Without much difficulty, I managed to secure a room in the house of a railway porter. After that, I brought my luggage and took up residence here. Though the place wasn’t particularly clean, it was at least moderately tidy and somewhat comfortable. The landlord and his wife treated me with great respect. When they heard about the incident at the hotel, they were deeply sympathetic. Well, what’s done is done, I thought, and decided to stay here for a week.

The atmosphere here is very pleasant. It is wonderfully peaceful. There are no noises of any kind; it is utterly silent. In this manner, four days passed by in complete ease. Once or twice, I happened to see the girl who had traveled with me on the train to the seaside. She would come by, chatting in a lighthearted, witty, and clever manner—always managing to amuse without offending, and to jest without being the butt of the joke herself.

One night, after returning to my lodgings and having my meal, a rather amusing incident occurred. This isn’t exactly something one ought to broadcast to everyone, but since there’s no way around it, I must tell you.

I was suffering from constipation. I had to spend quite a long time sitting in the lavatory. In the mornings, this would cause inconvenience to the other tenants, so I had developed the habit of conducting my business at night. Now, did the people here discover this little secret of mine?

Barrister Parvateesam

The main difficulty here is that, to go to the lavatory, one must pass through the landlord’s kitchen. Every day, I would wait until they had finished their meals, wrapped up all their chores, and the husband and wife were sitting together, chatting. They would watch my comings and goings with amusement. Since there was no tap in that room, I would take a small jug of water with me, trying my best not to be seen by them.

One day, the landlady happened to notice this and mentioned it to her husband. For two days, they debated why I was carrying water with me. They couldn’t come to any conclusion. Perhaps I had some secret ailment, they thought, and maybe I was taking some special lotion water for it. If that was the case, it might not be good to keep me here. They decided that this matter must be clarified at once.

So, that night, as I was returning from the lavatory, they asked me to sit down. Wondering what this new formality was, I set the jug down and sat. After some small talk, they said, “Are you comfortable here? You don’t have any problems, do you? If you need anything or if there’s any lack, please tell us frankly. We’ll do whatever we can.”

Pleased, I replied, “I have no difficulties at all. Your kindness makes me very happy. I’m even thinking of staying another week or so.” They seemed quite delighted. After a couple more minutes