The peacock which was red... A tenali rama story

I do not know whether it is the same even  in places which are administered by elected representatives, but in kingdoms which were ruled by persons who were in control for no democratic reasons, the rulers were interested more in showing off what riches and artifacts they possessed, rather than sparing some time thinking of  the welfare of the subjects.. Even the best of the monarchs were never free from such tendencies..

And Krishnadevaraya was no exception.. He was always on the lookout for finding new exhibits for his musueums, zoos and nurseries.

When the king is obsessed with diversion of resources, the ministers and the courtiers would join him heartily.. And of course would derive lots of benefits out of such funny exercises.. That happened here also..

The chief courtier, Appalachari was past-master in feeling the pulse of the king… He would never let go any opportunity to prey upon the misplaced magnanimity of the king..

So, one afternoon, when the Royal court was in full session, Appalacharya made a ceremonial entry to the court with a huge bird-cage in tow.. Inside the cage rested, a peacock.. A really strange peacock.. A peacock completely red in hue.. Its feathers red, wings red, plumes red.. wholly a riot of red… as if a particular species of the birds have converted en masse to Marxism..

“My Lord and Master, this is my price catch of a lifetime.. As is well known to the exalted Royal mind, my patriotic feelings and my loyalty made me wander length and breadth of the middle-forests of India, braving all vicissitudes and costing me a fortune.. I did it in the company my two dedicated servants.. Finally we could capture this exotic bird in all its red splendor, and we did not spare any time in presenting it to the Royal Court for being inducted into the great aviary..”

The Monarch was immensely happy..

 “ We are pleased with your loyalty.. As the expedition would have cost the minister a fortune, we hereby order that a purse of one thousand gold coins be presented to Appalacharya before the bird joins the muster-rolls of the Royal Aviary”

The purse was about to exchange hands, but Tenali Rama Intervened.. “ My Royal Master, no doubt the Chief Minister has done great service to the kingdom.. However, as it is well known, the birds of such rare species would not survive solitary life in an aviary if they do not have company of the same species.. Therefore, it would be rather cruel to have a single bird like this.. The Minister may be asked to bring in a few more birds like that so that the royal aviary will be adorned with a happy and sastified family of red peacocks"

Appalachari was irritated.. He knew that he had to labour a lot even to have one red peacock.. In fact, an ordinary peacock was captured and a deft painter had given it a red-coat with his expert  strokes of painting brush.. A repetition of such work of art would take a lot of time.. 

Tenali Rama had already seen through this deceitful act since he had come by a piece of feather fallen from the red peacock, and when he washed it, it has retained its natural colour..

While Appalachari was fidgeting, Tenali Rama came with a proposal..” Our Prime Minister is very busy. It is not right to permit him to waste his valuable time chasing red peacocks in the middle forest.. Now I am on a vacation.. I shall undertake a jourey to the hatching area of such beautiful birds and bring back a dozen of them within a fortnight. The Royal Presentation may take place at that time".. 

 Appalachari wanted to say something, but the Royal mind was set. The errand was entrusted to Rama.

Rama did not go to the forest.. He just rounded up all the painters around and by constant enquiries, bribes and threats,  could locate the fellow who had done the consummate painting job to Appalachari's bird..

 “ Do not get panicky,” Rama told him. 

 “ I am going to use your talent for a better service to the kingdom. I shall protect you from any consequences that may arise out of your actions..” 

 After assuring the painter with safety and protection, Rama asked him to paint a dozen peacocks red in the same way Appalachari askded him to do..

When the group a full dozen  of red peacocks were ready for exhibition-and fifteen days had passed by this time- Rama entered the Royal Court with a dozen read peacocks happily perched in a big cage, with the painter in tandem, and gustily announced the arrival of the family to keep company to the original lone bird..

The King’s happiness knew no bounds.. He announced without hesitation that Rama was entitled now for twelve thousand gold coins.. to be awarded in a befitting ceremony, along with the thousand for Appalachari..

