Tangible or Intangible

As Shrihari  sat in the armchair on the verandha (porch) taking in the cool breeze and the aroma of the  over grown greenery,the wet soil in his courtyard .He looked at the grey green shadows cast by the freshly washed and rain soaked  tress .He usually sat to take an afternoon nap.The tasty food was aiding the process, his eyelids felt heavy and he was almost on the verge of falling asleep.The events that had transpired during their family get together came to his mind .

Sakhubai their helper had cried bitterly as she had lost her husband recently .Her son needed fifteen thousand rupees for blocking his college seat and she needed two months to arrange for the same.But the seat had to be blocked in four days . Her daughter who was recently married had arranged to send five thousand rupees with great difficulty , yet Sakhubai  was worried about raising the balance amount.They all sympathised with her, but only Janaki  his baby sister was moved enough to shell out the money instantly from her purse. He knew that Janaki had her own set of problems,but  she was the one who was most respected and adored by the people amongst the siblings .Her actions ,kind words and willingness to help anyone in adversity ,set her apart . Shrihari and his elder brother Shrikant’s eyes met fleetingly.

It has been almost a year and a half that they had lost their dad a man most respected for his heart of pure gold. A man willing to help all, though he has a modest business, he had enough ancestral lands, plantations, properties. He had contributed a lot towards the betterment of the society in terms of his time and money .Last year was a busy year for Shrihari and his brother Srikant  with the court formalities to get his assets transferred in their names ,post their fathers demise. They sat discussed, fought, argued and arrived at a mutual agreement.The farms, the lands, the factories, the houses, plantations all had been accounted and all tangible assets divided. So,they were legally the heir to their fathers  tangible assets .

“But” thought Shrihari, the core of a person -the essense of life,the Intangible qualities that make’s a person so unique  is something that no one ever fights for or even aspires for. Those Intangible assets had been quietly passed on. Probably the fleeting look at each other shared by the brothers was a realization of the same.