It is a cold dawn at the mid of December when Shrungarpur a small town is in its sound slumber. Since it is the mid of December, the bitter chill of the winter is spitting out its chill fire on the people of Shrungarpur. People are seen confined and struggling to get warm in their blankets. Little kids embrace their mothers to get some warm. Elderly gentlemen are sleeping in the front yards of their houses and struggling in their blankets to protect themselves from the blow of bitter chill. Cattle are tied to the wooden sticks fixed deep into the ground and standing still with closing eyes and shrinking their bodies to protect them from the bitter chill of winter. A fluttering sound of a flag accompanied by a sound of a musical performance happening in the sanctum of the temple falls on the ear. Gradually, the sun comes out in the sky to lessen the intensity of the cold fire of winter and makes the whole town of Shrungarpur feel at warm and comfortable from the bitter blows of the cold. The elderly people end their bhajans and kirtanas in the temple and come out of the temple to reach to their homes. While coming out of temple, all the old gentlemen are engrossed in their discussion. It is heard from one of them saying that for the first time after a long period, they have experienced and felt such cold winter season. They are so engrossed in their talk and hurry to reach to their homes to begin their daily routine that they don’t pay heed to who are around them. There is a little open space covered from up by the ceiling of the temple where a man like figure is at rest. His body movements show that he too is suffered the blows of the cold and is trying to shrink his whole body in the tattered clothes that he has worn. He is none other than the only and lonely beggar of the town. He has grown a long beard and long uncombed dirty hair. His clothes are dirty and torn and his appearance is such that no one likes to see him or entertain him a while. But the beggar is careless of the treatment of the people and happy in his profession of beggary.
The beggar is in his mid thirties. He has been a part of Shrugarpur for many years. He begins his day by visiting shops and houses in the town and whatever the eatables he gets from the housewives, he gathers in his dirty and tattered cloth bag and comes out of the town where there is a small temple of some god where he takes his food and remaining he offers to the dogs who gather there with the hope that the beggar may bring some new and tasty food for them. After gathering food from the people, he prefers to lead his life in isolation at the small deserted temple outside the town. He does it because he does not want that people of Shrungarpur should scorn at him or make him a subject of fun and mockery.
Every day he gets enough money along with eatables. Only ten rupees out of the collected amount he keeps in his pocket. A question may be raised what does he do with the rest of the gathered money? The answer is just behind this deserted temple where there is a little open space. It is here, the beggar makes a deep ditch in which he keeps his remaining money. After burying his money in this ditch he keeps a small stone on it as a mark of identification. The place is quite safe as no one comes to this temple and there is no fear of its being stolen.
There is a huge edifice at the center of Shrungarpur. It is really a huge and attractive one. Everyone in the town aspires to have such luxurious house for himself. It is the edifice of a rich Landlord of the town. The Landlord exercises a good influence on the people of Shrugarpur. It is said about the rich Landlord that he is arrogant and takes great pride in his affluence. His affluence has made him so proud that he avoids talking to the people who are lower to him in class and prosperity. He prefers to have relations with the people who are of his status. Only rich people in and out of Shrugarpur are seen going in and coming out of his splendid edifice. Entry of the common and poor people is strictly prohibited. If any one does, he has to hear a lot of shouting and abuses. So common people prefer to keep themselves away from the edifice and enjoy its glory from a safer distance. When its so, there is no question of entry of the beggars who for them nothing but an insult and disgrace to the society.
When the beggar is resting in the isolated temple, his eyes catch a huge tower like edifice of the rich Landlord. It seems to him that the huge edifice is calling him for handsome offerings. During his walk in the town, he has heard about the arrogance and the treatment that the rich Landlord gives to people. It is out of this impression; he deliberately keeps himself away from the charm of the edifice. Whenever he rests in that isolated temple and looks at the huge edifice, his expectation becomes stronger and allurement of handsome offering becomes so strong that he cannot control himself and falls prey to the allurement and glory of the edifice of the Landlord. One day he musters his courage and decides to visit the edifice. He goes quite close to the edifice but after seeing an alert security guard who is smoking and releasing smoke up in the air, he changes his mind with the anticipation that security guard may be harsh to him.
A few days later, when he is passing by the lane where the grand bungalow of the landlord is located marks the absence of the security guard and finds that the huge iron gate is slightly open. Taking the advantage of the absence of the security guard, he dares to open the gate and enters. At that moment the Landlord is deeply engaged in washing his favorite car. After seeing the beggar is entering his bungalow, Landlord hurriedly comes there and exchanges a few harsh words.
