Nurungukal...2...contd...

         About ten o’clock we reached Pondy. From the bus stand we went to the ware house in a cycle rickshaw. The peddler talked similar to his Madras counter part. Pandyan was cautious to fix the fare in advance. Mr. Ghani was in charge of the warehouse.. Both of us had the training together. He was an unassuming person. I had requested him to find out a house,but his attempts were in vain. Instead he gave us a tip about the possible localities, to get one to suit my budget. Without spending much time with him we went in search of a broker. Luckily Pandyan knew where such persons used to wait for their customers.

         A few streets away there was a joint adjacent to a tea shop. I do not know how he identified our intention. One gentle man from the crowd approached us and asked whether we were  in search of a house?. I was astonished. He might have been a good face reader or might be that because of such intrusions he was in that profession. He was lean, with a slight bend, dark, wearing a glass which was balanced at the tip of his protruding nose, wearing a white shirt with a soiled collar and black pants. He tucked a hand kerchief on the back of his neck, probably to absorb the sweat. As he gave me his hand to shake I felt the profuse moisture.

            After collecting details of my requirements and budget, he took out a small pocket diary in which there was many phone numbers, may be that of the house owners. Then the hunt started. I found him transparent and straightforward. He placed his cards openly and left us to take the decision. By evening we were successful to fix one and returned to Madras, after paying a nominal advance to the owner and a large tip equivalent to that of a month’s rent to the broker. I thanked him profusely. After my joining Pondy warehouse, many a time I had met him at the same joint, but he failed to pay any attention, might be because he knew that I was not any more his client !!......contd...