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The next evening Akshay Kumar went for a stroll. The garden was in full bloom. Ashoka trees with their well-shaped tops lined either side of the path which was laid with red gravel; it was a pretty sight giving the impression of flowers springing out from among lotus leaves. Babu Akshay Kumar, while enjoying the gentle refreshing breeze, reached a shady nook and sat there. This was his favourite spot. Here in this beautiful spot, the blooming flowers and the green leaves produced a very stimulating effect in him for a while; his heart, too, bloomed like the flowers. He had not been seated for a very long time when he saw an elderly man approaching him. The man saluted him, handed a sealed envelope, and hurried away. A sweet scent wafted from inside the envelope when Akshay Babu opened it. This is how the letter read:

"My dear Akshay Babu, you will be perplexed upon receiving this letter from an unworthy person like me. But I hope you will forgive my insolence. I have developed a deep admiration for you after hearing about your principles, your moral standards, and your way of living. I am impressed by your simple style of living. I am overcome by abashment, else I would have expressed my feelings in clearer terms. Since the past one year, disappointed by the frailties of men, I have decided to spend the rest of my life dreaming of a happy life. I searched, but could not find what the heart desired. But, ever since I saw you, my latent hopes have revived. You might not be young or handsome, but you possess an imaginative disposition which I highly respect. However, had you been more concerned about your appearance, then I think the weaker side of my personality would have been more pleased. But I don't hunger for beauty. I am in search of a person who is true, righteous, and has a heart of gold; and I have found him. Like a clever diver, I have discovered a precious pearl from the bottom of the sea. I have only one request; please do visit Dr. Kitchlew's bungalow tomorrow evening. There you will find a woman draped in green waiting for you under the Ashoka trees."

Akshay Kumar read the letter a second time. It is not essential to narrate the effect that the letter produced in him. He was not a sage; in fact, even sages would have stumbled under such a situation. He felt as though he were intoxicated. "Certainly, the fairy must have observed me sitting here," he thought. "I have not seen myself in a mirror for a long time; my face must be in a terrible state". The thought oppressed him so much that he rushed to a pond and looked at his own reflection. He wasn't satisfied with what he saw. He hurried home and stood before the mirror. Oh drat, he had not shaved properly nor was the turban perfectly wound round the head. "But, still, no one can call me bad-looking," he thought to himself, "She seems to be well-educated and from a respectable family with high ideals; otherwise, the ordinary woman is interested merely in riches and looks. However, my slovenliness might repel a cultured woman; I must pay attention to my appearance. The Indian woman is by nature bashful; no woman would have picked up the courage to write such a letter unless overwhelmed by her heart's dictate." Akshay Kumar spent the night thinking such thoughts; he did not even blink an eye.

The next day, by 10 a.m. Babu Akshay Kumar had scoured all the fashionable stores. The store owners were surprised; what had come over the Babusahib who had never before looked into their shops even by mistake! Today, he spent money like water with the result that there was not enough space in the carriage to accommodate all the purchases.

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