***********************************************************************************************************
Among all the heroes of all the epics I read, I find Karna the most interesting.
His is the sad story of a valiant warrior abandoned at birth, denied formal education and so had to learn everything by distant education, cursed by his own teacher for faking his birth certificate, stripped of his armor by devious means by a shameless parent exploiting his generosity, cursed by mother earth herself when all he did was to help a grieving child, and sundry other misfortunes.
But the cake goes to his being bugged constantly by his own chauffeur.
It so happened that he chose Shalya as his charioteer because of his unequaled CV...Shalya was by far the best ever in his profession. But it just happened that Shalya, although in the service of Kauravas, was partial to Pandavas. This dichotomy runs throughout the epic and is typical of any fratricidal war. Many find themselves on the wrong side of the border and secretly wish that the other side wins...like it used to said of India-Pakistan cricket battles before the whole thing became a farce with the advent, first of Kerry Packer, and last of various brewers, film stars, media magnates, real estate sharks, and sundry busybodies.
The strategy of Shalya was truly devious. During Karna's battles with his arch-enemy, Arjun, Shalya would subtly praise every arrow that Arjun shot and compare it with Karna's own to his disadvantage....like say:
"Oh, Great! What fantastic aim!!! Why don't you try that other one in your quiver? Maybe that would destroy him! Ah, s**t!"
The worst thing parents could do to destroy their affectionate relation with their kids is to compare them with their rivals constantly...
This is the worst of all buggings.
I had to constantly undergo another type of bugging from a man who is otherwise a most helpful person and a friend in need.
When I got fed up with cooking for myself and eating alone in the forlorn campus of IIT KGP, I went to the Faculty Hostel and met its Manager, Rajan, a very fair and courteous Tamilian Brahmin, well-versed in music, literature, arts and every good thing in life except Management. It was a mystery how this chap ended up at KGP which I felt too delicate to probe. Both his sons cleared IIT JEE by the by and were my students in their first years.
Rajan told me that there was no 'single' room available at the moment but there was one 'duplex'...two rooms with two doors and two of everything but sharing one bathroom and one toilet through a common corridor at the back. I told him I would be happy. So, I was allotted C - 10, and its 'double', C - 9 was vacant.
Within a week, a colleague in the Dept of ME occupied C - 9, and that was the beginning of a half-century-long friendship lasting till today...he and his wife visited us yesterday to look up Ishani among other things.
It just happens that I am a Late-Kate at every milestone of the hapless marathon that life is. And my Friend was always ahead of me by a leap or two. Our story is like that of the hare and the tortoise so far...and it continues...
Within a year of his joining our Faculty Hostel, my Friend quit, and chose to occupy a married-man's accommodation, Qrs C1 - 133.
But Rajan remembered him fondly and followed our careers closely.
And it went like this:
When I told him I got promoted from an Associate Lecturer to a Lecturer (with difficulty...like Robert Bruce), Rajan would at once say:
"But your Friend became a Lecturer 3 years ago...when are you becoming Assistant Professor?"
When I announced it by and very very by, he would say:
"But your Friend is already a Professor!"
And when I gave him my Wedding Card, he would say:
"But your Friend got married a decade before!"
And, likewise...
"But your Friend became father a decade ago!"
"But your Friend is already a Dean!"
"But your Friend is a Deputy Director!"
"But your Friend retired and settled in Hyderabad a year ago!"
And then we lost touch.
But you know I am an incurable visionary (prone to optical delusions). So, I often see Rajan's face and figure dismissing my achievements with a peremptory hand-waving gesture whenever I cross a new milestone, like say becoming a Father-in-Law, Grand-Father, Owner of an Apartment....and the like.
Yesterday I had a dayhorse (opposite of nightmare)...
Apparently I reached what looked like Heaven earlier than my Friend and was looking for Rajan to announce once and for all that I beat my Friend at the Last-Post like that tortoise.
But I didn't find him there and on repeated inquiries I found that Rajan was on a quick trip down to Hyderabad to meet my Friend and bug him:
"But your Friend won the race finally and is already in the joint embrace of Rambha, Tilottama, Urvashi, Menaka...why are you so late...chee chee chee!"
