Price is Right

Posted on by Rudrajyoti Nath Ray

Somendra was a cunning merchant. Nandish was a simple village boy. He was poor and had nothing in the world but one beautiful white horse. “What does a young boy like you need with a horse?” When the offer reached five hundred gold coins, Nandish paused and seemed to give it a thought. “You must give me the money right now, and I will give you the horse only when I have given you ten lashes.” Somendra agreed instantly.

Nandish counted the coins carefully. Then he took the whip. One, two, three… the lashes fell in quick succession. Nine… Somendra waited, holding his breath for the last and final lash. “I don’t feel like giving you the last one. It upsets my dear horse.” Nandish rode away, richer by five hundred gold coins. Somendra waited for many, many days for the whip to fall on his back finally. Of course, it never came!

– Sudha Murty, The Magic Drum, (Puffin Books, 2006).

'The Last Word' seeks to include not only wise and witty sayings but also curiosities. These words are not of obligation but of delight. I am not alone in my refusal to believe, law is tedious. For all who escaped these percipient eyes, mea culpa maxima. History, after all, has many cunning passages, contrived corridors and issues.