The Auctioneer

One of the features of my School & College days’ Lower Bazar, Shimla was the presence of a self styled auctioneer.His name was Ganesha or more precisely Ganesa as people would call him. During day time he could be seen holding mostly a wrist watch and sometimes a transistor radio set belonging to someone who was willing to dispose it off and also stood along side.Perhaps it was the need for money which drove people to auction off their belongings.Cash was not so common those days as it is today. Ganesha would call out loud about the changing amount of bid or auction, in between repeating the make of the watch or transistor.Both were shown to be in running condition or who would go for ! Ganesha would charge his commission when the deal was struck. When asked about the guarantee or warranty of the watch or the transistor radio, Ganesa was candid enough to state that guarantee was only up to Taar Ghar, i.e. CTO, just a 5-7 minute walking distance from the scene of auction. Still there were buyers of the object.