कापणीचे दिवस, भविष्य आणि केशकर्तन...R K Narayan, GA and Sadanand Rege on Barber

कोविड मुळे मी जवळजवळ मार्च २०२० पासून केस कापायला बाहेर गेलेलो नाही, माझा मुलगा माझे केस कापतो आहे. 

R K Narayan:

“....Loquacious as usual and with the sharp blade scraping the soap, the barber had asked, “Coming out, I suppose?” Raju rolled his eyes and remained silent. He felt irritated at the question, but did not like to show it with the fellow holding the knife. “Just coming out?” repeated the barber obstinately.

Raju felt it would be no use being angry with such a man. Here he was in the presence of experience. He asked, “How do you know?”

“I have spent twenty years shaving people here. Didn’t you observe that this was the first shop as you left the jail gate? Half the trick is to have your business in the right place. But that raises other people’s jealousies!” he said, waving off an army of jealous barbers.

“Don’t you attend to the inmates?”

“Not until they come out. It is my brother’s son who is on duty there. I don’t want to compete with him and I don’t want to enter the jail gates every day.”

“Not a bad place,” said Raju through the soap.

“Go back then,” said the barber and asked, “What was it? What did the police say?”

“Don’t talk of it,” snapped Raju and tried to maintain a sullen, forbidding silence for the rest of the shave.

But the barber was not to be cowed so easily. His lifelong contact with tough men had hardened him. He said, “Eighteen months or twenty-four? I can bet it’s one or the other.”

Raju felt admiration for the man. He was a master. It was no use losing one’s temper. “You are so wise and knowing. Why do you ask questions?”

The barber was pleased with the compliment. His fingers paused in their operations; he bent round to face Raju and say, “Just to get it out of you, that is all. It’s written on your face that you are a two-year sort, which means you are not a murderer....”

(The Guide, 1958 )

 
जी ए कुलकर्णी:
"... कुणीतरी ते विचारावे यासाठीच जणू न्हावी अधीर झालेला दिसला. तो उत्साहाने म्हणाला , "माणसे गेली आहेत शेतात ! हे कापणीचे दिवस नव्हेत का ? मीच तेवढा या ठिकाणी मागे राहिलो, कारण माझा धंदाच तसला पडला. कसलीही यातायात न करता माझे पीक वाढत राहते आणि कापणीच्या वेळी शेतेच माझ्या दारात येतात !" आणि यावर वेडेवाकडे दात दाखवत तो एकदम हसला..." 
['यात्रिक', १९७५ (सत्यकथा) /१९७७ (पिंगळावेळ)]

सौजन्य: जी ए कुलकर्णी आणि सदानंद रेगे यांच्या साहित्याचे कॉपीराईट होल्डर्स, वाङ्मय शोभा जुलै १९५३, बुकगंगा.कॉम