Rama folded his hands in salutation before the monrch and said, 

“ My lord and Master, I cannot persuade myself to be so avaricious.. All that cost me to  present these twelve peacocks was to catch a dozen  ordinary ones from the local gardens, and commission a painter to colour their plumage red with a drum of ochre dye, a bucket of water and a few painting brushes.. The cost of the birds, the paint, brushes and the wages of the painter all put together would not exceed a couple of gold coins.. I would be ungrateful if I receive more that that for this present..”

The bluff of appalachari was revealed.. He had to hang his head in shame.

Meanwhile, the clouds rolled up in the sky and it rained. The red colour adorning all the thirteen birds, ( one brought by appalachari and twelve produced by Tenali Rama) were all washed away and the peacocks danced in their natural regality.

Tenali Rama finally made a representations before the great Raya..

 “ My Lord and Master, the first responsibility of the ruler is to keep the subjects happy and peaceful.. I was watching that the poor people on the street were struggling for food and shelter. But the Royal treasury is being squandered and even being plundered for wasteful and fanciful expenditure.. The Prime Minister’s action actually gave me an opportunity to expose the senseless happenings in the court.. Had I told this without any proof, I would have been punished for spreading scandals.. May only prayer is that His Majesty make strive more for the benefit of the subjects, instead of listening to flattery and being subjected to their machinations..



Rama’s words really carried a lot of weight that day..

A Lesson in turning black into white

A Lesson in turning black into white

A tenali rama story

Like every rich man, His Majesty was utterly conscious about his youthful looks, during public appearances. ( Indeed it was a stupendous task  to maintain it when one is past his fifties).. The role played by the royal barber in furthering this cause was not at all insignificant. Every day he had to spend not less than an hour in the royal ante-room in the Royal Company, putting to best use all the razors, scissors, shampoos and cosmetics. 

The purpose was two-fold. The Royal countenance should be eminently presentable to the court. Secondly, the issue concerned the personal well-being of the barber.

 His skill in wielding the razors and scissors was more than adequate and if at all there was any slight shortcoming, the same would have been compensated by the gift of the gab that naturally came to the barber. On the whole, the artistic efforts of the barber kept the Royal countenance in bright shape and he was in the good books of His Royal Majesty.

It so happened that when the barber presented himself for duty one fine morning, the Royal sleep of sweet dreams was not yet concluded although the Sun was not tactful enough not to raise and announce that at least one hour has gone ahead in the day.

Out of respect and partly out of fear, the barber did not venture to stop the Royal snore.. 

But he has to perform his barborial duties. Duty came first and all other things second..

With the stealthy gait that can come only to a cat or a barber, the specialist stole into the Royal bedroom armed with all his weapons and paraphernalia and noiselessly and without disturbing the Regal sleep, a supreme artistic performance of cutting, shaving, dyeing and manicuring was performed to perfection.. 

The artist waited outside for his subject of act to wake up and see and feel the results.

Even the king could not sleep and dream for ever. The sun rose up in the firmament and the heat of the day started seeping 
into the royal bedchamber. The king woke up and tried to scratch his chin. Instead of the day-long white stub, he could feel a very pleasant softness on his chin. He stood  up and looked up in the mirror, and he found a very trim face in the reflection.. Cleanly shaven chin, with dyed and greased moustache.. 
His happiness knew no bounds. 

The Royal eyes fell on the barber crouching outside. The sudden realization of the work of art by the barber and sincere appreciation for such dedicated labour oozed out like a cool spring from the Royal  heart.
 He called the barber and showered him with praises. 

“ Ask whatever you want, and it shall be granted” came the Royal statement.

The barber was, in fact, just waiting for such a day to come. 

