I was in the habit of buying vegetables from a pavement vendor in the nearby town every evening. The vendor was a young boy who sold his vegetables on a push cart. One evening, when I was buying vegetables from him, a young, illiterate man came to him and asked him to give him a radish for one rupee (INR), as he was hungry. The vendor told him that a single radish cost rupees two and that he could not give him the radish for one rupee. The man beseeched him to accept the money he had with him at that moment, and part with one radish. The vendor refused to give him the radish stating that he had purchased radish at a higher price on that day, as the supply was poor in the wholesale market.

Image via Wikipedia

Crestfallen and hungry, the man left the place. All along, I was keenly observing the transaction between the vendor and the prospective buyer, but as I was in a hurry to get back to my home, I left the place abruptly. That night when I recollected that incident, lying on my bed, I felt guilty and ashamed that I did not pay the difference amount, i.e. just one rupee, to that vegetable vendor to make up the shortfall to him, so that one starving soul would have spent a peaceful night. In fact, on account of this, I lost of my peace of mind for several days as the memory of that hungry young man kept haunting me.