COAT
AUTOBIOGRAPHY                  OF AN OLD
                                                                          youtn.
                                                     the days of my
       Istill remember with            pride and joy
                                                                 dress-making
                                          latest fashion in
 IWas tailored according to the
                                                       Selection       Apparel
                                shop    window of M/s
and was      displayed in   a
 in   one   of the best iocalities of Mumbai.                             betore
                                                                 halted
       Crowds    of people      on a    Diwali-buying spree
                                                                                au
                                     at                me.   I   was   priced
the window and cast admiring glances
                                                 sum.
Rs 750   which, in those days, was a princely                  me
                                               He looked after
       One day a tall, rich tourist bought me.
                                                               nis   in
W        loVing care and took           me  with him everywhere
                                                                     at hisS
attractive suitcase.      One     day    after a glittering function
                                                                             me
hotel, he went to bed at 3 a.m.,          worn   and tired. He had kept
                                                       came
on a    hager in    a          the bed. A servant, who
                        cupboard       near
to serve breakfast, saw me and quietly took me away.
                                                 servant sold
               day my days of decline began. The
       From that
                                               in Kalbadevi.
me for Rs. 300 to a second-hand garment shop
                                                     care for
There I was bought by a clerk. He used me with great
about two years. He wore me on all occasions, big and small,
                                                        I had
just to siow off and impress his friends. By this time,
started showing signs of wear and tear.
       During the Diwali festival, he gifted me to his maid-
servant's son. The boy wore me day and night. As a result,
I became dirty and soiled and lost my shine and charm. Soon,
he also got fed up with me and refused to wear me any longer.
       omorrow I am going to be used to dress up the effigy of
an old man symbolizing the last day of the year. I will be
burnt at midnight to ring out the old year. After that I shall be
nothing but powder and ash.
       Ispree-a short period of doing an enjoyable activity. a princely
sum-a   large amount of money. glhtering-splendid and colourful,
decline-the quality of becoming less in amount,        importance, quality      or
strength. wear and tear-damage caused to something when it is
                                                                  used for
a long period.
               effigy-model made of wood, paper, cloth, etc. of a
                                                                  persorn.1