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I also gained a lot of valuable insights into my own hobbies and interests since for the first time in my life I was on my own and free to make decisions or experiment with ideas I thought worthwhile. I discovered that I have a great passion for reading books. I used to go every morning to the library, on my way to Ashok's shop, and pick up something to read during my free time.
During this period I improved my knowledge about aquarium fish tremendously. This was mainly due to two things. Firstly, I had spent a lot of time observing the fish at Ashok's shop and getting practical experience from the places we visited. Secondly, I had been reading the fish books that my father bought for me as a gift for getting a distinction in my SSC exam.
The showroom has about twenty fish tanks on display with a variety of fish that Ashok purchases mainly from Mumbai. Each tank stores a particular species of fish. Ashok's shop is located away from the main market area so he does not have the advantage of casual customers dropping by. However Ashok has his regular customers and there are always at least twenty to thirty customers daily.
So it was to Ashok's shop that I went every morning at 9.00 a.m., speeding on my bicycle to be on time. I would stay there until lunch time, a regular hands on, doing whatever I was asked to do. Ashok's shop is not very large. It is a two-roomed shop on the ground floor of the Gomes Catao complex. It has a display section in front and a store room at the back.
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.
My favourite books were the Hardy Boys and I finished practically the entire series while I was at Ashok's. I also enjoyed comics like Tintin and Phantom. Evenings, after I had finished with Ashok's shop, I would listen to the FM radio music programmes. Like any other teenager, I like fast and loud music.
On Sundays, I used to do a few odd jobs to earn some pocket money. Like washing the car for which I used to get five rupees from my dad. I was also the main errand boy at home and I did all kinds of jobs like paying the electricity bills, buying the rations and so on. All in all, working at Ashok's was a good beginning. Juliet and Peter D'Souza are college friends of my parents.
When I started working with Ashok I quickly took the opportunity of keeping my promise to her. The first problem was to find the tank. I began searching for it in the storeroom of Ashok's shop. I found it right at the bottom of all the other big tanks. I was relieved to see it still in one piece. Ashok and I then removed the broken bottom glass.
The books were quite expensive but well worth the cost. Being able to get theoretical knowledge and practical experience at the same time gave me a lot of confidence with regard to aquarium fish. One of the important highlights of my experience at Ashok's was learning to make fish tanks. Ashok told me that since we were going through a slack period, he would teach me how to make fish tanks.
I tried to behave like a casual customer and walked coolly into the competitor's shop and gradually began to ask the prices of fish and fish food. After I had found out what was needed I bought a pair of cheap Black Mollies from his shop just to show him that I was a genuine customer. From the information I got, we found Ashok's to be comparatively cheaper than the competitor.
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