Amrita's Correspondence with The Mother

22 March 1933

Mother,

De Quadros pleaded very much that I should give him word on your behalf that he would receive Rs. 2500 in cash on the day he would actually leave the house, that is, sometime before 30th April 1933. I told him that you could give your word only after his papers were examined by the Notary to your satisfaction, and not before that.

Quite right. We must see the papers first and see how much is due upon the house. Once this figure is clearly settled, I shall give a final answer. As for the various expenses he need not worry about them; I take them at my charge.

He implored: “Don’t go back on your promise. Amal promised Rs. 7000 on behalf of the Mother; it has come down to Rs. 6750. Please see to it that the price doesn’t get reduced further. In any event I must receive Rs. 2500 in cash.”

You can tell him that I shall do my best to let him have the 2500 he asks, but nothing definitive can be settled before we know exactly how much he owes to his creditor. So the sooner the papers are handed over to the notary, the better.

This poor de Quadros is so anxious to have the thing finished that he has brought this paper to Amal. You will have to take it to the notary. I don’t feel like discussing the 2500 rupees. They represent so much more for him than for me! So the whole thing can be finally settled for Rs. 7000, on which I shall pay his debt on the day the sale deed is signed and the rest he will receive the day he hands over the house to us. I shall ask only that an inventory and statement of state of repair should be joined to the sale deed so that nothing can be changed, deteriorated or taken away between the signature of the documents and the actual handing over of the house by de Quadros.

22 March 1933