The king sat on the luxurious swing, gently swaying on the deck of his spectacular mansion overlooking the river, staring blankly at the beautiful horizon framed by the sunset, its orange and red hues casting a picture of splendour across the sky. His clothes were grand, and his jewellery even grander. A plate of the choicest food and drink sat on a little ornately carved stool that matched the balcony’s grandeur, left untouched. 

The King and Dilip, the Happy Gardener

It looked like the king had everything. He should have been the happiest man on earth. Yet, he knew he was far from happy. He was so often anxious and worried that the frown lines had almost become permanent. 

Just then, he heard someone whistling a happy tune. It was one of the gardeners who obviously hadn’t spied the king on the swing. He watered the plants, pulled weeds, and cleared mud from under the pots. He worked so hard that sweat poured down his tattered shirt and dhoti, which had seen better days. 

But the king hadn’t seen a happier man. His smile belied the difficult life he seemed to have. His body was so full of blemishes, cuts, and wounds. But it was strong and sinewy. His stomach was flat, like someone who worked hard but was well-nourished too. But what the king found most fascinating was the twinkling eyes. 

The man smiled like he had everything in the world. The king was certain the man’s house was no more than a one-room tenement. He and his family ate the most basic food for sustenance, nothing more. The man might not have money saved for a rainy day. He had no land, no gold, no material possessions. Nothing. And yet, he was the happiest man the king had seen. How could it be possible?

Even as he ruminated on this thought, his minister walked in. 

“Good evening, Your Highness. I have brought all the documents regarding this month’s tax collection. Do you want to discuss it now?”

“Yes, yes. But before that, I have a question for you, Minister Chari.”

“Of course, sir. I will try my best to answer it.”

“Can you see that gardener there?”

Minister Chari leaned over and saw the gardener, still oblivious to the king’s presence, hard at work on the pots and the huge lawn on the deck, a smile and a song on his lip.

“Indeed. That man’s name is Dilip. He is one of the most hardworking and sincere gardeners I know. What of him, My Lord?”

“Well, how rich is he?”

“Rich? You must be joking. He makes just enough to feed his family of six. But he is a diligent worker. He does have a bit saved for a rainy day, but not much. Most importantly, I know he never complains about anything. But again, Your Highness, why the sudden interest in the man?”

“Well, I have been watching him hard at work. I gauged rightly when I thought he didn’t have many material possessions. And yet, look at him, Chari. How happy he is! How is it possible? To have little and yet be happy? Look at me. I have everything. A prosperous kingdom, limitless riches, a legacy my sons will carry forward. Still, I cannot be happy. What is his secret?”

Minister Chari’s eyes twinkled joyfully. He loved his king’s question because he loved talking about a different kind of financial prudence. Not the kind which teaches people how to save for a rainy day, which is important, of course. But the kind that teaches people an equally important lesson on money and wealth. 

“Well, my King, his secret is that he is not part of the Club of 99.”

“What’s that club?”

“It’s an exclusive club that most people get in by accident but find it very difficult to leave, even when they want to.”

“Am I in that club?”

“Of course, you are, sir. Many of us, whether we know it or not, are part of that club. But today, let us focus on Dilip, the gardener. I’m going to make me a member of the Club of 99. I will make sure he is on duty on this balcony for the next 3 months. We’ll discuss his transformation then. Can we get to the taxes now?”

Dilip and His Happy Family

Dilip reached home at around 7 in the evening. His wife cooked a simple but nutritious meal of millet gruel, a few vegetables, and some pickle for extra flavour. He, his wife, and his four children ate the simple dinner. The children then helped their mother clean the kitchen and laid out the mattresses to sleep. 

Then they sat outside around a small fire the two eldest children had lit, as they usually did during winters. The six of them spoke of their day and laughed at each other’s jokes. His wife and children could sing well. He made them sing his favourite bhajan, and he joined in the chorus. The neighbours came too, and for about an hour, Dilip’s home was filled with merriment and joy. 

At around 9, the neighbours left, and Dilip’s family turned in for the night. Dilip closed his eyes for a restful sleep, as he did every day for the last 35 years, knowing he had done his best. 

Caught in the Trap of The Club of 99

As usual, he woke at 5 am and opened the door to go outside for his morning ablutions. He was startled to see a pot filled to the brim with gold coins. He called out his wife’s name who awoke too. She was as thrilled as her husband to see the pot. 

They got it inside and shut the door. Dilip’s behaviour changed inexplicably at the sight of the pot. His eyes were filled with a strange light. He said, “Just look at all the gold we have got. It looks like I am getting paid for all the hard work I have been doing till now. The gods have finally decided to reward me.”

His wife was happy, too. And yet she noticed a disturbing shift. How could gold make someone change so much so suddenly!