Although he could not deny the fact that he was being fed and looked after very well, he never did have the social status enjoyed by the priests and the soldiers. And despite being an expert in wielding arms like the razor and the scissors, he did not have the bravery to become a soldier. So, his supreme desire in life was to become a Brahmin. He had seen Priests and gurus moving around in gusto in the Royal court, doing nothing other than arguing with one another and vying with each other in partaking in feasts at the Royal Palace and the places of the nobles, and they were  even being paid for in cash and kind for just doing the favour of depleting the contents of the kitchens of the rich households. 

So, without batting an eyelid, the barber made the request that he wanted to become a Brahmin. 

The king could find nothing much amiss in such a request. When pleased, the Royal mind is ever prepared to grant any bounties to anyone he likes.

The presiding priest of the Palace and a council of learned Brahmins were summoned, and although they could not fully digest the idea of a barber being inducted into their midst as a practicing official, they did not have the guts to say anything that would displease the king. In addition, the priests could foresee a lot of financial and gastronomical benefits in conducting a huge yajna for the conversion of the barber to the fold of Brahmins..

A very elaborate ritual, involving a lot of presents and feasts to the Brahmins was prescribed. It was decided that the barber would be bathed in thousand pitchers of water from Ganges, Kaveri and Godavari on a day of auspicious muhurtam and then the priest would adorn him with the holy thread and declare him to be a Brahmin..

The court jester Tenali Rama also heard about this. He knew very well that the priests would go to any extent to please the king and extort presents and favours.. He also knew that the king was very adamant once his mind was set on doing something and any amount of good advice would be of no avail. He was acutely conscious of the fact that the king was committing an utterly foolish act which would make him look like an idiot in the eyes of his own subjects as also in the circle of kings and nobles of the period. 

Nothing sensible could be done to drive home some good sense in the mind of the king. 

The ceremony for conversion of the royal barber into brahminhood was announced with a lot of pomp and publicity. A huge shamiana was erected, and kunds(sacrificial fireplaces) were erected for havans. The  entire Royal court was summoned to witness the proceedings.. Dances and pageants were arranged.

The auspicious day came. The barber was summoned to the presences of the Royal priests, was given ablution and was adorned in rich dresses. The anointing ceremony was to start. Nadaswararam was being played.

Meanwhile, Rama, had also his own small function arranged. He had got another shamiana erected in a place not far off from the site where the conversion ceremony  of the royal barber was being consecrated. There were a few priests  availabe for Rama also ( priests would go anywhere, provided they were offered sufficient presents and food) and some pots of water were also arranged. A street dog of black skin was tied to a post erected  in the middle of the shamiana. When the muhurtam was starting at the Royal Shamiana, Rama started pouring water from one pot after another on the body of the black dog to the accompaniment of chanting of mantras by the priests, and started rubbing and scratching on the body of the dog with a broken piece of coconut shell with very rough edge. As the rubbing progressed, the dog was bleeding and was yelping in pain. And as and when more water was poured and the body was rubbed deeper, the agony became impossible for the dog, and it was howling in a near death stupour. The moaning of the dog became so loud that the Royal assemblage could hear it even above the music of nadaswaram. 

The king was disturbed and royal emissaries came to enquire about the cause of disturbance. Rama was accused of tormenting a poor animal. 
However, he pleaded, “ Tell His Majesty that I am performing a sacred yajna.. My dog is having black skin. As is known to all, black is an inauspicious colour. So I wanted to turn the colour of the dog to white. So I am  bathing the dog in holy waters and rubbing its back with due ritualisti ceremonies. I am confident that after a few baths, and sufficient number of scrubs, the dog’s colour will change to white”

The king’s emissaries laughed hilariously.
 They taunted.. “ What a fool you are, Ramalinga.. How can you change the colour of the dog by washing it and rubbing and scratching it with coconut shells? The colour will never change. The dog may either die of bleeding or it can turn violent and bite you..We thought you were a very wise man!”

Rama replied. “ Maybe you are right. I was also thinking like that till a few days ago. But then His Majesty in His superior wisdom has decided that he could make his barber into a Brahmin by bathing him with thousand pots of water. Therefore I was also confident that I could achieve the transformation of my pet dog”

The news reached the king.. And sense dawned upon the Royal brain, albeit belatedly.

