"How much are the apples for?""Rs160 per kilo."The lady in a posh sedan thinks to herself how terribly expensive these are. While mulling over a good counter-price, she cranks up the air conditioner in the car.

"160 for a kilo is too much," she mutters. "I can go to any other fruit stand and get the same for 130."

She pauses for a second, then goes, "But if you agree to give it at 130 too, I’ll buy it from you."

"I’m sorry, madam, 130 is too little. I have to make a living after all," says the fruit vendor.

The lady is clearly not amused. Taking off her Gucci sunglasses, she begins to examine the apples carefully. "This fruit isn’t any good, by the looks of it. I don’t think it is worth even 130."

The man grabs a few shining pieces of the fruit and brings them closer to her car window. As his sweaty forehead enjoys the blissful cold air that escapes her, he pleads, "These are of the best quality, baji ji!"

This conversational haggling continues for a good few minutes, till the woman drives away with 2 kilos of apples bought at Rs140 per kilo. The man is back to his stand, waiting for the next customer.

Once home, the lady quickly hands the bags of apples to her house help. Since the moment she drove away from that stand, she hasn’t given a single thought to that fruit seller or her purchase of apples. He, on the other hand, has had his hand close to his pocket the whole time because the day’s earning is relatively low.

As night falls, she gets dressed for a dinner with her friends. She is on the road, again. Inside a restaurant, she asks her friends whether or not to order the lobster bisque; their reply: "Isn’t that a bit pricy?"

She breaks into a fit of laughter, "What’s a little money for some good food, eh?"

They all laugh and go on to place an order.

They finish their lavish meal and proceed back to their homes where their comfortable beds and HD television sets await them.

But as the lady was getting ready for her dinner, the fruit vendor in another part of the world was busy counting his day’s income, and thinking if he’d be able to buy his twin daughters a McDonalds’ Happy Meal. After all, it was their birthday.

Going around, we all meet similar people in our lives. And, we also sometimes find ourselves in similar situations. We all exploit the roadside fruit vendor’s desperation for sale, and haggle him out of a few bucks here and there.

Honestly, parting with that bit of money wouldn’t make much difference to our lives, but it could most certainly affect a poor man’s. Those who have got less than what we do, deserve to be treated with respect and empathy, if nothing more.

The irony is that we are ready to pay any amount that a grocery store in an upscale shopping mall charges. Call it etiquette or hypocrisy, or whatever you may!