Chapter 2: chapter 2
1. Once upon a time there lived a boy named Gopal. He and his parents used to live in a small hut in a remote village of Jalpaiguri in the foothills of the Himalayas. Gopal's father was a farmer and his mother worked as a domestic help in the house of a rich man. In spite of being poor they were honest people and tried to impart the same ideology into their son.
Every morning Gopal used to go to the village school. Unlike the other boys he was not averse to studies and scored reasonably good marks in his exams.
One day their English teacher told them the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The teacher's narrative was engaging and the children listened with interest. When the story was over they clapped with enthusiasm.
But Jack's story perplexed Gopal. The more he thought about it the more confused he became. First of all he failed to understand how a weak, herbaceous beanstalk could carry the weight of a boy. Secondly, was it really possible for a beanstalk to grow to such an indefinite length? How could Jack find a castle in the empty sky? He might have landed up in the moon or some other planet, but how could he survive there without oxygen? Anyway, Gopal was ready to excuse these disparities as the imaginative qualities of a fairy tale. They were like Cinderella's glass slipper which did not vanish along with her other magical things. It remained on the staircase so that the prince could find it and later marry Cinderella.
Coming back to Jack and the Beanstalk, the factor that disturbed Gopal most was the character of the protagonist. The Giant's wife allowed Jack to stay in her house, gave him food and saved him from her husband more than once. But what did Jack give her in return? He told her a bunch of lies, robbed her husband thrice and then killed him! Gopal failed to understand how anyone could be so ungrateful. The most appalling part was that, Jack's actions had been glorified in the story and he had been presented as a hero! Gopal wondered what impact such fairytales would have on the tender minds of children, who were the target readers. What would they learn?
So engrossed was he in these thoughts that when his mother gave him money to buy potatoes from the market, he bought bean seeds instead. His angry mother, alike Jack's Mom, threw the seeds into the backyard garden.
To his utter amazement, when he went to the garden on the following morning, he saw a huge beanstalk standing there.
Gopal decided to try out his luck like Jack. He pulled the beanstalk to check it's strength. It felt surprisingly strong. Without losing a moment he began to climb it. Before long he found the Giant's castle beside a high-altitude village on the top of a lofty mountain. Just as in Jack's story, the Giant's wife welcomed Gopal in the castle and gave him food. When she warned him about her husband, Gopal wondered if he had reached the wrong castle or the lady had remarried. But there was no way to find out.
This Giant was also dangerous and his wife hid Gopal under his bed. The Giant had his food and ordered his wife to bring his hen. This hen turned out to be a duplicate copy of the previous one. It laid as many golden eggs as it's master ordered it to do.
'How many such hens can a man...rather, a Giant possess?' wondered Gopal.
After some time the Giant felt tired. He kept the hen in a cage beside him and went to sleep.
Gopal was in a dilemma. It was a golden opportunity for him to steal the hen and run, just like Jack had done. But would it be right? The lady had been so kind to him. He had always criticized Jack for his ungratefulness. How could he follow his footsteps now? Then a thought struck him.
It was very much possible that this Giant owned innumerable such hens. Hence the absence of one wouldn't matter much to him.
Gopal thought how much this hen could help his family overcome their poverty. His father could repay his loans and buy acres of land. His mother wouldn't have to toil in the rich man's house from morning till night. He could get a proper education. They could live in a proper house and might even buy a car. The provocation was too much.
Gopal stealthily left his hiding place, stole the hen, opened the door and took to his heels. Soon he reached the beanstalk. He climbed it down and reached his hut.
Then everything happened just as it did in Jack's case. Gopal's family became very rich. They lived in a palatial mansion and enjoyed every material comfort. Gopal nurtured no hard feelings towards Jack now. In fact he felt grateful to him for showing him the way to become rich.
Gopal was now no longer the bright student he once used to be. He had lost his inclination towards studies. Who needed an education when every earthly material could be attained without any labour? One morning after four years, he climbed up the beanstalk and visited the Giant's castle again, just like Jack did.
But this time Gopal was in for a shock! He found the castle under lock and key.
"Where is the Giant who lives in this castle?" he asked a passer-by.
"He now lives in a hut in the village with his wife," replied the passer-by.
"But why?" asked a surprised Gopal.
"Someone stole his precious hen and so he became poor. He couldn't even pay the taxes for his castle for the past three years. Hence the government has forced him to evacuate. Now he works as a peasant in the village and his wife is a domestic help in a rich man's house."
Gopal was shocked to learn this. Ironically he felt no regrets, but he was worried about something else. He returned to the beanstalk and quickly climbed it down. Upon reaching his mansion he hastened to the yard to bring an axe. Without wasting time he started chopping off the beanstalk. Soon the huge plant stumbled down in a mountainous heap on the ground.
Gopal heaved a sigh of relief. He would not need the beanstalk now, but who knows, it might have been useful to someone else. Without the beanstalk his hen was now safe. He had proved that he was cleverer than the Giant. He was cleverer than Jack too as he didn't have to commit a murder to keep the stolen hen to himself.
GOPAL smiled happily as he entered his house. Now they could live happily ever after.
2. I have always loved good old folk stories. They not only entertain you but also leave you with valuable lessons. The best part of these folktales is their simplicity. The language and narrative are uncluttered and easy to understand. Of course, all these stories were narrated first for years before they came to be written. Today, I would like to share a folktale from Uttar Pradesh.
