Oru Manushyan
by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer · translated by V. Abdulla
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- Main Idea: A story highlighting the presence of humanity even in the most unexpected people, like a pickpocket.
- Main Characters: The Narrator (an English teacher), the Restaurant Owner, and the Man with the Red Turban (the stranger).
- Key Event: The narrator's wallet is stolen in a restaurant, and he is forced to strip in public until a stranger rescues him.
- Ending: The stranger reveals himself to be the thief but returns the wallet, showing an act of "Mercy."
- Theme: Universal human kindness and the idea that the world has more evil than good, but mercy still exists.
Detailed Summary
Detailed Summary Video
Oru Manushyan | 3D Animated Detailed Summary | 1st PUC Karnataka Board
The story "Oru Manushyan," meaning "A Human Being," is an autobiographical narrative by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. It begins with the narrator reflecting on the nature of the world, noting that it contains more evil than good and that one must live carefully among "thieves, the diseased, and the mad." He describes an incident from his youth that was seemingly insignificant but deeply impactful.
The narrator lived in a large city in a mountain valley, fifteen hundred miles away from his home. The inhabitants of this city were known for being cruel and devoid of mercy. Professional soldiers by tradition, they valued money above all else and were involved in daily occurrences of murder, robbery, and pickpocketing. Many served as watchmen in commercial establishments. The narrator lived in a dingy, small room on a dirty street and made a meager living by teaching English to migrant laborers, specifically, how to write addresses, which was considered a "great education" there.
The theft and the humiliation
To save money, the narrator developed a routine of sleeping all day and waking up at 4:00 PM for his only meal. One evening, dressed in a suit with his life savings of fourteen rupees in his wallet, he entered a crowded restaurant. After eating a meal of chapatis and meat curry and drinking tea, he reached into his pocket to pay the eleven-anna bill. To his horror, his wallet had been stolen.
When he informed the restaurant owner, the man did not believe him. Instead of showing sympathy, the owner gave a loud "guffaw" and threatened to gouge the narrator's eyes out if he didn't pay. The owner forced the narrator to strip in front of about fifty people who watched like "hungry wolves." The narrator took off his coat, shirt, and shoes. When ordered to take off his trousers, he pleaded that he had nothing on underneath, but the crowd mocked him. Just as he was about to face total humiliation and blindness, a voice stopped him.
The stranger called Mercy
A tall, fair-complexioned man with blue eyes and a red turban stepped forward and paid the eleven annas. This stranger led the narrator away to a deserted bridge. There, he took out five wallets from his pockets and asked the narrator to identify his. The narrator realized that the man who saved him was actually the pickpocket who had stolen his wallet. The stranger returned the wallet with the money intact and told the narrator to leave without looking back, wishing that God would help him. The narrator, filled with gratitude, called the nameless man "Mercy."