5 rupees

Walking down the main road of an old Newari town one early winter morning last week, an old woman wrapped up in pink shawls, with a healthy glow on her skin came up to me and said : '5 rupiya deu na'.

I had just climbed up and down a 1000 m hill and was wheezing pretty bad, the cold air had meddled my head. I thought she was an apparition come to impart wisdom that cold foggy morning, but she certainly didn't look like my long dead grandmother! I shook myself and stared again. She was still there in front of me, with that defiant look, her hands on her hips, and her brown chubby saggy wrinkled cheeks broken into age old dimples, showing the only remaining two yellowed front teeth.

Shocked into action I scrambled into my pockets. My numb hands had fumbled to grab whatever money I had. My hand landed on two five rupees notes. I gave her one. She took it, stared me down and said, kati lovi bhayeko, tyo arko 5 rupiya ni deu. Shamed into action, I handed over my other five rupee note. She muttered, ajkal ka ketaketi in Newari, and went off. My friend had the time of her life, laughing at me. My early morning ghost robbing me of my 10 rupees has made rounds of friday evening jokes since.

Ah life!