Once there was a Maulvi Sahib who was a master in a school in the village. Being a learned man, he was held in great respect by the villagers. They would approach him for guidance and advice for many of the problems that they could not resolve. The respect and adulation of the villagers made the Maulvi proud and Egoistic, and soon he started believing that there was no one wiser and learned than he in the whole world. Anyone trying to argue with the Maulvi would be scolded and beaten by the Maulvi. He would tell them that they had to agree with what he said because he could turn even a donkey into a man, such were his powers.
During one such incident when the Maulvi was shouting at a boy and beating him for arguing with him, a villager called Jumman was passing by. He was a labourer who carried loads for people on his donkey. He was, in fact, fed up with the donkey which was not only lazy but would also not listen to him or obey his instructions. When Jumman heard the Maulvi claiming that he could turn a donkey into a man, he was thrilled. He immediately took his donkey to the Maulvi and begged him to turn it into a man.
The Maulvi understood that Jumman had taken his words literally and that he was a stupid simpleton. He said to Jumman:
" Look, son, I do have the powers to turn your donkey into a man. However, it is not an easy process as you understand. I need some very special ingredients which I will then grind into a paste and feed it to your donkey. It will take weeks to do this, and it will cost you money. Are you willing to pay?"
"Maulvi Sahib, I have some money and I am willing to pay you if you can make a man of my donkey."
" Ok then, it will cost you a hundred rupees."
Jumman was taken aback. He was a poor man and a hundred rupees was too much for him. But if it can turn his donkey into a man, he could recover much more! He agreed to pay the Maulvi. The Maulvi asked Jumman to return after 12 days and leave the donkey with him. The cunning Maulvi waited for a few days to ensure that Jumman would not change his mind. When Jumman did not return, the Maulvi sold the donkey for fifty rupees, bought some new clothes, shoes and feasted on good food for a week.
Jumman went to the Maulvi as appointed and eagerly asked the Maulvi about his donkey, which would have become a man by now. The Maulvi replied:
" Jumman, I know how eager you are to see your donkey turned into a man. By mistake, I gave him an overdose of the medicine I made and he has now turned into the Qazi of Jaunpur!"
Jumman was delighted that his donkey had become such a wise person and rushed post-haste to meet the Qazi of Jaunpur who was earlier his donkey. He reached the place where the Qazi was busy resolving a dispute between two shopkeepers. He approached the Qazi and asked him:
"Tell me Qazi Sahib, how do you feel now?"
The Qazi looked at Jumman: " What do you mean how I feel now? I am feeling just as I was feeling yesterday, or a month ago. Why should I feel any different?"
Jumman smiled and said: " Qazi sahib, I asked you how does it feel to be transformed from a donkey into a man?"
The Qazi flared in anger and shouted: "Who is this fool and how did he enter? You guards are lazy and inefficient. Remove this idiot from here at once."
The guards rushed to catch Jumman and throw him out. But Jumman was determined to confront his donkey-turned into the Qazi. He shouted: " Donkey, have you forgotten your status? Now that you have become a Qazi, do you refuse to recognize me, your master?"
The guards finally arrested Jumman and dragged him away to be sent to jail. Even as he was being dragged, Jumman shouted at the Qazi: " I did a big mistake making my donkey into a Qazi. You should have remained a donkey."
The Qazi realized that the man before him was insane. He wanted to avoid any further unpleasantness and said to Jumman:
"Look here Jumman, what is it that you want from me for making me Qazi from a donkey?"
" I want five hundred rupees. That is what it cost to make you a man." Jumman lied.
The Qazi gave Jumman five hundred rupees and asked him to promise that he will never return ever again. Jumman took the money and returned home a happy man. With the money, he bought himself another donkey and spent the rest of the days in comfort with his wife. He thought: " Next time I need money, I will take this donkey again to the Maulvi."
3. One day I got a call from the bank -
"Ma'am, your payment is due for the credit card xxxx xxxx xxxx 6013. Please pay immediately."
"But I haven't used it for a long time. It seems there is some confusion at your end."
"No ma'am, there is no confusion at all. You have Rs. 5000 due, to pay for the non-transaction fee. Since you didn't do any transactions on the card for the last 3 years, you will have to pay Rs. 5000 now."
"This is unfair. When I didn't use the card, why would I pay for it?"
"Ma'am, you should have thought about this before applying for the card. Please pay Rs. 5000 now."
"No way... I am not going to pay for it."
"You will have to pay, ma'am. You will have to follow the rules."
"Okay, in that case, I would like to cancel my card. I don't want this card anymore."
"That's fine ma'am. You can cancel the card, but before canceling, please clear all the dues. Pay Rs. 5000 first. Without clearing dues, you can't cancel the card."
"I will not pay for not using the card."
"Please don't force us to take any strict action against you, ma'am. You will have to pay Rs. 5000 now, after which you may even cancel the card."
"Do you think, I am insane? I will not give you a single penny. I have not used the card, why would I pay for it? I will come to your office tomorrow, to talk to your manager."
"Sure, ma'am. Have a nice day. Before ending the call, do you want to upgrade your credit card to platinum one?"
"No, I don't want to. I don't use this card."
"If you upgrade your card today, you will get some exciting offers also."
"What are the offers?"
"There will be no 'No transaction fee' on the new platinum card. And there is a cash reward also for those customers who are upgrading today."
"How much is the cash reward."
"Rs. 5000, ma' am."
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