The Stories of Sophistry...

My article this time consists of a gist of two folk tales written by Musharraf Ali Farooqi. These hail from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and send out a genuine message to mankind regarding how tricking a person into doing something proves fatal for one's own self. I liked the way the author had put the stories. I enjoyed reading those while reading between the lines. The stories are pure fantasies and cannot in any form be taken seriously.

The tale from Uttar Pradesh is about a lethargic monkey who was once asked by his mother to chop off his most prized possession; his golden hair for she believed that he'd get married only after he gets good riddance of the golden hair. Hence, the monkey goes to the barber to get his hair cut and in return he confiscates the barber's razor by which the latter cut his hair. The barber, astonished, asks him for a reason for the confiscation. The monkey, almost while taking to his heels, shouts at him that it was a price he had to pay for lopping off the love of his life.

The monkey then stumbles upon a gardener trimming a hedge and suggests him to trim the same with the razor he had. The gardener was ecstatic to try the job with the razor but unfortunately, the razor gets ruined. Hence, the monkey snatches away his blanket. The gardener interrogates him on his doings and doesn't let him go with the blanket. The monkey insists that since the gardener took away his razor, he ought to take his blanket.

The monkey encounters an oil-seller shivering in the cold. Therefore, the monkey offers him blanket and in return takes away his oil can and bolts off. The seller regrets to have had a conversation with him but he was ultimately rendered helpless.

Next, he chances on an old lady selling puris and when he notices she had fallen short of oil, he offers her the same and thereafter runs away with an entire platter of fried puris.

The monkey's antics come to an end when he chances upon a wedding procession and offers everyone there the fried puris. He then walks up to the bride, picks her up in order to get married to her in return of the puris he offered to the entire party in the procession. But the party rebels and helps the bride to get off his clutches and the monkey is eventually driven away from the place.

The other tale comes from Punjab and is based on a rat. Once, this rat finds a man with hungry children trying to ignite a fire. Seeing them in a pitiable state, the rat offers the man a dry root to burn which he had stored at his place for tough days. The grateful family then offered the rat a morsel of dough to show him their thankfulness. The rat discovered that helping people in their difficult times also makes him strike gold since they help him back. That day onwards, he kept searching for needy people.

One day, the rat sees a potter whose children were crying from hunger since there is no flour in the house to cook. The rat offers him his dough to cook. Having happily satiated his children and himself, the potter, as a sign of showing gratefulness, gives the rat a fine pipkin. The rat was thankful yet again.

The rat runs into a cowherd later. He saw him milking buffaloes into his shoe since he was too poor to afford a pail. The rat graciously offered his pipkin to milk the animals. On receiving the pipkin, the cowherd was so elated that he offered the rat a few sips of milk. Th rat wanted something better in return for his deed. Hence, rejecting those few drops, he put forward his demand of having an entire buffalo to himself. The cowherd agreed to it and the rat set off with the buffalo.

Walking down the lane with the animal, the rat bumps into a wedding party which was less fortunate for not having any meat to cook. The rat immediately offers them the buffalo to be killed and the meat to be cooked. After everyone was done having meat, they offered the rat the remnants. The rat rejected the same and instead asked for the bride in the form of recompense. The party shuddered on learning his intentions and left the place in no time leaving the bride behind.

The bride was a princess and she spent one entire night with the rat. The next morning, the rat sends her out to sell fruits around town so that she could buy food and eat. The queen sees her daughter selling fruits on the road and her plight. They are reunited. The rat, who had been keeping a close watch on the princess demanded her to be returned back to him. The queen asks the rat to come to her palace and he agrees. The queen makes him sit on a seat which contained a red hot stone beneath it. As soon as he is seated, he jumps off because he gets burnt and he never saw the princess and queen ever again.

The similarity between both the incidences is that the protagonists could not manage to get married and stay with their mates. The difference lies in the way they start off with their trickeries. The first story depicted the behaviour which was lazy and greedy. The seconds story started on a good note where the rat happens to help the family only accidentally and his intentions change as the story unfolds.

What Johann says sounds very prudent: 'The craftiest trickery are too short and ragged a cloak to cover a bad heart' . The essence to be taken from these stories is that deceit gives us momentary happiness and we lose everything we have in the end for a lifetime.

