for these birds. Maulvi Sahib would instruct all the boys to catch moths. These birds had a keen interest in the moths. Whenever we felt that Maulvi Sahib was about to fly into a rage, we would start collecting moths, for they would take his anger away. By sacrificing them we would pacify the wrath of Maulvi Sahib.

One morning both of us went to wash our faces in the nearby pond. Halder took a whitish thing in his fist and showed it to me. Instantly I opened his fist. There was a one-rupee coin in it. Astonished, I asked, ‘Where did you find this rupee?’

Halder replied, ‘Mother had kept it on the shelf. I stood the cot sideways, climbed onto it and took the rupee.’

There was no chest or almirah in the house; the money was kept on a shelf at some height. Yesterday, Uncle had sold san. The money had been kept to pay the zamindar. I don’t know how Halder had got to know about it.

We had never touched a one-rupee coin before. I remember even today how while looking at that rupee, waves of happiness and fear arose in our hearts. The rupee was a precious thing. Maulvi Sahib used to get only twelve annas from us. At the end of every month Uncle would go himself to Maulvi Sahib and pay the money. Who could possibly assess our sense of pride? But the fear of getting thrashed was ruining our happiness. The money was not uncountable. It was quite understood that the theft would be detected. Halder had already had a first-hand experience of Uncle’s anger, even if I hadn’t. Nobody in the whole world was more innocent and naïve than Uncle was. But when he got angry, he lost all sense of proportion in his blinding rage. Even Aunty feared his anger. For several minutes both of us kept thinking about these things. Finally it was decided that we could not let go of the money. Nobody would doubt us at all, and if they did, we would straightaway deny it. What would we even do with the money, we would staunchly say.

If we had thought over this plan a little more, the horrific drama that took place might have been averted, but at that moment we did not have the capacity to contemplate such things.

We entered the house sheepishly after washing our hands and faces. If by any chance they decided to search us, then only God could save us. But everybody was doing their work. Nobody spoke to us. We did not eat our breakfast—neither did we carry the chabena; we just kept our books under our arms and left in the direction of the madrasa.

It was the rainy season. There were clouds in the sky. We were walking towards the school in high spirits. Even getting a position in the council ministry would not have given us so much happiness. We had thousands of ambitions and built thousands of castles in the air. We had got this opportunity after a long time. We were unlikely to get this chance ever again. That is why we wanted to spend the rupee in such a way that it would last for many days. Although during those days, one could get very good quality sweets for five annas a kilo, half a kilo of sweets would have sated both of us. But we thought that if we ate sweets then the rupee would disappear that day itself. We had to eat something that came cheap—which not only made us happy, but filled our stomachs and cost less. Finally, we saw guavas. Both of us agreed. We bought guavas worth two paise. It was a time when things were cheap. We got twelve big guavas. Our bellies were full. When Halder kept the rupee in the fruit-seller’s hand, she looked at us with suspicion and asked, ‘Where did you find this rupee, Lala? Have you stolen it?’

We had the answer ready. We had read at least two–three books, if not more. Knowledge had left some influence on us. I promptly answered, ‘We have to pay Maulvi Sahib’s fees. There was no loose cash in the house, so Uncle gave us the rupee.’

This answer ended the fruit-seller’s suspicion. Both of us ate lots of guavas while sitting on a bridge. But now where would we take the fifteen and a half annas? It was not difficult to hide a one-rupee coin. Where would one hide a pile of coins? We did not have much space around our waists or in our pockets. To keep them with us would mean blowing a trumpet about the theft. After thinking over it for a long time, it was decided that twelve annas would be given to Maulvi Sahib and with the remaining three and a half annas we would buy sweets. After taking this decision, we reached the school. We had gone to the school after many days. Getting annoyed, Maulvi Sahib asked, ‘Where were you all these days?’

I replied, ‘There was a death in the family, Maulvi Sahib.’

While I said this, I put the twelve annas in front of him. That way there was nothing left for him to ask. Maulvi Sahib was ecstatic after seeing the money. There were still many days left for the month to end. Normally, he would receive the money days after the month started and that too after constantly demanding it. It was not unusual for him to feel so happy after receiving the money so much in advance. We looked at the other boys with pride in our eyes, as if we were telling them: on the one hand, there are boys like you who do not pay the money even after one asks for it, and on the other hand there are boys like us, who pay in advance!

We were still reading our lessons when we realized that there was a fair near the lake and so school would get over

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