I was delighted to read the story about the unpaid phone bill in this article. The part that delighted me most was the writer’s father’s reaction when he was told that he had forgotten to pay a bill.
But far from being amused, he was utterly mortified to learn that he’d made a call for which, through no fault of his own, he hadn’t paid.
He then spent the rest of the day on the line to the New York hotel and Bell Telephone, clocking up a bill for at least 20 times as much as the original call in his efforts to pay for it.
Though he was never a rich man, he didn’t care how much he spent on what he saw as a matter of honour.
I was immediately reminded about a story that is told in my land, the story of Manunidhi Cholan. Being a just king, he installed a bell in his court so that people who wanted justice could summon him at any time of the day. One day, he found a cow ringing the bell. Further enquiry revealed that it was the same cow whose calf had been run over and killed by a chariot, piloted by his son, the prince. In some renderings, it told that it was an accident while in others, it was a deliberate attempt. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, the king decided that his own son must die in the same way as the calf.
It is hearkening to know that there is still honour in this world.
