A Story About Gratitude
This inspirational story about gratitude teaches us to value what we have and live without too many expectations
I am a morning walker, no, an early morning walker. Start around 3.30 am. Whatever condition may be immaterial, irrelevant. That is the ideal time for me as I get ample of time to see, interact, and gossip with my friends —mute may they be, but no doubt, friends for sure.
And they?
Without fail wait anxiously for me.
As soon as I open my gate, the pack; the number does not vary much; of about 7/8, sleeping on the other side of the road on a sand heap come rushing towards me. A pack of stray dogs. Some lick my feet, some put two front legs on my shoulder to lick my face, all the while moaning – and vigorously wagging their tails – all in excitement as if meeting a long-lost friend. I would push my hand into the bag that I carry and unrolling the rotis give one each. With great commotion and excitement, they would snatch the rotis and start munching gleefully.
Do you know how they return my love?
Come to my house after 9 pm without notice, without me standing at the gate, you are certain to visit a hospital with multiple dog-bite injuries, seeking multiple shots of anti-rabies! That’s for sure!! While their attention was still on munching, I stealthily move forward.
After about 100 meters, I meet another member of my close friends who would be standing as a gigantic granite sculpture on the middle of the road — a massive black bull, so massive that it would dwarf a full grown tusker ! With no horn; lost due to multiple fights with other competitors while safeguarding its consorts; the massive head looks a little comic. Its massive structure, regal stance, stoic silence, piercing eyes and of course jackfruit size hanging balls, would sure to scare away Bucephalas with Alexander sitting on it.
With a polite “ good morning”, I would thrust my palm into the bag and pulling out a tomato or potato or a brinjal, would offer that to him with utmost courtesy that is due to a King. Initially he would survey the item offered and throw a hard glance to me as if measuring my capacity for hosting him.
With a lot of polite persuasion, cajoling and patting its head, I would be able to push the vegetables into his mouth. You offer him two, he would refuse, as a king would refuse, in complete disdain. Taking the vegetable in his mouth, he would turn his head sideways, look somewhere a distant spot nonchalantly and would start munching.
Yes, my offer has been accepted. He will sway his ears few times indicating “Dismiss”. Then with a bowed head, I would move forward towards the queens, 7/8 in numbers, some would be sleeping on the road, some standing and in one or two cases the calves would be sucking from their moms.
I would push one vegetable into each of their mouths. One or two calves; out of inquisitiveness ; would run behind me, but getting a stern “hammma”, from their mummies, would jump back.
Then I would move forward, for another 100 meters or so where this narrow road would meet the main road — one direction leading to the town, the other to a thermal power plant. But a journey on this stretch of road at that hour is certainly a frightening experience especially during rains. With thick bushes on both sides, you are certain to come across a varieties of animals – mongoose; sometimes with its litters following; rabbits, civets, wildcats, jackals, bush frogs, turtles, iguana and so on. The eerie silence at that hour; often ruptured by howling of jackals ,or growl of a lone hyena or occasional hooting of a pair of owls; is certain to scare your life out of your body. If you are lucky, you will hear the sharp shrill croak of a bush frog coming from inside a bush. You will instantly know a frog is getting swallowed by a snake. If you stop and probe deep into the bush, you are certain to witness one of the finest spectacles of Mother Nature. Do not get scared, as at that time a snake is as harmless as an earthworm. While covering the distance, you will come under the branches of a very big banyan tree that spreads over a couple acres of land. When I say big, it is genuinely very big with hundreds of hanging roots supporting its branches each as massive as the main trunk.
The banyan tree has a name !
“Clive bara”, ( bara in Odia is Banyan).
It is said, Robert Clive along with his battalion of sepoys put up their tents under this tree while marching from Madras to Calcutta for the battle of Plassy.
Now a warning.
Move hurriedly from under the branches. If you walk slow, you are certain to get a full body bath with white sticky semi solid poo of thousands of pond herons that had nested on the branches since time immemorial. On arrival at the junction, I take the right side road that leads to the thermal power plant—my destination being a culvert on a dried up river. That is about 4 kms away from my house. In between comes a small market where local farmers sale their produce at early morning. I follow the same path, with the same pace at the same time—come rain or storm to meet my innocent mute friends and have an very early morning walk.
That was about 4 months ago.
I was briskly walking through the small local market that I mentioned earlier, when I came face to face with a big black cock about my waist height plucking grains sown scattered on the road. I just turned a little side way and proceeded.
“Oh, no”
Leaving aside the grains it rushed towards me in a flash, obstructed me with his wide open flipping wings while giving me repeated sharp aggressive chilling crowing as if issuing me a stern warning.
