Short Stories, Novels, Literature, Poetry, Essays, Articles, Experiences, Interviews, Columns and more at TeluguPeople.com

The Birth of Democracy (Part I)
- Prof. Narasimham Brahmandam

Page: 1 of 1

To those who are familiar with Indian mythology, demons (Raakshasas) are no strangers. The name at once brings before their mind’s eye, an uncouth human form with unkept hair, protruding canines, large rounded mustaches, bare bodies except for a coarse leather around the loins and a bludgeon or a sword in the hand. They are cruel for no reason. The demons trod the entire length and breadth of the land, torturing good men, molesting women, kidnapping children and making life miserable for human beings. One of the main duties of any good king was to keep demons under check and protecting peace loving people from their onslaughts. Nevertheless, there were fewer mighty kings than demons and the latter held sway for long centuries striking terror. If you want to give a name for their sway in modern terms, you could call it demonocracy. In course of time, due to the avatars of Vishnu and many kings, more and more demons were killed. They were on the brink of extinction and those who remained could hardly live a demonly life. In those days there were no environmentalists who could campaign for their preservation in order not upset the balance of nature. They had to fend for themselves. They sent word to all demons for a meeting to decide shat they should do for their survival and a happy life. The demons came from the four corners of the land. This meeting was to be a top secret. So they chose a spot in a dense forest surrounded by woody hills. There was a huge banyan tree, which spread its branches far and wide with numerous hanging roots. They cleared the land under the tree and at the base of its wide trunk; they placed a large flat stone to serve as the dais. They persuaded Kalanemi, the wisest of them all to advise them. He was very old and could hardly move by himself. Yet his deep eyes revealed that he was quite alert. After some reluctance at first, he agreed. He was brought to the venue in a special vehicle padded with cotton cushions. He was escorted to the stone seat under the tree and seated on a soft bed. They adorned his neck with a garland of wild flowers. There was thunderous shouting in approval of his leadership. One demon from the North called the Diamond Teeth (vajra damshtra), in his welcome address, explained the purpose of the meeting. “Oh, worthy demons! We have fallen on bad days, Even though it is long since there has been an avatar to shoot us dean at the slightest pretext, the kings have become a menace. They are vying with each other on the number of demons they kill. What for? For what they call robberies, kidnaps, abductions, rapes and the like that are our legitimate activities. Which person with ability does not indulge in these pleasures? Which king has not plundered the country he has conquered? Hasn’t Krishna himself kidnapped Rukmini? Isn’t rape recognised as one of he eight kinds of marriage (the raakshasa marriage)? In the guise of protecting the people, the kings are not allowing us any where near human habitations. How, then, can we torture them? Life has lost its charm. Can we like the meek men, just till the soil and weave the cloth? Do we just eat, sleep and vegetate? Will the pleasures of life, for ever, be denied to us?” They heard him in pin-drop silence. In fact, when he stopped somewhat abruptly, they took more than a minute to cheer him with shouts. Demon after demon walked up to the stone and made the same point. Kalanemi heard their tale of woe. He pulled a long face, closed his eyes for more than five minutes. Then he surveyed his audience. Slowly he opened his lips and spoke in deep tones like an oracle. Yes, he understood them. The demons were as much part of the creation as the humans. The demons were endowed by nature with certain traits as the humans were with certain others. Vishnu himself, in his avataar as Krishna, has laid down in the Giita all the natural traits of asuraas. They were not violating what was ordained to them in the constitution of the universe. They had every right to be themselves. If humans are their prey, were they not to kill them? Aren’t the humans enjoying the barbecue? Aren’t humans enjoying fun while poor cocks tear themselves to pieces in cock-fights, or when innocent deer, shot by an arrow, convulsed in death? The demons had certainly the right to enjoy their pleasures. “But” he said, “the times have changed. Humans recognize you even from a distance and flee from you for protection. How can you catch a fleeing prey? You must, therefore, use your tact not only to destroy their kings who protect them, but also to woo them into your trap, nay, to flock around you of their own accord” “That’s it, oh wise one!” they cried in a chorus, “How do we do it?” “First and foremost, you must change your form.” Said Kalanemi, “You must look like them. Away with your long