A Thief’s Advice to Shibram Chakraborty

One day a thief sneaked into Shibram Chakraborty’s room in the guise of an incense-stick seller. Shibram lived in a small rented room in a mess and he had very basic things required to lead a simple life. He never locked his room when he went out, because there was nothing worth taking. He had an ancient wooden cot and the four walls of the room were scribbled with names and addresses or telephone numbers of his acquaintances. He had no use for diaries because he knew he would misplace them, but he had faith in the four walls of his rooms and was confident his scribbles on the walls would be safe and would be handy whenever required.

The thief rummaged the room but found nothing and left in a huff. Later in the evening when Chakraborty returned, he found his room turned inside out. His clothes, writing papers and pens and bed – all jumbled up. Suddenly he noticed a packet of incense sticks, Rs 10 and a letter on his cot. He opened the letter and read the content; “Brother, your financial condition seems worse than mine. You are unemployed and don’t earn. I have left money and a packet of incense sticks on your cot. You buy more incense sticks with the money and sell it in the market. You will be able to earn something. If you follow my advice, you will be able to improve your financial status.”