A SOLUTION FOR MY FRIEND

Well, I have no excuses for being on my vanishing phase for 3 months. Sometimes it so happens that one has to take a sabbatical and I was doing just that.

I was resting. The only activity during these three months was morning and evening walk to TKS and eating Dosas every day. Once or twice Shish started the topic of democracy. He was trying to remind me of our commitment to my friend that we will find a solution to his problem.

‘For 3 months there will be no discussions on democracy. My head is saturated now and I can’t think anything about problems and solutions.’ I told shish.

This morning i was sitting in TKS as usual and who is rushing in but my friend. Shish pointed him out before he reached TKS.

‘See, your Democracy friend is coming.’

‘Oh, he seems to be in some panic.’ I was feeling a bit guilty

‘Naturally. This is what I was trying to tell you a couple of times.’ 

‘Don’t worry. We will handle it.’ I said. ‘Hey, come, come! What happened? You seem to be in some kind of a trouble.’

‘Not in some kind of a trouble. In big trouble, we are.’

‘You sit and relax first. Let us have tea with most delicious Dosas. Shish, bring some water and Dosas for my friend here.’

Shish came out with the foodies. As we consumed Dosas, my friend said

‘Naradaa, you have disappeared for last three months. All the efforts to contact you through phone had failed. So, I decided to come.’

‘I had taken a sabbatical. Truly, I was very tired and I needed this rest. Come tell me the problem. Shish, I think you should also sit with us.’

‘Naradaa, Shish, You had seen our problem last time. We have to find some solution immediately. Otherwise the whole household will break up. The cost of various things are going up skyhigh and practically every other day the policy changes.’

‘I can think of one solution.’ Shish said, ‘I will open a TKS in your place. I will come and train you how to make these Dosas and other foods like Parippu vada, bajjiya, upma etc. I will have no workers of mine there if your guys are willing to work. You start making them with this quality and see the result.’

‘But your business here will suffer.’ My friend told Shish.

‘Don’t worry. This will run without any trouble.’

‘What do you say, Naradaa?’ My friend was not fully convinced but ready to give it a try.

‘It looks like a good idea. But what about your profits, Shish?’

‘My profits will be shared by me and people who work in TKS2. I am thinking of a business model having profit sharing with the people who work in the restaurant. They do not have to share the loss. But if it is in loss for three months, we will close it.’ Shish said enthusiastically.

My friend said, ‘Shish, some of our guys are very cunning. If your TKS2 works well, they may try to take the business away from you once they learn how to make these dosas.’

‘I don't think so. Anyway, let us try. I can take 3 months loss. Only what you will have to make sure is others who had come from outsides will not create trouble when they see competition.’

‘So, you go and get the necessary arrangements made. Shish will prepare the necessary equipment’ I assured my friend.

'Thanks. And Shish, I must say the dosas are melt-in-the-mouth kind. Excellent.'