canine teeth. Away with your clubs and swords”. “Then how do we beat them or hack them?”, they asked. “Beating and hacking are not the only ways of torture” said Kalanemi, “I shall tell you newer ways which will give you the same measure of pleasure or, perhaps, more!” The demons, as we might have heard, were kaam ruupas, i.e., they could change into any form at will. They soon changed their appearance to look like men. “Now tell us” they demanded, “what shall we do?” “The mind of man has many weak points. You must make use of them to get them under your thumb” Kalanemi said, “For instance, every one of them has a small spark of fire in him. You should kindle it into a flame, nay, into a veritable conflagration!” “You are talking the language of the sages and sanyaasis,” they complained, “are you going to make sanyaasis of us?”. “Perhaps, that would be ideal.” said he. “The more pious you look, the better. If you look pious, they will flock to you like moths to a lamp. You should never be tired of telling them that your life’s only desire is to serve them most humbly, especially, the dumb, down-trodden who do not know what is good for them and even what they want”. “Oh great Kalanemi!” they cried, “Surely, you have grown too old. This certainly is not the way of having fun. You are only making us their slaves. You seem to have become the agent of those wily gods. Tell us something else. We do not like this at all.” “Don’t be foolish. Hear me through before you judge the plan. Did not the great Raavan΄a take the form of a saadhu when he set out to kidnap Siita? Else, do you think she would have come out of the cottage?” They hung their heads as they acknowledged his greatness. “ Pardon us, great one! You are right. We shall all wear saadhu;s clothes” said they in chorus which sounded like the roar of the ocean. Kalanemi hastened to caution them, You will only frighten the men out of their wits by suddenly releasing saffron robed yourselves on them in hordes. They may suspect you and may not cooperate with you”. “ You are contradicting yourself and confusing us.” They protested, “Give us clearer instructions” “You should dress like them, talk like them. In short, you should be indistinguishable from them” said the great one. “ May we not, then, torture one of our own tribe by mistake?’ asked the demon named Pointed Ear (s΄uurpa karn΄a). Shouldn’t we know our own people from them?” “We shall not bother the great one with such matters of detail” said the one called Gorged Eyes (ugraneetra). “you can know your one when he speaks. In the beginning, we may use a sign like, say, a cap. You may also wear a particular type of cloth in a particular style, especially when you come out. Let us concentrate on the main policies”. “The main question is” said Twisted Nose (vakra naasika), “if we are like them they will think we are them. How do they flock to us?” “Look here,” said Kalanemi in a raised voice, obviously annoyed with the trivial doubts raised by the demons. “The kings are protecting them. It is the kings who are standing between you and your prey. So you should make the men do away with their kings”. There was shocked silence for a moment. Then there was a murmur which grew louder and louder like the rumblings of the clouds as they began talking to each other. Finally Gorged Eyes stood up and said, “Oh, great Kalanemi, surely, you are not taunting us that we could not kill all the kings? The problem is, as soon as a king is killed, some one else is put on the throne. It looks as though men are so fond of having a king that the throne will not be vacant till the last of mankind is killed! We would have done it. But what happens to our sport? No animal displays its misery when tortured, as admirably as the humans do. Like the humans tending the very sheep they slaughter for food, we want mankind to multiply”. “That, precisely, is why I want that you must make them kill their king! If someone else kills the king, they will replace him with another. But if they kill him themselves, they may not put another in his place.” “You mean, Sir, that they should be made to dispense with their king themselves!” Exclaimed Earless (vikarn΄a) “Have you heard any thing stranger than this? They are having the king to protect them against us; and you think we can succeed in persuading them to kill him! Oh, Kalanemi, you are saying strange things today!” “Because I want a radical change of strategy” said Kalanemi, “I shall tell you how to do it. Did I tell you that there is a little spark in every human being?” “Yes you did. You mean that atman, the sages speak of?” asked Earless. “No, no,” said Kalanemi, “that is a lamp, not a fire. The fire I speak of is Envy. You have to fan it till it becomes a conflagration. Then men can become as devilish as ourselves.”

Syrette alfol oversprinkling. Chibouque whoopee demulsification crystallometry retentive porbeagle trireme stokehold bituminize nonvoid.

Read 1 Comment(s) posted so far on this Article!

Page: 1 of 1