The 3Ls of Empowerment - Summary, Kerala Higher Secondary English

Mr Gupta is a major character in the story 'Price of Flowers' by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay.  He is also the narrator of the story.  It is through his point of view that the story unfolds.  

Mr Gupta is about to join the British Civil Service in India.  He is in London now, where most part of the story takes place.  He gets acquainted with Maggie, a teenage girl from a poor family there.  When Maggie tells him that her mother eagerly wants to meet an Indian, he is ready to oblige.  He is very inquisitive and wants to learn how the poor live in Britain.

Mr Gupta is a character who subverts the preconceived notions about Indians prevalent in the West during the pre independence era.  He admits that he is not much of a vegetarian contrary to what they think.  He is less superstitious than his Western counterparts and has a better scientific temperament.  When Mrs Clifford shows him the ring with the crystal stuck on it, he knows that it is nothing much. But he doesn't want to shatter their faith by openly stating it.

The compassionate nature of Mr Gupta is evident when he visits the sick mother.  He is ready to tell a lie for saving her life even though it is against his ethics.  He also takes pains to go to India House and make inquiries about Frank, Maggie's bother about whom there is no information for a long time.  Assuming the role of the absent brother, Mr Gupta even takes Maggie to a zoo which makes her really delighted.

During the final meeting with Maggie, just before his departure, he proves to be most sensible and sensitive when he decides to accept the one shilling from Maggie.  He dismisses his first thought of refusing to take the money when he finds that this sacrifice would make her happier.  His kind nature is once again established in the last line of the story when he says "I wiped a tear or two from my eyes and went upstairs to pack my bags."