The Coup

He had learnt the tender art of making incense sticks from his father. His father had learnt it from his grandfather, he from his great grandfather, he from his great great grandfather and he from his great great great oh leave it….

Everyday he would wake up in the morning and in a black cauldron, (which was passed on to him by his father and to his father by his grand father and so on) mix all the ingredients, carefully measuring them so that the incense stick would emit the exact fragrance which his father used to make, and his grand father and his great grandfather, I think by now you must have got the idea.

But I would like to tell you about one more thing that his great great great grandfather had passed on to him, it was a bottle of special ether that wasn’t available in the market. Nobody knew what it was because nobody had ever had a chance of testing it. It was with him and his family since times unknown. And this was what made his incense sticks special, and people would keep buying it from him and only him. But his father has warned him that if he put extra amount of the ether the fragrance of the incense might even become fatal.

When his father used to sell incense sticks carrying them in a canvas bag going from one home to the other, the country had gained freedom recently, the people were God fearing and they bought the handmade incense sticks thinking them to be auspicious. But it was different now, in the days of television advertising and supermarkets people didn’t want to buy handmade incense sticks with shoddy packing. But still everyday he would make a few packets and go around the neighborhood selling them, and buy his daily bread with whatever he earned.

Today was different, he hadn’t been able to sell his daily quota of incense sticks yesterday so he was left with a few packets. He was feeling grumpy and angry about the big companies getting into manufacturing incense sticks, with their beautiful floral packing and heavenly fragrances. He decided he had to go about his daily duties so he got up to make a few more packets to complete his daily quota and then venture out.

He mixed all the ingredients in the cauldron, measuring them exactly the way his father had taught him and started heating it. The broth started to boil in sometime and it was now time to put the ether. He carefully brought the bottle and took a small measuring cup and poured the exact quantity that his father had told him. Then he remembered that he had forgotten to cover his nose but it was too late. The fumes from the ether entered his nose and he sneezed. The ether from the bottle spilled into the cauldron. He looked at it horrified. He thought he would throw the whole thing away instantly, but if he did he wouldn’t have anything to sell that day. He had no more ingredients left with him nor did he have any money to buy them. He thought that he would give it a go and see what happens. So he went about the whole procedure normally and rolled the paste onto thin bamboo sticks.

After he was done with all the paste he left the sticks to dry for sometime and went to take his bath. When he returned the incense sticks were dry and ready to be packed. But his conscience made him uneasy, what if someone died, after all, his father had warned him that the consequences of a mistake could be fatal, he thought. He decided he would burn one stick and see what the effects were. He selected a stick took out a match and lit it. Instantly he covered his nose with his hand afraid that he might inhale the smoke and die. But he knew he had to test the incense stick before he could sell it in the market. Hesitantly he removed his hand and inhaled the fragrance. The smell was sweet and suddenly he felt light and at ease with his surroundings, slowly the room started to revolve around him and everything went black.

He woke up after sometime, the room was swaying and his head felt as if somebody was pounding it with a hammer. He staggered and stood up, went to the bathroom and washed his face. Then he remembered what had happened. He was happy that he was alive. The effect of the ether had not killed him. The old clock on the wall told him that he had been unconscious for more than an hour. But still he would not be able to sell them to his customers, they would all faint. And then an idea hit him.

He quickly wrapped a few packs and marked them with a red tag. He put them in is canvas bag and left the house. He went straight to a house where one of his regular customers lived, she was an old lady he knew she would be alone at this time of the day. He rang the doorbell, the door opened after sometime. The old lady stood there and smiled at him. He took out the packet with the red tag, took out a couple of sticks lit them and covered his nose. The smoke with a sweet fragrance rose. The old lady inhaled it deeply and smiled at him toothlessly. He waited for her to pass out. But nothing happened he gestured for her to inhale some more, she did, he waited again. And yet nothing happened. He checked the packet but it was the pack with the red tag. He removed the handkerchief from his nose and inhaled the smoke. In a moment everything started to swirl and then he blacked out.

He woke up after sometime everything around him looked blurred and his head was hurting badly. In sometime he realized he was lying on the pavement of the street. The sun shone brightly on him. He didn’t know how he came there and then he remembered what had happened. He looked around for his bag, but his belongings were missing. He realized that it was he who had been robbed. He took the support of tree trunk nearby and stood up, swaying slightly. He slowly walked towards his home. He was disappointed and confused as to what went wrong.

In sometime he reached home he decided that he would try it again. He made a few more packets and put them in a bag and went out of the home. This time he decided that he would go to an old man who lived in another lane. He knew that the old man lived alone.

He rang the doorbell, the door opened in sometime and the old man smiled at him. He immediately took out a couple of sticks from one pack and lit them, and covered his mouth with handkerchief. The smoke rose and the old man inhaled it deeply. He waited for the old man to pass out, but nothing happened. He gestured at the old man to inhale again, the old man did so, but nothing happened. He removed the handkerchief from his mouth and inhaled the smoke, the old man’s face swirled in front of his eyes and everything went black.