Truancy

=========================================================================

By truancy I mean running away from what you are supposed to do.

Every truant has his valid excuses...note my use of masculine gender...from historical records truancy looks like a male prerogative predominantly.

*************************************************************************************************************

Don't take it otherwise, but I guess Sage Vishwamitra, whatever his extenuating circumstances (big word for excuses), played pretty truant abandoning his love child Shakuntala with Menaka.

Not done, these days.

************************************************************************************************************

Not only Menaka but her poor daughter Shakuntala too had to suffer for this male malaise.

Dushyant, who fell drastically and inconsolably in love with Shakuntala at her ashram, couldn't wait but married her then and there but soon forgot about her as soon as he returned to his royal duties which must have conveniently looked more pressing than his marital obligations.

They had a son called Bharata who gave his name to our India, that is Bharat.

Looked at it dispassionately we seem to be the product of a second order truancy.

That explains.

***************************************************************************************************************

Again, Lord Buddha, who was christened Gautama and became Siddhartha, played pretty truant (for the benefit of mankind though) abandoning his wife and son at the dead of the night.

Much good, it seems, comes from valid truancy.

****************************************************************************************************************

It happened again this evening for the umpteenth time.

The doorbell rang and since my D-i-L and Ishani were away to Kittapiya and my wife was resting, I had to open the door.

And in barged our nice Landlord accompanied by a young geek to whom he (the Landlord) wanted to show off his prime property.

And I was needlessly introduced as a retired Physics Prof from IIT KGP.

At once the young one shook my hands warmly and said:

"I suppose you are busy coaching students"

"Not exactly, but I do write some booklets"

"That is even more beneficial to students because the reach of books is wider than personal coaching"

And I left it at that...feeling shy to display my Ishani Collection.

As I said above:

Much good, it seems, comes from valid truancy.

*************************************************************************************************************

Truant Stud

From DC News Item:

A 12-year-old retired stud-service stallion died while chasing a mare at a Temple Town administered Dairy Farm on Monday.

The robust stallion with a fine tan-colored coat was donated to the Temple for it to be used in processions of the Lord. It was duly housed at the farmhouse for acclimatizing with the temple services.

After a week of quarantine, on Monday morning, it was allowed to graze with seven mares. However, it suddenly turned violent and darted towards a young mare and chased it round the grazing zone for about half-an-hour.

When the mare resisted its move for mounting on it, the stallion grew even more furious and madly started kicking it, terrifying others. In the combat, the stallion fell on an iron bar and suffered a head injury. With blood gushing out from its mouth, nostrils and ears, it struggled for sometime and finally died, as farm workers watched petrified.

gps:

Moral: Once a stud always a stud...retired or not.

*************************************************************************************************************

Truant Mares

ibid

Two women teachers working in a primary school fought with each other in front of students here on Monday. They also beat each other with chappals much to the amusement of the students.

Incidentally, one of them is the headmistress of the school.

****************************************************************************************************************

gpspeak

If you read the two news items carefully you will see that the common symptom is Monday Morning Blues.


=========================================================================