Stealing is a Sin
This is of an olden times matter. At that time there were no adequate means for providing proper education to the students. Besides, the medium of propagation of awareness was also not available in the country. There was also a curse of lack of money. At that time there used to be a small town, whose name was Pawanpur. There were small and large orchards of many types of fruit trees inside and outside of its periphery. It would be one of the reasons that the name Pawanpur might have been derived from the garden (upvan) or it might be the epitome of remembrance dedicated to the cool and fragrant wind passing through the green trees of these orchards. Whatever had been the purpose of naming, the importance of gardens and wind could not be denied. Being the focal point of the surrounding rural area, this town not only catered to the shopping needs of the people but was also the only means of education for their children. There were a dozen shops for all kinds of goods and a middle school; otherwise, there was no difference between a big village and this small town. Some lucky students from far-flung villages also used to come here to study by undertaking a long and arduous journey. The names of some such students studying in the fifth and sixth grades were Raghbir Chand, Satnam, Girdhari, Gyan Singh, Karam Chand and Krishan Lal. They used to have cordial relations with each other. Even if there was a slight estrangement over something, it was resolved by them amicably. Leaving home early in the morning for school and to leave for home after school time was their daily routine. There was no reason to stay the whole way.
When the summer break came to an end, the summer season went on leave and sometimes black clouds started peeping from the sky towards the earth. The raw fruits on the trees also started changing their appearance. The green colour was gradually becoming yellow, light red, and ruddy. The aroma of seasonal fruits started to perfume in the markets. At the entry point of Pawanpur’s school, a street hawker used to stand on the roadside. Where earlier his handcart was longing for fruits, now due to the heavyweight of lychee, locat, peach and mangoes of various species, started to feel difficulty in breathing. During the day, when the bell for recess rang, Raghbir Chand and Satnam went to the Bazar and while returning they stood near the handcart and started looking at the fruits. On seeing them, street hawker asked:
‘What to take, boys?’
‘We have to take Mangoes.’ Raghbir Chand said, looking with greedy eyes.
‘How much money do you want mangoes?’ He said.
‘We have no money.’ Raghbir Chand said with innocence.
‘Says, having no money. Is there a public kitchen of Baba Ji running here, where I should give you free of cost? If you want to eat mangoes for free then go to the orchard of the Mahants. There you will get mangoes without money along with free service.’ He said smilingly.
Both the boys went back from there scratching their teeth like a giggle cat. However, there was some satisfaction in their minds, it was that tomorrow they will go to the orchard of the Mahants and eat mangoes for free. They could not understand his slyness. When they reached near the school gate, other boys were also met there. On seeing them, Girdhari asked:
‘Where did you go to? How long have we been looking for you?’
‘We went to get a pencil from the shop.’ Satnam said while showing the pencil held in his hand.
‘You have gone alone in the market. It seems that you are hiding something from us. The things eaten alone do not digest.’ Karam Chand said looking at them with doubtful eyes.
‘I swear we didn't eat anything. Does anything come without money? We have taken this pencil of the money that was taken from Mom. Now tell me what you get for free?’ Satnam said while giving clarification.
Gyan Singh said seeing the smile on Raghbir Chand's sullen face:
‘It looks like there is something black. Why, is this not the thing, Raghbir?’
‘Yes, the street vendor has given an idea to us to eat mangoes for free. Tomorrow we will go there.’ He said looking at them.
‘Where do we to go?’ Girdhari asked curiously.
‘We will go in the mango orchard of Mahants.’ He said.
‘See there is every possibility of getting beaten up.’ Krishan Lal expressed doubt.
‘Oh no, he was saying that children who don’t have money, get mangoes there for free.’
When the recess ended, all the boys hurriedly went to their classes. The next day, they eagerly waited for the midday break. As the waiting period ended, they ran into the mango orchard. It was a time of midday, there was no one to take care of mangoes. Everyone was resting after the meal. The boys collected mangoes that had fallen on the ground and ran away from there. This sequence continued for two to three days. By now, some other boys of their class had also come to know about this. The group of boys had grown larger like monkeys herd now. They picked up all the mangoes that fell down on the ground. After the afternoon, when a man came to the orchard, he was stunned to see the situation there. The mangoes were stolen and there were mango kernels and crusts on all sides. The next day two men sat there in hiding. As soon as the boy's group entered the orchard, they picked up the sticks and ran after them. Somehow, the boys succeeded in escaping from there. They reached the class somehow panting with great difficulty. They didn’t go towards that side for a week knowingly. There was a fear in their minds that if caught, the beating was certain.
Children's mind always remains fickle. The taste of the sweet mangoes was intermittently tempting them to make a new discovery. But no idea was coming to their mind. One day when they were passing through the market after school hours, they heard the voice of a street hawker. He was calling in a loud voice to draw people's attention to him:
‘Come, come! Fresh lychee has come. It is sweeter than sugar cake. It is the gift of the local garden. Once you eat, you will come again and again. Don't delay, come, come, the fruits are going to finish.’
These words seem to have opened the window to the closed mind of Raghbir Chand. He said jumping with joy:
‘Should I tell you one thing?’
‘Yes, say what you want to say.’ Karam Chand said looking at his face.
‘First of all, you swear, you will not tell this to anyone; otherwise, we will face the same situation which we had faced in mango orchard.’ He spoke like the elders.
