On it were written three very unusual offers:
- For 20 rupees: I will take your photo exactly as you are.
- For 30 rupees: I will take your photo as you think you are.
- For 50 rupees: I will take your photo as you want others to see you.
Customers came and went for years. Some smiled, some hesitated, some laughed at the board. But almost without exception, they pointed to the third line: the 50-rupee photograph.
The photographer did not argue. He quietly clicked their pictures, gave them what they asked for, and went on with his work.
Many years later, when he was old and close to death, the photographer confided in a friend:
"All my life," he said, "no one ever asked me for the 20-rupee photograph. Everyone wanted the version of themselves that would please others. They wanted the image polished, adjusted, and dressed up for the world. Not once did someone say, 'Capture me exactly as I am.'"
And then he added the lesson hidden in his strange price list:
"Most people live their entire lives for that 50-rupee image — trying to impress, trying to look better in the eyes of society, hiding their real selves. Very few dare to live the 20-rupee life — simple, authentic, unadorned. Yet that is where true happiness lies."
The truth is, you don't need to spend your life pretending or polishing an image for others. You, exactly as you are, are already enough.
Live the 20-rupee life — simple, honest, and real. You'll find more peace there than in a lifetime of trying to be someone else. 💛