“C’mon, let’s count this money.”

So the couple sat down and started counting, putting the coins brightly polished copper vessel into an aluminium vessel taken from his kitchen.

1..2..3..4..5………..6…….50!

“Dear God, you are so kind! We can do so much with 50 gold coins. We can give our children a great future. The eldest two can go to the best music school. Our third child loves reading and studying. We will send her to the best university to study.” His wife said happily. 

Dilip said, uncharacteristically impatient, “Yes, yes. All that is fine. Continue counting.”

52…53…54…55…56……90

His wife said, “Thank you, God, for your kindness.”

“Enough! Just count. We are reaching the end!” Dilip shouted. His wife was startled at this rudeness. But she kept quiet and continued.

91…92…93….94……..98…99!

As he placed the 99th coin into the aluminium vessel with his right hand, his left hand reached down into the copper vessel. But it was empty!

His face registered disbelief. He stood up, looked deep into the vessel, hoping he had missed the 100th coin. But no, there were no more coins.

He was flustered. He said, “We have to count again.”

By then, the children had woken. So, his wife went to the kitchen to prepare their lunch boxes. They went to school carrying dry leftover chapati with some pickle, a first for them. Their mother always made fresh food for school. 

Dilip didn’t even get up from his place, close to the coins. He hurriedly said bye to his children, another first for them. He would give them big hugs before sending them to school, often accompanying them part of the way, then heading east to the palace to work while they turned westwards towards school.

Today, he didn’t even make eye contact with his children as they said goodbye.

As soon as they left, he shut the door and started counting again. 

“Are you not going to work?”

“No, not today. I need to count again.”

No matter how many times he counted, the pot had only 99 coins.

“Oh! I must get another coin and make it 100.”

And so his transformation started. The first week, he did nothing but count that pot of money repeatedly until he convinced himself there was one coin short of 100.

From the next week on, he began working to earn that one missing coin. He worked at the palace from morning to evening. During his lunch break, he took on a gardening job at a nobleman’s house. In the evenings, he took on not only gardening jobs but also menial work at a couple more noblemen’s houses. 

He also pushed his wife to work as a domestic helper in all the houses where he worked as a gardener. In less than a month, he and his wife worked nearly 18 hours a day, with no time for their children, who ate scraps and leftovers. They no longer had happy evenings of shared joy. 

In about 2 months, all six of them became emaciated not just from a lack of nutritious food, but also from the burden of that one last coin Dilip wanted so badly to “complete” the “incomplete” pot.

The Lesson of Enough

It was about the middle of the third month when the king saw Dilip again, and he was shocked at the transformation. His bones were visible; he worked like he hated his job, he had no song on his lips, and he was always angry. In the 15 minutes the king overheard him that evening, Dilip snapped at three different people over petty stuff.

Minister Chari walked in again and smiled at the king’s shocked look. “Yes, my dear lord, Dilip is now part of the exclusive Club of 99.”

“So, tell me, what is this Club of 99?”

“Well, it is an important element in the art of managing wealth. You see, the usual financial prudence lesson is about saving and investing well for a rainy day, for retirement, and such stuff. The other end of money management is knowing when it is enough, which is different for each of us.”

“When I left that pot of gold at Dilip’s house three months ago, I left a note along with it which said, ‘Here is a pot of 100 gold coins for all your hard work.’ For Dilip, it seems the metric of ‘enough’ was 100. When he counted 99 instead of 100 coins, he fell into the Club of 99 trap. His desire for one more coin became an obsession, so much so that he forgot the 99 coins he had and focused only on the one missing coin. In the process of getting that one coin, he forgot his old life of happiness, forcing his loved ones to follow through in his journey of misery. Nothing was enough anymore for him. He forgot to be happy.”

“The 100th coin is different for each of us. For you, it could be one more territory to add to your kingdom. For your wife, it could be one more diamond necklace for her collection. We get so caught up in what we don’t have that we forget to be happy and grateful for what we have.”

The king’s eyes lit up with understanding. He smiled and said, “For you, Minister Chari,  it could be one more ministry to control?”

The minister smiled at his king and said, “Perhaps,” with a merry twinkle in his eye, happy to see that the king understood a forgotten but important aspect of wealth management. 

“Are you going to let poor Dilip stew in the Club of 99?”

“Not at all, Your Highness! I will visit him tomorrow and let him know of the miserable club, and get him and his family out of misery.”

“And while you are at it, make sure you compensate him well for participating in a financial classroom with me.” 

Minister Chari smiled and said, “As you wish, my lord.”

Author’s Note:

Here is one more another story on balanced wisdom inspired by folklore and puranic tales: The Eternal Human Struggle for Balance

This post is a part of #Bachat&BeyondBlogHop series hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters Blog Hop Series

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