palmist of his lines. That palmist had guaranteed him a life off others. He did not know then what it meant, but gradually the lines of his learning became clearer, combined with planetary positions and topographical placements.
He would end up with a decent amount daily, which ran away rather fast in tending to rent and living. But that never deterred Vinayak from the diligence with which he was putting in an effort to fortune-tell. He enjoyed the content on his client's face when he would reassuringly inform them of the success in a new venture they would want to undertake. He was equally grieved when he had dark times to unveil for his next client. Thus went Vinayak's days. His nights, however, were not as sketchy as blinking stars. They were as clear as the full-moon.
When he began this journey to foretell, he was already aware of his own. That, and the palmist's prediction came together to give rise to the scheme against the stars. Those were his nights -- how to defeat the future. All he needed was a topaz, which he could not afford. The colourless one, that is. Without any impurity. It would act and react with the planets' plans, and give him the name he had always longed for. And thus set with determination, he made a pact with RK Jewellers, to whom he would recommend his clients for their diamond or emerald. A percentage from each sale was building up towards his Topaz.
The horror came when Vinayak woke up one morning to the newspaper section which declared the Jewellery Shop Strike all over the nation. Immediately, he called Radhakant Babu. The call went unanswered -- for days, not mere hours. He could not concentrate on the day's readings. A walk to the shop only validated the shutters pulled down. But he could sense trouble. Foretell.
Vinayak commissioned a local thief to burgle out only his portion of the savings from the shop. As luck would have it, he got caught and spilled Vinayak's name almost immediately. The topaz never made its way to his fingers. But his name was all over as the "Man Cheats Man. Gets Caught by Destiny." Inside the lock-up, that night, Vinayak finally smiled, after all his cellmates were done with their future unfolded by him.
He knew this would happen, a mishap. This too shall pass. He left the jail in five day's time and came out a surprisingly fresh man -- more confident than ever. He went straight to RK Jewellers and invested in a Topaz.
It did ensure him name.
In two days' time, he left his shabby chamber and went live with his computer programming of predictions. Maths always fascinated him. The permutation and combination of this and that, guaranteed there would be curious hits on his name now, more than ever. Correct that the palmist remained, Vinayak lived off others.
His website opened to a tangy voice saying "Welcome to Horrorscope. We alter future." As a testimonial, Vinayak proudly put up the story of his life.The stars shone bright on him. Till this day though, he is unsure though, if it indeed is his calculations or the credibility of the topaz.
He could never gather the courage to remove it from his finger.
He would end up with a decent amount daily, which ran away rather fast in tending to rent and living. But that never deterred Vinayak from the diligence with which he was putting in an effort to fortune-tell. He enjoyed the content on his client's face when he would reassuringly inform them of the success in a new venture they would want to undertake. He was equally grieved when he had dark times to unveil for his next client. Thus went Vinayak's days. His nights, however, were not as sketchy as blinking stars. They were as clear as the full-moon.
When he began this journey to foretell, he was already aware of his own. That, and the palmist's prediction came together to give rise to the scheme against the stars. Those were his nights -- how to defeat the future. All he needed was a topaz, which he could not afford. The colourless one, that is. Without any impurity. It would act and react with the planets' plans, and give him the name he had always longed for. And thus set with determination, he made a pact with RK Jewellers, to whom he would recommend his clients for their diamond or emerald. A percentage from each sale was building up towards his Topaz.
The horror came when Vinayak woke up one morning to the newspaper section which declared the Jewellery Shop Strike all over the nation. Immediately, he called Radhakant Babu. The call went unanswered -- for days, not mere hours. He could not concentrate on the day's readings. A walk to the shop only validated the shutters pulled down. But he could sense trouble. Foretell.
Vinayak commissioned a local thief to burgle out only his portion of the savings from the shop. As luck would have it, he got caught and spilled Vinayak's name almost immediately. The topaz never made its way to his fingers. But his name was all over as the "Man Cheats Man. Gets Caught by Destiny." Inside the lock-up, that night, Vinayak finally smiled, after all his cellmates were done with their future unfolded by him.
He knew this would happen, a mishap. This too shall pass. He left the jail in five day's time and came out a surprisingly fresh man -- more confident than ever. He went straight to RK Jewellers and invested in a Topaz.
It did ensure him name.
In two days' time, he left his shabby chamber and went live with his computer programming of predictions. Maths always fascinated him. The permutation and combination of this and that, guaranteed there would be curious hits on his name now, more than ever. Correct that the palmist remained, Vinayak lived off others.
His website opened to a tangy voice saying "Welcome to Horrorscope. We alter future." As a testimonial, Vinayak proudly put up the story of his life.The stars shone bright on him. Till this day though, he is unsure though, if it indeed is his calculations or the credibility of the topaz.
He could never gather the courage to remove it from his finger.
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