I was stunned.
How could a cock obstruct me !
Then I looked at its claws; razor sharp; propounding like Rampuri knives, at its beak, looking as menace as a Moghul warrior’s dagger.
I was frightened. I realized my forward movement would ensure an unequal battle.
I backed out.
Next day was no different. I was obstructed with a scorn.
Then a thought occurred to me, who is putting the grains on the road at this hour of early morning?
Why?
Must be an early walker like me, who would be bribing the cock for a smooth passage.
Next day. I put a handful of grains in my bag and proceeded. No sooner did the cock saw me, with wings wide open, dagger like beak pointing straight; crowing violently , charged towards me. I coolly brought out the grains from the bag showed that on my palm. Seeing the grains in my hand, it’s mood changed, mellowed down, exhibited a friendly demeanor , walked slowly towards me, but not close enough to puck the grains from my hand. I put the grains on the road and move few steps back. It slowly, but cautiously came closure and closure and started plucking the grains. While plucking the grains, it gave a mild flip to its wings as if to signal me to proceed.
That day I made a friendship with another gem of Mother Nature’s creation.
Our friendship grew as the days passed.
The forceps of love between us pressed a little harder on each of our meetings, bonding us tighter and tighter.
One day,
“Hei, you are a majestic cock, looks like an emperor, controls this part of the road like an emperor – a true emperor. I wish to address you “ Emperor” . It gleefully accepted my adulation by flipping it’s wings and with a low playful crow.
“ What do you do for a living.” ? He asked.
“ I am a psychologist.”
“ Psychologist ! huua……………., so you read mind’s language ?”
“ Ya, very near to it.”
“Do not read my mind or for that matter any other animal’s mind. That would be futile, a complete wastage of your time.”
“Why?
Why do you think so?”
“We do not have much worries to load our minds for solutions and hence not complicated—basic physical needs, tagged with it safety of self, sums up all our requirements. That’s all. All innocent brains. What would find in innocent minds? Nothing.”
“You better concentrate on human minds. They are all complicated, treacherous and self centered too. You will unearth treasure trove there.”
He came few feet closure,
“Psychologist, can you tell me what differentiates you from me, not in biological terms but otherwise --- a man from another species life ?
“Think, come tomorrow with a logical answer.”
I brushed up my memory on the topic that I read in my High School days and to give a punch to my knowledge, noted few points obtained from net, that I thought would be suffice to impress Emperor.
Next morning.
“Good morning, psychologist. Thought of any answer?”
I explained what knowledge I gathered in between, of course employing all my vocabulary skills and gestures to drive my point in.
“ Hey, you are still in High School. Not matured professionally.”
Then as if to give stress to that particular word, ‘Conspiracy,’ “Yes, it is ‘conspiracy’ -ability of your mind to hatch a conspiracy and shield yourself from a conspiracy distinguishes you from us--other living beings. In day to day life-in business, service or job, sports, politics, studies, entertainment, everywhere – you survive and progress so long as your conspiracy succeed, you are doomed when your opponent’s conspiracy succeeds. Target, strategy , negotiation, reconciliation, patch up and move forward etc. are the tools, tactics, techniques used to hatch a conspiracy and decoy, deceit, deceive ,deride, destroy, divide, demean, debunk etc. are the weapons used to bring about the defeat to the opponent. Your mind is always at war with your conscience.”
“But, what about an animal’s mind ?”
“If you injure a snake that you found in your garden, does it come back with another couple of snakes and bite you when you are in deep sleep?”
“No, the snake does not hatch a conspiracy to take revenge.”
“If you give a hard kick to a stray dog that you find sleeping in your garage, what would it do?”
“Either it bites you that instant or flees away with a painful ‘ Kennn.. ‘It does not hatch a conspiracy with it’s friends and they all attack and bite you when you are defence less. No, that does not happen in animal world. Our reaction is instantaneous. Our mind is too innocent to hatch a conspiracy.”
“You human beings could conspire, we animals could not.”
“I have never thought from that point of view, Yes, behavioral differences do matter. But it never came across my mind earlier.” I admitted.
With a mischievous smile, he told , “ So you accept me as your teacher ! “
Like this, we used to open up our minds each morning.
Sometimes we would discuss on some abstract topics and thoughts and sometimes our experiences in life – pleasant or bitter, all included. Sometimes he would explicitly narrate his exploits in the fighting
arena—how in one of the fights, the forceful lighting thrust of his beak entered into the head of the opponent killing him instantaneously or how in one of his lightening stabs with his claw knives, he tore open the stomach of his opponent exposing the internal parts. His excitement during such narrations was to be seen, to believe.
