Seventh Set

From the beginning Adore was different. He had named himself. He had seen the word 'adore' in a greeting card. Though he had originally been named Lindsay he decided that he should be known as Adore. He was a very independent child. He learnt to read on his own. He seemed to have a natural talent for cricket too. But his real obsession was the sky. He was very eager to know all about it. By the time he was six, Adore knew why the sky was blue, why the sun looked red and why flying birds did not cast a shadow. But he was not satisfied. He wanted to touch the sky. He often asked his mother how the sky could be touched. Sensing his interest, mother asked him to find out on his own how contact with the sky could be made. From the next moment Adore started his quest for a way to feel the sky with his bare hands. He started reading the books he could comprehend at age eight. But they were not too helpful. They told him what the sky was like up above the world. They talked about the clouds, the various layers of the atmosphere. They talked of aeroplanes and spacecrafts that could move in the sky and beyond. But none of the books said anything about touching the beautiful, pristine blue sky. So, Adore decided to take things into his own hands. The day after his tenth birthday Adore climbed to the roof of his school building. He was sure that he would be able to touch the sky from there. But when Adore got to the roof he was disappointed. Though the school building was ten stories, high the sky was much much higher. Other ways had to be found. Adore began to learn rock-climbing. When he was fourteen he scaled Mt K4, the highest in his state. He was certain that the sky would be within reach at the summit but he was disappointed. Years passed. In the tenth grade Adore's history book told him that the Great Wall of China could be seen from outer space. After passing his school board tests Adore persuaded his father to take him to China where his uncle was a diplomat. After his family had set foot on the Wall, Adore tried rather hard to touch the sky. But it seemed too distant even from the Great Wall of China. For a few years Adore forgot about touching the sky and concentrated on his studies. He entered a slogan-writing competition and won a return ticket to Paris. In Paris he was eager to visit the Eiffel Tower. One of his friends had told him that you could get very near the sky at the top of the tower. But Adore failed to fulfill his ambition once again. He came back to Calcutta to study aerospace engineering. Adore Sen is a famous man today. He is a leading astronaut often travelling to various corners of the solar system. And yes, he is still trying to touch the sky.

Donear Museum has a lot of paintings of the old masters. Sometimes a painting is put up for sale. When this happens there is a great rush to buy it. Very recently a work of the nineteenth century artist Tagore has been put on sale. A lot of people have expressed interest. Applications are being processed. In the meanwhile the procedure involved in the sale has been started. Initially, the painting will be sent to an art valuer. Since the painting is exceedingly valuable a lot of care has to be taken in this matter. The curator of the museum removes the painting from its frame with his own hands. He packs the painting in a special tamper-proof box. He then loads the box into a van. The van is locked by the curator himself. A trusted man drives the van to the valuer's office. He, however, has no access to what is contained in the van. At the valuer's office, the valuer himself unlocks the van with his key. He removes the box containing the painting on his own. The painting is returned in the same way after its price has been determined by the valuer. Thereafter the price is communicated to the chosen customer. Negotiations commence thereafter and with time the deal is closed.