Who is more powerful, your Majesty?

Who is more powerful, your Majesty?

The Royal court of Krishnadevaraya was in full session..

As is usual in the world of timeservers, each courtier was exceeding his own best levels of sycophancy to heap praises on the supreme authority of the monarch.

The king was elated.. Finally, he declared,

“ Can anyone around here be more powerful than me?”.

“Your majesty, you are the supreme” piped in all the courtiers.

But the chorus was not unanimous.

The king looked around.

He noticed one shaven and tufted head not nodding in agreement..

The owner of the head was Tenali Ramakrishna.

The king was much irritated. “ Rama, don’t you agree?” hissed the monarch.

“ My, lord and Master, I am trying to persuade myself to agree with that statement heartily , but still there is some small doubt”

“ If you can find anyone more powerful then me who could openly challenge my authority, show him to me.. exhorted the great Raya.

“Give me a couple of days, sire’ Came the reply from Ramakrishna.

Two days later, Ramakrishna entered the Royal Court in full session, carrying with him cute little boy of six months.

The child was so beautiful, so bubbly, ever giggling and making inarticulate sweet noises.

All the courtiers, including the King could not help watching the baby and its pranks.

The Queen, who was present witnessing the proceedings could not help getting attracted to the infant. She came forward and took the child in her lap..

The infant, in its innocence, played with the Royal Lady and even dirtied her silk dress.. The motherly instinct of the queen came to the fore and she was cleaning the baby, instead of caring for the stately clothes she was wearing.

 The king also saw the child and was attracted by its utter innocence.

He did not hesitate to take the child in his hands and even kissed it.. In that process the Royal countenance was smeared with the saliva of the infant...

The baby was not afraid of the Royal appearance or the thick moustache of the monarch.. and even the swords and spears carried by the bodyguards around had no impact on the child..

Laughing gleefully, the child pulled at the long moustache of the king.. and strangely, the monarch was roaring with laughter and encouraging the boy.

Now, it was Ramakrishna’s turn to mumble. 

” Who is more powerful, your Majesty?”

The long beard

The ruler of Vijayanagaram, Krishnadevaraya,    most of the time had to contend with the attacks of rulers from other adjoining territories, and  acting on the advise of his  generals he decided to  purchase a large number of horses..  To ensure that such horses were reared and kept in spic condition for any combat, it was decided that they should be kept in the houses of the Royal courtiers who would feed and nurture them and for this there would be an allowance  of fifteen silver coins per month..  Tenali Ramakrishna also volunteered to  become the guardian of one such horse..

He  collected his horse and the silver coins..

The silvercoins, he decided to keep for his domestic expenses..  Essential commodities for human sustenance were scarce and costly and the Royal treasury was mostly empty due  to defence  expenditure..  Ramakrishna could not digest the situation where people starved and elephants and horses were fed sumptuously.. 

He led the horse to the dingiest room in his residence, and built a brick wall across the entrance, leaving  just a small hole to let in some air.. And daily at about noon, a handful of dried grass was pushed through hole and  the horse had to eat  that to keep its body and soul together. 

A month passed and there was a Royal summons that the courtiers should parade the horses at the Palace  stable.. Everyone brought the horse entrusted to his care, with great pomp..

However  when Ramakrishna’s turn came,  he pleaded that the horse given to him was very disobedient and had refused to present itself at the Royal Palace.. The king was enraged and the Sardar of cavalry, a muslim with a long goatee grey beard which flowed down upto his knees was directed visit Ramakrishna’s house and bring the recalcitrant horse to the Royal presence.. This Sardar prided himself as an expert trainer of horses who could  subjugate any troublesome equine..

With pride and pomp the Sardar proceeded to where the horse of Ramakrishna was lodged. It was almost noontime and the ration of handful of dried grass was overdue for the hungry and emaciated horse. 

