He only said he had swept, but there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. In our villages, no matter how many times you sweep in a day, there’s always enough dust to go around. No one knows where it all comes from. After about ten more minutes, without us saying a word, the lady brought us some snacks and tea, serving us with a smile. Once we finished that ritual, we changed into our street clothes and stepped outside. As we were leaving, he carefully closed the doors behind us.

Once we were out on the street, I asked Raju quietly, “Aren’t you going to lock the door?”

“Oh, it’s not necessary. Here, if you lock the door, people take it the wrong way. They think you don’t trust the people in the house, or that you’re insulting them. So, there’s no need to lock up. If you must lock something, it’s usually just the front door, not the rooms inside.”

Then we set out in search of my own lodgings. Every house with a “To Let” sign, upon seeing us, would say, “Sorry, there’s nothing vacant! Very sorry, I regret it.” No matter which house we went to, it was always the women who opened the door, greeted us, and answered our questions. I supposed the men must have gone out somewhere. In some places, the rooms were so tiny and cramped that I didn’t like them. In others, both the house and the housewife were so disagreeable that I had no mind to stay there. In one or two places, though everything seemed fine, Raju said the rent was far too high.

So, we wandered about like this until one o’clock, our legs growing heavy as lead, and by lunchtime, we could barely drag ourselves back to the house. I began to lose hope that I’d ever find a room. Poor Raju noticed my discouragement and said, “Don’t worry, don’t rush. If you don’t find something today, you’ll find it tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. You can stay with me for a week if you need to. I only worry that you might be inconvenienced.”

I replied, “I’m not troubled at all. The only thing missing is an extra bed for you,” said Raju.

“That’s no problem at all. Come on, let’s go.”

“I feel bad that I am causing you so much trouble,” I said.

After reaching home, we finished our meals and rested for a while.

After wandering around like this for two or three days, I finally managed to find a room—quite a good one at that. Attached to the sitting room was a small bedroom. In it, there was a large bed with two mattresses, two or three rugs, blankets, and two towels for washing up—everything was right there. In the sitting room, there was a sofa, two cushioned chairs, a dining table with two or three chairs beside it, and a small cupboard-like thing to keep books and such. There