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Strong men usually tolerate weak men a lot. This is because:
1. They know that men far weaker than them have at best a nuisance value and can't really harm them.
2. They are scared of public opinion...what will people say if a 84 kg pehelwan beats up a 42 kg weakling?
I used to take advantage of this in my 20s when I was in the Faculty Hostel at IIT KGP. I was that 42 kg puny chap and my colleague, HNA, that 84 kg Rustum. And after dinner when we used to gather in the lawn benches, I would poke and punch HNA on his tummy and run. HNA could do nothing but hurl juicy punju abuses at me and threaten:
"Jab gidad ki mouth aathi hai, oh shehar ke tarha bhagti hai" ("When Death hovers around a jackal it runs into the city")
Luckily, HNA soon left our Hostel to occupy a Qrs and so my Death at his hands was indefinitely postponed...God Bless Him!
Occasionally, the kindness shown to the meek by the strong is returned gratefully, like in the Aesop Fable of the Lion and the Mouse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eh2NU0mjrc
But this is rare...the chap who is shown kindness often nurses a grouse against his benefactor. So the saying attributed to many from Jesus to Vidyasagar:
"Why is he so angry with me?...I haven't done him any favor"
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Sisupala was the young nephew of Krishna. When he was born, Sishupala had 3 eyes and four arms and his parents thought of abandoning this monster in the forest. But Akashvani spoke:
"This child will be transformed into a normal kid by the touch of Krishna...but he will meet his death later on at the very hands of his savior"
So, Sisupala's mom went to her nephew, Krishna, and asked him to take her infant in his lap...which Krishna did. And Sisupala was transmuted into a handsome kid. Then Krishna's auntie implored him not to kill her son; and Krishna promised her that he will tolerate exactly a hundred abuses from Sisupala and at the 101st, he will slay him.
As Sisupala grew up, he got friendly with Rukmini's brother (ahem!) and was promised Rukimini's hand in marriage to him. But Rukmini had other ideas and was bent upon marrying Krishna...which she did eventually. Then on, Sisupala became a sworn enemy of Krishna and started abusing his savior wherever and whenever they met (possibly he didn't know the 100 insults limit).
And this is what happened when he crossed the limit (I wonder how Krishna could keep a correct track of the numbers...maybe he had a software program written up):
http://www.maransdog.net/TVG/SMB_PHOTOS/picture_150.php
******************************************************************************************************
This is an instance of the famous "Crossing the Rubicon", the forbidden river Julius Caesar decided to cross, and went on founding the Roman Empire.
Tiny Japan did it to the mighty US on December 7, 1941 by bombing the Pearl Harbor stealthily while negotiating with the US in Washington. This 101st abuse of Japan resulted in the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and disarming of Japan once and for all...a lingering humiliation till now.
http://sginhaokip.blogspot.in/2010/08/hiroshima-leh-nagasaki-atomic-bomb.html
*******************************************************************************************************
IIT KGP was seething in turmoil in the mid-1980s.That was due to a canonical anomaly amounting to a birth-defect of the IITs.
IITs were created by an Act of Parliament (whatever that may entitle them to). And were deemed autonomous. But this autonomy was as virtual as a mirage. Every rupee in its coffers was doled out by the Central Government and IITs were prohibited from generating any revenue on their own without the consent of the bureaucrat sitting there and sitting on IITs' files. IITs had no say in the fees that they could collect from their students. With the result that IIT education was cheaper than most private convent schools. IITs had no say in their own pay-scales apart from making periodic representations. They had no say in the number and structure of their own posts. And pays scales were revised once in more than a decade, and that too much later than the Central Govt employees got.
And inflation was soaring and, by and by, IIT teachers became as poor as church mice. And many teachers excelled in their jobs and became over-qualified but could not be promoted due to lack of 'vacancies' in posts. So resentment was building up waiting to burst like a dam. The Director (Prof GSS), a great teacher and gentleman, could do nothing about it...he was like a nut in the nut-cracker, squeezed between the remote bureaucrat in Delhi and his colleagues at KGP.
