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Ring Of Gold - Lures Lover, Money & Wisdom

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Thyagarajan, May 21, 2019.

  1. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello: Ring of Gold - Lures Lover, Money & Wisdom. :hello:

    As an adolescent college going student, it was no wonder I was fond of watching romancing, tantalising heroes and heroines in rich attire, singing around umbrageous Gulmohar trees, chasing around picturesque gardens of colourful flowers, ascending & descending over hills rolling in lawns and snows in Eastman colour.

    Only time I could dedicate for this purpose was playing truant to co-Ed college and be watching with fellow class-mates matinee movies in cinema halls.

    Though ignorant of Hindi, yet Hindi films I loved to watch for its richness vis a vis tamil or Malayalam or English . Seeing the movie with like minded class mates immediately of its release was an obsession. With friends, rushing to cinema halls almost at backyard of my home would always be on top of the mind.

    My bosom friend and class mate used to collect past issues of glossy colourful monthly magazine in English known as “PICTURE POST” from platform vendors & old paper mart.
    He & I always would be in the lookout for this Picturepost & would - for ready reference - maintain such collections, monthly-wise in huge library of other story books and magazine including Deepavali specials.

    Once planned to watch a Hindi movie on a particular day, he would pick up from his library the relevant Picturepost and bring along. We refresh once again just before buying the tickets, read the story line and nuggets of information about the film & relishing the pin-ups and share it proudly with strangers in queue.

    During Degree-years, a total of Hindi and other language movies, he & I together watched would easily exceed 150. The feel of pink or brown coloured ticket in our hand would transport our mind to Eldorado until we occupy our marked seats.

    Few box office movies, we watched over & over. Insaniath , Sangam, Padosan, Mogul-e-Azam, kalyana Parisu(Tamil) are the movies seen over five to ten times.

    The thrill in hiding from mom, my trip to movies, sacrificing college hours used to be inexplicable. I would act and pretend as if I was returning from college after laborious day.

    It was end of my first year degree course. Once, my mother at dusk, watched my pretensions in an unusual calm manner offered me dosa with coffee. When I finished with that, she casually enquired whether movie was good? I produced a naughty smile and wondered how she came to know of it.

    She cleared the air teary-eyed. Aunty of the next house returned disappointed from the theatre where she had spotted me with my bosom friend and reported to her.

    I remember that summer May evening even now. How mildly yet sternly, she reprimanded and said cutting classes would result in cancellation of government scholarship.

    The money required to buy admission to movies and cost of bus fare was met from my monthly income by way of imparting tuitions. With arrival of summer holidays, my income from tuitions turned nil.

    Pocket-money at home unheard of. My reserves dried up soon and part time work not available any more. My friend too faced similar drying up of resources.

    We discussed at my doorstep. Then remembered half-page bold ad that used to regularly appear in Picturepost.

    The brief of ad:
    “Powerful stone studded 22 karat gold Magic ring that is capable of attracting wealth, opposite sex and clear of other impediments for Rs 500. To promote marketing the ring, we would offer free for those who solve the magic square as per example given under:
    God bless you win.
    Example of magic square of 72 is given below: you construct another magic square of 75.
    Remember that row wise column wise diagonal wise the digits sum to be same and equal to 75.”
    *EXAMPLE of Magic Square 72:
    27 20 25

    22 24 26

    23 28 21

    Complete solution for magic square 75 on a post card with self address in block letters written legibly be sent to The Advertiser, c/o The Post Master, Box No. .......Gwalior -2. Those of you desirous to buy write to us.

    We thought for a while for solution. My friend told that overnight sleep with this problem upper most in mind , might give clue to the solution and left.

    I was brooding over the solution. An hour gone by. It was time to impart maths tuition to fresh set of elementary school siblings two boys and a girl.

