The Interest

I asked my health worker, a local man, what the matter was.

With a sheepish smile, he said: 8220;Sir, seeing your jeep, they must have mistaken you for the bank employees. These villagers, most of them quite rich, took out loans from the government banks on various pretexts a few years ago. But nobody has bothered to return the money, though many of them could easily do so. The bank people have now threatened legal proceedings. So whenever they come to the village in their jeep to recover the loans, all the men run away to avoid them.8221;

I felt disgusted at this disclosure, brooding over the irresponsible behaviour of people.

Days passed. One night I was woken by loud knocks at the door of my residence in the primary health centre compound. A middle-aged woman, shivering in the cold, pleaded with me to help her only child.

The boy, an emaciated 13-yr-old, was groaning with pain in the ox-cart. I brought him inside, and my examination strongly suggested acute appendicitis. I explained to the woman that the boy needed urgent surgical intervention in the district hospital, about 9 km away, as my centre was not equipped to deal with such patients.

She looked gloomy.

I could guess that she was worried getting him there. The ox-cart would be time consuming. Our jeep was out of order. But there was a driver in the village with a three wheeler, who charged 30 rupees to go to the district hospital at night.

I suggested this option to her.

Her lips trembled. 8220;I do not have a single paisa with me. Can you lend me 40 rupees? I shall return it in a few days,8221; she mumbled hesitantly.

I had no doubts about the genuineness in her request, so I handed over the money. The driver came and rushed the boy to the hospital.

I forgot about the episode. Then one Sunday morning in June, as I was relaxing with a cup of tea, a boy appeared at my gate.

His face looked familiar and I remembered that he was the boy who had appendicitis. I called him in and inquired how he was.

Smiling, he thanked me. 8220;My mother was sorry that she could not come personally to thank you because of the harvesting in the fields. But she has sent me with this money.8221; He handed me a few currency notes. It amounted to 50 rupees. I looked at him questioningly. 8220;Sir, apart from your 40 rupees which she had borrowed, this 10 rupee is the interest on the delay in returning the loan.8221;

The scene on the wheat fields a few months ago flashed in my mind.

I could barely control my tears. I patted his shoulder and returned the 8220;interest8221; to him.

8226; Professor, Community Medicine, AIIMS Reproduced from the British Medical Journal