About an article I wrote for my friend...

The other day, I helped my school friend Nandini with an article she had to present to her college. It was on her recent trip to Australia. She sent across to me pointers via email and I rolled out an article. Blobs have been put up at places since I was unaware of the relevant information. Here's how it eventually turned out to be:

Having end semesters and preparing for the same by burning the midnight oil has been a routine for me since the past four years. I was done with my exams by the end of [•] and it was time to get those bags out of the attic, pack and run away somewhere to break the monotony of life and giving a fresh start to the last year of my Architecture studies. An Australian jaunt was something that gave me ample reasons to stay happy and endure the post exam fatigue. A dive in the blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef, a hot air balloon ride to see the sun rise, experiencing the Sydney Opera House; these thoughts were on repeat and hovering on my mind like little birdies.   Australia is a place I’ve extensively read and studied about for it has always given me an adrenaline rush.  The [•] day trip to the continent held a lot of significance for me.  The unusually mystique view of this place from the aircraft gave me jitters thereby increasing my excitement levels manifold.

The journey was tad excruciating   with an unfortunate delay of two connecting flights. . But then, no journey seems like one if you don’t come across such standstills and stagnancy of commutes.  It took us more than a day’s time to reach Melbourne, the then Capital of Australia. Melbourne is the second largest city of Australia, after Sydney of course and is the capital of Victoria.

Day one of my fun and frolic around Australia constituted a visit to the Old parliament house, the beautiful St. Patrick’s cathedral which took around a good  hundred  years to be built; Captain Cook’s house, a small house with a huge picturesque garden surrounding it. Captain James Cook was a major contributor in the mapping of the eastern coast of Australia in the year 1770.  A rendezvous with the largely cute tiny Penguins on the Phillip Island helped me end my day on a sweet note. My photography skills weren’t of much help here since it was prohibited.

The next journey was through the Great Ocean Road, a 243 km stretch along the south eastern coast of Australia.  The coastline is enchanting having a rocky one side and the other side consisted of a rocky, mountain terrain. The journey concluded at the twelve apostles, a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. The apostles were formed as a result of erosion: the harsh and extreme weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 meters high. The uniqueness lies in the fact of their proximity to one another. Hence, this has made for a pretty tourist spot. Apparently, there are only eight out of twelve apostles left but the name remains unchanged for the obvious reasons of tourism. A helicopter ride over the same was   next on the radar and by golly it was the most unspeakable moment, really!  To add to it, the excitement was twice as much since it was my first ever ride on a helicopter!

We were later headed to Gold Coast. I think I find it correct to put it this way; as Las Vegas is to the USA, Gold Coast is to Australia.  The city boasts clearly of sky scrapers, clubs, theme parks, zoos and a great coastline. Adventure rides in the Warner Brothers Movie world, pictures with a baby koala, kangaroos, watching a dolphin show were like earning brownie points on the visit there.

Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.  Along with being economically well off, the continent takes pride in being ecologically sound. Although it is semi-arid, one finds a wide range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests to coral reefs. One such place which has diverse natural habitats is Cairns. The air journey from Brisbane to Cairns is only full of resplendent views. Look out of the window and you see the Great Barrier Reef and the small islands in it. At the Kuranda rainforest, cable cars take you to a height above the tropical trees. It was a sight for the sore eyes!  Here, there is a performing arts centre for the aborigines; the original inhabitants of Australia and they exhibit their life and art forms in order to attract tourists. This also helps them churn in sufficient finances.   Next on the list was an early morning Hot Air Balloon ride to see the sunrise!   An ineffable feeling on seeing the mountains, farmlands, covered up in a blanket of fog, dew drops kangaroos frolicking around freely in the farmlands and just like a kindergarten drawing of scenery, the sun rising from behind the mountains stole my mind. I hadn’t encountered nature as closely before.

At the Great Barrier Reef, a lot of islands await you for the simple reason of taking your breath away and sending you into a trance.  The reef can be experienced in various forms. Glass bottom boats, semi-submarines, snorkelling, and scuba diving are some of the ways in which the tourists unwind themselves, bask in the atmosphere and live every moment with the nature. The flora and fauna around is terrific.

