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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Stealing?

I was 6 when I first tried to steal.
It was in picturesque Kashmir, where I lost my moral virginity.
We were floating on the Dal Lake and along came another boat laden with silver jewellery and artifacts.
I took a payal (silver anklet) and was busy putting it around my ankle for fit and look. When I looked up, the boat shop had left us and apparently my parents had not wanted to buy anything.

I had mixed feelings.. Should I tell or just keep it?
For the moment I decided to keep it. After all, it was the shopkeepers mistake he didn't take his ware back when he turned his boat shop. I don't think papa or mommy would have bought it for me, in any case.
Maybe it was destined to be with me.

I kept thinking and justifying the reason for it to be with me.
Was I a thief now? Naah, I didn't deliberately steal it.

After a lot of inner turmoil, I finally gave in to my conscience. I tugged at my mom and held out my open palm with the payal in it. She was shocked and admonished me for keeping it with me all this while.. She immediately told papa and he instructed the boatman to start a search for the mobile boatshop.
Luckily we found him pretty fast and the payal was returned to him.

I have never forgotten this incident..somehow!!

Picture from here

5 comments:

  1. Moral virginity that is a nice term, by returning the payal and sharing the episode, i guess u have regained it.

    i was a theif, in my school days,there was a shop that used to sell all the goodies at the hill station yercaud , near our school for prices soooooooo high,that i could not afford,my class mates used to say it too.

    one sunday morning ,after the morning walk, while shopping i carried a red bag and shop lifted as much as i could, that was a one time affair.

    While my cupboard was checked one day at the dormitory, a biscuit packet was found which was brought that day by my dad, the dormitory caretaker wallopped me the whole year ,thinking i had pilfered it from a neighbour, it took him one whole year to realise my pleading that i did not , to set in.

    my raw bottom had cane marks that whole year.

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  2. conscience is a bad thing....it troubles you for things that were not your fault...

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  3. :)
    thank god.. i am not the only one!! :P

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  4. I think when you are young, the distinction between what is right and what is not, is still hazy.

    It was a pretty little payal that you wanted so badly. Despite your heart coming up with many excuses, you were incredibly mature to let go of temptation.

    You should feel proud of yourself.

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  5. Hey u did a real good thing and ur parents too...kids not able to decide b/w right and wrong is understood but when grown ups choose the wrong over the right for mere selfish reasons...it makes me wonder do they have a conscience??

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