Chapter 2: The Thief’s Story

In the real world, people like Anil and Hari Singh rarely exist and are mostly found in fiction only. However, there may be an exception sometimes when we may come across people like Anil. From the story, we know that Anil is a kind-hearted and considerate person who is deeply concerned about Hari’s education and future. When Hari stole Anil’s money, Hari’s conscience pricked him, and he had a change of mind, and realised the importance of education for his future. Hence, finding such kind of imaginary characters is a rare possibility in today’s world.

Yes, it is obvious that a significant detail in the story shows Anil was a struggling writer. His lifestyle was simple, with irregular income, and he always spent money as per his capabilities. He made money sporadically. He would borrow one week, and lend the next. He kept worrying about his next cheque, but as soon as it arrived, he would go out and celebrate with his friends. Hari observed that Anil was unable to pay him a salary because he did not have a regular source of income. However, Hari felt that although Anil earned less, he never ill-treated him and was quite considerate towards him.

No, I haven’t met anyone like Hari Singh but such kind of people do exist in the world. Many a time, a fifteen-year-old boy may be forced under unavoidable circumstances to become a robber. Mostly people commit crimes to feed themselves or their families or sometimes to satisfy their urges or addiction. It may also be to sustain themselves or to fulfil their demands to lead a luxurious life and so on and so forth.

The story is set near Lucknow, somewhere in Uttar Pradesh. We understand this from the story when it mentions a railway station for an express train to Lucknow. The presence of sweet shops, mandis and bazaars also indicates it to be a small and simple town. We can assume that the characters in the story were not speaking to each other in English but probably in Hindi language.