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Actually they did have a fish tank earlier but the bottom glass had cracked and Juliet had given it to Ashok for repairs. And there it remained, in Ashok's shop, with nobody attending to it. Juliet had reminded me on several occasions about the tank but there was little I could do other than pass on her reminders to Ashok.
However, it was a matter of great excitement for me at that time to be successful in my experiments and Ashok was generous enough to even buy back from me the baby fish I reared just to encourage me. Later I developed sufficient confidence to experiment with and breed more difficult types of fish, like Siamese Fighting Fish and Blue Guramies-all under the expert tutelage of Ashok.
Ashok was horrified at my decision and understandably very angry too for as he explained to me should I have had an accident on the way the consequences would have been disastrous and he was after all responsible for me! I truly learnt an important lesson that day. Learning to make an aquarium tank is great fun. One has to first plan the size of the tank.
The next day it is tested by filling with water and if all is well the tank is ready for sale and can be delivered to the customer. After I was taught how to do the first tank, I started helping with the rest. I recall how once by mistake I stuck the glass upside down. "There's something fishy about the looks of this tank," said Ashok.
Every day, except Sundays, for the next 15 days I followed the same routine which was: wake up at 6 a.m or so, eat a hot breakfast of idlis, sambar, dosas, vadas or whatever was cooked for breakfast, carry a hot packed lunch which Aunty Sagu prepared for me and catch a bus by 7 a.m. from Ashok Pillar to Panagal where I had to change buses and get on one going to New College.
I even managed to do some sales work by selling them some fish medicines which they could keep as standby and made a bill for them on the bill book that Ashok had given me. They seemed satisfied with my work and made me a cup of tea, which I didn't drink because I don't drink tea. After I had finished I couldn't wait to tell Ashok about my experience.
During my first few days at his shop, my work was only to watch the tanks, clean those which were dirty, remove the dead fish and do some other small jobs. I also fed the fish and treated the wounded and diseased fish. Sometimes, I also attended to customers. Gradually, I began to accompany Ashok on his rounds to various places. A gentleman in Moira wanted to set up an aquarium at his home.
After we were fully satisfied that we had everything right and had noted down his requirements, we returned to Mapusa. Later he came for the material which we kept ready for him. Another time I accompanied Ashok to a client's office to put a pair of Dwarf Guramies in the fish tank and to fix a picture as a backdrop for the tank.
But in the meanwhile there were my two younger brothers eager to know about my travels, my neighbours who hadn't seen me for five months and of course my old pals like Ashok who were happy to welcome me in their midst again.
The proprietor of the shop is Ashok D'Cruz, a college friend of my father's. I must tell you about Ashok. He is no ordinary businessman: keeping fish is a passion with him. He is far more interested in chatting with his customers about fish than making money selling them. I have never seen him forcing any of his customers to buy from his stock of aquarium fish.
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