Debashis Biswas: Honesty pays

Honesty is the best policy. Debashis Biswas, all ready to unveil a Durga puja with his hero Sourav Ganguly, will confirm this.

The 35-year-old, who earns Rs 1,200 a month as a courier, had found Rs 30,000 in a share taxi on September 7 at Barasat. Biswas initially thought of pocketing it, but then changed his mind, traced the passenger who had left behind the cash, and on realising how desperately he needed the money, returned it (as reported in The Telegraph on September 9).

And now, the Puja spotlight is on this ordinary man capable of an extraordinary act. Biswas has emerged as a top draw to cut the Puja ribbon, with three committees approaching Mr Clean to do the honours. At one of the pujas, the courier will share the limelight with his favourite cricketer.

“I was stunned by the proposal of the puja committee, as I am a very ordinary man. And I just cannot believe that I will inaugurate a puja with Sourav Ganguly,” said Biswas.

And what when he meets his Maharaj? “If I can speak to him for even a minute, I will tell him that whether he becomes the Indian team’s captain or not, he will always remain the maharaja of Indian cricket in our hearts,” smiled Biswas.

The puja organisers are planning to do what they can to make some dreams of this unlikely hero come true. “We know the condition of his family and will try to assist him financially, apart from felicitating him,” said Shantiranjan Das, president of Khudiram Pally puja committee at Barasat.

Milan Sangha of Birati and Tarun Sangha and Nabadiganta of Barasat will salute the first-year graduation dropout who returned the money he had found last Wednesday to Bablu Sarkar of Amdanga.

Biswas’s wife Mary works as a private tutor and the two bring home around Rs 2,500 a month. Not having taken the easy way out by pocketing the Rs 30,000, he has found not fleeting fortune but something more enduring.

“Many people have contacted me and congratulated me for my act. A trader from Birati, Khokon Biswas, even bought new clothes for my son and daughter. And now comes the recognition from the Puja committees. All this is enough to encourage me to always follow the path of honesty,” pledged Biswas.