In the Vijayanagara bazaar, the smell of vadas from Subbayya's Tiffin Centre stopped even passers-by in their tracks. But seeing people sniff and walk away without buying anything gave greedy Subbayya a strange idea — 'From now on, you must pay even for the smell!' He charged people, and even a farmer's bull. Then Tenali Ramakrishna sat down on the stone seat opposite and began to sing… A funny story about the fair price of a smell.
01
A Song on the Stone Seat — a Five-Varaha Bill
The Vijayanagara Bazaar
On the stone seat opposite Subbayya's Tiffin Centre, Ramakrishna closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the shop's aroma and began to sing.
🪶 Tenali Rama (in a sing-song voice)
"If you eat, eat only vadas; if you listen, listen only to the Bharatam; if you breathe in, breathe only Subbayya's sambar aroma!"
Subbayya suddenly appeared in front of him, palm-leaf ledger in hand.
🍛 Subbayya
"Poet sir, that's five varahas for the sambar aroma!"
Ramakrishna's eyebrows shot up… and then a small smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
Money for smelling? To know what really happened in this bazaar, let's start from the beginning.
02
Subbayya's Tiffin Centre — the Seed of Greed
The Bazaar, Morning
In the Vijayanagara bazaar, everyone knew Subbayya's Tiffin Centre. The smell of his vadas made even passers-by stop and walk in.
* For fun, a few modern words like 'tiffin' and 'sambar' are used — in those days such a place was called a 'pootakoolla illu' (eating house)!
Business boomed… but Subbayya's greed grew even faster.
Outside, two passers-by stopped, closed their eyes, took a long sniff and walked off smiling without buying anything. Subbayya's smile vanished and his eyes narrowed.
🍛 Subbayya (to himself, angrily)
"Look at this! My ghee, my masala, my hard work… and they all sniff it for free and walk off! Aha… I've got an idea!"
03
The New Board — Pay Even for the Smell!
In Front of the Shop
Standing on a little stool, Subbayya nailed up a board. Thak… thak… thak… He stepped down and admired it proudly.
The board: "From now on, you must pay even for the smell!"
🚶 Passer-by 1
"What… money for a smell?"
🚶 Passer-by 2
"Lucky for us, there's no tax on air yet!"
Subbayya rushed out with his ledger, holding up two fingers.
🍛 Subbayya
"Stop, stop! You sniffed twice just now while reading the board. That's two coins!"
The two of them covered their noses with their towels and ran.
From that day on, the street turned strange. Everyone who walked there guarded their nose with a towel!
Ramakrishna walked into the street, read the board, raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
🪶 Tenali Rama (to himself)
"A price for a smell? Let's see how far this Subbayya's cleverness goes."
04
The Farmer and His Bull — Charging Even an Animal
In Front of the Shop
As Veerayya led his bull past, it stopped at the shop, raised its nose high and took a huge sniff. No amount of tugging would move it.
🍛 Subbayya
"Stop, stop! Your bull sniffed my cooking. I'm putting that on the bill too!"
🐂 Veerayya
"Sir, it's a bull! It can't read the board!"
🍛 Subbayya
"So what if it can't read? It has a nose! And a bull's nose is big… so, double the price!"
Subbayya tapped the bull's nose with his ledger. The bull pushed its head right up to his face and snorted hard. Subbayya jumped back in fright.
🐂 Veerayya (sadly handing over a coin)
"That was the money I saved for the bull's fodder this week… gone too."
Standing by a pillar of the stone seat, Ramakrishna watched it all and stroked his chin.
🪶 Tenali Rama (to himself)
"Beyond people, now he's charging even dumb animals? It's time this Subbayya's story came to an end."
05
Ramakrishna's Plan — Cold Rice on the Stone Seat
The Next Morning
Ramakrishna deliberately sat on the stone seat facing the shop and unwrapped a leaf bundle of cold rice. People with towels over their noses stopped and stared.
🚶 Passer-by 1 (anxiously)
"Poet sir, don't sit there! Cover your nose!"
🪶 Tenali Rama (with a wink)
"Why? Wasting such a lovely smell would be a sin!"
🪶 Tenali Rama (in a sing-song voice)
"If you eat, eat only vadas; if you listen, listen only to the Bharatam; if you breathe in, breathe only Subbayya's sambar aroma!"
From behind a pillar of the shop, Subbayya watched, scratching a mark in his ledger for every sniff and rubbing his hands.
🍛 Subbayya (to himself)
"Aha! Today I've caught a big fish! If I collect from the king's own court poet, the whole town will fear me!"
06
The Bill — Paid in Sound!
At the Stone Seat
Subbayya strutted over, bowed with exaggerated politeness and pointed at the board.
