The author has used the episode of the bank theft to comment on Satyajit’s success in his career in a very composed manner. Satyajit is not an extra ordinary person. He never deserved the post he got after the incident of bank theft. The author is successful in pointing that Satyajit’s glory and success was just by chance and not hard earned. Such success is not long lasting. It goes instantly as it comes.

In the beginning of the story Satyajit is introduced as a man who is careful to regulate his expenses. In the train, he goes out to smoke but before taking out cigarettes he thinks twice. This shows that he is going through a difficult phase and can’t afford the luxuries anymore.

Success is a process which greatly depends on our hard work, but even one mistake can knock us down from the hights of success in no time. To achieve success in life we need to plan meticulously and work hard, but failure comes without any intimation. We long for success throughout our life but failure arrives without invitation. It takes years of hard work and dedication to achieve success in life, but sometimes we will lose everything we achieved will disappear overnight. A wrong decision or a thoughtless move is enough for a fall from the zenith of success. No one wants to meet with failures in life, so it seems like failure had a tempo faster than success.

It is difficult to adjust to a fall from the zenith of glory. When you are not accustomed to luxuries it is easier to live without them. But once you have experienced the comforts of life it is very difficult to live in their absence. When you have a high social status, people around treat you with respect, but when you fall their respect decreases. It becomes very difficult for a person who achieved success in life to live in ignominy.

Satyajit’s life had been full of changes. He began his as an ordinary person and at last fate brought him back to where he began. When he lived in his native village he was ‘nobody’. Then he came to city and started working as a bank clerk. He caught a forger and as a reward he got promoted as an accountant in the bank. Slowly he went up in the ladder of success and became the Managing Director. He suddenly became a big man and gained respect from all corners. But he could not enjoy his success for long. He realised that he earned his success at the cost of a poor man he caught for forgery. The man wanted to give treatment to his dying wife. All of a sudden Satyajit lost all the wealth and became ‘nobody’ again. This cycle of events in life taught him the lesson that the pace of failure is faster than that of success.

Satyajit’s success in his career was based an incident. When he was working as a clerk in a bank, he caught a forger. The man was a poor teacher who tried to encash a fake check to treat his dying wife. According to Satyajit, even for that one should not try to cheat. Satyajit believed that the forger got what he deserved. But when he got hit by misfortune, he realised that his success in life was at the cost of someone’s loss. He got all the glory because of the forger. He also realised that he hated the person because of whom he got all the success in life. He realised that he should have given him a second chance because the punishment he received must have ruined his life. A second chance would have saved him and his family.

There is no doubt a crime is always a crime. However, some people commit petty crimes in order to survive in certain difficult situations in their life. For example, if a poor child steals a loaf of bread to satisfy his hunger, it shouldn’t be considered as a crime. If a man steals to save the life of someone who is dying of some sickness, that too cannot be treated as a grave crime. We should show mercy to such people and give them a second chance.

Life is made of ups and downs. Failure and success are two faces of the same coin. We should accept failures in life with equanimity. Failures do not stop us from being successful again. Failures belongs to the past, but future is always in our hand and we can mould it our way. So, we should not be ashamed of our failures. It is said that failures are steppingstones to success. It is when we hide the truth from others we get into trouble. Satyajit should have revealed his predicament to his uncle. It would have saved him from many problems. False pride does not take us anywhere.

Yes, they capture the Indian idiom as they are associated with Indian tradition of treating guest like god. In India washing feet of guests is a way to pay them utmost respect.

Some other alike expressions in the story are:

Mention money to a millionaire! And such a pittance. A drop in the ocean.’

‘I could drag him to you and make him grovel at your feet and rub his fat nose on the ground.’

You will also see the whole village spit at the shark, thoo!’

a. A small girl with an awestruck face stepped up with a jasmine garland in her hand. Satyajit looked at the girl who stepped forward, shy, slender with large pensive eyes in a graceful face.

b. I met Jignesh after a long time. He was not a skinny boy of 14 anymore. Now he had grown into a tall and fair muscular man. The stubble around his mouth shaped his smile making it seem greater than it was. While our friendly chit chat, he tipped his head back and let out a belly of a laugh several times. His silky brown hair covering his ears swayed with each laugh. He had become a smart man now.

