Solomon

Biodata

Background / History

Separation from His Family

Solomon lived near the Mediterranean with his pregnant wife before war forced them to flee. When she could no longer continue without risking their unborn child, he paid to secure her permission to remain in a neighboring country that otherwise allowed refugees only to pass through. He continued to India and subsequently found himself unable to return 28.

After making money in Mumbai, Solomon located his wife and daughter and maintained contact through letters and monthly remittances. Sara’s poor health prevented her from undertaking the journey to India, while Mary grew up knowing her father through correspondence. More than twenty years passed before Sara died and Solomon lost contact with Mary 28.

Solomon later explained that he had no passport or nationality and that his activities existed in a legal gray area. These circumstances, rather than indifference, had prevented him from returning to his family 40.

Business in India

According to Patil, Solomon had conducted substantial business in Mumbai through both legitimate and underhanded means before reportedly going bankrupt and settling in Varanasi. Madan likewise knew him as a “bankrupt old man.” Despite that reputation, Solomon retained money, influential contacts, and ownership of a profitable port-services company 7 9 45 48.

Solomon had met Aditya’s father several times but refused to support his business proposals because he believed the man lacked confidence in his own plans. He responded differently to Aditya, whose confidence and commercial instincts impressed him 9.

Financing Aditya’s Fertilizer Venture

Aditya approached Solomon over a chess game at Dashashwamedh Ghat, seeking money to speculate on phosphate fertilizer before an expected government policy change. During their meeting, a young man delivered a note detailing Aditya’s family circumstances and debts. Solomon questioned the plan but ultimately agreed to finance it 8 9.

Solomon supplied the cash from a hidden compartment in his home. He also referred Aditya to Nayak, a Mumbai freight broker, and advised him to pay the broker’s three-percent fee without bargaining. To help Aditya be treated as a businessman, he recommended city clothing and concealing his sacred thread 9 10.

Aditya used the financing to enter the fertilizer trade and reported a profit of 650,000 rupees after the policy announcement raised prices. When he later brought money back to the gravely ill Solomon, Solomon declined repayment and told him to keep it for the textile mill 15 28.

Final Request and Reunion

As his health deteriorated, Solomon asked Aditya to find Mary in Israel and bring her to India. He initially wanted his approaching death concealed, suggesting that Aditya say her mother had left belongings with him. He offered his Mumbai company in return, but Aditya agreed as repayment for Solomon’s earlier help rather than accepting the company 28.

Solomon provided 50,000 US dollars, family photographs, keepsakes, letters, Mary’s address, and contact information for Rafiq, who arranged Aditya’s travel and currency exchange. Aditya ultimately told Mary the truth about her father’s illness. After visiting Sara’s grave, she agreed to accompany him to India 28 29 30 36 37.

Reunited in Varanasi, Mary confronted Solomon about his absence, including his failure to return when Sara died. He acknowledged that he had failed them both and asked Mary to stay because he had little time left. He had preserved a scarf she wore as a child, sent to him by Sara 40.

Succession and Death

Solomon summoned his lawyer, Kulkarni, and again proposed sharing his company between Mary and Aditya. He argued that Aditya’s textile factory needed access to shipping and that Mary would need support navigating Mumbai’s institutions. Although he initially proposed giving Aditya seventy percent, Aditya insisted that Mary retain the controlling share 45.

Solomon also asked Mary to tie a Rakhi around Aditya’s wrist, establishing a protective sibling bond. Mary objected to pressuring Aditya, but he willingly accepted. After the share-transfer documents were signed, Solomon called to them both, exhaled, and died 45.

Mary and Aditya buried him on Mishra family land near the Ganges. His body was wrapped in white cloth and positioned facing Jerusalem at Mary’s insistence. The grave had no headstone; Aditya marked a flat stone with the initials “S.K.” 46.

Appearance

• Before his illness: An elderly man with neatly combed graying hair, light-brown skin, and gold-rimmed glasses. At the ghat, he wears a flax-colored shirt with its cuffs rolled up 8.
• Hands: A dry, cold grip, with a hard palm beneath a thin layer of calluses 9.
• During his final illness: Severely emaciated, with sunken cheeks, prominent cheekbones, skeletal hands, and a weak, breathless voice 28.

Personality

Solomon is calculating, observant, and difficult to deceive. He quickly recognizes that Aditya has approached him for a reason, investigates his circumstances during their chess game, and structures their agreement to protect his interests. Aditya later suspects that Solomon had anticipated needing his help from the moment he offered the loan, though this remains Aditya’s interpretation 8 9 29.

His concern for Mary drives his final arrangements. He combines financial provision, corporate succession, and Hindu social customs to secure support for her after his death. Although emotionally reserved, he eventually tells her directly that he wants her to stay simply because he wishes to see her during his remaining days 40 45.

Abilities & Skills

Commercial Judgment

Solomon draws on thirty years of port experience when assessing Aditya’s business prospects 45.

• Identifies rising yarn prices, electricity costs, and unsold inventory as threats to the textile factory 45.
• Recommends shipping access as a route beyond dependence on domestic markets 45.
• Had kept the officials, clients, and other figures surrounding his port business within established boundaries while alive 47.

Contacts and Information Gathering

Solomon retains useful connections despite his withdrawal to Varanasi 8 10 30.

• Obtains information about Aditya’s family and debts during their first meeting 8.
• Introduces Aditya to Nayak for freight handling, storage, and customs work 10.
• Refers him to Rafiq for overseas travel arrangements and assistance with foreign-exchange restrictions 29 30.

Chess

Solomon plays chess beneath a bodhi tree at Dashashwamedh Ghat and recognizes that Aditya is considerably more experienced than he admits 8.

• Uses their game as an opportunity to question Aditya’s intentions and proposal 8.
• Is outplayed by Aditya, whose position becomes decisively stronger 8.

Property and Estate

Company Succession

• The transfer takes effect upon signing; specified company decisions require both successors’ signatures 45.
• Kulkarni subsequently travels to Mumbai to register the transfer 46.

Relationships

• Sara — Wife. Their separation lasted more than twenty years; Solomon supported her financially and preserved her letters and family photographs 28.
• Mary Cohen — Daughter and principal heir. Her resentment over his absence gives way to a final reunion, and she remains with him through his death 40 45.
• Aditya Mishra — Borrower, trusted younger associate, and business successor. Solomon entrusts him with finding Mary and supporting her after his death 28 40 45.
• Patil — Acquaintance who knows his business history and encourages Aditya to approach him for financing 7.
• Nayak — Mumbai freight contact whose services Solomon recommends to Aditya 10 12.
• Rafiq — Contact entrusted with arranging Aditya’s journey to Israel 29 30.
• Kulkarni — Lawyer responsible for the succession documents and briefing Mary and Aditya on the inherited business 45 47.

Notable Quotes

“Because when he asked me, he didn't even believe he could pull it off himself.”
— Explaining why he refused to back Aditya’s father 9

“No, I want you to stay. Not for the money. Whatever happens to the company is fine. It's because I don't have many days left. I just want to see you.”
— To Mary 40

“I don't believe in your gods, but I believe in your rules.”
— Asking Aditya to accept Mary’s Rakhi 45