Thursday, April 30, 2015

The 'Clown Prince' (A short story in homage to the earthquake in Nepal)


Everyone knew the ‘Clown Prince’. He was brave,  there was no doubt about it. He was resilient and everyone knew it.  There were no border he could not conquer and no horizons that he had not driven into.

He was funny because he believed that he was the greatest of them all. He would laugh at people who suggested that there had been men greater than him on earth before.  He would mock at people who challenged him, he grimaced when he sensed a challenger, but it gave him a sadistic pleasure to fight and win, and win he did every time. His confidence turned into contempt for people less able. The frail he detested, the old he disrespected and the sick he ordered thrown to the lion.  People came to know of him as the ‘Clown Prince’.

So large was his ego, that he had scant regard even for the elements.  He would shoot arrows through the fiercest wind,  endure a journey through the hottest desserts. He would climb the highest of the mountains, swim through the fastest currents. There was no beast he had not fought  nor any demon that he had not vanquished. The news of his feats spread far and wide, so did the news of his arrogance. People came to see him, bow before him, kiss his outspread hand and swear allegiance to him.

One day the breeze was blowing gently, the prince was trying to light a candle. Every time he would show flame to the candle, the breeze would blow it out. The prince tried to light the candle thrice, every time with little success. On the fourth attempt he became furious. “Stop you stupid wind” he yelled. But the wind kept blowing gently as it would. By now he was in a rage. He took out his bows and showered a thousand arrows into the walls around. The arrows covered every little opening into the palace, blocking the wind.  The air inside the palace became still and finally the candle was lit. Not content with having stalled the wind, he bellowed at the wind, “ that will teach you a lesson ‘O Wind’, now you cant enter  without my permission”  he gleefully shrieked. Insulted the wind turned away, to blow in another direction.

On a fishing expedition one fine day, he was trying to catch a fish. He was hungry and irritated. After a long wait, there came a school of fish. He was delighted. “At least I wont die of hunger” he said to himself. He picked up his spear and was about to pounce upon a large fish when a sudden gush of the stream carried the fish into safety.”Oh no “ he exclaimed, and targeted another large one he saw nearby, and again a gush of water pushed this one too to safety. The hunger gnawed at his stomach. “O stream” he yelled, “let me catch my food”. But the stream gurgled along happily, unmindfully. The ‘Clown Prince’ grew furious. “Oh idiotic stream”, don’t you know who is out fishing here, have you not heard of my powers, how  dare you disrespect me ! Let me teach you a lesson”, with these words he asked his men to build a large dam to hold the stream some kilometres away. Soon his whole kingdom was put to the task of building the largest of all dams.  The stream was quelled, but its ego hurt. The dam was too large for it to fill up or drown, it gushed and it rushed, but could not fill the dam, leave alone drown it. Subdued it filled up the dam as much as it could.
One by one,  he antagonised all the elements.  “Clouds” you are banished  from my kingdom, he foolishly retorted one day,  when they soaked his new clothes.

In the meanwhile the people of his kingdom became equally arrogant. They were sure that their prince was the greatest of them all, the news about how he commanded the elements became the talk of the town.  Even the kingdoms which united with his, became arrogant of their powers.
 Time passed, the world was tired of the ‘Clown Prince’ but they had no one to turn to.
 By now the elements conspired. The wind called for a meeting. All the elements turned up.
What shall we do friends ? the wind appealed.   We should all go to Mother Earth and ask for a redemption from this funny prince, replied the Cloud.  Yes they all agreed, and so they all went to Mother earth.

Mother Earth was lazily spinning around one bright young morning, when all the elements knocked on her door.

Dear Mother, we are tired of the ‘Clown Prince’, they cried.

What happened ‘O Dear ones’ exclaimed Mother Earth.

Oh Dear Mother!  they wailed in unison, and told her all about the prince.

Mother Earth smiled. ”Don’t you worry dear ones,  no one can disturb the elements without dire consequences”  replied Mother Earth, “be bound by your nature and do what you must do, and leave the rest to me”, she added,  “and  as of this day make sure that you leave that kingdom  and disappear northwards into the mountains beyond”, she whispered.
So the clouds, the steam, the wind and the elements disappeared into the mountains to the north of the kingdom.

The news reached the prince, that all the elements had disappeared from his kingdom and gone into the mountains.  He was furious and took his army against the mountain.  ‘O Mightly mountain’, he yelled,  having reached the foot of the mountain, let me pass, I want to take back all the elements back to my kingdom.   “Sorry prince”,  the mountain replied,  they have come of their choice and they will leave of their choice no one can bind the elements,  said the Mountain.
O Mighty Mountain, you do not know my powers,  I had bound the elements in my kingdom. They do as I please, someone has conspired to take them away from my land, they would not dare defy me”, replied the prince.

“Think again, O Prince”, replied the mountain. “You cant take them against their wishes, the cloud is heavy with sorrow and may burst anytime, the wind is angry and is howling in pain, the stream has swelled with rain and is about to rush down, but all of them are happy being in my land, so return to your kingdom O Prince”, the mountain replied.

“I have thought this through,  you stupid mountain, now don’t waste my time, and let me pass or I will raze you to the ground”,  thundered the prince.

 “ ‘O Prince’’, I am a man of honour, people bow before me, and I do not get ordered around. I think you are in a hurry to get past me,  you only have to ask for my permission and I shall make way for you to pass”  said the mountain.

“I don’t have time to manage your ego, you idiotic mountain, just shift an feet and I will pass through”  saying this the prince kicked the mountain hard.

The moment he did this, he regretted it. “As you wish” the mountain smilingly shifted just a little,  few inches perhaps, not more not less, and the whole earth moved.

The elements who were tied down in the mountains also slipped from their place, the wind gushed out in anger,  the cloud now pregnant to its full term, burst in its fury and in a gush joined the stream, who rushed down the mountain in a trail of destruction. Was it the  fear or the contempt for the prince,  no one knows,  but they rushed straight down to the kingdom below.  Now their inertia was out of control, the earth shook ,  the wind howled, tonnes of snow,  mountains of rocks, all rolled down, taking along all that came in their way, innocents paid the price along with the guilty, and all became one with nature, and nature became innocent in its fury.  No one was a by-stander, they were all party to the crime, the crime of disregarding nature, of thinking that they had overcome the elements, so they had to pay for it.

It was time to purge.  When purging happens, its not just the dirt which gets washed away, the holy purging takes along a lot of sweat,  rivers of blood, and lot of flesh . Pointless it all seems, but just like the stalk which wither after giving birth to the grain, the good must go, to make way for the new, that is the law of nature, a cycle which has been going on for ages.


Nature has a job to do, and it bows before no one.  Human pain as we know it, is only part of the truth, the larger truth remains, ‘The Creation’ is supreme, rest of us are mere specks in the universe.  

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