Then one morning.
“ Emperor ,why it is so ? You are plucking grains on road as if you are a beggar? Why, your Malik does not feed you at home? Are you neglected?” I enquired.
He threw a cold glance at me and with a mysterious Monalisa type smile, said,
“You know, you gave me the most appropriate name, ‘Emperor‘ without reading my life’s history.
Yes, I was an Emperor. Malik was treating me as an Emperor. You know, I was a fighter cock. Just like your gladiators of Roman history. With my dagger like beak, razor sharp knives attached to my claws, instantaneous reflexes, agility of body, mental toughness and above all ‘ win at any cost ‘ attitude made me a real terror and winner in the fighting arena. I was the Maximus of your movie “ Gladiator.”
“Maximus !
Gladiator !!
I do not understand.”
“ How would you know ?Fighting arena is only for the brave. Not for the weak hearts like you.”
“I told you, I was a terror in the fighting arena. I won all the bouts from one Makar Sankranti to next – for two consecutive years—over a hundred bouts. With each win, I used to make my Malik richer, still richer and richer. With that money he bought his second wife, young, sturdy , yet a dumb girl, about half of his age. He knew all that he achieved was my effort. Naturally , I was the darling in his eyes. He used to serve me as if he was my servant. He would massage my muscles with specially prepared herbal oil, twice a day.
My diet ? Even wrester Sushil Kumar would be envious of my diet — mutton, lever, various nuts, freshly collected snails and oysters- everything costly. We both used to sleep on his bed. Not his wife ! Poor girl !! She would sleep on verandah and adding insult to that she would have to wipe my poo. But everything changed on last Makar Sankranti. Just two years after my first win. My opponent was young. Thin. Very agile, quick. I had gained some weight by then. You know, age and body weight matters. His right leg knives torn open my left thigh muscles. I was injured, consequently lost the fight. My Malik purchased that cock paying a huge amount with the money that I earned for him. The new cock is now his blue-eyed cock. I am discarded.
You see, where his greed has driven me!
That’s fate, what you human beings call !!
Fate!!!
Is not it ?”
“Now he puts me inside a ‘jhampi’ ( semi-spherical hallow bamboo basket) in night lest an animal would munch me and releases me before dawn to arrange my own food.”
“ Bastard , a pure leech.”
He became philosophical.
“See,how fate played a hypocritical savage game with me. So long I was earning and minting money for him, I was his darling. The moment I became incapacitated and stopped earning, I was discarded. You human beings are really mean, self centered and ingrate.”
“Is not it?”
I could not have agreed with him more.
I too became emotional and sad.
But that was not the time to show any emotion.
“Hey, cheer up ! You are not the only victim. Why do you blame him. We human beings are all like him. We discard even our parents when they become aged, weak, diseased, incapacitated, and dependent. We simply dump them anywhere — bus stops, railway stations, city parks, temples, religious places, melas (fair), anywhere we find dumping convenient. If lucky, they are dumped in old age home.”
“ Dumped, their fate is, that for sure.”
“Whenever they are dumped, they are alive because they were not dead yet. They live in deep agony, neglected, dejected with a sense of helplessness, and as mental recluse. Whatever they achieved in life, name, fame, wealth, authority—everything, everything appear inconsequential. Love, affection, care—all that they desire, never come. A sad end to the most intelligent of all species.”
“Yes, yes, I know, we animals have a price till we are alive or even when dead, but you humans are dumped as valueless when old or incapacitated ”
I could not have agreed more on his observations. My respect for Emperor grew more and more with each of our interactions. Certainly, he was more enlightened than most of our intellectuals. His probe deep into human mind was certainly separate, distinct and unique. His observation was much nearer to truth. The more I interacted with him, the more inferiority complex I developed. Yes, inferiority complex, because despite reading into thousands of minds in my 25 years of practice as a psychologist, my knowledge still remained confined to what I learnt in classrooms, nothing beyond that. I did not know whether my words cheered up his spirit or not. But, my heart was already heavy. Old age terrorizes all —no exception to any species.
We had been talking for quite a while that morning. It was time to depart. Saying a sad goodbye, I turned back. He was still looking at me when I looked back after walking quite a distance.
I am a social worker too. I visit a nearby old age home to counsel the inmates who I assumed, needed counselling to lead a tension free normal life. But after my interaction with Emperor that morning, I realized, counselling was just an inconsequential thin sugar coat that I apply to their broken hearts, depressed minds and emotional up-hills—yet the combined wounds torment them till their last breath despite my counselling.
