The 3 Mistakes Of My Life Read Online Free PDF Page A

but the shop is outside the temple. As word spreads, they will
    come. What choice do they have anyway?'
    'Where will we get what we sell?' Ish said.
    'There's a sports equipment supplier in Vastrapur who will give us a month's
    credit. If we have the space, we are good to go without cash.'
    'But what if it doesn't run?' Ish asked with scepticism.
    'Worst case, we sell the stock at a loss and I'll cover the rest through my tuition
    savings. But it will work, man. If you put your heart into it, it will.'
    Both of them remained silent.
    'Guys, please. I need you for this. I really want to run a business. I can't do it
    without partners. It's cricket,' I appealed to Ish.
    'I'm in,' Omi smiled. 'I don't have to be a priest and I get to work from home.
    I'm so in.'
    'I won't handle money. I'll focus on the cricket,' Ish said.
    I smiled. Yes, he was coming around.
    'Of course. You think I will let you handle cash? So, are we partners?' I
    stretched out my liand.
    Omi hi-fived me and Ish joined in.
    'What are we going to call it?' Omi said in the auto.
    'Ask Ish,' I said. If Ish named it, he would feel more connected to the project.
    'How about Team India Cricket Shop?' Ish suggested. 'Great name,' I said and
    watched Ish smile for the first time that evening.
    'Two rupees fifty paise each, guys,' I said as the auto stopped near my pol in
    Belrampur.
    'Here you go Mr Accounts,' Ish said and passed his share.

    Two

    The Team India Cricket Shop opened with the smashing of a coconut on the
    morning of 29 April 2000. All our immediate families had come. My mother and
    Omi's family were visibly happy while Ish's parents were silent. They still
    visualised Ish as an army officer, not a shopkeeper in Belrampur.
    'May Laxmi shower all blessings on you hardworking boys,' Omi's mother said
    before she left.
    Soon, it was just us in our twenty-feet-by-ten-feet shop. 'Move the counter in,
    the shutter won't close,' Ish screamed at Omi. Omi's forehead broke into sweat as
    he lifted the bulky counter-top yet again to move it back an inch.
    I stepped out of the shop and crossed the road for the tenth time to look at the
    board. It was six feet wide and two feet tall. We had painted it blue - the colour of
    the Indian team. In the centre, we had the letters 'Team India Cricket Shop' in the
    colours of the Indian flag. The excited painter from Shahpur had thrown in the
    faces of Tendulkar and Ganguly for free. Ganguly had a squint and Tendulkar's
    lips looked bee-stung, but it all added to the charm.
    'It's beautiful,' Omi said as he joined me in looking at the board.
    Our first customer came at 12 noon. An under-ten boy strolled to the front of
    our store as his mother bought puja flowers. The three of us sprung into action.
    'Should I ask him what he wants?' Omi whispered to me.
    I shook my head. Pushy meant desperate.
    The boy looked at tennis balls and bounced a few of them. While no one played
    tennis in Belrampur, kids played cricket with them.
    'How much for the balls?' The boy moved to local balls. Clearly this was a price-
    sensitive customer. He bounced five different ones on the ground.
    'Eight bucks. You want one?' I said.
    He nodded.
    'You have money?'
    'Mummy has,' he said.
    'Where is mummy?'
    'There,' he pointed in the general direction of the other temple shops. I picked
    up the balls he had bounced and placed them in the basket.
    His mother came running into our shop.
    'There you are Sonu, stupid boy,' she pulled his elbow and took him out.
    'Mummy, ball' was all he could say about his potential purchase.
    'Don't worry, we will sell,' I told my business partners.
    We made our first sale soon after. Two young brothers wearing branded clothes
    came to the shop.
    'How much for tennis balls?' one boy said.
    'Eight bucks for Arrow, six bucks for the local basket there,' Ish said.
    The boys moved to the local basket. They, started the ball-bouncing routine
    again as my heart wept.
    'So where do you play cricket?' Ish asked them.