The Heat and Dust Project by Saurav Jha

Author:Saurav Jha
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2015-05-21T16:47:49+00:00

Jignes Goradia is a share broker, though neither senior enough, nor, in his own words, experienced enough to set out on his own. At least not yet. He works for a company that pays him eighteen thousand rupees a month as salary. Plus coverage for travel. Do we get paid salary while writing books? He asks this moot question, brows furrowed in genuine concern for our sanity.

Not a salary, no, D says, with that flicker of annoyance she reserves for people who ask us this question. But yes, the publishers do pay a small advance, she admits. But then, we are doing this to also see the country. ‘Ah, okay.’ His face is reflective for an instant. ‘What is your caste?’ he asks us then, as though the answer to this will help clear matters up. Apparently, it is okay for Brahmins to up and become writers, incurring such a fiscal loss.

The conductor appears and tickets are for a hundred and forty rupees each. He has a ticketing machine and smartly prints out stubs. A few more passengers get into the bus before the door is shut and a balding old man, wiping his face on a large checked handkerchief, comes and sits next to me.

‘I have to travel very much for this job,’ Jignes tells us, the words carrying over the new guy’s head. ‘Twenty or twenty-one days out of thirty, I am out on tour. I cover many parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Demanding job. But I enjoy it.’

‘That’s a lot of touring,’ D says. ‘Your wife does not mind?’

At the mention of wife, Jignes Goradia flushes slightly. ‘She is herself busy,’ he says finally. ‘You see, I have twins.’ At that his face becomes cocky again. Twins! Two for the price of one – that’s got to be something. Love’s dividend doubled. ‘They keep her on her toes. It’s a joint family also. Company is there. Help is there. After all, madam, travelling is the key in my job. The relation is what the customers remember finally. Profit or loss is one thing. Natural in business. But it’s the relationship that counts.’

Travelling is an added feature in this old model of brokers’ hard sell. I remember, long before everything went online, my father had been sold Reliance shares by a broker who did his business practically door to door.

Outside the window, there are deep leafy groves on either side of the road. A group of spotted deer frolic at the edges. When the bus passes by, they draw back and stand still.

‘Our family – we are kanskaars by caste,’ Jignes volunteers. ‘Traditionally, we work with bronze. We have a small family shop. But nowadays it’s not enough to stick to the old trades. One needs new avenues. I am slowly getting into futures trading – very exciting. Perhaps I can specialize in metal later. It’s in my blood after all. Lot of money in that.’ His eyes twinkle. Then he comes back to what we had been talking about.

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