The kind-hearted barrister⁷

One day a middle-aged woman was found in the street most miserably and most pitifully weeping. A young barrister came out of a nearby house. He was on his way to court. When he saw the woman shedding bitter tears, he came up to her and asked why she was crying.

“I have walked here from a far-off place,” the woman replied. “I have come only to see you. In my village I have heard so much about you. People say that you are extremely kind-hearted, extremely generous and extremely self-giving. Tomorrow is my only daughter’s wedding. Alas, I do not have enough money to give her a proper marriage ceremony. I am so miserable. I know that tomorrow, if the wedding does not go well, some people will sympathise with me without helping me in any way. Others will laugh at me. Still others will just hate me. I have decided if tomorrow I cannot give my daughter a decent wedding, a proper wedding, I shall commit suicide. Now that you have heard my story, is there any way you can help me out of this sad plight?”

The young barrister said, “Right now I do not have any money with me. Please tell me how much money you actually need.”

The woman mentioned a certain sum and the young barrister continued, “This evening try to be here at this same place. I shall without fail give you money and make you happy. Do not feel sad any more.”

In the evening the young barrister returned home and as he neared his house he saw the woman waiting for him in exactly the same place. He presented her with ten times more money than she needed. The woman was speechless. She could only gaze at him with eyes full of gratitude. He smiled and said to her, “I am really happy that I could be of some help to you at this moment of your life.”

This young barrister’s name was Chitta Ranjan Das.