The story of 'Horses and elephants'

(This is a piece of historical incident. The characters of this story are factual.

 Conversations are imaginary, except for the theme.)

This incident happened in Alexander’s court. It was the tradition of Greek traders, who tour throughout the world, to report to Alexander and gift him the rare artifacts they gathered around. Alexander also held meeting with them, to know about people, economy, heritage and culture of the countries they visited.

                During one such meetings, a trader was explaining to Alexander, “Your majesty! I think you would have heard about a region named India and about its enormous wealth” he continued, “But I guess you wouldn't have heard how big fools they were”. Alexander looked at him confusingly, “What do you mean?” The trader replied with a beaming face, “Yes, they are having high quality horses, strong bulls, and animals like huge mountains, called ‘elephants’” everybody listened to him in utter silence, he continued in a mocking tone, “But those fools, they are using those animals to plough their fields, lift loads and for transportation and farming” A wave of mocking laughter, astonishment and sympathy, spread through the court. One of the ministers commented,”They could have conquered the world using those large number of strong animals; I wish you could have owned those animals, your majesty” Alexander thought, “They are suffering in sun, due to their ignorance”. Court was dispersed after some pep talks.

                Later during that day, Alexander described his teacher Aristotle, about the incident happened in court, that day morning. After hearing every word without interfering, Aristotle paced up and down his room, in deep thoughts. After arriving at a conclusion, he said to Alexander,

                                                                

“Dear Alexander, if really such a land exists where the elephants are used for lifting loads, bulls for farming and horses for transportation, then it should be the most magnificent country in the whole world.” Alexander murmured with curious eyes, “I don’t understand you teacher. Aren’t they wasting the potential of their resources, due to ignorance?” Aristotle replied calmly, “No Alexander, in a place where elephants and horses are used for domestic purpose, it means people and animals are living in harmony as a society. Wisdom is ruling and prevailing in that country. India is a blessed country. ” 

The Child India

School bell for P.T (physical training) period rang in a school. Children of different classes reached the school ground with renewed energy. They got split out in groups and played different games. One such group of boys and girls played together building sand castles. They were at least 7 years old.

                A small boy in that group said, “In today’s class, our teacher taught us to draw the map of India.  He even drew small towns in it! Created streets in those towns and even drew houses in those streets. Can we also draw like that and play within it? But we should draw big map of India in sand first. ”

                This new game seemed interesting to them. So they began drawing India on sand. Marked towns and small houses within it. ‘Child India’ born finally. All the kids inhabited into the ‘child India’. Before becoming the citizens of child India, those 40 little citizens of India, were diversified by class, community, money and lot more things. Upper class Indian, lower class Indian, Hindu child, Muslim child, Christian child, rich, poor and countlessly diversified. But the inhabitants of ‘child India’ had no diversifications, both in soul and sand. The soul thoughts of the citizens of ‘child India’ were the same, undiversified and innocent.

                The citizens of ‘child India’ made schools in their country. They appointed teachers. Cultivated crops, and farms, set up trade. They ran families.  They were in harmony.

                Suddenly one boy said: "Everything is fine. But we haven’t created police".

A tiny girl innocently replied: “We don’t want police. If we have police, then we should make people steal”.

                They dropped the idea of police.

The ‘Child Indian society’ was running beautifully in harmony. But it was time for the school bell.

The time for the citizens of ‘child India’ to get back to ‘real India’.

                                                                 *****

Respected politicians and ‘social architects’ of India. Look at these children quick, before they enter into real India. Learn from them, or at least don’t poison their pure heart.  

At least, let our children live in harmony, in the future.

                                                                     *****

The Pride in being an 'Indian'

"They(Indians) would not tell a lie for anything in the world and do not utter a word that is not true"
I happened to read this in a travelogue written by Marco Polo, centuries back. I do not know what Marco Polo will write if he visits India now. But his words gave me goose-bumps and inspired me to dig deeper into India's history.

After I strolled through lot of websites and books, I happened to end up on a documentary, "The Story of India" by British historian, Michael Wood, on the history of India. Though initially I watched it to kill my time, very soon I found myself sitting still and listening with all my heart. I saw the passion in his eyes, for my country and its history, in his eyes, which I hadn't felt in me or seen in any other citizen of India(From a platformer to politician).

His enthusiastic exposition of history made me to entirely forget the present and allow myself to be transported as if by magic into the past. He penetrated through the dim mist of 4000 years and transformed into a living reality. When I listened to him, I became afire with enthusiasm, amazed and spell-bound at our cultural wealth and heritage, sat erect in pride and finally moved into tears.

