It was a dark and stormy night. No. The Man from Madras Musings has a tendency to exaggerate. It was a fine night, of the kind you can expect in Madras that is Chennai when the meteorological department has predicted cyclones and the Government has declared a holiday for schools. MMM was just winding up for the day when the phone rang.
On answering it MMM found a voice at the other end which clearly was of the masses. And it came to the point even before the customary exchange of courtesies. It was, it said, interested in a piece of land sold years ago by a distant relative of MMM’s and wanted to know how to contact the old man. MMM, having known by bitter experience the way land is transacted in this beloved state of ours, was instantaneously on his guard. He asked if the person at the other end was a property dealer. The man replied in the affirmative.
MMM then asked as to how he, the dealer, had got his, MMM’s number and how did he, the dealer, know that MMM was related to the old man who had sold the property years ago. It transpired that the sale deed bore the witness signature of MMM’s auditor (this is what comes of kindly sharing your auditor with elderly relatives selling properties) and his contact details were on the document. The dealer had called him and he, the auditor, had asked him to contact MMM. MMM who had looked upon this auditor as a friend realised what King Lear had meant when he lamented about people being sharper than serpent’s teeth.
He then told the dealer that he would prefer being contacted by the person actually needing the document and so could they call or send an email. The voice, none too pleased, hung up. And a few minutes later a call came from another number and this time it was the potential buyer, a lady.
She said she was surprised that it was MMM’s number she had been asked to contact for she said she knew MMM already, having been on one of his heritage walks. She then asked in all innocence if MMM had property documents for all land transactions in the city. MMM replied in the negative and asked as to why she thought so.
To this she replied that on being given MMM’s phone number she asked the dealer as to why this number was being shared as this was of a person who wrote on the city’s history. To this the dealer told her that being someone who dealt with the past, MMM had details and documents of all land bought and sold in the city! It was news to MMM that historians were also tahsildars – which office, for those who don’t know, keeps track of land records in India.
MMM did not know how to react. But he decided that his first priority was to protect the aged relative who in the intervening years since the land sale had gone practically gaga. He told the lady that as long as the transaction was genuine he did not see any reason as to why the old man had to be disturbed in the twilight of his life. She was gracious enough to agree and that was that.
MMM realised that he had passed on a lucrative career in property dealing. Could he, with his domain expertise in history now offer to apprentice himself under caller 1, namely the property dealer?
This was published in the Madras Musings. CLICK HERE to read them.