This happened earlier today. Around afternoon, Madhu (my wife) and I were driving around the neighborhood looking at houses to get some ideas of what we would want in our house if and when we build it. I call this "Planned Dreaming". We do this often ... it makes us look forward to owning a house of our own and as needed in a matter-of-fact world, we also try and make sense of the finances and get a feeling of how and when we can get there, or if we can get there at all.
Anyways, so here we are looking at houses, and there is this house that we have driven past many a times and liked each time. So this time we both said ... lets see if we can get a look inside. So we stopped the car and walked up to the security guard posted there. We asked if we can have a look and if people are coming to stay soon or not. He said the house was for sale and we could have a look inside. Thrilled we both walked in and as expected, the house was great, and did look outside our budget - by a considerable margin, but who cares? We were there to get some ideas ... so we went looking around and liked the landscaped lawns and the large bedrooms, the plush bathrooms, the swimming pool on the terrace and the whole nine yards. It was well planned, it was a treasure trove of ideas for us.
When we were done we walked out and there was our security guard, smiling. I thought, lets find out how much it actually is ... so I asked him. And he said - "Teen" (Three). Now I kind of guessed that it was 3 crores (3,00,00,000). That was a big number for us and we knew even before seeing this house that we couldn't afford it. But the way the guy said it was strange ... it seemed that that's all he had to say - "Teen". Obviously, I needed to know exactly what it was and not just guess. So I went "Teen ... Kya?" (Three ... what?)
He looked at me with an expression that said "This is exactly what I was hoping you wouldn't ask" ... but I wouldn't let go. So I asked again ... "Teen ... Kya?". And he said "Woh Kya kehte hain na saab ... ahhh .... yaad aaya ... crore ... Teen crore". (What do they call it ... ahh ... Now I remeber ... crore ... 3 crore).
This is where I went blank for a moment ... it was some sort of a revelation ... a moment of truth. This guy is guarding a property the worth of which is of no value to him. He doesn't count beyond a certain number. He is there attending to people, he is smiling and I am sure he has his happy and dull moments in life just like all of us. And yet he is blissfully unaware of how far the number system goes. He is happy to not know what 3 crores means. He could be just as happy as I am or more, just because his life is that simple. Its amazing ... how what we are running after everyday of our life doesn't hold any value to him. To him 3 crores is an information that has some meaning for other people, for him the number of any significance with regards to this house is ONE ... the one house he is supposed to guard.
I couldn't get over how small he made 3 crores look.
Will this change my house buying plans or will this make me not expect a hike in the next appraisal? The answer is obviously No ... but I will remember this conversation throughout my life. As a realization of how little our pursuits can possibly mean.
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