A Lesson in Negotiation

As we wandered along the narrow alley leading from Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore, Sarah noticed among the stalls selling jasmine wreaths and trinkets and sweets, a woman under an umbrella with a rainbow of necklaces and bracelets spread out before her. A couple of wooden necklaces caught Sarah’s attention and she figured our daughters might like them. “How much?” she asked. 500 rupees was the answer–about $7.50–and that sounded pretty reasonable. But Vinoth came to the rescue and took a quick look at the merchandise, running his fingers over the wood, twisting the necklaces back and forth. “No good,” he said and dropped the them onto the ground with a clatter.

Of course, Sarah wanted the necklaces and was prepared to offer another price. Maybe 400 rupees? But Vinoth took her by the elbow and guided her away. “100 rupees,” he said, barely glancing at the woman as we walked off. She frowned and shook her head as they exchanged a rapid duel in Tamil.

We crossed the street and started into a shop with bright saris and kurtas, swirls of scarlet and gold and amethyst, and thoughts of wooden necklaces faded.

“100 rupees, 100 rupees!” A young boy chased us across the street, dodging two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws, holding the wooden necklaces over his head. “100 rupees, please.”

Vinoth grinned as Sarah handed over the 100 rupee note. “Not bad. Are you being pleased now?”

Pleased, indeed. And enlightened a bit to the ways of negotiation in India.

Author: David Hassler

David M. Hassler was fortunate enough to have become a relatively rare male Trailing Spouse when his talented wife Sarah accepted a job teaching music in the elementary division of the American International School in Chennai, India, in 2017. His role included, for more than three years there, serving as her everything wallah, but also allowed him time for exploring, discovering, and sharing new places, new faces, and new tastes around Chennai, throughout south India, and beyond. When the pandemic arrived, Sarah retired and they moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where they continue to live and love life. David M. Hassler is a long-time member of the Indiana Writers Center Faculty and holds an MFA from Spalding University. His work has been published in Maize and the Santa Fe Writers' Project. He served as a Student Editor for The Louisville Review and as Technical Editor for Writing Fiction for Dummies. He is currently the Fiction Editor for Flying Island, an online literary journal. He is co-author of Muse: An Ekphrastic Trio, and Warp, a Speculative Trio, and future projects include A Distant Polyphony, a collection of linked stories about music and love, memories and loss; and To Strike a Single Hour, a Civil War novel that seeks the truth in one of P T Barnum's creations. He is a founding partner in Boulevard Press. View all posts by David Hassler