Editio princeps ( First Edition )

He asked, "was this
your first go at writing?"

I answered in the affirmative. He nodded.
"What's the time on your watch?"

I discovered, it has stopped.
"It has been like this for sometime now . . . ", I told.

"Hand it over to me!"

"Can you . . . repair watches too, Sir?", I queried.

With a benign smile, he uttered, "I think so."

While fiddling with it, he asked wryly
"So, Arun, you feel you will become
a successful writer, eh?"

"I think so."

He nodded.

By this time, my watch has been opened
and its numerous parts spread out.

Minutes slipped through, and so did
a hapless screwdriver.

"Hand me the adhesive please, Arun."

My mouth was going dry,
I couldn't spot a glass of water either

Pouring back all the contents,
( though they didn't fit in properly)
he looked at me and smiled sweetly,
"This was
my first go, too!"

I mentioned this incident, much later,
in the Preface to my "First Edition".