Then came the last straw. The Central Govt employees (a big lobby) agitated and won an Interim Relief (IR) of Rs 40 (a princely sum) per month. And as IITs were governed by the Central Govt rules, GSS implemented the IR at KGP. I for one was badly in need of that Rs 40 (my monthly petrol bill). And after six months, the bureaucrat in Delhi got wise and got an order passed that IITs were not entitled to the IR and it should not only be stopped but the Rs 40 x 6 = 240 already paid out should be recovered from next month onwards...which meant a sudden decrease of a whopping Rs 80 from the forthcoming monthly salary...Bernard Levin's Theorem at work.
To appease the agitated IIT Teachers Association (of which I was also a paying member), the Central Govt appointed Russi Modi (the Ultimate Manager) of the Tata Steel as Chairman of IIT KGP's BOG.
Russi Modi was no technocrat...he had his education at Harrow and Oxford and grew at Tata Steel from the bottom as Office Assistant. And he was known for his sympathies with the employees. After having his 16-egg omelet for his breakfast at home, he used to lunch with his employees in their canteen. And his popularity was at its peak.
And he wanted to sincerely solve the problems of the IIT Teachers. And with this noble intention, he traveled to KGP and called an All-Faculty Meeting in the Netaji Auditorium (the only one I know of a Chairman doing it).
The Auditorium was full. But Russi Mody made the cardinal mistake of speaking first instead of having the last word.
After his hilarious speech was well-received, he invited members of the Audience to the podium and speak their hearts out.
That offer was seized by the then Secretary of the IITTA, a perfect gentleman, and a seasoned orator, and an accepted spokesman by the IITTA.
The Sec started his speech with little little innuendos like Mark Antony...each of which got a tremendous applause from the audience. The Sec was getting carried away, while Russy Mody tried to put on a smiling face.
Ovation is an opiate...one never knows when enough is enough.
Finally, the Sec turned to Russi Mody and said:
"You may be a Great Manager...but we are no chicken either"
That crack got him a thunderous applause...and Russy Mody's face turned blue.
That was the 101st of Sisupala's excesses.
The meeting wound up and Russi Mody walked out.
But pretty soon, Krishna released his Chakra and the Sec's head was severed and his body bit the metaphorical dust...he was dismissed after isolating him by the well-known devise of Divide and Rule.
The Sec never recovered from the blow although he was reinstated after a decade, but not with honor.
========================================================================
Strong men usually tolerate weak men a lot. This is because:
1. They know that men far weaker than them have at best a nuisance value and can't really harm them.
2. They are scared of public opinion...what will people say if a 84 kg pehelwan beats up a 42 kg weakling?
I used to take advantage of this in my 20s when I was in the Faculty Hostel at IIT KGP. I was that 42 kg puny chap and my colleague, HNA, that 84 kg Rustum. And after dinner when we used to gather in the lawn benches, I would poke and punch HNA on his tummy and run. HNA could do nothing but hurl juicy punju abuses at me and threaten:
"Jab gidad ki mouth aathi hai, oh shehar ke tarha bhagti hai" ("When Death hovers around a jackal it runs into the city")
Luckily, HNA soon left our Hostel to occupy a Qrs and so my Death at his hands was indefinitely postponed...God Bless Him!
Occasionally, the kindness shown to the meek by the strong is returned gratefully, like in the Aesop Fable of the Lion and the Mouse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eh2NU0mjrc
But this is rare...the chap who is shown kindness often nurses a grouse against his benefactor. So the saying attributed to many from Jesus to Vidyasagar:
"Why is he so angry with me?...I haven't done him any favor"
********************************************************************************************************
Sisupala was the young nephew of Krishna. When he was born, Sishupala had 3 eyes and four arms and his parents thought of abandoning this monster in the forest. But Akashvani spoke:
"This child will be transformed into a normal kid by the touch of Krishna...but he will meet his death later on at the very hands of his savior"
So, Sisupala's mom went to her nephew, Krishna, and asked him to take her infant in his lap...which Krishna did. And Sisupala was transmuted into a handsome kid. Then Krishna's auntie implored him not to kill her son; and Krishna promised her that he will tolerate exactly a hundred abuses from Sisupala and at the 101st, he will slay him.
As Sisupala grew up, he got friendly with Rukmini's brother (ahem!) and was promised Rukimini's hand in marriage to him. But Rukmini had other ideas and was bent upon marrying Krishna...which she did eventually. Then on, Sisupala became a sworn enemy of Krishna and started abusing his savior wherever and whenever they met (possibly he didn't know the 100 insults limit).