“Who is there trespassing my territory? Don’t you know here common and dirty pigs from nasty mud are strictly prohibited?” Over this the beggar says, “Sorry! Sir.” Landlord shouts at him, “Haven’t you read the message out there?” The beggar says in a low voice, “No Sir. I forgot.” Landlord asks angrily, “What brings you here?” In reply Beggar humbly says, “I have a great fascination for your edifice and have the hope that man who owns such huge edifice how magnanimous he would be at heart! Expecting a handsome offering from you, I dared to come in.” Landlord says rather irritatingly, “stop your baffling and putting me on pedestal. Your words of flattery will not change my mind. Don’t stop here for a single moment you ‘Nasty Pig’ from mud. Your dirty presence has spoiled the beauty and glory of my huge edifice. Get out of my sight instantly otherwise you will pay for your misdeed.” Beggar bows down, tears begins to flow from his eyes. He looks at the Landlord with a feeling of being insulted. He wants to speak further but holds his tongue back. Looking angrily at the beggar, the Landlord warns him rather harshly and inhumanly, “Don’t dare to have an eye on grand edifice hereafter. Take care in future that your nasty legs should not move towards my edifice. Your presence is nothing but a disgrace to me and people like me in the town. Beggar felt very sorry over what he did and begging him says, “Sorry! Sir I will take absolute care of it.” He leaves the bungalow dishearteningly.
The word ‘Nasty Pig’ troubles him a lot. He decides and determines that whatever may happen he would never come here for begging where there is Landlord’s edifice. A long period of 20 years or more is passed. The beggar has reached in his fifties. These twenty years proved very hard for the Landlord. These are the years of lot of happenings in the life of Landlord. He has a lonely son who spoils his life by joining the company of drunkards. He drinks and drinks until the wine drinks him. One day his son returns to the edifice in drunken state and falls ill. He has become so thin and pale that he cannot wake up. The Landlord uses the power of money invites doctors to cure him. Doctors tell him that his son’s kidneys are damaged. One doctor gives him a suggestion of Kidney transplant. For the love of his lonely son, he takes the suggestion of the doctor. The drinking addict and now kidney transplantation puts the Landlord in a great financial trouble. His son has already wasted a lot of property on his addicts and what left is his huge edifice. Finally, the Landlord makes up his mind and makes the auction of his pride i.e. edifice. Taking money, he reaches to hospital and requests the doctor to complete the process of transplantation. The process is done, but it proves to be fatal to the life of the son and during treatment, the son loses his life. The Landlord is sunk in despair. He brings back the dead body of son and does the cremation and remaining rituals after the death of his son. Within a few days, Landlord’s wife can not bear the shock of her son’s death and she too dies out of heart failure. Landlord goes on bearing severe blows of the destiny one after the other. First he lost his huge edifice then he lost his son and now his wife. He becomes absolutely bankrupt. What remains with the Landlord is nothing. His situation becomes so worse that he has to take a small room on rent in Shrungarpur where he spends remaining life.
It is the habit of the beggar that whatever the amount of money he gathers in a day, he keeps only ten rupees out it in his pocket and remaining he buries in the ditch behind the deserted temple where he spends his time. The question comes in one’s mind what does he do with that ten rupees? Every evening, the beggar goes in Shrungarpur to collect his evening food. There is a row of shops just beside the main temple of Shrungarpur. One of the shops is a lottery stall named Mahalakshim Lottery Center. When it is too late in evening and the market of Shrungapur is about to get closed and when people are dispersing towards their homes, the beggar secretly goes to the lottery shop and takes a lottery ticket of ten rupees. He has been doing it since last twenty years. One day he returns to his deserted temple to take rest and gets shocked to see that his treasure has been stolen by somebody. He feels very disappointed and on the very next moment a question encourages and boosts his morale that why a beggar needs so much money. Beggar is beggar and he should be happy with two times meals. Fortunately, it is on the same day his fortune smiles upon him and his ticket wins a lottery worth amount ten crore. Beggar becomes rich overnight. He uses that amount to build a huge edifice like that of the Landlord. Now, the beggar has become the most affluent and respectable person in the town of Shrungarpur. Beggar is completely ignorant to the lot of the Landlord and he too does not know about the beggar’s achievement as he engaged in the treatment of his drunkard son.
One day the Landlord is passing by the road suddenly takes a pause at an edifice which resembles like him. He throws a glance at in and finds that rich man is washing his car. Accidently or by chance the eyes of both the rich beggar and the poor Landlord catch each other. The rich beggar looks at the Landlord identifies him and smiles at him innocently. The Landlord cannot bear this smile and hurriedly comes to his rented room and locks himself in. The next morning the whole Shrugarpur rushes towards the room where the landlord lives as a tenant. The police come and break the door which is locked within and bring out the dead body of the poor Landlord. Police register it to be the case of suicide. Police find a piece of paper in the room of the landlord on which it is written ‘A ‘Smile’ took my life.’