Dhruva and Davis: Poles apart

“There’s a story behind Pole Star which is known as Dhruva Nakshatram in our language,” I said to Davis (not his real name), a 14-year-old who thought a bit too much of himself like most youngsters of today. He was with me next to the driver’s seat in my car and I was his driver in his view. “Are you interested in the story?”

Davis’s silence told me clearly that he wasn’t. He wasn’t interested in anything except himself and that was the problem which his mother had brought to me. I told him the story, in spite of his indifference.

“Dhruva was the son of King Uttanapada and Queen Suniti. His father favoured his other wife, Suruchi, and her son.”

“Lucky guys they were, weren’t they?” Davis interrupted.

“Who?”

“Those kings of olden days. They could have a lot of wives.”

“You want a lot of wives?”

“Nah,” he was contemptuous. “I want only girlfriends, not wives.”

“You don’t want to take up responsibilities, right?”

“Who wants to? Would you take up responsibilities if you had a choice?”

“Responsibility is a choice.”

Davis became silent. Was he chewing on that? I wished he was because he was one of the most irresponsible youngsters I had ever come across.

“Shall I continue the story of Dhruva?”

“Okay.” He said listlessly. Probably he wanted to tell me that I was a big bore, silly old man with antique stories.

“Dhruva longed to sit on his father’s lap. Suruchi would never let him, however. Sitting on the father’s lap was solely the privilege of her son. She told Dhruva that if he wanted such a privilege, he would have to earn the favour of Lord Vishnu.”

“How old was this Dhruva guy?” Davis asked.

“Five years.” Since there was no further query, I continued the story. “Dhruva left for the forest with the blessings of his mother who advised him to meditate on Lord Vishnu. In the forest, the sage Narada became his guru and eventually Dhruva got Lord Vishnu to appear before him and bless him with eternal glory. Vishnu made Dhruva the Dhruva Nakshatra, the Pole Star.”

“But he didn’t get what he wanted!” Davis was indignant.

“He got more than what he wanted.” I asserted. “He became a star, a major star…”

“When you want to sit in the lap of your father, they make you a star in the sky!” Davis thinks that the adult world is rather bizarre.

“Have you ever looked for the Pole Star?” I ask.

“I’ll google it tonight,” he says.

 Illustration by Copilot Designer