English It So Happened 07: Jalebis

An honest boy is on his way to school carrying money in his pocket to pay the school fees. The sight of crisp, syrupy jalebis in the market excites him and the coins in his pocket begin to jingle. After a long debate with himself, he yields to the sweet temptation.

It happened many years ago. I was in the fifth standard at the government school, Kambelpur, now called Atak. One day, I went to school with four rupees in my pocket to pay the school fees and the fund. When I got there I found that the teacher who collected the fees, Master Ghulam Mohammed, was on leave and so the fees would be collected the next day. All through the day the coins simply sat in my pocket, but once school got over and I was outside, they began to speak.