Chapter One
Nandakishore was an engineer with a degree from London University. He was what is formally referred to as a brilliant student; a first-class horseman at every examination gate from school onwards.
His intelligence was formidable, and his needs, generous, but his finances were strained. He had succeeded in insinuating himself into the construction of two large railway bridges. Costs fluctuate frequently in such projects, but he didn’t set a good example. As long as both his hands were busy accepting payments, he found nothing to grumble about. Apparently all transactions in such projects were connected with an abstract entity named the company, which meant that personal accounts of profit or loss did not have to be disturbed.
His superiors used to refer to him as a genius in his own line of work—he had a perfect head for accounting. He was not recompensed suitably simply because he was a Bengali. He did not enjoy being thumped on the back by a lowly Englishman with his hands in his pocket, saying with his feet planted wide, ‘Hello, Mr Mullick.’ Especially since they always turned to him when it came to work, but to themselves when it was a matter of salary and fame. As a result, he had a personal estimate of how much money he should actually have been earning, and he knew very well how to bridge the gap...
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