Unit 7: Jalebis

That the boy is tempted to eat jalebis

1. Jalebis are meant to be eaten, and those with money in their pocket can eat them.

2. But then, these jalebis are no common sort of jalebis either. They’re crisp, fresh and full of syrup.

3. My mouth watered.

4. Thoroughly fed up, I rushed out of the house bare foot and ran towards the bazaar.

That he is feeling guilty

1. My head started to spin.
2. When the recess bell rang I tucked my bag under my arm and left the school.
3. Now for the crime of eating a few jalebis, for the first time in my life I was absent from school.
4. Sitting there under the tree, at first I felt like crying.

That he is justifying a wrong deed

1. I didn’t eat them all by myself, though I fed them to a whole lot of children too.
2. ‘Allah Miyan! I’m a very good boy. I have memorised the entire namaaz. I even know the last ten surats of the Quran by heart.

1. The boy is definitely intelligent. The first evidence is that he was a promising student who had won a scholarship at school. He knew the difference between what is right and what is wrong. He had never been absent from school and listened to his elders always. Besides, he also puts valid points of his case before God, just like a defence lawyer.
2. Yes, certainly, his outlook changed after class VIII. He kept wondering what harm it could have caused anyone if God had sent him four rupees the other day. He later realised that everything comes with a price. This means that if God provides all that man asks, then man will be living in nests like birds and would have never learnt the art of making jalebis too.
3. The coins are made to ‘talk’ in this story and indicate the greedy inner self of the boy. Although he was an honest and virtuous boy, he couldn’t resist his temptation to eat jalebis with the school fees money. His inner greed pushed him to buy the jalebis and devour them, thus projecting that the coins in his pocket urged him to indulge in the sweet.