Having said this, he collapsed in a chair in great sorrow.
His friends consoled him, ‘Servants are the same everywhere. The very race of servants is cunning. Please don’t worry about our inconvenience. Forget about these Safedas, we can have other ones.’
One of the gentlemen said, ‘My friend! In fact, all mangoes taste alike to me. I can’t make out any difference between varieties like Safeda, Mohanbhog, Langda, Bombay, Fazali, or Dussehri. I wonder how you make a distinction by their taste.’
Another said, ‘It’s the same with me, too! Please get us those that are available. Why cry over spilt milk?’
Sadly pained, Doctor Sahib said, ‘There is no dearth of mangoes. The garden is full of them. Please have them to your fill and also carry them home. What else are they meant for? But, where is that taste and flavour? You won’t believe, those Safedas looked as appealing as apples. Apples do look good but where is the delicious beauty and ambrosial sweetness in them? The gardener is responsible for this crime and I feel like shooting this ungrateful wretch. If he comes before me, I will thrash him till he is half-dead.’
The gardener had gone to the market. Doctor Sahib asked his horse keeper to pluck some mangoes. His friends relished the mangoes with milk, thanked him and left for their homes. But Doctor Sahib waited for the gardener beside the pool with a hunter in his hand.2
Durga returned late in the evening from the market. He looked around with suspicion. The moment he saw Doctor Sahib sitting beside the pool with a hunter, he was frightened. He knew immediately that his game was up. This was why he had deliberately delayed his return from the market. He had presumed that by the time he reached home, Doctor Sahib would have left for a walk and he would quietly sneak into his hut under the jackfruit tree. Meanwhile, he would get some time to find an excuse by morning. He would then say, ‘My lord! You can search my hut’, and the matter would slowly die a natural death. Time is the best alibi for a successful thief. It proves him innocent with each moment. But when he is caught red-handed, there is no way out. Dried blood can be mistaken for colour but fresh blood calls attention to itself! Durga stopped in his tracks, his heart pounding with fear. Doctor Sahib had seen him now. It was useless to withdraw.
The moment Doctor Sahib saw him, he walked towards him thinking of thrashing him well. But he was an advocate by profession so he thought it mandatory that he give him a chance to speak. He beckoned him and inquired, ‘The Safeda trees had plenty of mangoes. Now I can’t find even one. Where have they all disappeared?’
Durga replied with feigned innocence, ‘Huzoor! When I left for the bazaar, they were all there. If during my absence someone plucked them, I can’t say.’
‘Who do you suspect?’
‘Sarkar! Now, who should I name?’
‘But I suspect you! If you have taken them away, return them to me or admit that you stole them. Else I will punish you really hard.’
A thief wants to save himself not only from retribution but also from insult. Retribution does not make him as fearful as insult. Even when he is left with no hope of saving himself, he will not accept his crime. Better to face the penalty and be proven innocent than to be let off and proven guilty. Durga could have accepted his delinquency and saved himself from punishment but he said, ‘Huzoor! You are my master, do what you may, but I haven’t stolen the mangoes. You tell me, I have been serving you for this long, have I ever touched even a leaf off the branch?’
‘Can you swear by God?’
‘I swear by the holy river Ganga, if I ever touched the mangoes.’
‘I don’t believe you. Go and get some water in a vessel, put some tulsi leaves into it, then swear by it and say “If I have stolen the mangoes, may the curse befall my son.” Only then will I believe you.’
‘Huzoor! Let truth prevail. I can swear by any God. When I haven’t sinned why would any curse befall me?’
‘Okay, now don’t tell me stories. Go and get the water.’
Doctor Sahib was quite knowledgeable about human nature. He had to remain regularly in touch with all kinds of criminals. Although Durga was acting brave and bold, in his heart of hearts he was terrified.
He came to his hut but had no courage to carry the pot of water back. His hands trembled. He remembered those incidents when divine wrath had befallen those who had sworn falsely by the holy river’s name. Never in his life had he experienced such heartfelt trust in divine omniscience. He decided, ‘I will not swear falsely by the holy river. The worst that could happen to me is that I would be chucked out of the job. I will find another job somewhere and if I don’t find one, a labourer’s job is always available. Even if I plough the field, it will surely provide me at least half a kilo of flour for the evening meal.’ He came and stood empty-handed before Doctor Sahib.
Doctor Sahib asked him sternly, ‘Did you get the water?’
‘Huzoor! I will not swear by the river Ganga!’
‘So, it is proven that you have stolen the mangoes!’
‘Now, let the master think whatever he deems to be true. Suppose I did steal the mangoes, I am your servant after all. I slog day and night for you. When children cry for mangoes what do I do? Spare me this time. This will never happen again.’
Doctor Sahib was not so generous. He was kind enough not to hand him over to the
