Dr. Raman has a reputation of foreseeing his patient’s future; life or death. He is known never to have gone wrong. But Dr. Raman faces a strange predicament when his closest friend Gopal falls ill and his is compelled to predict whether he is going to live or die. It is imperative that Gopal knows whether he is going to live or die since he has to sign papers concerning property documents. If he does not sign them, his family will be poverty stricken. But if Dr. Raman allows him to sign them, that would mean giving his friend not even an iota of hope.
After much contemplation, Dr. Raman decides to play with fate and for the first time lies to Gopal. He tells Gopal that he has to fear no more and that he is going to live for many years to come. After the surgery, Dr. Raman has no hope, but to his surprise, Gopal’s health steadies and he becomes hale and hearty! In this simple tale, R.K. Narayan plays between the virtues of honesty against dishonesty, and end up showing the strength of a determined spirit and that dishonesty works too when the intension are good.