‘We swear by you, we will not tell anyone.’ Gyan Singh said on behalf of everyone.
‘Why do you swear by me? Why don't you swear by yourself? Don’t show cunningness. I’m the eldest, so I understand everything.’ He said angrily.
‘Okay, we swear by God. Now tell us what is it?’ Girdhari said.
All the boys stood near Raghbir Chand. Raghbir Chand looked around and then said:
‘Last Sunday, my father took some guests, who came to our house, to show them the famous garden. I also went with them. There were lots of lychee trees there. The twigs were touching the ground with the weight of fruits. If you lie down under them, no one even knows. Tomorrow we will go there after school time. Why, is it not an interesting thing?’
Hearing this, all the boys started laughing, as if some hidden treasure has been found. When the laughter stopped, Karam Chand said:
‘Dude, why didn't you tell this thing earlier? My mouth watered without eating. Let's go today, why tomorrow?’
‘I didn’t even think about it. Hearing the voice of the street vendor I remembered. It will be late today, what will we say at home? Tomorrow all of you come to the school making an excuse at home that the teacher will now take an hour extra class every day, so we will be late. Got it or not?’
‘Yes, we understood.’ Everyone spoke in one voice, but Krishan Lal remained silent. Seeing him silent, Ragbir Chand said mockingly:
‘Why have you stopped speaking, my child? I think you are scared. Hey! We are with you. Nothing is going to happen.’
‘Here we escaped. Now, if the Gardeners beat us up, then who will be responsible?’ Krishan Lal said, expressing his doubts.
‘It will happen only if they will know about us. Earlier, there was a mistake on our part. Now we have learned the lesson. We will not let anyone know.’ Raghbir Chand said while encouraging him.
The next day all the boys entered the garden with the tourists as per the pre-planned plan and after making a group of two boys each, they lay down in a relaxed posture under the thick trees of lychee. As soon as they had the opportunity, they would pluck the fruits of the lychee and after eating them secretly, they would throw the remaining part in the flower beds. For two days this sequence went on without any hindrance. But on the third day, when the Gardeners came to hoeing the flower beds, they were shocked to see the handiwork of the boys. In order to catch the invisible thieves of the fruits, they hid behind the trees some distance away. After waiting for some time, they succeeded in their trick. The boys' team before going to the lychee trees checked the situation. The situation was very clear. Looking around, Raghbir Chand, Satnam, Girdhari, and Gyan Singh started walking slowly towards the trees. Karam Chand and Krishan Lal were still walking some distance behind. There was a slight omission here by the Gardeners. They didn’t know the number of boys. They came out from behind the trees and secretly walked towards the boys to catch them. Incidentally, Krishan Lal caught sight of them. He shouted loudly:
‘Hello! Runaway from here. The Gardeners are coming.’
The boys were on the left side and the Gardeners were coming from the right side. So, there was a lot of distance between them. Therefore, taking advantage of this, the boys ran out. Krishan Lal and Karam Chand had reached the other side of the road after coming out of the park. The other boys had not yet crossed the road. Yet there was some distance between them. The Head Gardener thought that this way they would run away. So, he thought up an idea. He paused and called the boys in a loud voice:
‘Hey! Boys,why are you running? Stop, we will not harm you. We were angry that you were eating fruit by stealing. Stealing is a bad thing. If you want to eat fruit then come back, we will give you ourselves.’
The boys stopped and started consulting each other. Their minds were wavering on both sides. The taste of fruits was overshadowed by the fear of Gardeners. The Head Gardener knew this very well. He again played a trick. He spoke in soft language:
‘My dear boys, I'm guessing you're still scared of us. Get this feeling out of your mind. We too have small children like you. We also take fruits for them. Come back, I will give you fruits myself.’
The Gardener's idea worked. Raghbir Chand called Karam Chand and Krishan Lal to come back. They turned back, but walked slowly and stayed on the other side of the road. The other boys had reached the Gardeners by now. The Gardeners went ahead and nabbed them quickly. The boys' faces faded with fear. They began to tremble for fear of being beaten. Begging earnestly they said:
‘Forgive us. We will never do such work from now on. We swear we will never come again here.’
Eventually, the Gardeners took pity on them. The Head Gardener explained to them:
‘This time we are leaving you considering as children. If you do such a thing again, we will beat you up and also complain against you to the Head Teacher. Got it?’
In fear, the boys could not speak anything, but bowing their necks, they expressed their silent consent.
‘Remaining silent is not a reply. Say, stealing is a sin. We will not do any disgusting work from now on and will become good children in the future.’ The Head Gardener said while explaining them with love.
The boys had tears in their eyes. They said sobbing:
‘Stealing is a sin. We will not do any bad thing from now on and will become good children in the future.’
‘Okay, now you can go. These four mangoes are for you and two for the little monkeys who are waiting for you on the other side of the road.’
The boys quietly took mangoes from them and bowing their necks they walked out towards the road. When they reached near the boys standing on the other side of the road, Karam Chand asked:
‘What were the Gardeners saying?’
‘They were saying that why those boys didn’t come? Tell them that stealing is a sin.’ Raghbir Chand said being angry at them.
‘Thank God, we were saved. Now say, stealing is a sin.’ Krishan Lal said with a laugh.
Hearing this, all the boys started laughing and spoke in chorus:
‘Stealing is a sin.’
*******
