Dalhousie Square was the most important commercial hub of Kolkata city. All the PSU commercial banks and reputed business offices were in this place only. In Indian Bank, the Paresh Chandra Dutta used to work as a clerk. Every day after 5 PM he used to come back to his home from office by bus or tram. On a special rainy evening, he came to his house by walking only because all the buses and trams were overcrowded with passengers. Paresh had no one except his wife. All the children of Paresh had died some years ago. Paltu was a little boy who lived in the neighboring house of Paresh. Paltu showed him a very special stone. Any object made of iron when touched with that special stone used to transform into a golden object. Mr. Dutta gave chocolates, toys and bhujias to Paltu in exchange of that special stone.
Paresh transformed all the objects in his house into golden object and sold it in the market. Slowly and gradually, he started becoming a rich person. Despite getting retrenchment in his clerical job, the 53 year old Paresh stopped going to the office as he got a source of income by using that special stone. The special stone was used to convert iron into gold and gold was used to earn money from the jewel shop owners. By spending 6 lakhs INR, Paresh constructed his own house, a garden and also bought a private car. Paresh also kept a personal secretary whose name was Priyotosh. The servant of Mr. Dutta also became rich in his lifestyles. As a businessman and politician, Mr. Dutta started visiting several cultural activities as a chief guest. He emphasized on the Bengali tradition and culture and also told his next generation people to respect and retain that Bengali tradition years after years.
Priyotosh suggested his boss to lessen the amount of charity. His boss took the suggestion in a very sporting manner but also told that no one should be deprived from charity. Everyone should get something in their pocket; otherwise Paresh may not get their votes in the next election. Priyotosh told him about the cocktail party invitation. Mr. Dutta attended the cocktail party. All were boozing in their own style. Mr. Paresh started singing ‘Baithaki toppa’, ‘Kirtaan’, ‘Hari-naam’ and Bengali folk songs with his own fusion style. Many people also joined him, but some of them were very irritated to hear all those Bengali songs in the era of discos and western rock music. Someone insulted Mr. Dutta. Paresh showed them the magic of that special stone out of anger. The jewel shop owner was impressed with that show. Next day, he came to meet Paresh and requested to start a partnership business with the help of that special stone. Mr. Dutta was smart enough to understand those tricks and that’s why, he uttered a Bengali poetry in the name of Sanskrit, ‘Holdey Sobuj Orang-Otang, eeet paatkel chith-potang’.
Priyotosh was a Bengali Christian but fell in love with a girl who hails from a very conservative Hindu family. Priyotosh was even to ready to become a Hindu after marrying that girl. In the meanwhile, Paresh understood the meaning of the Bengali statement, ‘Lobhey paap aar paapey mrityu’ (Greed is a sin and that sin leads to death). Mr. Dutta decided to visit his brother-in-law in Liluah. After that, he planned to go for a pilgrimage in Kasi, Hardiwar and Varanasi with his wife. Before going for the pilgrimage, he decided to donate some portion of his property to his personal secretary. He gave that special stone to Priyotosh. On the other hand, the jewel shop owner leaked the news to the media. The next day, the newspaper headline was ‘Iron turns into Gold’. After reading that news, Priyotosh’s girlfriend’s father refused to conduct her marriage with Priyotosh. In depression, Priyotosh swallowed that special stone as he was frustrated for not finding any cyanide inside Paresh’s house.
The Kolkata Police arrested Paresh and filed smuggling cases against him. The doctor confirmed that Priyotosh had digested the special stone. All the golden products regained their original form. Life without Gold was the golden life and vice-versa. To breathe a fresh air of lively and simple human life, you must have a glimpse of Satyajit Ray’s “PARASH PATHAR” of Tulsi Chakraborty and others.
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