Lal Bahadur Shastri, Hanumantha Reddy and his second-hand bicycle deal

“How about my cycle? One simple deal: all you need to do is just position your answer script in such a way that it is visible to me. I will hand over the keys and my cycle will be yours as soon as we come out of the exam hall.” said Hanumantha Reddy, my high school classmate.

It was a tempting deal for me. Although he had discussed the same matter with me and requested, begged, ordered and threatened before, I had always refused to let him copy from my answer paper in the tests and exams. Hanumantha Reddy and I had nothing in common except the first letter of our names, therefore, we were always placed nearby in the exam halls.

I don’t know why: even today, I can’t take what’s not mine. I expected the same from him and explained. “Hanmatha, ask me anything that you don’t understand before the exam starts. Let’s skip games period and be in the classroom. I will try to explain, but don’t ask me to explain or show the answers during the exam.” There was a pure disconnect in our communication. I had utterly failed to understand his wish for easy ways for getting marks and my boring principles were not even entering into the labyrinth of his ears. That’s when he came up with the deal: “How about my cycle?”

It was the end of the academic year. All through the year, I had been going to our school on foot, walking a never-ending road, talking to myself, thinking about everything under the sky, humming all the songs I could remember, cursing my father’s light pocket, cursing my mother’s heavy concern, cursing the blazing sun who takes premature birth in our town and does die till late evening.

All this picture passed in front of my eyes and the ‘How about my cycle?’ offer tempted me.

Although I prepared for the next day’s mathematics exam for some time, the bicycle deal came to my mind when I was about to sleep. I don’t have to do anything: I just have to place my answer script in a way he can see. What’s wrong in that? Am I doing any sin? I can anyway let him copy from my paper and explain the answers after the exam. It’s a kind of help. I don’t have to walk that eternal road after that. – his lure was controlling my thoughts.

I remembered a story my father had told long back:

Once, when Lal Bahadur Shastri was just a party member of Congress, a family friend came to Shastri’s house and asked for a loan of Rs.10. As usual, Shastri didn’t have money and sent him back. The same scene repeated after a few days. While Shastri was about to send the person back, Mrs. Lalitha Shastri, after overhearing this conversation, called Mr.Shastri inside and said:

“I do have some small amount of money that I had saved every month from the remuneration you get from the party. Shall I give that?”

Shastri took the money from his wife, went outside and told the person “I’m sorry, we don’t have money to lend now.”

He came back inside and told his wife “Lalitha, our party gives money so that we can lead our life. When you are able to save even after running the family, it simply means I am getting more from the party. Anything that is excess is not mine. Anything that is not mine shouldn’t be there with me.”

Mr. Shastri went to the party office, returned the money and requested to authorities concerned to decrease his remuneration from the upcoming month.

******

I got ready and started walking to the school the next day. The same never-ending road, the same hot sun, the deal offered by Hanumantha Reddy, the story of Lal Bahadur Shastri told my father. I reached the school. Before entering the exam hall, I still remember very vividly, Hanumantha Reddy showed the dangling keys of his bicycle holding the key ring between his fingers.

My father won. Lal Bahadur Shastri won. The deal of Hanumantha Reddy failed.

And for the next two years, I was there, walking on the never-ending road, cursing my father’s light pocket, cursing my mother’s heavy concern, cursing the blazing sun, but with much bigger satisfaction of sharing such a story after so many years.

If possible, take your children close and tell them the story of Lal Bahadur Shastri.