Next morning, I met Emperor at that exact place. He was cheerful as usual. Yes, time heals even the deepest of all wounds. I could not talk with him much that day and a month following as rainy season had already commenced and I was busy planting saplings else where.
That was another early August morning.
There was slight drizzle on an overcast sky. The atmosphere was cool and humid, I met Emperor at the same spot plucking grains as usual. He did not greet me with his usual wings flapping while rushing towards me,
He was sad.
“Good morning “.
“What happened Emperor?
Looking sad!”
Slowly he came close to me, looking straight into my eyes, said, sans even a trace of emotion.
“ He has sold me.”
A dagger cut through my heart. Heartbeat stopped. Never even in my wildest of dreams, I foresaw such a twist to the story of our friendship. I was under illusion that our friendship will bloom for ever.
Hiding back my tears, just to cheer him up , I said,
“ Hey, Emperor. Sad! Why ? You are lucky. At least you will be free from this leech now. You will go to a new place, see new things, may be your new Malik will care for you better. You are certain to have new mistresses. You are heading for better days.
Why are you sad ?
Life will be much better there.”
Yet he remained impassive.
He came closure to me.
Slowly, very slowly he started.
“Another leech came last evening. Some guests are coming to settle his marriage. He has paid one hundred rupees to my leech and purchased me. He will take me away today.”
This was enough to spin all my emotions away from my mind, but the last sentence,
“ They will have a feast in the evening—they will cut me, cut me alive.”
“ What a torturous death that would be!”
I went numb.
I looked blankly at his face. What consolation would you give a man being led to gallows.
“ So, today is our last meeting. Thanks for giving me company so long.” Then looking straight into my eyes sans slightest trace of emotion.
“ Do you know dear psychologist, why do we cock at very early in the morning?”
“No?”
“No human being knows.
That’s the exact time when your great rishis; men and women of immense wisdom of yore; had fixed as the time for waking up. We; the cocks; connect you to your past. Remember what your wise men had told—‘early rise makes you wise.’ We connect you with your well-being which of course you ignore.
Awaking you all, both living and non-living worlds — darkness is receding, the sky is getting lighted up—leave aside your slumber – get up—this is a new morning, new beginning—start with new hopes, new resolutions, new commitment—for only NEW rules.
Arise and awake, welcome the NEW.”
“Mother Nature had assigned this responsibility to us.”
“ Have we ever failed.?”
“But how do you reward us?”
“Complete neglect when alive and a torturous death.”
“Anyway, I do not have much complain against you, the human beings, Do you not treat savagely to your own species, out of ignorance and arrogance?
Did you not oppose, object ,negate, humiliate, ridicule, torture, imprison, exile and even murder men and women of immense wisdom, foresight, the geniuses who created and developed the civilization out of primal barbarism, who pushed, pulled and change the course of civilization whenever needed with their toil, tear, flesh and blood, who enhanced your knowledge , right from the days of your using toes to today, using your tips, who showed you the path for a meaningful living, who structured your social pyramid, who erected boundaries on your behavioral norms, lest you would destroy the very society that protects you, who recited mantras for peace, harmony and universal brotherhood, who tried to liberate your mind from the darkness of ignorance and arrogance, who showed you path to attend peace, bliss and tranquility – persons like Jogeshwar Srikrishna, Socretas, Jesus, Galileo, Lincon, Dayanand Saraswati, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Martin Luthar, , Mandella and many more , known and unknown, the latest being Dr Li Wenliang? “
“Why are you cruel to all those who tried to awaken you?”
“Now a request,
Please tell my story to the world. It is just not fair treatment to your fellow travelers on the face of the earth. Tell the world, you are here because we are here. But the opposite is not true. If at all my story would stir the conscience of a single soul, that may be the first tottering step towards peaceful coexistence between different offspring of Mother Nature!
May be, one day Mother Nature will see it happen.
May be one day humankind will accept what your Mohan had told , “ I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of humankind.”
“ This is my last goodbye dear psychologist, Bye.”
Saying this, the Emperor slowly turned back. Like wise sages of yore, steadily, firmly yet in slow strides with eyes on the ground, he walked back to that haven where neglect, torture, and killing were the only commodities traded.
Dr Li Wenliang
I have never been to your country nor did I know you earlier. But today, along with millions of your admirers all across the globe, I remember you with love, respect and admiration for alerting the world about impeding biological catastrophe despite facing insulting censure from within. You scarified your life in the best tradition of a professional for the glory of your profession. My friend Emperor remembered you while facing a torturous death few hours later. This is his life’s story. A story of hope – a hope that all children of Mother Nature would live in complete harmony and peace one day!
I dedicate this to you on behalf of my friend Emperor.
Thanks Dr. Li.
