ITP 161 Final Transcript Story: Witness 
Based on a Rajasthani folktale

Evaluated:                                                                                 Evaluator:______________

0          The thought is missing, nothing was signed.

1          Too much information, or too many facts, or data are missing. There are some major grammatical errors. It is unintelligible due to major sign production errors or poor grammar.

2          Some/A little information, facts, or data are missing. There are minor grammatical and some minor sign production errors.

3          All there in good form and clearly understood.

0 1 2 3             1. A Thakur borrowed a large sum of money from a Bania and despite

                        repeated reminders failed to repay it.

0 1 2 3             2. One day, the Bania went to the Thakur's house when he was entertaining            

                            guests and demanded the money. The Thakur, embarrassed,

                            promised to come to his place the next day with the money. But he had             

                            no intention of repaying the loan. Instead, he wanted to take revenge                                       

                            against the Bania for humiliating him in front of his guests.

0 1 2 3             3. So one evening, he waylaid the man on a deserted stretch of road.
                        "No one can insult me and get away with it!" he said, drawing out his sword.

0 1 2 3             4. The Bania thought fast. "I was expecting you would do something

                        like this," he said. "I've left a letter with my wife. If I do not return home by

                        nightfall, she will take the letter to the Rana. The letter details the business

                        transaction between us and the steps I took to recover the                          

                        money. It also expresses the fear that you might do me some harm."

0 1 2 3             5. The Thakur lowered his sword. He knew that the Bania could be bluffing but

                        he did not want to take a chance. The Rana was known to be

                        harsh on defaulters and murderers. "I'll spare your worthless life," he said,                            

                        finally,"but I'll chop off your nose. That'll teach you a lesson you'll never 

                        forget."
 

0 1 2 3              6. "If I write off your loan, will you forgive me?" asked the Bania.
                        "I might," said the Thakur, guardedly, "but you must give me a receipt to               

                         say I've paid you in full. I don't trust you."

0 1 2 3              7.“I’ll make out a receipt right away," said the Bania, hastily opening his                             

                            bundle of books."But we'll require a witness."

0 1 2 3              8. "No witness!" cried the Thakur. "Just give me a receipt to say that I've                               

                            paid you in full."

0 1 2 3              9. "The receipt has no value unless there is a witness," said the Bania.

                            "Why don't we make that old banyan tree a witness?"

0 1 2 3              10. The Thakur reasoned that there could be no harm in making a banyan

                        tree a witness. It could not reveal the circumstances in which the receipt                          

                        was made. So he agreed.

0 1 2 3              11. They stood under the banyan tree, and the Bania wrote out the                          

                            receipt and gave it to the other man. The Thakur pocketed it and went                                

                            away, very pleased with himself.

0 1 2 3              12. But the very next day, he received a summons from the Rana. When                              

                              he went to the Rana's palace he found the Bania there.
 

0 1 2 3              13. "Did you borrow money from this man?" asked the Rana.
                        "I did," said the Thakur. "Why haven't you repaid it?"
                        "But I have," said the Thakur and triumphantly taking out the receipt from                                                     his pocket, handed it over to the Rana.
 

0 1 2 3              14. "So your witness was a banyan tree," said the Rana, looking at the

                        receipt. "Yes," said the Thakur, "there was nobody else there."
                        "So you admit accosting him in a deserted spot?" "No, no," said the                    

                        Thakur, panicking. "I...I... just happened to meet him there."
                        "Anyway this receipt is useless," said the Rana. "It does not carry this                          

                        man's signature, only the witness's."
 

0 1 2 3              15. "What!" gasped the Thakur, taking the paper from the Rana's hand.He                            

                            stared at it and turned pale. Instead of putting his signature at the bottom,                    

                            the Bania had scribbled: "Banyan Tree".
 

0 1 2 3             Spatialization and classifiers

0 1 2                Non-manual signals

____/50 Points Total

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