Lemon-Yellow and Fig

Summary of Lemon-Yellow and Fig

A vibrant sari shop with colorful textiles.

In the story "Lemon-Yellow and Fig," the protagonist is a young salesman who has recently secured a job selling saris and choli pieces in a shop in Bombay. His employer, Mr. Ratnam, hired him based on his perceived honesty. The protagonist takes his job seriously and is doing well, even making significant sales in a short time.

However, a strange coincidence occurs when two women, one wearing a distinct perfume, visit the shop on the same day. The first woman purchases a sari and pays with a one-hundred-rupee note. When the second woman, wearing the same perfume, comes in later, the protagonist becomes suspicious. He thinks they might be attempting a scam where one woman distracts him while the other claims to have given a one-hundred-rupee note for a smaller purchase.

To outsmart any potential trick, the protagonist discreetly removes the one-hundred-rupee note from the cash box, pretending to send it to his brother in a nearby shop. He then serves the second woman, who pays with smaller notes. Everything seems fine until the arrival of Mr. Ratnam, the owner.

Mr. Ratnam conducts a stock check and praises the protagonist's skills, revealing that he had sent his own daughter and sister to the shop to test his honesty. However, when they open the cash box, they discover that one hundred rupees are missing. Stunned and unable to explain the discrepancy he himself created, the protagonist is seen as a thief. Mr. Ratnam, disappointed, fires him on the spot. The story ends with the protagonist, now unemployed, ironically having to re-emphasize the very honesty that his own cleverness caused to be questioned.

Word Meanings

Saris: Traditional Indian women's garments, typically made of silk or cotton and draped elegantly around the body.
Choli: A short-sleeved, midriff-baring blouse worn with a sari.
Munim: An accountant or clerk responsible for financial matters.
Accomplice: A person who helps another in committing a crime or wrongdoing.
Cursory: Hasty, done quickly with little attention to detail.
Discrepancy: A lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts.
Denomination: The face value of a banknote or coin.
Scam: A fraudulent or deceptive scheme to trick someone.
Hunch: An intuitive feeling or guess based on limited information.
Bohni: The first sale of the day in a shop, believed by some to influence the day's success.

Let's Infer: Questions & Answers

The narrator describes an experience that he had:

b. in the morning.
What is the job that the narrator is referring to? Did he like his job? How can you tell?

The narrator's job is selling saris and choli pieces in a shop. Yes, he liked his job. We can tell because he describes it as a "good job" and mentions that he was "beginning to excel at it."
'I was lucky to get the job.' Why does the narrator say this?

He says this because the owner, Mr. Ratnam, hired him not based on experience but on a "hunch" that he had an honest face. The narrator recognized this as a fortunate opportunity based on trust.
Why do you think the young lady gave the narrator a one-hundred-rupee note rather than 40 in, say, ten-rupee notes?

In the context of the narrator's suspicion, a large denomination note is a key element of the classic scam he fears. It creates the potential for a dispute over the amount of change owed.
How did the narrator conclude that the two customers belonged to the same household? Did he guess correctly? How do you know?

He concluded they were together because they both wore the same distinct perfume. He did guess correctly. We know this because the shop owner, Mr. Ratnam, later reveals that the two women were his own daughter and sister, whom he sent to the shop together.
Why did the narrator examine the notes? What had he already concluded about the two women? Why was he not sure that it was the same 'old trick'?

He examined the notes because he was still suspicious of a scam. He had already concluded the two women were working together as accomplices. He was not sure it was the same "old trick" because the second woman paid with smaller notes, which didn't fit the pattern of the scam he was expecting.
Was Mr Ratnam's visit to the shop related in any way to the visit of the two ladies to the shop earlier? How do you know?

Yes, his visit was directly related. We know this because Mr. Ratnam explicitly tells the narrator, "I sent my daughter and then my sister to your counter" to test his customer service and honesty.
What did Mr Ratnam do when he found that a sum of one hundred rupees was missing from the cash box? Why did he do so?

When Mr. Ratnam found one hundred rupees missing, he immediately fired the narrator. He did so because, from his perspective, the missing money was clear evidence of theft, and he was deeply disappointed that his trust in the narrator's "honest face" had been broken.

Important Questions

Why was the narrator's honesty so important to Mr. Ratnam?

Mr. Ratnam hired the narrator based on the "hunch" that he had an honest face. His trust was the foundation of the narrator's employment, which is why he decided to test it and why he was so disappointed by the apparent theft.
What was the "old trick" or scam the narrator was afraid of?

The narrator was afraid of a scam where two accomplices work together. The first person pays with a large note (like 100 rupees). Later, the second person makes a small purchase and then claims they also paid with a large note, hoping to confuse the salesman into giving extra change.
Describe the protagonist's plan to outsmart the suspected scammers.

To prevent the suspected scam, the protagonist took the one-hundred-rupee note from the cash box and pretended to send it to his brother via a helper. This way, if the second woman claimed to have paid with a large note, he could prove it wasn't in the cash box.
What is the main irony in the story's ending?

The main irony is that the narrator, in his attempt to be clever and prevent being cheated, ends up creating a situation that makes him look like a thief. His own actions to prove his diligence led to him being fired for dishonesty.
How did the protagonist's overthinking and suspicion lead to his downfall?

Instead of simply trusting the process and his own ability to handle transactions honestly, the protagonist overthought the situation. His suspicion led him to take a secretive action (removing the money) which he couldn't explain later, directly causing Mr. Ratnam to believe he had stolen it.

Thursday, September 21, 2023