And this is what happened when he crossed the limit (I wonder how Krishna could keep a correct track of the numbers...maybe he had a software program written up):
http://www.maransdog.net/TVG/SMB_PHOTOS/picture_150.php
******************************************************************************************************
This is an instance of the famous "Crossing the Rubicon", the forbidden river Julius Caesar decided to cross, and went on founding the Roman Empire.
Tiny Japan did it to the mighty US on December 7, 1941 by bombing the Pearl Harbor stealthily while negotiating with the US in Washington. This 101st abuse of Japan resulted in the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and disarming of Japan once and for all...a lingering humiliation till now.
http://sginhaokip.blogspot.in/2010/08/hiroshima-leh-nagasaki-atomic-bomb.html
*******************************************************************************************************
IIT KGP was seething in turmoil in the mid-1980s.That was due to a canonical anomaly amounting to a birth-defect of the IITs.
IITs were created by an Act of Parliament (whatever that may entitle them to). And were deemed autonomous. But this autonomy was as virtual as a mirage. Every rupee in its coffers was doled out by the Central Government and IITs were prohibited from generating any revenue on their own without the consent of the bureaucrat sitting there and sitting on IITs' files. IITs had no say in the fees that they could collect from their students. With the result that IIT education was cheaper than most private convent schools. IITs had no say in their own pay-scales apart from making periodic representations. They had no say in the number and structure of their own posts. And pays scales were revised once in more than a decade, and that too much later than the Central Govt employees got.
And inflation was soaring and, by and by, IIT teachers became as poor as church mice. And many teachers excelled in their jobs and became over-qualified but could not be promoted due to lack of 'vacancies' in posts. So resentment was building up waiting to burst like a dam. The Director (Prof GSS), a great teacher and gentleman, could do nothing about it...he was like a nut in the nut-cracker, squeezed between the remote bureaucrat in Delhi and his colleagues at KGP.
Then came the last straw. The Central Govt employees (a big lobby) agitated and won an Interim Relief (IR) of Rs 40 (a princely sum) per month. And as IITs were governed by the Central Govt rules, GSS implemented the IR at KGP. I for one was badly in need of that Rs 40 (my monthly petrol bill). And after six months, the bureaucrat in Delhi got wise and got an order passed that IITs were not entitled to the IR and it should not only be stopped but the Rs 40 x 6 = 240 already paid out should be recovered from next month onwards...which meant a sudden decrease of a whopping Rs 80 from the forthcoming monthly salary...Bernard Levin's Theorem at work.
To appease the agitated IIT Teachers Association (of which I was also a paying member), the Central Govt appointed Russi Modi (the Ultimate Manager) of the Tata Steel as Chairman of IIT KGP's BOG.
Russi Modi was no technocrat...he had his education at Harrow and Oxford and grew at Tata Steel from the bottom as Office Assistant. And he was known for his sympathies with the employees. After having his 16-egg omelet for his breakfast at home, he used to lunch with his employees in their canteen. And his popularity was at its peak.
And he wanted to sincerely solve the problems of the IIT Teachers. And with this noble intention, he traveled to KGP and called an All-Faculty Meeting in the Netaji Auditorium (the only one I know of a Chairman doing it).
The Auditorium was full. But Russi Mody made the cardinal mistake of speaking first instead of having the last word.
After his hilarious speech was well-received, he invited members of the Audience to the podium and speak their hearts out.
That offer was seized by the then Secretary of the IITTA, a perfect gentleman, and a seasoned orator, and an accepted spokesman by the IITTA.
The Sec started his speech with little little innuendos like Mark Antony...each of which got a tremendous applause from the audience. The Sec was getting carried away, while Russy Mody tried to put on a smiling face.
Ovation is an opiate...one never knows when enough is enough.
Finally, the Sec turned to Russi Mody and said:
"You may be a Great Manager...but we are no chicken either"
That crack got him a thunderous applause...and Russy Mody's face turned blue.
That was the 101st of Sisupala's excesses.
The meeting wound up and Russi Mody walked out.
But pretty soon, Krishna released his Chakra and the Sec's head was severed and his body bit the metaphorical dust...he was dismissed after isolating him by the well-known devise of Divide and Rule.
The Sec never recovered from the blow although he was reinstated after a decade, but not with honor.
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