A story of two young
brothers and a challenge they took to their heart,
The prize was an
exotic fruit their mother promised one of them as a repast
If he won the
challenge set before him by truly playing his part.
Before their divine parents,
the two boys with bowed heads, knelt
“What is it that you
want us to do?” they asked, with folded hands,
Their mother smiled,
not hiding the immense pride she felt
At the promptness
with which they heeded her commands.
“Dear boys, this is
the challenge before you I set,
I want you to circle
the whole world, embark on an odyssey,
You may begin right
away; use your vehicle, don’t fret;
The winner will be
the one who returns first after the journey.”
The two boys glanced
at each other, their nimble minds awhirl,
They smiled at their
parents, and rushed off their task to begin,
The younger one
climbed on his peacock and was off in a swirl,
Before his older brother
could even move, let alone think of a win.
“Where is my mouse?”
he shouted; his tiny vehicle was nowhere around,
By then his brother
had already circumvented half the world, and more,
The astute young man
knew that by both speed and time he was bound,
It was the right time
to bring his prodigious wits to the fore.
His parents sat on
their thrones, the embodiments of grace,
Wondering why their
eldest son had not made his move yet?
They watched him draw
nearer, with his ponderous pace,
Had he given up, had
he his match finally met?
The next moment,
their son folded his hands, and smiled,
As they looked on, he
went, once around them, twice and then thrice;
“What are you doing,
son?” his mother asked him, quite beguiled,
“Why are you still
here? Shouldn’t you be off in a trice?”
“Mother, you asked us
to go around the whole world, didn’t you?
For me, my world is
always at your divine feet, and so in my own way,
I have circled the
world, and now I stand proudly before you.”
His parents listened,
wonderstruck; they had nothing to say.
As they smiled at
their sage son, a sudden commotion arose,
Their younger
offspring appeared on his peacock, his journey done,
“Here I am, mother! I
have finished my race,” he said, coming close,
Smiling triumphantly
at his brother, confident he had won.
His beautiful mother
stood, the exotic fruit in her hand she displayed
She walked towards
her elder son, placed a tender hand on his shoulder,
It was then the
younger one knew that he had been outwitted, outplayed,
The exotic fruit was
not fated to be his. It had gone to the older.
As he stood dejected,
his brother came to him with a winsome grin,
He embraced him, saying,
“Cheer up, little one! This reward is for you and me,”
Their parents smiled;
how easily their older offspring had shared his win,
Love had conquered
all and life was back to what it was meant to be!
Postscript: Today
being Shivaratri, I felt it would be apt to write a post on the challenge
between Ganesha and Kartikeya, Lord Shiva’s two sons. This is a story close to
my heart, a story that highlights the significance of parents in the lives of
their children. I have narrated the story in my own way which is a little
different from the popular interpretation.
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