Nobel insight

When I was a research assistant in the 8216;80s, occasionally, towards the month-end, the lab attendant would request me for a small loan. I had no problem giving it because of the generous fellowship I used to get. And he always returned it, the first thing on getting his salary.

Later, after setting up my own home in Ahmedabad, there was this young man from Rajasthan who came to work for us. He sometimes used to ask for an advance to be adjusted against his salary. I readily gave it and he always returned it. But once he requested a bigger amount: a thousand rupees, a substantial sum in those days. He said he was going to his village to get married. Considering the occasion, I parted with the money.

He promised to return it after a month. Two months later, and there was still no sign of him. I thought my money was gone for good and, let me confess, felt a little disturbed that he had betrayed my trust. Meanwhile, we got transferred out of Ahmedabad to a small place in Saurashtra. In the new setting, I quite forgot that loan.

One month into our stay at the new place and my husband handed me an envelope. Inside it was the money sent across by the young man. It turned out that because of family problems he was held up in his village longer than he had planned. When he returned, he discovered we had shifted. He didn8217;t know our new address. But he remembered our driver. He contacted him and handed over the sum that he owed me. The driver, in turn, sent it to us through someone who was coming across.

The gesture touched me a great deal. It was not the money. It was that the trust inherent in a small, domestic transaction was not belied.