    I was teaching boys the Addition. The young girl softly smiled enjoyed watching her brothers' learning struggle. In the middle of my instruction, I was often mentioning the phrase add one more add one more) in tamil.(இன்னும் ஒண்ணு கூட்டு - இன்னும் ஒண்ணு கூட்டு).

    Suddenly my mind riveted with that phrase and next moment I solved the Magic Square 75. I abruptly finished the tuition in excitement.

    I was about to rush out. Mother wanted me to finish with supper. I did it in great haste. It was summer late evening.
    I reached my bosom friend profusely sweated as I
    disclosed the solution to him. He rejoiced.

    Luckily his elders sister was readily having two blank post cards . We wrote carefully each one card with solution for magic square 75 on the face side; and on the other side meticulously wrote our address in block letters on left and the address of the advertiser on right.

    Next morning, we thought before dropping our cards into the red pillar post box it would augur well if we take blessings of the Lord and so went to temple prayed sincerely and cicumambulated main deity nine times.


    After dropping our post cards into the black mouth of red coloured pillar post box a week has goneby. One afternoon postman delivered printed inland letter sent from Gwalior. For both of us, identical response received same day.

    It said "Congradulation. You are the winner. To enable send you the gift of wonderful magic 22 karat gold ring by insured post parcel, please send Indian postal order for Rs50 payable at post office - Gwalior 2. "

    So our gift - stone studded 22Karat gold ring - worth Rs 500 is assured and that would be sent to us insured. we were confident & ecstatic.

    We decided to keep this response secret from our home to surprise them later and managed to borrow and went to post office to buy the postal orders.

    We joined the queue that was moving in snail’s pace.
    A learned stocky man with curled mustachios in queue before us was loudly castigating an advertisement he had just read from Tamil news paper Dina Thanthi held in his hands.

    I stealthily glanced paper held wide open between his arms. It was identical ad that we regularly seen in that glossy Picturepost Magazine.
    The man’s sharp utterances we heard clearly with bitterness. He was mentioning how such ads cheat & dupe the gullible.

    The man loudly said “you solve a magic square and to send the gift - they demand postal orders which the rascals would encash and enjoy.”

    My friend & I were aghast, looking at each other knitting our forehead. we ambled out of queue nonchalantly. Palm felt the borrowed money intact in our chest pocket.


    PS:
    By the way, I would leave it to the reader to solve magic square 75. I trust you had read Humour in college class room in the link

    Glossing Over Subject Line


    Sent from my iPad
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
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  2. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    upload_2019-5-22_13-20-2.jpeg

    I made a futile attempt to put this image of India post mail box kept in market place in my OP ABOVE BUT it was futile attempt . I tried now. The post box is one of the objects in the story & I desired it would be nice projection if it appears along the anecdote wherein I narrate my visit to temple before dropping our post cards into the pillar post box illustrated above.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2019
  3. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Thyagarajan Sir,

    I enjoyed reading your venture to solve the magic square. That is what I do during the free time in order to keep my mind active and avoid Alzheimer. But you did it for a different reason at a very young age.

    Cutting the classes and going for a movie is a habit that many students can easily relate. I studied B.Com. in Annamalai University and I decided to cut my Accountancy tutorial classes and decided to watch newly released MGR Jayalalitha movie in Chidambaram. I got humiliated in my class room the next class as the teacher watched us rushing into the Theater as he was crossing the road.

    The punishment I got from the teacher who was highly religious was to ask me to come three consecutive Sundays to have dharshan of Lord Nataraja with him. I really enjoyed dharshan of Lord Nataraja and decided to visit the Temple often after that experience.

    After my wedding, I told my wife about that venture and she said she had done it many times watching movie with her girl friends in Blue Diamond theater which continues show non-stop.

    But luckily I didn't have any scholarships.
     
