डाहलिया और गुलदाउदी

Summary

Shivshankar Shastri, a retired teacher living alone in Ambhedkar Colony near Hyderabad, is passionate about gardening and teaching children without charging fees. His garden, especially his dahlias and chrysanthemums, is his pride, and he has won the local youth club’s gardening competition in the dahlia and chrysanthemum category for three consecutive years. Two weeks before the competition, he discovers his dahlia plants have been uprooted overnight. Distraught, he barely sleeps. The next morning, he catches a young boy, Suraj, uprooting his chrysanthemums. Suraj, a poor, frightened child, confesses he was sent by someone to destroy the plants for thirty rupees. Shastri, initially angry, explains to Suraj the delicate nature of dahlias and chrysanthemums, comparing killing plants to murder. He lets Suraj take the uprooted chrysanthemums to get his payment. The next day, Har Dayal, a stationery shop owner and Shastri’s rival in the competition, visits Shastri. He confesses that he hired Suraj to destroy Shastri’s garden out of greed to win the competition and a bet. He expresses deep shame, especially after Suraj, moved by Shastri’s words, refused the money. Shastri forgives him, acknowledging the courage in admitting the mistake. In the end, Har Dayal wins first prize in the competition, with Shastri serving as the judge.