The line ‘Glory was all overlaid with dark shame. Glory was dead’ explains the state of mind of the narrator. He does not seem to accept his failure. He has broken down completely both financially and emotionally but still not ready to reveal the reality to his uncle. He feels that the opposite of glory is shame. ‘Glory is dead’ shows his hopelessness and disappointment. He has no control over this situation. He thinks that money earned him all the respect which is true to a large extent. He thinks that the people who respect him because of his riches will despise him if they know he is a pauper.

Brusquely: blunt, rough or in an abrupt manner

Queer rhythmic frenzy: Strange and regular controlled excitement

Flush of prosperity: abundant wealth

Wide eyes wonder and eager homage: Villagers were amazed to see Satyajit’s wealth and were impatient to show special respect to him.

Talking animatedly: enthusiastic and excited way of talking

On terms of a perpetual feud: a matter of constant quarrel

Attuned himself: to get accustomed to

Wrenching: twisting pain within

Daze of bewilderment: baffled

Tremulous deliberation: shaking consideration

Satyajit is the protagonist of the story and he narrates the story of his own life. His life is like a circle which ends where it started. Most part of the story is formed in the thoughts of the narrator. He remembers the time when he was nobody. Then he starts his career as a bank clerk. Within no time he gets promoted to the high ranked post of the Managing Director. He feels that he always deserved this position. Due to the circumstances he loses his wealth and prosperity. He becomes a pauper. It is a human tendency to introspect when one meets with difficulties in life. We try to discover the reasons of our failure. When Satyajit gets success, he gives all the credit to his ability, but when failure knocks at his door, he recalls his bad deeds. He realises that the tempo of failure is faster than success.

(a) Satyajit lived in the village as an ordinary person. But after migrating to the city, he gained so much of wealth and fame. He became a person of prosperity. He attended the weddings of his nieces as he enjoyed the respect and attention given by the villagers. The other reason of his attending the wedding was that he knew well that he can only help in Srinath’s daughter crisis.

(b) Satyajit lost all the wealth he earned. While travelling in the train to the village he recollects one incident that happened when he was working as a bank clerk. He caught a man doing forgery. Satyajit handed him over to the police after which he got promoted as the accountant. The forger was the steppingstone in his career and at the end Satyajit became the Managing Director. Now that Satyajit has lost all his prosperity and needs a second chance, he realises that he could have given that man a second chance that day. He realises that time changes fast and mercilessly. All the good deeds and bad deeds come back to us during the circle of time.

(c) Srinath and his family members’ have eager expectations of Satyajit’s arrival because they sought some monetary help from Satyajit for paying the dowry money. They knew him as a rich man for whom few thousand rupees did not matter.

(d) As Satyajit reached his uncle’s house for the marriage of his niece his uncle raised a sudden demand for 2001 rupees to be paid in cash to the groom’s father as dowry. Actually, the only cash left with Satyajit was Rs. 200. Out of which he was planning to give 101 rupees to his uncle. His uncle thought that a rich person like Satyajit must be carrying plenty of money in his wallet. But he got disappointed when Satyajit told him that he did not have that much of money at that time.

(e) Satyajit’s banking business suddenly collapsed, and all his assets were lost overnight. Presently he is just pretending to be rich. The villagers imagine him to be a rich person and treat him with great respect. Satyajit enjoys the attention given by them as he had been just an ordinary person once upon a time. Villagers have witnessed his rise and glory, but they are not aware of his recent fall. Satyajit does not reveal his true state to them because he knows that he will not get any attention and respect after revealing the truth to them. He continues to pretend to be a rich and wealthy person. For this reason, he feels that he has become an imposter.

(f) Satyajit helped Srinath in his four daughter’s marriage. He is well aware that he is getting a god like treatment for his richness and the financial help he has given to his uncle’s family. Satyajit enjoys the respect given to him by the villagers and specially Srinath’s family. He does not want to become an ordinary person in their eyes. Apart from this, he knows that Srinath has a lot of expectations from him. He is not willing to disappoint him. So, he does not disclose his present financial status to his uncle.