The sardar  peeped through the  hole to have a look at the miscreant horse, and his long beard flowed in through the hole   The poor horse thought that  his daily food  of dry grass was coming in and without hesitation bit at the protruding  beard.. The Sardar pushed the other way  in utter pain, but the horse would not let go.. Finally two Royal barbers had to  be summoned to cut off the portion of the beard that was still outside the horse’s mouth.. 

His pride and beard gone, the Sardar demanded that the horse should be brought out of the room.. There everyone   saw  that  the horse  which was nothing more that its hide and skeleton..

“You cruel fellow,  why have you kept the horse starving for so many days? “  Asked the Sardar..” I am reporting the matter to His Majesty.’

Ramakrishna and his horse were paraded before the King.. 

“ Your  Majesty, Please see how ill-tempered and rowdy this horse is.. Even when it was not given proper food, it had the temerity to bite the beard of your Sardar.. If I had fed him with all the food the fifteen silver coins would fetch,  then the fellow would have trampled the Sardar to death.” 

 This was the explanation of the court jester for the frugal supply of food to the horse.

As aside, there was a murmered remark by Ramakrishna..

" There is no food for the people in the kingdom. However the horses are fed from the Royal Court”..

The King's anger flared up for a moment..  Then realization dawned upon the Royal mind..

The first duty of the King was to feed his subjects.. and not to wage wars..

Appalacharya and the donkeys

Appalacharya and the donkeys

In the court of King Krishnadevaraya, Appalacharya was the leading priest and preceptor, following the line of Veera Vaishnavam. Tenali Rama was a brahmin of Smartha origin and a courtier in the same durbar. Appalacharya was too much of a Vaishnava and he hated all other types of people, even brahmanas who followed other schools of philosophy. Rama was his beta noire and the acharya never spared any chance to humiliate Rama the 
smaartha.
 Rama knew this very well but Appalacharya was too close to the Royalty.
One morning, as if deliberately, Tenali Rama walked across the street where Appalacharya was staying and Rama's face was the first thing the Acharya saw in the morning. He immediately covered his face with a shawl. Rama, feigning innocence asked why the acharya was covering his face. "Was it too cold?" 

The Aacharya replied that something very wrong had happened. He had seen the face of a smartha first thing in the morning. The evil effects of such a sight would make him a donkey in the next life. Rama did not reply, but nodded his head in approval.
A few days later, the King, Appalacharya and Tenali Rama were walking along a street discussing something. Suddenly Rama saw a few donkeys eating something on the sides of the street. He rushed to them and with apparent reverence  prostrated before the donkeys.
 This action set the King and the Appalacharya laughing uncontrollably.
 "This Rama has gone mad. He has started worshiping donkeys" they said to one another.


Rama returned after his prayer and was duly quizzed about his quixotic action.
 He told the king. " Your Majesty, I was doing my duty alone.
 I have great reverence to Appalacharya swami.. My respect is equally great for his relatives, even though they are unfortunate now."
Appalacharya was dizzy with anger. The king was also not pleased with the statement of Rama. He demanded an explanation.

Then Rama said," Your Majesty, the Guru Appalaacharyaji had to cover his face a few days ago when he saw me in the morning, because being a Veera Vaishnava, if he set his eyes on the fact of a Smartha, he would become a donkey in the next life. How true! It has happened to his predecessors. These donkey's are the Acharya's relatives who had set their faces on Smarthas in the earlier life. So the misfortune has befallen them and they have become donkeys. How can I fail to pay respects to the Acharyas preceptors just because they have become donkeys by the misfortune of seeing a smartha like me?"


Now the king came to know of the paranoid dislike of Appalacharya towards believers of other deities, and made amends for it.

BURNED BISCUITS.

this is a forward from my dearest friend Karunakaran.  It touches certain parts of the heart in an inexplicable way

BURNED BISCUITS...............
 
When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!"
 
You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.
What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!
"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."

God Bless You.....  Now, and Always....  

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