Four wrongs & a right - an exercise in diplomacy

The hole in the wall barbershop that I patronize is owned by an old guy who runs a kind of assembly line of hair dresser aspirants from the interiors of UP. These young, fellow Muslim, wannabe Jawed Habib's join him in the city, cut their teeth & the hair of customers for a while before eventually moving on to bigger & better salons with ACs where they get to work with "Old Spice" rather than "Gold Spice" shaving cream.  

While waiting for my turn I once had occasion to witness a fascinating interplay that only India can provide. The shop is one among a collection that would be at home in any neighborhood. The guy from the adjoining Kirana store breathlessly rushed in carrying a box of sweets. He announced that he had just bought a bike & offered "Prasad" from the Puja. The reactions of the barbershop owner & his 2 acolytes were a study in contrasts. The old man recoiled, mumbling incoherently as if he had been bitten , one of the young apprentices very transparently lied about suffering from some kind of an allergy & the other guy took the offered sweet & set it aside saying that he would have it after he was done with the customer he was attending to at the time. It became apparent that even he did not really intend to eat it only once the proud bike owner had left the shop.  

Sitting there with nothing to occupy my mind I indulged myself by applying my own value judgement to their actions. 

1. The bike guy could perhaps have been more considerate - it's possible that if he had offered sweets calling them a token of his happiness rather than as a symbol of a religious ceremony he may have spared his neighbors the moral dilemma & himself the hurt feelings.

2. The shop owner, especially given his greater years should definitely have been better prepared to deal with such occasions & would be better served with large dose of pragmatism.

3. The first apprentice betrayed his inexperience but maybe that's just a part of growing up & he may well be better equipped to deal with morally ambiguous situations in the days to come.

4. To my mind the other apprentice was the hero of the situation. Even though he lied he did so to protect his own conscience while still considering the other guy's feelings. A white lie if there ever was one.

There is so much instructional value to such a scene - so many things to learn about interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution & diplomacy. Anyway - that's my opinion - what's yours ?