In the Kingdom of Fools
By A.K. Ramanujan
Q: What are the two strange things the guru
and his disciple find in the Kingdom of Fools?
The first strange thing the guru and his
disciple find is that everyone in the Kingdom, including the king and his minister,
sleeps during the day and works at night. The other strange thing in the kingdom
was that everything, including food costs the same-a single duddu.
Q: Why does the disciple decide to stay
in the Kingdom of Fools? Is it a good idea?
The disciple decides to stay in the Kingdom
of Fools because he is attracted to the cheap price of food. He believes he can
live lavishly by spending very little money. No, it is not a good idea. The guru
senses danger in a place where everyone is foolish and the laws are absurd, but
the disciple ignores his warning and stays, which leads to trouble later.
Q: Name all the people who are tried in
the king’s court, and gibe the reasons for their trial.
Several people are tried in the king’s
court. First of all, the merchant was held responsible for the collapse of the
wall that killed the thief. The merchant blamed the bricklayer for building a
weak wall. The bricklayer put the blame on the dancing girl for distracting him
with her jingling anklets. The girl passed the blame onto the goldsmith for
delaying her jewellery, which caused her to walk back and forth in front of the
bricklayer’s work. The goldsmith blamed the merchant’s father but since he is
dead, the blame was once again laid on the merchant.
Q: Who is the real culprit according to
the king? Why does he escape punishment?
The real culprit, according to the king,
is the rich merchant. However, he escapes punishment because the executioner
finds that the merchant is too thin to fit the stake meant for the execution.
Q: What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When
does the disciple remember them?
The Guru’s words of wisdom are: “This is
a city of fools. You don’t know what they will do next.” The disciple remembers
these words when he is about to be executed in place of the rich merchant. He realizes
the gravity of his guru’s warning when he finds himself in a life-threatening
situation due to the foolish laws of the kingdom.
Q: How does the guru manage to save his
disciple’s life?
The guru manages to save his disciple’s
life by devising a clever plan. He tells the king that he wants to be executed first
because he foresees that the person executed on the new stake will become the
king in the next life and the person executed next will become the minister. The
king, being a fool, believes this and decides to execute himself and his minister
so that they may be the king and the minister in the next life, thereby saving
the guru and his disciple.
Comments
Post a Comment