The Price of Bananas

--Mulk Raj Anand

The author and the text :

Mulk Rai Anand (1905 -2004) was a prolific wr ter who earned gr at admiration forhisshortstnries and novels like‘Coolie’, 'Untouchabie’, he V' lage‘, etc. where he depicted the lives of the poorer castes in traditional ind on soci Ly.

This text, on abridged version of his story of the same name pre ents an apparen tly funny situation where a businessman has his beloved cap seized by a monkey, and finally gets it back by offering the offending monkey a bunch of bananas. Though the tone of the story is lighthearted the author notes with sad concern the unkind and unjust behavior of the busmessman towards the poor fruit-vendor who had helped him to get back his cap.

l was on my way from Faizabad railway station to Lucknow. i had arrived at the station half an hour in advance of the time for the train‘s departure. I sat on a bench watching the monkeys frolicklng on the trees and on the open platform. The monkeys descended now and then to collect half-sucked mango stones and the remainders of food from the platform. The younger monkeys sat on the boughs of neem and tamarind trees, ready to jump after any food that may be visible.

_Justthen the train was announced by the ringing of the station bell. l concentrated on securing a seat for myself in the train. I got a window seat overlooking the platform. Some other passengers joined me in the compartment. We were all sweating from the rising heat of the summer. Several passengers were busy Filling Up their small earthen pitchers from a water pump. l was struck by the genius of a monkey in snatching away the loin cloth of a pious person who was taking a bath under the pump. A great deal of general amusement was caused by this incident. The bather then requested the monkey to return his loin cloth. The monkey was generous and threw it down from the neem tree at the man’s feet.

While all this was going on, I noticed a gentleman come up to our compartment. He looked like a businessman. He was dressed .in a white muslin dhoti, a delicate tunic and an embroidered cap on his head. A porter was carrying his luggage which included a big steel trunk, several small baskets and a brass jug. The man was shouting at the porter to hurry up with the luggage. Suddenly a monkey leapt down from the top of our compartment and snatched away the fine embroidered cap of the businessman. The monkey then climbed up the neem tree. "What have you done, monkey!” The businessman shouted, in utter confusion. His round and smug face was covered with perspiration. He ran towards the tree over the pump and stood threatening the monkey. However, the more he shouted at the monkey, the remoter the monkey became. It was the same monkey that had snatched the bather's loin cloth.

The people on the platform were much amused by the plight of the businessman. He looked with a piteous and hopeless expression on his face. Meanwhile, a fruit hawker had come forward, pushing his little cart. He told the Sethji that he would rescue the cap. The businessman seemed slightly relieved. The vendor went ahead, dangling a couple of bananas at the monkey with his right hand. He stretched out his left hand for the cap. The monkey seemed to hesitate.

"A0, 00, come down,” the vendor coaxed the monkey. He lifted the bananas higher up. The monkey responded by climbing down cautiously to a branch near the vendor.

The whole platform became silent and waited, with bated breath, for the impossible to happen. The vendor cooed in a soft voice, A0, 00, to the monkey. The monkey, looking this side and that, accepted the bargain. ilt took over the bananas with his right hand and released the embroidered cap, slightly crumpled, with its left hand.

The spectators shouted in praise. The fruit vendor came and humbly offered the Sethji his cap. ”They are hungry,” he said, ”so they disturb the passengers.” ”Acha,” said the Sethji, and turned to go into the compartment. The vendor said, ”Sethji, please give me two annas for the bananas which I had to offer to the monkey.”

"Two annas! What impudencel” Sethji shouted each word in disgust at the grimy fruit vendor. ”Please give him the money, Sethji," the rest of the compartment said. ”Acha, here are four annas for you, porter, and an anna for you, fruit vendor!” Sethji said.

”But I carried two big pieces of luggage,” the porter wailed.

”Go! Go! Crook!” Sethji thundered at the protesting porter. The porter left. The fruit vendor persisted, ”Sethji, be just, I saved your honourable cap...” The businessman threw an anna towards him on the platform.

The guard’s WhiSt'e blew. The train was about to depart. The vendor looked in

through the compartment window.

sethji. do not rob the poor!” “ja, ja! Take rest,” the Sethji scowled at him.

The train had begun to move. The fruit vendor first ran along with it, then got on to the footstep and clung to the window, pleading. But Sethji had turned his head away. He was looking out of the window at the goods train on the other side. The train had passed the whole length of the platform and the frustrated vendor finally

dropped off.

Sethji turned round to all of us and began tojustify himself, ”If he did not want to help me to get my cap back, he should not have offered the monkey the bananas. ldid not ask him to help..”

lfelt that all the other passengers had sympathy for the poor vendor. The whole amusing episode had ended in a bitter sense of grievance against the rich businessman who had been so hard to the generous-hearted fruit vendor.

I drew a cartoon of Setth and showed my drawing to all the other passengers except him. Everyone laughed. The more we laughed, Sethji became the more

uncomfortable.