Mani was a normal little boy who was growing up very fast, as most children do these days. He had just entered middle school and was full of questions about how things work in this world and was amazed at the many wonders created by human beings for their welfare and benefit. One of these things was his namesake – money. Though his school books told him about the ancient barter system and how well man had invented money as a solution, he never could understand it very well.

One day, he was so vexed with his inability to understand it that he decided to ask his father, who was a manager in a bank. Little did he realize that he was in for more disappointment?

“Money and children don’t mix very well, Mani. So, please forget about it and spend time on other things”, advised his father.

“But it’s not money I want, father. It’s just I want to know how it works,” reasoned Mani. “You talk about things like American money being stronger than our money and the value of our money going up and coming down. What’s all that about?”

Mani’s father knew that he was getting into a tight situation. He knew his son well but trying to convince him with half –hearted attempts would prove futile. So he decided to be straight.

“I’ll tell you one thing, Mani,” began his father, “The system of money is so complicated that even many adults don’t understand how it works! So just relax and find out when you grow up.”

But, of course, Mani was not convinced but had to leave it there because he didn’t want to provoke his father any further. It looked like he just had to wait.

The father studied his son’s face and, appreciating the lack of conviction, continued.

“I can well see that you’re not satisfied. Grow up and I’ll see to it that you enter a fine college and you learn everything about finance and money matters. Mani, now it’s just a question of leaving it at that.”
“OK father, whatever you say,” sighed Mani and added in a good humoured way,” It’s not as if I’ve got many options.”

And so the days went on. Mani got many more questions for his father and teachers about many other things. Some were answered and some were not, just like money.

One evening, several weeks later, the house milkman came along and told Mani that he had come to collect money for the milk he had supplied that day. His parents had gone out to attend a function. Since the money involved was just fifty rupees, Mani felt he could use his pocket money to pay the milkman. He did so for which the milkman thanked him and left.

Just an hour later, the fruit seller came up and knocked. Mani answered. The fruit seller announced that he owed Mani’s mother fifty rupees. Saying so, he handed Mani fifty rupees. Mani took it but was gently surprised. It was exactly the same fifty-rupee note he had given the milkman an hour ago.

When Mani asked him how he got it, the milkman replied that he got it from the local grocer who owed him fifty rupees. Mani, ever ready to spot a riddle, decided to ask the grocer about the fifty rupee note. What the grocer told him was quite enlightening: the grocer had got the note from the milkman, who had owed him fifty rupees for a long time and had settled it only about an hour ago !

It did not take Mani long to figure out an amazingly simple yet smart thing about money.
He thought about it. One fifty rupee note which he had decided to part with had settled the debt of four people – the milkman, the grocer, the fruit seller and of course, himself. It was quite an interesting thought, reasoned Mani.

He could not hide his pleasure and told about it to his father the moment his parents arrived from the function. After listening to what Mani had to say, his father’s face glowed. He felt very happy about Mani’s thought and congratulated him.

“Mani,” he said, “I guess you don’t realize that you’ve just learned a very important thing about money. That it works best when it moves around and doesn’t work at all if it is always in the same place. See how your decision to give that money to the milkman solved the problems of four people. That’s more or less the way money works. It depends on how people use it.” He gave Mani a hearty pat on his back.
Mani was thrilled at what he had accidentally discovered. It may have been just one simple fact about money but it helped. He was thrilled to see how great theories lie hidden in ordinary, day-to-day events in life.

He was truly delighted with himself when he went to bed that night and looked forward to more days like this in his life.