by Shetu Mitra

Created on: April 06, 2010

Dear Risabh,

As I am writing these letters to you I’m coming to realise that this is a wonderful way to share my life’s experiences with you. You are too young to understand my letters right now but you are growing up fast and soon you’ll be able to appreciate these letters.

Today as I was reading the newspapaer one particular headline caught my attention ” Taxi Driver Rewarded for Honesty”. It seems that in Mumbai a businessman forgot a briefcase filled with money in a taxi.When the taxi driver discovered the briefcase he tracked down the owner and returned the briefcase to him. The businessman was so happy to get the briefcase back that he decided to give the taxi driver 25% of the money that was in the briefcase. You know Risabh  I often wonder why does honesty need to be rewarded? In an ideal world honesty is a virtue all human beings should aspire to. Sadly in the real world it is not so. Honest people are very hard to find. In today’s world it is indeed laudable that a poor taxi driver from a poor country was not tempted to keep all that money for himself .

As you grow older I’m sure you will frequently come across the proverb ” Honesty is the best policy” I will be happy if you believe in it completely. You should always be honest in all your dealings and in all relationships.

Let me end this letter by repeating to you , a story my Dad had told me when I was a little older than you are now.

There lived an honest woodcutter.One day as he was cutting wood in the forest his axe slipped and fell into a river nearby. He was very sad  because he was very poor and did not have the money to buy another axe and he was sitting by the river crying over his misfortune. Suddenly the river goddess appeared before him and him the reason for his tears. He told her of his misfortune. She told him she would help him.She dived into the river and brought out a golden axe and asked the woodcutter if it was his. The woodcutter honestly said it wasnt. She then dived back in and brought out a silver axe and again asked him if it was his. The woodcutter again honestly said it wasnt. She dived back in and brought out his iron axe and the woodcutter happily said it was his and thanked the river goddess for helping him out.The river goddess was so happy with his honesty that she gave him all three. The woodcutter returned home happily. When his friend heard about his experience he went to the same place and dropped his axe into the same river. He too sat by the river crying.Soon the river goddess appeard and asked him why he was crying.He told her his axe had fallen into the river and the river goddess sid she’d retrieve it for him. She dived in and soon returned with a golden axe and asked him if it was his. The friend couldn’t resist the temptation and claimed it was the one he’d lost. The river goddesss was outraged by his greed and sent him back empty handed. The moral of this story as I interpret it is dishonesty never pays.

Well I hope I was able to get my message acoss to you , dear Risabh. I’ll end here today but will continue to share my experiences, thoughts, feelings which I hold close to my heart  with you

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