Franklin Tippleton hailed me from afar as I stepped into the market. I was wearing my mask, which covered the lower half my face and my eyes were the only points of recognition, given that I was also wearing a full face ISI standard stamped helmet – I did not believe in the rule of one like many of my Covidly brethren – either Mask or Helmet – so I wore both.
“Hey bro”, he said, “long time no see! Where have you been”, he asked; we were old buddies, and I was surprised that he recognized me, given that I had lost weight during the lockdown – home food you see! Lovely food. Vegan, Gluten-free, protein-rich, and aromatic enough to attract me to the table every time. Some of it was by my sleight of hand too!
He was standing at the corner, with his wife in tow. They were following the principle of Social nestancing, as opposed to the currently mandated Social distancing but one that I had not seen them follow in a long time. But then, I realized that Lockdown has had many positive effects on people and nestancing is just one of them.
I was surprised to see him; hadn’t seen him a long time, been busy I guess – He ran his own utility business and he was making a lot of money I knew; because he had no time for us old buddies. But it seemed that his race was now over – won or lost was not clear. The Business was closed and he was compelled to spend time at home with his dog, whom he adored but didn’t feed – He didn’t have the time – and his family who were dear to him, but he couldn’t say hello to, except on a Sunday morning.
It was a quarter to twelve and I realized that I didn’t have much time to interact with him, as it would soon be time for us to return to our well-feathered nests.
We didn’t shake hands – just waved them – not even a high five. That too was proscribed and given that the wine shops were closed, it would have been a low five anyway!
“What’s up bro”, he said in a jocular manner through his mask standing an arm’s distance away. “You’ve become thin, not eating or what?”
“Hey Frankie, I am, otherwise I would disappear – just eating healthy”
What’s with you, you seem to have lost 10 Kgs. “Oh, yea I’m on a solid diet. Liquidity crisis you know?”
“Don’t get tense about that; it will blow over; already the RBI has offered to bail out the funds”, I consoled him. His wife interjected, “Yes he has been rather tense and worried these last few days”
Yes, tomorrow is May 4th. I read the newspapers. I had paid in advance for six bottles of liquor – I was promised one bottle free – at that famous wine store and they suddenly locked up the store. Its been more than 40 days now, and it’s one big liquidity crisis both for the government and me. How will the government buy these COVID 19 test kits? This combined with that Templeton thing has me really worried. But there is light at the end of the tunnel I guess Tomorrow’s the day.”
“Tomorrow my liquidity crisis will be resolved”. he added for emphasis. He even seemed to heave a sigh of relief!
“Eh?” I asked confused now.
His wife was mouthing something quietly into her mask. Couldn’t really make out. PPE does protect I thought. She glared at him and then turned to me. This time I heard the anguish and the menace clearly. “I thought he was worried about Franklin – he has a lot of money invested there! Liquidity crisis my foot. He’s been enjoying the best of liquids at home – from pineapple juice to tender coconut water. With liquids alone, he has become solid. He just wants to return to his former aqueous state. e doesn’t know the difference between a full stop and a comma. Since this morning, he has been excited about tomorrow. I’ve never seen him so excited, not even the day we got married!
He glared at her, but his eyes softened as he recalled his wedding day and vows perhaps. He turned to me. “She doesn’t understand these liquidity issues. If there is no flowing water, what’s the use of the tap he asked me?” Well, that was a good question I thought. The answer was simple – Just throw away the tap. But he would not accept it I knew – He had paid a lot of money for the tap and it must be made use of. That was his philosophy. And there lay his conundrum. To him, I simply said, “Frankie its time you changed your name to Gary!”
Change my name? to Gary? Why for heaven’s sake he asked me. Remember Gary Sobers? The great all-rounder? Well, he can guide you through this liquidity crisis. He was still pondering what I had said when I broke his reverie with “Gotta go, catch you later guys, I said. I started my two-wheeler and went on my way.
As I motored along, curiosity got the better of me – I turned back and saw that they were now following the Social distancing norms laid down by the government.
