Prem Khatri, the quintessential berozgar (unemployed), juggles two main occupations- a part-time job searching for real employment and a full-time job enduring his parents' incessant taunts.
Money is his obsession. He worships money, dreams of mone...
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Prem gazed at the bundles of cash strewn across his bed.
Money.
Fifty thousand rupees in cash.
He reached out slowly, almost reverently, to touch the crisp notes, as if they might vanish at any moment if he blinks his eyes. The money reflected in his eyes, the greed visible in them in literal sense. He slowly bowed his head, and then looked at the ceiling, a smile spread on his lips until his cheek hurt from smiling.
And then he laughed.
He laughed until his chest hurt and tears welled up in the corner of his eyes.
Money. So much money. So much fucking money.
He sat on his bed, his eyes glued to the pile of cash before him. He pulled out a pamphlet from underneath the bed, examining it closely. squinting at the bold print, 'क्या आप बनेंगे अगले क्रोरेपति?'
("Will you become next millionaire?")
He nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling. "Yes, yes, yes!" he exclaimed.
He scanned the prices for the lucky draw tickets: 2,000 rupees each, with a grand prize of ten crore rupees. With ten crore rupees, he would first buy a property worth eight crores and invest the remaining two crores in shares and the stock market. Then, he would sell the property at a higher rate, buy another one, and sell that too. By repeating this process, he would soon own multiple properties and be well on his way to becoming a billionaire!
He eyed the cash with a hopeful grin. "Come on, my luck can't be this bad," he said to himself. "This time, I have to win!" He looked up at the ceiling. "Kanha ji, if you make me win this, I'll offer you a maakhan ka bhog of (Offering of butter)-" He paused, thinking hard. "-a hundred rupees!" he declared proudly.
Then, he proceeded to gather the notes in his arms, clutching them tightly to his chest before carefully placing them in a packet. His eyes darted to the cupboard. Rising to his full height, he strode over, placed the packet inside, and locked it securely. Glancing at his wristwatch, a cheap local model worth only one hundred and fifty rupees, he noted the time: 9:10 AM. He needed to visit Arora enterprise at 10 am. He has roughly one hour in his hand.
He raked his hand through his hair and smirked. "An hour more, and I'll have even more money."
He proceeded to come out of his room. He didn't have his bike with him, which he had already transported at a repair store. So, he will need to travel through auto. However, the moment he stepped into the living room, he saw all his family members standing there. Shruti was crying, her eyes red and swollen and he immediately went towards her protectively.
He held her shoulder and made her face him. "What happened?"
