T he Sarayu carried more tears than water. Ayodhya was a sad kingdom. Dasaratha was a good king. He upheld dharma – justice and morality – as best as he could. The citizens were apparently happy. Then, one day, it all changed. One person is enough to change the destiny of a whole kingdom. Who was that one person? Some say it was Kaikeyi, one of the three official wives of Dasaratha. Some others say it was Manthara, Kaikeyi’s chief maid. Manthara was a hunchback. She was the caretaker of Kaikeyi right from the latter’s childhood; foster mother, so to say, because Kaikeyi had no mother. The absence of maternal influence can distort a girl child’s personality. With a foster mother like Manthara, the distortion can be really bad. Manthara was cunning, selfish, and morally ambiguous. A severe physical deformity can make one worse than all that. Manthara was as devious and manipulative as a woman could be in a men’s world. Add to that all the jealousy and ambition that insecure peo...
If you are not a flatterer, you cannot be a party worker. Simple.
ReplyDeleteRE
Thank me for not confusing you with real poetry.
Delete:) That's a great wish.
ReplyDeleteIndeed and I'm determined to master the art. :)
Deletesimple but well said :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ankur.
DeleteI don't want to be a party worker. In fact, even if I try for it, I am sure I would fail spectacularly in that endeavor.
ReplyDeleteI know. And you also know :)
DeleteNext, are you going to apply for the post of Principal to form a party?
ReplyDeleteWings, my name in the Church (baptism register) is Thomas. Got it?
DeleteYou either have it or you don't. I don't think it can be cultivated in adult life!
ReplyDeleteYes, Mridula, you can't teach old dogs new tricks, as the wise men said long ago :) And I'm realising it in practice!
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