ed them. I can understand five hundred, and that also because young Ali should buy a bicycle so he can ride from school to work, his elder sister Laila has to be married soon and mother Farida , when was the last time he had bought her a gift. Moslem new year was approaching, why not surprise her with a pair of gold bangles. This time he softened a bit. He said A mere five hundred for a eight hundred dollar rug. This was a travesty. He claimed he had refused offers of seven hundred and fifty dollars just this morning. If I made it at least seven hundred dollars, he would consider the offer.I did the unthinkable, a minor setback in my perfectly planned campaign. I took out another hundred-dollar bill, and combined it with the other five hundred-dollar bills. I thrust it into his hand, stormed out of the shop and urged them to think while I ran a few errands in the market. This was it ! The ultimate temptation - even Moses would have yielded to this. It was not long. I was at a nearby shoe shop trying to outdo Imelda Marcos with my own private collection, when Ali, the artful boy, from the Istanbul Emporium rode up on a five-speed bicycle. He handed me the rug, neatly rolled up and tightly packed and said, Baba sends his regards with his card . I saw the business card and I knew I had been fooled I had been outwitted, out classed and out haggled by the seller. The card listed numerous such Istanbul Emporiums all over Pakistan and India. Apparently the rickety exterior, the false modesty was just a facade to lure unsuspecting shoppers like me, who thought they could outwit these shrewd merchants. ...
