This happened about 25 years ago in Lucknow.
Coming out to the balcony to hang clothes, my eyes habitually surveyed the road, lingering for a few minutes before going in.The pedestrians - mostly school children and a few office goers moving along; was the only activity on this otherwise quiet street, which had deviated a few yards from the hustle bustle of the main road.Aware of being watched, I looked around and saw this tall and stout man a few yards away on the other side of the road, gazing towards the gate and then at our balcony and me. My sharp memory reminded me that I had seen this man a couple of times near our gate.Brushing it aside, I ventured in to attend to my chores. An hour or so later, when I casually looked through the kitchen window, I saw him again under the shade of a tree, staring at our house.It seemed as though he was rooted to the ground and his eyes fixed. Feeling very insecure, I shut the window and waited for my husband to come home for lunch.
He was a deposit collector for the bank where my husband was employed. They were called "Pigmy Agents" and the nature of their work was to collect small amounts of deposits every day from the clients (which could be even as minimal as 1 rupee), and deposit them in the bank in their accounts. They were paid on commission basis and this man was earning a very high income owing to his large clientele.A volley of complaints against him sprung up all of a sudden and he was guilty of misbehaving with many depositors.Being his superior authority, my husband suspended him temporarily , until things were sorted out and he presented a convincing explanation and desist from his misbehaviour.A strange character, he was also mentally imbalanced at times and was said to have family problems.Fear of losing his income must have forced him to take such steps which created panic in us. His repressed anger was clearly revealed in the way he stared.He also possessed a revolver which he always carried, probably to threaten us.
Fear led to insecurity and my overcautious husband arranged for security cover through a private agency.Since he did not want to harass him & to safeguard the depositors,police help was not sought.It was assumed that this was only a passing phase and he would overcome it.He was vindictive and carried out his self satisfying game triumphantly.It seemed as though he created panic only from a distance.
A guard sat outside our flat from morning till evening. The mind was fraught with anxiety.Fear gripped us as the safety of my children was threatened.They were packed to school before he arrived on the scene, but there was always a hunch that he would be somewhere around observing our activities.My little son was personally dropped in school and brought back in the rickshaw, accompanied by the guard. My daughter cycled to school and much to her embarrassment, our faithful help followed her at a distance, till she safely entered the school premises.He would again wait at the school gate in the evening and follow her back inconspicuously.But ofcourse our enemy posing outside did no harm. It was very puzzling - his nonplussed behaviour.Even going out to buy day to day stuff became an issue for me and every action was done stealthily. When he saw me approaching he would retreat behind a tree, only to appear again as soon as I got into the car.Sometimes he would even stand there in disguise! He was enforcing upon us subtle psychological tension, which would make us miserable.
The ordeal continued for about three weeks by which time we started ignoring him .However our life became suspended in a void and no doubt we felt safe inside the four walls of our house.But there was nothing we could do about it and we hoped that he would soon put an end to this nefarious behaviour.Soon a transformation took place and he admitted his threatening behaviour and expounded his questionable actions, after submitting his apology. He was only disturbed, deprived and lonely and his thoughts must have gone askew.Losing his job must have been an unexpected blow.He could only vent his frustration and anger on my husband whom he thought was responsible for his plight.Then he was ultimately reinstated back with adequate warning.
Coming out to the balcony to hang clothes, my eyes habitually surveyed the road, lingering for a few minutes before going in.The pedestrians - mostly school children and a few office goers moving along; was the only activity on this otherwise quiet street, which had deviated a few yards from the hustle bustle of the main road.Aware of being watched, I looked around and saw this tall and stout man a few yards away on the other side of the road, gazing towards the gate and then at our balcony and me. My sharp memory reminded me that I had seen this man a couple of times near our gate.Brushing it aside, I ventured in to attend to my chores. An hour or so later, when I casually looked through the kitchen window, I saw him again under the shade of a tree, staring at our house.It seemed as though he was rooted to the ground and his eyes fixed. Feeling very insecure, I shut the window and waited for my husband to come home for lunch.
He was a deposit collector for the bank where my husband was employed. They were called "Pigmy Agents" and the nature of their work was to collect small amounts of deposits every day from the clients (which could be even as minimal as 1 rupee), and deposit them in the bank in their accounts. They were paid on commission basis and this man was earning a very high income owing to his large clientele.A volley of complaints against him sprung up all of a sudden and he was guilty of misbehaving with many depositors.Being his superior authority, my husband suspended him temporarily , until things were sorted out and he presented a convincing explanation and desist from his misbehaviour.A strange character, he was also mentally imbalanced at times and was said to have family problems.Fear of losing his income must have forced him to take such steps which created panic in us. His repressed anger was clearly revealed in the way he stared.He also possessed a revolver which he always carried, probably to threaten us.
Fear led to insecurity and my overcautious husband arranged for security cover through a private agency.Since he did not want to harass him & to safeguard the depositors,police help was not sought.It was assumed that this was only a passing phase and he would overcome it.He was vindictive and carried out his self satisfying game triumphantly.It seemed as though he created panic only from a distance.
A guard sat outside our flat from morning till evening. The mind was fraught with anxiety.Fear gripped us as the safety of my children was threatened.They were packed to school before he arrived on the scene, but there was always a hunch that he would be somewhere around observing our activities.My little son was personally dropped in school and brought back in the rickshaw, accompanied by the guard. My daughter cycled to school and much to her embarrassment, our faithful help followed her at a distance, till she safely entered the school premises.He would again wait at the school gate in the evening and follow her back inconspicuously.But ofcourse our enemy posing outside did no harm. It was very puzzling - his nonplussed behaviour.Even going out to buy day to day stuff became an issue for me and every action was done stealthily. When he saw me approaching he would retreat behind a tree, only to appear again as soon as I got into the car.Sometimes he would even stand there in disguise! He was enforcing upon us subtle psychological tension, which would make us miserable.
The ordeal continued for about three weeks by which time we started ignoring him .However our life became suspended in a void and no doubt we felt safe inside the four walls of our house.But there was nothing we could do about it and we hoped that he would soon put an end to this nefarious behaviour.Soon a transformation took place and he admitted his threatening behaviour and expounded his questionable actions, after submitting his apology. He was only disturbed, deprived and lonely and his thoughts must have gone askew.Losing his job must have been an unexpected blow.He could only vent his frustration and anger on my husband whom he thought was responsible for his plight.Then he was ultimately reinstated back with adequate warning.
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