Can money buy happiness or is it a spoiler?

In folklore or fairytale, one comes across stories about a king for a day or a few hours as a reward for saving the life of a member of the king's family or for some other good work. Kings or queens are no longer the real power wielders, they are simply figureheads who perform ritualistic functions at ceremonies. And, therefore, the mythical importance of becoming a king or queen for a day has lost its context.

However money has not. So if a poor, hapless person like Sohag Fakir, an auto-rickshaw driver in Patuakhali, suddenly has in his bank account Tk 10,042 crore, he can count himself luckier than those made a king for a day. After all it is his own account and has not the prospect of sharing it with anyone. But lo, there is twist to the story. The money transferred to his account was by mistake and more he did not even know that it was done. The Baghabari Ghat branch of the state-run Janata Bank issued an order to deposit that amount to Sohag Fakir's account of which the auto driver had not the slightest inkling. It was duly done. But the mistake could not be realised only minutes before the closing of the banking hour on February 14. The mistake was corrected promptly.

Thus the auto-rickshaw driver became a billionaire for a few hours. If the same had happened in case of the Bangladesh Bank's reserve hacking, a governor with a difference of the state bank did not have to resign so unceremoniously. Clearly, the hacking sounded the warning bell. First, if the woman officer of the infamous bank did not compromise on her ethical judgment as a banker, the money could not be processed for encashment. Also the US Federal Reserve Bank with which the money was deposited, did not quite play its role discreetly in the heist. Had it alerted the Bangladesh Bank about the transaction promptly, the transfer of money could possibly be stopped.

Thank God, the simple auto-rickshaw driver did not make much out of the big incident surrounding him. He does not seem to have affected by the momentary fortune. The reason why it has failed to leave an impact on him is that he has no idea how much money makes Tk 10,042 crore. Nor did he try to figure it out. He remained simply unaffected because he also knew about the sudden fortune quite later when the media picked up the story.

The good thing is that most rural people lead an honest life and they are satisfied with fulfilling their bare minimum demands in life. Of course, in childhood almost everyone has wished for coming across a pile of money or gold without a claimant. Still there are grown-ups who would grab any such opportunity with eagerness. But then there are people like a rickshaw-puller who took help of law enforcers at Nilkhet to return two large bundles of notes to their rightful owner. He was successful in his attempt. Also the man in uniform displayed his sincerity and honesty on that day or else it could invite trouble for the rickshaw-puller.

Now billions of dollars or taka are on flight from individual account to destinations thousands of miles away. Some of those are unearned and some are earned but transferred in order to evade taxes. The Panama Papers have revealed names of some popular actors, actresses and sports personalities. Clearly, there is earned money and if they have resorted to the ploy it is with the sole intention of evading taxes. But surely their image will be dented a lot by the disclosure. Footballer Messi has denied wrong-doing so has Amitabh Bachchan. Messi went a step ahead by  threatening to sue those who have leaked the paper. Let's see if he does it and can restore his reputation.

Money is important in life but it is also spoiler too. It can make or break a man. If money becomes a simple means to living a better life instead of becoming an obsession and allowing it to be the master of oneself, there is no harm. Stooping low as a servant to money unleashes forces of destruction which drags the possessor into its vortex in order to smash the person.