Devkota Pour Tea In His Coat

One day, Laxmi Prasad Devkota attended a prestigious poetry conference. As always, he arrived dressed simply, wearing his usual old, worn-out clothes. Despite his towering intellect and poetic brilliance, many in the gathering judged him by his appearance. During the tea break, servers passed around tea and snacks to all the attendees—except Devkota. They ignored him completely, assuming that someone dressed so humbly couldn’t possibly be important. 

Devkota noticed the slight but didn’t say a word. Instead, he quietly left after the conference, smiling to himself. 

The very next day, there was another gathering of poets, and this time, Devkota arrived wearing a fine coat and tie. His transformation surprised everyone. As soon as he entered, the same servers rushed over to serve him tea and biscuits, treating him with utmost respect. 

Taking the cup of tea in his hand, Devkota looked at his coat, smiled, and began pouring the tea on his clothes. The onlookers were shocked and confused. One of them finally asked, “Devkota ji, what are you doing? Why are you feeding your coat?” 

Devkota calmly replied, “Yesterday, when I came as myself, no one served me. Today, when I wear these fine clothes, I am treated with such respect. So it seems that the tea is meant for the coat, not for me!”