My friend is now 55 years old. A very good personality. When he was a boy is house was a center of attraction in our home town. His father was a very great business man. He was excelling in textiles business and he was the first man to export textile garments from our town. So famous his father was.

My friend, (let me call him in his pet name as Alex) is a good friend to me right from my child hood days. Good at studies. He had enough money to spend for his surrounding friends when he was a boy. Many boys used to go with him always while I was a little away from him. Because of his money. I used to think that if I am close to him then he would probably may think that I am close to him only for his money.

But, Alex, never use to see me like that.While so many friends are overwhelming him, he used to search for me and would call me to join with him to play or to go to movie or for any hotel to have a little party like dinner. He would avoid going with others if I failed to go with him So the other common friends also used to monitor and request me to join with them. Such was the situation. Once, a couple from a western country came to our home town, because they are my then pen friends. On my invitation to them they had come just like that.

In those days no mobile phone, no internet or any other modern gadgets were available. Only we use to send our mails by post and it would take about 15 days to receive by the other end. So to avoid delay in their arrival to our home town they just landed. I had to provide them a good accommodation. No modern Hotels were available. Alex could gain his father's permission to provide them a guest room for their stay. We both took them to nearby sight seeing places, temples a few, which were then allowed for them to visit. Things like that. So the pen pals were very happy and they gave us both momentoes and in return we also had given them textiles fabrics made out of twisted yarn an exceptional special quality on those days.

Alex and I entered into college, I selected a college, which was then famous a college.Alex joined in the college which was newly started by his father. So we got different lines of activities. I got my graduation and entered into my own field of activities. I was an Executive in an Export oriented company, Alex, completed is graduation and was provided with a boar machine to work with. He got his assignment in Gujarat .The water level in those area was not sufficient and they all were facing ac cute water scarcity. The 4.5 " boaring machine was a boon to them in those days. That machine used to boar about 300' depth with a dia of 4.5." The water in such boar well were possible. So the Government opted to boar with such machines to provide adequate water to the public there. His machine was an imported one with all modern amenities in it. So he was earning good. But only dissatisfaction he had was that he could not be with his family members, especially with his mother, who used to give him some special homemade snacks. And he used to write me a letter every now and then saying about his work, his experiences and so on.

Then I was also in Bangalore. Those days going to one place to another was not easy like to day. We had to go by train only. For long distances frequency of train service was not much. If we plan to go to Delhi from Madras (those days Chennai was called as Madras) we have to wait for a wednesday train only. And reservation compartments were considered as luxury compartments.So in the general compartment only we used to travel. The ticket fare was also very high comparing to buses. But, bus travel would take a day more to us to reach Delhi from Chennai.So ultimately, we avoided going by bus or sometimes we avoided the trip to Delhi or any other distance travel at all.

Once in a month Alex used to come to our home town and during then he used to let us know about his arrival. He was the only one using Trunk-calls to talk to us.And if possible I also would avail a couple of days leave from my office to enjoy the holiday with Alex.

Alex had two elder brothers and two elder sisters. His elder sister married to an executive of a Government company in Madras, while the second sister married a business man. His elder brother was looking after the export house, while his another elder brother was to maintain all the machinaries of their business house, including the boar machine. Slowly, Alex business developed and the demand for this business grew day by day and all his brothers and father decided to buy two more such machines for the other Government of state to cater. The business to them was a success. One day his father while sleeping had a massive heart attack and died during his sleep.It was a shocking news to my dear friend Alex. He reached home by flight.

The first intimation he gave me about the sad demice by telegraph.And it read as,"Father died.Start." As Alex is our family freind, I thought my brother probably did not have a thought to send me a telegram and so he had sent to me I trunk-called my home . My father picked up the phone and asked me as why I called him. ( In those days trunk-call was considered to be a costly affair) and started scolding at me. And was insisting me to tell him the reason for calling him by trunk-call. I could not evade and I had to tell him that I received a telegram from Alex saying that Father died. I was worried,and so I called home.

Then, after the sad demise of Alex's father, his eldest brother took over the business and house hold responsibilities. But he did not have enough experience to handle things successfully,like his father and he was only posing and wearing the dresses like his father.

But, he is not good at business. He is a spent thrift also. The other partners of the business also cheated them. And some of the properties are now in court dispute. The Manager who was working with them and was meeting the business customers of North India told them that the business is with a new business banner and thus saying he started a parelleal business with similar name and canvassed business and diverted all the viable business to his new business and abruptly stopped their clientele also. So the situation in the business went to doll drums. Since the elder brother had to attend a lot of court matters, he was not able to concentrate on the business. Alex second brother was not good at managing the business and he was good only at maintaining the machinery of their business. Alex earned money was siphoned for the maintaine of the business. So Alex was also in  a fix with his working capital and slowly he had to close his business also.

Alex, used to tell his other brothers,that it is high time that the business has to be started to make at least, the day to day expenditures. But, the simple EGO stood before them and they were postponing their business proposals. Year after year, the court cases are going on and ultimately, they had to borrow some money for their livelihood. They pledged some of their properties also to borrow money. Since there is no income, they could not repay the debts in time. The pledged properties are also now in court trail as they are insincere in their debt clearance.

Alex, at one point got angry with his brothers and told them that you all have been telling me that we should be one in forming the family business and now it is 23 years gone.Still you have not started any business. As the youngest of you all my word is not at all listened by you and now you are making me also to run behind you for the cases. You have made me also to be lazy. Now atleast release me from all the cases and let me start my business from the scratch somehow. But, his brothers refused. Now one of the banker found that the court order is in that banker's favour only. But the amount declared is only Rs. 2.5 lakhs against of an accumulated amount of 20 lakhs. So, he had come to Alex home with some goondas to kidnap him for that money. Now, Poor Alex is in a fix. Neither he is able to convince his brothers to get rid of all the debts by selling the remaining properties, nor able to quit the partnership from his brothers. He is also not able to start a business.

He is becoming poor day by day. He is not able to start his own business. And neighbors treat him as a very poor man. But, his feelings are not accepting that. IS POVERTY A SIN......?