...Posted by Ishani
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Among all the heroes of all the epics I read, I find Karna the most interesting.
His is the sad story of a valiant warrior abandoned at birth, denied formal education and so had to learn everything by distant education, cursed by his own teacher for faking his birth certificate, stripped of his armor by devious means by a shameless parent exploiting his generosity, cursed by mother earth herself when all he did was to help a grieving child, and sundry other misfortunes.
But the cake goes to his being bugged constantly by his own chauffeur.
It so happened that he chose Shalya as his charioteer because of his unequaled CV...Shalya was by far the best ever in his profession. But it just happened that Shalya, although in the service of Kauravas, was partial to Pandavas. This dichotomy runs throughout the epic and is typical of any fratricidal war. Many find themselves on the wrong side of the border and secretly wish that the other side wins...like it used to said of India-Pakistan cricket battles before the whole thing became a farce with the advent, first of Kerry Packer, and last of various brewers, film stars, media magnates, real estate sharks, and sundry busybodies.
The strategy of Shalya was truly devious. During Karna's battles with his arch-enemy, Arjun, Shalya would subtly praise every arrow that Arjun shot and compare it with Karna's own to his disadvantage....like say:
"Oh, Great! What fantastic aim!!! Why don't you try that other one in your quiver? Maybe that would destroy him! Ah, s**t!"
The worst thing parents could do to destroy their affectionate relation with their kids is to compare them with their rivals constantly...
This is the worst of all buggings.
I had to constantly undergo another type of bugging from a man who is otherwise a most helpful person and a friend in need.
When I got fed up with cooking for myself and eating alone in the forlorn campus of IIT KGP, I went to the Faculty Hostel and met its Manager, Rajan, a very fair and courteous Tamilian Brahmin, well-versed in music, literature, arts and every good thing in life except Management. It was a mystery how this chap ended up at KGP which I felt too delicate to probe. Both his sons cleared IIT JEE by the by and were my students in their first years.
Rajan told me that there was no 'single' room available at the moment but there was one 'duplex'...two rooms with two doors and two of everything but sharing one bathroom and one toilet through a common corridor at the back. I told him I would be happy. So, I was allotted C - 10, and its 'double', C - 9 was vacant.
Within a week, a colleague in the Dept of ME occupied C - 9, and that was the beginning of a half-century-long friendship lasting till today...he and his wife visited us yesterday to look up Ishani among other things.
It just happens that I am a Late-Kate at every milestone of the hapless marathon that life is. And my Friend was always ahead of me by a leap or two. Our story is like that of the hare and the tortoise so far...and it continues...
Within a year of his joining our Faculty Hostel, my Friend quit, and chose to occupy a married-man's accommodation, Qrs C1 - 133.
But Rajan remembered him fondly and followed our careers closely.
And it went like this:
When I told him I got promoted from an Associate Lecturer to a Lecturer (with difficulty...like Robert Bruce), Rajan would at once say:
"But your Friend became a Lecturer 3 years ago...when are you becoming Assistant Professor?"
When I announced it by and very very by, he would say:
"But your Friend is already a Professor!"
And when I gave him my Wedding Card, he would say:
"But your Friend got married a decade before!"
And, likewise...
"But your Friend became father a decade ago!"
"But your Friend is already a Dean!"
"But your Friend is a Deputy Director!"
"But your Friend retired and settled in Hyderabad a year ago!"
And then we lost touch.
But you know I am an incurable visionary (prone to optical delusions). So, I often see Rajan's face and figure dismissing my achievements with a peremptory hand-waving gesture whenever I cross a new milestone, like say becoming a Father-in-Law, Grand-Father, Owner of an Apartment....and the like.
Yesterday I had a dayhorse (opposite of nightmare)...
Apparently I reached what looked like Heaven earlier than my Friend and was looking for Rajan to announce once and for all that I beat my Friend at the Last-Post like that tortoise.
But I didn't find him there and on repeated inquiries I found that Rajan was on a quick trip down to Hyderabad to meet my Friend and bug him:
"But your Friend won the race finally and is already in the joint embrace of Rambha, Tilottama, Urvashi, Menaka...why are you so late...chee chee chee!"
...Posted by Ishani
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment