Context : At one station the writer was surrounded by many little **** who were selling hand-woven baskets and fans. These were ** ***. He bought a tiny basket, a fruit basket, a waste paper basket, a lovely sewing basket and a few fans. His hands were filled. Just then a beautiful girl of nine came and stood before him. She had a lovely basket and wanted a rupee and a half for it. She begged the author to buy it.
Explanation : The writer did not want to buy any more basket as his hands were already full. In order to get rid of the girl, he took out a handful of change (coins) and dropped into the basket of the girl as a gratuity. He tried to convince the girl that he could not buy any more basket. But the writer soon realised that he had done a great offence. The girl had a great sense of self-respect. She took it as an insult. She did not take the money as gift. She was poor and dressed in rags. She was on the point of starvation. Despite her ***, she kept up her dignity, and returned the money to the writer.
