‘Kaala RiNa’ - Nashaananda

I understand that there are many types of ‘RiNas’ viz Dhana riNa, anna riNa,

pitru riNa, guru riNa etc etc.  A ‘riNa’ is something that you owe someone or

what someone owes you. It could be in this life or one of the previous lives.

If someone makes you part with your money for no benefit, we say, maybe

you had his/her riNa. Meaning you probably owed him/her in your previous life .

Most of us have heard it. I will have to add ‘Kaala RiNa’ - the amount of time

you owe someone - to the list after my recent experience. 

I must have somehow made someone waste an hour or two due to my actions

in some earlier life and hence the fellow came to me yesterday to claim that

time back ! Actually what happened is like this. 

We were about to close the clinic last evening around 7pm. I understand that

it is the time when business picks up for many. But in our practice everything

ends at seven. Since I stay above my clinic on the first floor, I asked my helpers

to close down and I came up. Within a minute one of them came saying “ sir

there is an unruly patient in the waiting room. He forced himself inside without

even removing his footwear and he is sitting there eating our biscuits. He is

not listening to anything we say.” 

I went down to check. I saw this fellow - actually a patient whom I had seen in

the clinic a month back and who never turned up for further appointments -

sitting in the waiting room with his shoes on, a helmet on his head and a

packet of biscuits in his hands. He got up as soon as he saw me and offered

me one of the biscuits. (If you are wondering about the biscuit packet - my

helpers usually make tea for themselves after work and enjoy a few minutes

of chitchat while munching biscuits and drinking tea. Hence we store some

biscuits and tea). I refused the biscuit and asked him what he was doing there.

He opened his mouth to answer but no words came out of his mouth. In fact,

there was no space for words. His mouth was full of biscuit crumbs and

whiskey fumes !  

I sternly told him to close his mouth, keep the biscuits packet down and

leave the waiting room. He was not ready to move. It was raining outside,

the waiting room was dry and cosy and it contained biscuits ! He was probably

hungry. But it was not possible for me to play host to a drunkard - I will call

him Nashaananda because he seemed to have a great measure of both

‘nasha’ and ‘ananda’ - who was tight as a tick because he liked my waiting

room and biscuits. So, I opened the door, firmly took the packet of biscuits

from his hands and pulled him from his seat. Very reluctantly and very

unsteadily he got up and stood there swaying back and forth. I held his

shoulders, gently steered him out, took him to the street, wished him

good night and came back hoping that he would find his way back home.

I instructed my helpers to lock the clinic. 

Within a minute my helpers were back. They said (in unison) “Sir, he is

sitting on your scooter, he is very unsteady, and he is trying to start the

vehicle” I ran out again taking an umbrella with me. The fellow was sitting

on MY scooter which was parked in front of my clinic, swaying dangerously,

trying to insert HIS scooter key into the keyhole with an unsteady hand !

I first re-adjusted the stand of my scooter which was about to give way,

pulled the fellow  from the seat and again took hold of his hands and led him

away from the scooter. I realised that he must have somehow ridden a scooter

to reach my clinic and asked him where he had kept his scooter ? (His helmet

was still on his head). But other than a very stupid smile, he had nothing

to offer. He stood in the pouring rain, getting wetter and wetter, with his

helmet on his head and a very stupid smile on his face. 

Now, I did not know what to do with him. I did not want him to come back

to my parking space and sleep there the whole night in the rain. And I was

not prepared to offer him our guest room. I was feeling sorry for him but at

a loss as to what to do with him. I did not want him to locate his scooter

either.  Because if he succeeded in starting it, it would be a disaster. 

Meanwhile my helpers were concerned about me and had called my son.

In a few minutes my son arrived. Together we made the fellow locate his

mobile phone which was in one of his pockets, took it into our possession

and tried to find some contacts. But it was locked and this inebriated fellow

did not remember any number, code or picture ! He gave his phone to us and

stood there swaying. It looked like he was trying to say “Ok, now that you

have my phone, amuse yourselves”. 

Now, we had no other option. I called the police control room and told them

that I had a harmless drunkard on hand and that I did not know what to do

with him. I was expecting them to say that they have better things to bother

about than a harmless drunkard. But I was pleasantly surprised to see a patrol

vehicle arrive in minutes !  There was no need for me to say anything. One look

at the man and they understood the situation. They made him take his helmet

off, put him in their car and asked me to follow them to the station and

lodge a complaint. 

When I reached the station I found the fellow sitting in the corridor on a bench.

He seemed quite happy sitting there looking at the happenings around. As we

entered, he got up and unsuccessfully tried to walk to the door. The police

decided to put him in a room and as they led him there, another gentleman

arrived intending to lodge a ‘missing’ complaint. He took a look at our

Nashananda, gave a surprised cry, slapped him on the back and enquired

what was happening? He got the same beautiful smile with which all the earlier

questions had been answered. 

I learnt that the latest entry was a family friend of Nashaananda, and

explained everything to him. He was eager to take possession of the fellow.

He gave an undertaking to the police that he would escort the man and hand

him over to his family. I was relieved, and so were the police. An officer asked

me if the fellow had caused any damages and whether I intended lodging a

complaint ? I said no. Other than taking away an hour and a half of my time

and three biscuits, there were no charges against him !

Everybody left the station, the police got involved with another case and I

returned home an hour and a half late for my dinner and I coined the word

‘Kaala riNa’. I have no idea in which previous life of mine I had robbed an

hour and a half from Nashaananda and how !