Honesty

It was another typical day at a crowded Bangalore mall. Mona and the kids were heading off to Bombay for winter vacations and Ayaana wanted to buy gifts for everyone - with her own Money! Yes - she had collected over Rs. 2000/- ($50+) during the course of the year and was going to generously spend this cash to buy gifts.

We found ourselves at the ever popular Landmark store at the Forum where one can find anything for anybody. Ayaana had a blast selecting gifts for each person on her list. As we stood in the check-out line, she realized that she had lost her money somewhere in the store. Her excitement vanished and she couldn't hold back her tears. One look at the hordes of people in the store and you pretty much knew that there was no hope of finding the lost cash.

We made a last ditch attempt and I went with her to the help desk to inquire if the money was found and returned to the lost and found. Unfortunately nobody had turned in the money. Then I walked with her to the section of the store where she had lost the money and asked the store personnel if they had heard anything about any money being found. One of the employees tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to follow him to one of the counters in that section. He spoke in rapid Kannada to the guy behind the counter while I explained our predicament to him. He took out the money from his pocket and handed it to me. The employee who took us to the counter had found the money on the floor and had turned it in to the manager!

I thanked the man and offered him a reward which he refused to accept. And Ayaana - she was in seventh heaven. The excitement was back and she was once again happy.

And my faith in the human spirit and the goodness of man (and woman) went up another notch.