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  4. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello: I am glad that you could tolerate the story while enjoying it. Happy to know you attempt solving magic square now to keep Alzheimer at bay. For the same effect, I daily solve atleast one 5* Sudoku.
    2. Nice to know like me you too played truant that rewarded you with darshan of dancing Thillai Lord Nataraja that began on Sunday with your Accountant Guru!
    3. Like me, every husband from time to time reveal such anecdotes to betterhalf which they seem to enjoy at that moment but stays green in their money to at times to retort?
    4. Blue diamond non stop movie theatre above Safire is the one in which I watched Sharmila Tagore - Dharmendra in black & white movie Anupama. The movie theatre building demolished durin Amma’s Governance & still remains leveller vacant plot.
    Regards.
     
  5. Novalis

    Novalis Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Thyagu,

    I finished reading your main snippet, then your adjunct snippet. It was this follow-up snippet that fancied my imagination.

    I have not watched in entirety many James Bond films though I am very devoted to the title sequence of these films. In those title sequences much impression and thought and afterthought representing the suspenseful plot is conveyed. Could be the lustrous dunes of a femme in Goldfinger or the suzani card stitch of Casino Royale. Very meticulously these props are chosen to identify with the broody title of the film.

    In your snippet, I sense three such props:

    (1) Magic Square
    (2) 22 karat gold ring - worth Rs 500.
    (3) News paper advertisement

    But you preferred ...

    I am as frustrated as not having solved the magic square in my inexpert to have speculated your preference. Postbox! In a way the postbox is representative of the established prop in your snippet as it featured pervasively in the background.

    I don't have to try hard to imagine a hovering postbox in the title sequence of a bond-styled 'Ring Of Gold - Lures Lover, Money & Wisdom' narrative. I like your postbox, too!
     
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  6. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello:Thank you sister.
    2. This FB would remain an outstanding review of this thread and I presume you read the adjunct link.
    3. Btw, I was watching casino Royal in tatasky times before posting this snippet.
    Regards.
     
  7. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Very interesting snippet Thyagarajan Sir. Fortunately/
    unfortunately we were born at a time when pocket money was not even thought of. There was no radio, no electricity.All record work had to be completed before dusk in the spacious outer prakaram of Akilandeswari temple.
    Therefore I had no personal experience of such sorts except from short stories.
    All I had was only 6 two paise coins for to-fro bus charge .No 'purse'business.I had to keep in the Geometry box along with pen,pencil or rubber.If a two paisa coin falls down the slit, I had to walk 3 Km from the college. It was a nice walk along Cauvery bridge in the evenings.But we were very happy with 'nothingness'.
    We were also expecting postman-expecting post cards from my sisters / cousins numbering 18 conveying kshemam. Postman used to sit on the pyol of a house and we used to go that house and get the post even while sorting.
    We had some funny letters while looking for alliance to our cousins.The letter in English read'Ragu is in the 6th house from you.He will be very favourable and help you in fixing alliance'.My uncle, who was not educated read it and went to the 6th house and enquired about Ragu.Accidentally it so happened that there was some Raghunathan, ( come from a remote village)who was in a State Govt's job after completing matric. Things worked out and marriage took place.
    After some time we laernt that the writer of the card meant that the planet 'Raahu' was in 6th house from lagna of the girl's horoscope.Now the letter with wrong pronunciation and missing words turned out to be a blessing in disguise and a real Raghunathan became the son-in-law of our family.
    Jayasala 42
     
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  8. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks :hello:And :clap2:.
    I enjoyed and LOL.

    REGARDS.
    GOD PROVIDES FOR INSTANT WEDLOCK.
     
  9. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello:Given the example for magic square 3x3 for sum 72, it was easy to make another magic square 3x3 for sum 75 by just adding to one each element magic square 72.

    Thanks to visitors here.
     
  10. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Haha we are still living in a scam Rajya. Conmen are the most creative of people. They come up with something new to make asses of the gullible. As for the movies, some movies look dated and even unintentionally hilarious lik Mughal-e-Azam. Imagine when a guy is about to be executed, someone bursts into song! Such scenes will elicit laughter nowadays.
     
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