🍛 Subbayya
"Namaskaram, poet sir! You've seen the board, right? By my count, you took twenty-three deep sniffs. That's five varahas in all!"
🪶 Tenali Rama (calmly)
"Five varahas? Fair enough, Subbayya! Your sambar does smell that good."
🚶 Passer-by 1
"Oh no! He's charging even the poet!"
🚶 Passer-by 2
"Then what can people like us do?"
🐂 Veerayya (stroking the bull's neck)
"He didn't even spare my bull… will he spare the poet?"
Ramakrishna slowly untied the pouch at his waist. Subbayya held out his palm with a wide grin. Ramakrishna shook the pouch beside his ear… jingle… jingle… jingle…! Then he tucked it back into his waist.
🪶 Tenali Rama
"This is my payment! You gave a strong smell, so I shook it hard. Did you hear the sound? Or once more?"
🍛 Subbayya (stammering, patting his belly)
"Wh… what's this, poet sir? Will a sound fill my stomach?"
🪶 Tenali Rama
"Did you serve me a meal? No. You only gave me a smell. So I didn't give you coins either — only the sound of coins. A sound for a smell — the account is settled!"
Subbayya's mouth fell open. The crowd understood.
07
Everyone's Bill — Jingle, Jingle, Jingle!
The Bazaar Street
🚶 Passer-by 2 (roaring with laughter)
"No wonder they call him Vikatakavi, the witty poet!"
The whole street laughed. Subbayya folded his arms and glared at everyone.
🚶 Passer-by 1 (shaking a pouch by his left ear)
"Here's my payment, Subbayya, for yesterday's smell! Jingle, jingle!"
🚶 Passer-by 2 (by his right ear)
"Mine's for the day before! I'm shaking hard, can you hear it? Jingle, jingle!"
🐂 Veerayya (shaking twice as fast)
"This is my bull's payment! Big nose, right… double the sound! Jingle-jingle-jingle-jingle!"
The bull shook its head — its neck bells rang! Everyone gathered round shaking their pouches. Subbayya covered his ears and spun this way and that.
🍛 Subbayya (shouting)
"Stop it, stop it! My ears are bursting!"
08
The End — The Smell Is Free!
In Front of the Shop
🍛 Subbayya (angrily, pointing at Ramakrishna)
"This is all your doing, poet! You turned the whole town against my shop!"
🪶 Tenali Rama (shrugging innocently)
"What did I do, Subbayya? I only taught the town the math you taught me."
🍛 Subbayya (straightening his turban, stubbornly)
"Is that so? Then from tomorrow I'll cook behind closed doors! I won't let a single drop of smell out!"
🪶 Tenali Rama
"Fine. But if the smell doesn't come out, people won't come in either. It's that smell that brings people to your shop, Subbayya!"
Subbayya opened his mouth and froze. He started to say something, stopped, stopped again… then lifted his turban and scratched his head. The bull stepped forward and snorted right in his face.
🍛 Subbayya (hastily pressing the coin into Veerayya's hand)
"Here, here's your money! Just take your bull away first!"
🪶 Tenali Rama (winking playfully at the crowd)
"If he ever bills you for a smell again… you know what to do, right?"
Everyone raised their pouches and shook them like festival bells. The bull's bells rang along!
🍛 Subbayya (throwing up his hands, annoyed)
"No, no… fine, fine!"
Grumbling, he tore down the old board and nailed up a new one: "The Smell Is Free!" Everyone pulled off their towels and took one huge sniff — "Aaah…!"
🍛 Subbayya (angrily)
"Only the smell is free! Not my vadas!"
Ramakrishna, Veerayya and the whole crowd burst out laughing. Only Subbayya stood there with his arms folded, fuming.
🪶 Tenali Rama (with a hand on Subbayya's shoulder)
"Subbayya, greed brings loss. Sharing makes business grow."
Moral of the Story🍛
Greed brings loss — sharing makes business grow.
💡 Life Lesson
Trying to charge for what is naturally free only hurts us in the end. What draws people to us is our goodness — it isn't for sale; it's for sharing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the moral of The Price of a Smell?
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Greed brings loss, and sharing makes business grow. Putting a price on something free only hurts us in the end.
How did Ramakrishna pay Subbayya's bill?
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He shook his coin pouch beside Subbayya's ear and gave the sound as payment. A sound for a smell — the account was settled!
Why did Subbayya charge even the bull?
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He said the bull had sniffed his cooking, and since a bull's nose is big, it owed double. It shows his greed had no limit.
Why does the story use words like 'tiffin' and 'sambar'?
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For fun and easy understanding, a few modern words are used. In those days such a place was called a 'pootakoolla illu' (eating house).
Is this story suitable for children?
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Yes — it teaches children aged 6 and up, with plenty of laughs, about the cost of greed and the joy of sharing.
