Maryada Ramanna's Fair Judgments

Told in English, Telugu.

Long, long ago, in a busy Telugu town, there lived a man named Maryada Ramanna. He was not a king, and he did not live in a palace. But people from near and far walked many miles to see him. Why? Because Ramanna was the fairest judge in all the land. Every morning he sat on a stone seat under a big banyan tree, and anyone with a problem could come and tell him about it.

Ramanna listened carefully. He never shouted. He never hurried. And somehow, with a little smile and a clever idea, he always found the truth.

Let me tell you about two of his judgments. Are you ready? Here we go.

One sunny morning, a round little man came stomping up to the banyan tree. His name was Subbayya, and he sold hot, crispy vadas at the corner of the market street. Behind him walked a thin, tired traveller named Venkanna, holding a small cloth bundle.

"Ramanna garu!" cried Subbayya. "This man is a cheat! Every day he sits on the step outside my shop. He opens his bundle and eats his plain rice, and all the while he sniffs and sniffs the smell of my vadas. He enjoys my delicious smell, but he never pays me one paisa! I want my money!"

The people gathered around began to whisper. Pay for a smell? Who had ever heard of such a thing?

Ramanna turned to the traveller. "Venkanna, is this true?"

Venkanna looked down at his feet. "Yes, Ramanna garu. I am a poor man. I can only afford plain rice. The smell of those vadas makes my rice taste a little better. I did not think it was wrong."

Ramanna stroked his chin and thought for a long moment. Everyone waited. What would he say? Would poor Venkanna have to pay?

At last Ramanna said, "Venkanna, do you have any coins at all?"

Venkanna untied a corner of his cloth and found a few copper coins. "Only these, sir."

"Good," said Ramanna. "Bring me a brass pot."

A boy ran and fetched a shiny brass pot. Ramanna said, "Venkanna, drop your coins into the pot and shake it. Shake it well, so that Subbayya can hear it."

Venkanna did as he was told. Jing, jing, jingle! Jing, jing, jingle! The coins rang loudly inside the pot.

Subbayya's eyes lit up. He held out his hand. "Now give me the money!"

But Ramanna raised his finger. "Wait, Subbayya. Venkanna enjoyed only the smell of your vadas. He never touched them. He never tasted them. So he pays you with the sound of his coins. You have heard the sound. The bill is paid! Venkanna, you may put your coins back in your pocket."

For a moment there was silence. Then the whole crowd burst out laughing. Even Subbayya's face went red, and then, slowly, he began to laugh too.

"You are right, Ramanna garu," he said, scratching his head. "I was being greedy." And do you know what Subbayya did? He went back to his shop and gave Venkanna two hot vadas for free. From that day on, they were good friends.

Now for the second case. This one is a little bit of a mystery.

A few days later, a rich merchant named Narasimham came hurrying to the banyan tree. He looked very worried.

"Ramanna garu, my gold ring has gone missing! I left it on a small shelf in my house last night, and this morning it was gone. Only my four helpers were in the house. One of them must have taken it, but each one says, not me, not me!"

The four helpers stood in a row, looking nervous. Ramanna looked at each of their faces, one by one. He did not say anything for a while. Then he smiled.

"I have a magic way to find the truth," he said. He sent for four sticks, all cut to exactly the same length. He gave one stick to each helper.

"Listen carefully," said Ramanna. "These are special sticks. Take them home and keep them safe tonight. By morning, the stick of the person who took the ring will grow longer by one finger. Bring your sticks back to me at sunrise."

The four helpers went home, holding their sticks very carefully.

Now, one of them, a young man named Rangadu, could not sleep at all. He kept looking at his stick. "Oh no," he thought. "If my stick grows, everyone will know it was me! I must do something." So, in the middle of the night, he took a small knife and cut one finger's length off the end of his stick. "There," he whispered. "Now when it grows, it will be the same as the others."

Can you guess what happened in the morning?

At sunrise, the four helpers stood under the banyan tree and held up their sticks. Ramanna looked at them. Three sticks were exactly the same length as yesterday. But one stick was shorter. It was Rangadu's stick!

"Rangadu," said Ramanna gently, "these sticks were never magic. They cannot grow. Only a person with something to hide would cut his stick."

Rangadu's lip trembled. He pulled the gold ring from his pocket and held it out. "I am sorry, sir," he said softly. "My mother is ill, and I wanted money for her medicine. I knew it was wrong."

Ramanna nodded kindly. "Taking what is not yours is never the right way, Rangadu. You will give back the ring and work one extra month for Narasimham without pay, to make up for what you did." Then Ramanna turned to the merchant. "And Narasimham, a good master should know when his helpers are in trouble. Perhaps you can help with the medicine."

Narasimham looked at Rangadu and his face softened. "Yes, I will," he said. "Next time, Rangadu, just come and tell me."

Rangadu wiped his eyes and smiled for the first time that morning.

And that is why, even today, when Telugu people want to praise someone for being wise and fair, they remember Maryada Ramanna under his big banyan tree. Good night, little one. Sleep well.