The Cost of a Pizza

by Dr. Pran Rangan

Preface

A maid works in the house of Mr. Sharma. One day, she asks his wife for permission to go out of the city to celebrate the birthday of her granddaughter. Mrs. Sharma gives the permssion after talking to the husband. She also gives her Rs. 500 extra to help make the trip comfortable. The story runs as follows:

It was an early morning. Mr. Sharma was getting ready for his office, when his wife told him, "Our maid is planning to visit her granddaughter today. She will have to leave early to catch the bus and will not come for two days".

Mr. Sharma asked her, "Is she going out of town?"

She told him, "Yes, tomorrow is the birthday of her granddaughter, so she is going to spend time with her and celebrate."

He told her, "Ok, no problem".

But then his wife asked him, "Oh one more thing! Should I give her Rs. 500 as a bonus?"

He said, "Why now? We will give her at the time of the festival of Diwali."

His wife said, "Well, she is hardly able to manage her expenses. Since she is visiting her granddaughter, I am not sure how she will be able to manage as these days inflation is high. I feel she can use a little extra."

Mr. Sharma said, "Oh dear, I feel you are getting too sensitive."

His wife said, "Don't worry; I will cancel our plan to go out and have a pizza. That way we can give her extra Rs. 500 as a bonus."

Mr. Sharma said with a smile, "You want to deprive us of pizza. Well, do as you feel like."

So, after a couple of days, the maid had returned. While she was cleaning the floor, Mr. Sharma asked her, "Did you have a good time with your granddaughter?"

The maid replied, "Yes Sir, I enjoyed a lot; I spent whole Rs. 500 in 2 days!"

He said, "Oh really! How did you spend Rs. 500 so quickly?"

The maid replied with a happy smile, "I bought a dress for my granddaughter for Rs. 150, bought sweets for Rs. 50, paid Rs. 100 for bus tickets, bought bangles for my daughter for Rs. 50. I also bought a belt for Rs. 50 for my son-in-law and gave the last Rs. 100 to my granddaughter to purchase pencils and papers for her school."

Mr. Sharma was surprised. He started comparing the cost of the pizza with his maid's expense. He contemplated how she had bought something for everyone in her family and spent a quality time with them on her granddaughter's birthday, all these just for the cost of the pizza. It was an eye-opener for him.

Think it over -

We have a right to do what makes us happy and spend our hard earned money as we like. The above story shows that we have a number of chances to do something of a greater good for someone. Our little goodwill can light up someone's life in many ways.

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