I went snorkelling at the green islands to see the world’s biggest aquarium, the Great Barrier Reef. Tiny, colourful sea creatures, colonies of corals and blue waters looked to me like a dream which I was living out loud. . This Barrier Reef is visible even from the face of the moon and I found myself blessed that day for having the opportunity to be there and feel the place.  Rising high into the sky and then going down into the sea on the very same day. Who’d have thought of that anyway?

The last two places we had been to were Sydney and Canberra. Sydney is the most densely populated city in Australia. An evening visit to the Sydney Tower, which is the tallest free standing structure in Sydney, to see the glittering city was a thing in itself. It is about 300 m high. Next day was the one I had been waiting for since long. A visit to the Sydney Opera House! Designed by Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, and completed in the year 1973, it is one of the distinctive buildings of the twentieth century, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an architectural master piece. My interests lie in exploring such things since I’m studying Architecture. The first hand experience, the feel of the place, touch of it, observing it was even more awe inspiring.

 Canberra has been the capital city of Australia since the year 1908.  It is a mere two hour drive from Sydney but very different in all aspects. To promote Australian tourism as much as possible, the parliament house of Australia is open for international tourists! It is an elegantly designed modern building. Canberra houses all the government buildings of Australia since it is the capital. A visit to the Australian War Memorial followed.

The journey back home was painful since I was bidding adieu to the place which housed and protected me for [•] days/week(s) just like my motherland. Nonetheless, all the memories of a wonderful plethora of adventures and indescribable good times kept me going. I guess i was returning home only to visit this joyful country yet again to recreate my nostalgic moments.  

Airports on this continent are some of the massive ones with opulent architecture and clever detailing. The major cities in Australia are shuttled between by air since they are remotely situated from each other.  I travelled on and explored just about every mode of transport during my visit here, right from commuting by cars to enjoying a hot air balloons. I label at least one visit to Australia as a mandate.

I am happy to strike off one country from my bucket list though another visit seems likely.  Since my trip was time constrained, I’d visit the places I missed out on the same And yes, my travelogue is too difficult to manage now. Hope it becomes a lot more huge with bountiful of escapes like this.

An Open Letter to Smriti Irani...

Dear Smriti Irani,

I'm writing this to you on behalf of hundreds of people showing faith and trust in you and at the same time, support as well even after talks about your non-elite professional career have been doing the rounds. Agreed that a good professional qualification is important and essential to anyone who wants to soar high or who is a popular name amongst the masses. But the fabrication of the Yale University degree about you sent us into a tizzy. You already are a household name. The entire nation looks up to you as the perfect woman and adore you in ways uncountable. If my memory serves me right, let me take back you to the year 1980. The Ministry of Human Resources Development, then known by the name Ministry of Education, constituted of around twelve ministers and each one of them was a highly qualified bloke having doctoral degrees from some of the iconic Universities around the world while some of them were barristers too. Later, they carved their career niches in Politics. So, this is an easy conclusion to the fact that one doesn't need to be a strictly learned individual to run the country. A man isn't complete without an impeccable foresight to things and dedication towards his goals and ambitions. You're, for us, the epitome of kindness and someone who can manage things in timely manner. You're a source of encouragement to the women in the country.

In fact, seldom do we come across genuine people like you who are gutsy enough to represent yourself as a Political person in one of the ways without having sufficient educational degrees. It's tremendously difficult and huge to stand on the podium and address those billions of people all over the country who have their eyes glued to you in hope. Of course, there's no denying that a good professional degree would have made a difference to your political career today, but I don't think things are beyond repair. As long as you've the belief in yourself and you show it to the country through your deeds, nothing is imperfect. And to add more to this, there is no need to be critical about you for what has happened. I'm oblivious to the reason behind the incident; whether you were feeling ashamed because of a dearth of a proper degree or a clear case of miscommunication of facts. 

Let that be anything, the point to be taken note of is that I see no good reason to create a hullabaloo out of this as this is too unnecessary. People will not refrain from talking ill of you until you prove yourself to them in a formidable manner. And for that, all you need is time. To conclude in breviloquence, it's a give-away that you consider Education highly important and you'll carry out your duties responsibly and make a good doting Minister.

Rise up with your head high and never see yourself as any less. You're an inspiration to everyone and you'll continue to be one. Th country needs you.