I hadn't felt proud or cried when I saw our I-day parade, nor when I saw 'Chak de India'.
But I cried when a foreigner made me understand the value of our country.

                           I sincerely Thank This man, who made me cry for my country, in pride.

  

The day when I bribed for the first time

It was a somber Friday morning when my mobile sprang up to life, my friend on the wire,”Hey da...gonna apply for No Objection certificate, you wanna join me?” As I too had need for those, we started with the necessary documents to taluk office.

            It was our first experience at taluk office. So we were quite bewildered without knowing proper procedures. On enquiring a person, he pointed another person who was sitting behind a pile of applications.

            With some hesitation, we asked him, “Sir, how to get No Objection certificate application?”. Without looking at us, he replied, “In Xerox shop opposite to railway station”. We got that quite easily. After that we had a really hard time filling up the application as they asked for too many details. The man behind the pile of applications was also not replying properly for our doubts.

 A neatly dressed man around 30s came near me and asked caringly, “Do you have trouble filling the application?” I was quite happy that there’s someone to help us. But it didn’t last long. I answered his question in affirmative and thought of seeking his help. But he just stopped me with that and asked me to follow him and led us outside the office. He then gave the application to a man dressed in filthily in rags, sitting in platform outside the office. The decent looking man said to me proudly, “He’s the only man who can fill applications in English”.

I was bit hesitant at first and my heart alarmed that he’s moving in for a bribe. After talking with him for a while, I found out that I cannot get my certificate by actual procedure. So I got little tensed, but later decided to go back home. Just before I was about to start, he struck a deal with me, that he can get the certificate I wished for by evening itself (which usually takes 15 days). Even though that certificate won’t be useful to me anymore, I accepted his offer, just because of curiosity. So he showed green signal to that filthy man who fills the applications for him and he started filling the application. The most shocking part which flushed out my face is that, he signed the part where revenue inspector (RI) has to sign (!). When I asked whether it won’t raise any problem, he said that they will be filing at least 50 applications a week in this manner.”

            With corruption so casual in the grass root level, I got ambiguous about the movements by Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev, and other so called “Anti-corruption crusaders” and the electronic media which made them over night heroes by giving extravagant importance to them. It finally occurred to my mind that a great “Social drama” on anti-corruption had been successfully staged to the whole nation.

I recently heard about a shocking incident from my friend who held an active role in “India against corruption” movement, and recently withdrew from it. He said to me that, he had attended the meeting of the IAC Chennai chapter, and that he directly saw the incidents of bribing in trading of the food items, badges, T-shirts, and water bottles too. The chief guests of the meeting were corrupt personalities. I felt his pain as he said that.

Recent remarks of Markandeya Katju on Anna Hazare which goes like, "This Anna Hazare movement, I have not spoken about it because I am attacked by the media as if justice Katju is some kind of demon. I regard Anna Hazare as an honest man; there is no dispute in that. But what are his scientific ideas? I don't think he has any scientific ideas".

It’s true. Paid media worked like a right hand servant to that movement. Some bigger corporate with vested interests have used Hazare as a tool and accomplished its need, by diverting entire nation with media hype. No common people would have known about the behind the screen activities.

If they wished to drive an anti-corruption movement successfully, it should have started from grass roots. They should have educated people about the lokpal bill. As Hindu’s ‘State of the nation poll’ clearly indicated that, “Only one third of the respondents have heard about lokpal bill and only one-fourth know what it actually is”. My friend I had mentioned earlier also said the same thing that three-fifths of the people who attended meeting didn’t know what lokpal bill is.

No politician or civil society group would be ready to educate people on this, as Lord Brougham’s words goes, “Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern; but difficult to enslave.”

At the whelm of our 65^th independence, I remembered Sir Winston Churchill’s statement on our independence, after the Gandhiji’s assassination, “When you cannot even protect a old man, whom we protected for 60 years, what are you going to do with your independence?”. The answer instantly flashed in my mind, “Sir. Winston Churchill, with our independence we can get birth certificate to a dead person, driving license to a physically challenged person and we have so much freedom that a common man in rags can sign on behalf of a government official and issue certificates to anybody.”

P.S:

1. The decent looking man handed me the certificate that evening itself.

2. I didn’t used the certificate for any purpose and it’s still with my documents.

3. My friend too got the certificate through another ex-decent looking man.

4. Anna Hazare is busy organizing his next fast.