02202012 - Justice tempered with mercy..

Well.. my Advanced Communicator Bronze, Story Telling Project 3 is due tomorrow, so, i have come up with this story for my project.. I hope you like it.

The kingdom of Mayanagar was ruled by an able and just king aatmaswarup. It was his routine to visit his kingdom's fair on his lovely white horse. Strong and sturdy as the king himself, the horse's majestic walk was a sight to see! Shwethakeshi was the king's pride. Everybody loved the king. Everybody but one, kaalu, the petty theif. Don't be hasty in judging him, he didn't hate the king, he just couldn't stand not owning such one-of-a-kind horse. Oh man! Everyday he dreamed of sitting on that horse and riding it and slowly but steadily the dream began to grow on him. He mustered the courage to hatch a plan, a plan to steal the king's horse. On the night of aamayavsya (no-moon-day), kaalu went to the king's stable. He loosened the grips of the rope tied to the sleeping horse. The loosened grip caught the horse's attention and neighed, the soldiers got alerted and kaalu had to leave that place before the soldiers found him out. "Another day!", he said to himself, and this time, i will steal you in broad daylight!

As weeks passed by, kaalu started planning meticulously for his plot. It was flawless, he thought. The day came close when kaalu had to execute his plot. On a sunday, kaalu dressed himself as a crippled beggar, limping his way across the streets of the crowded kingdom fair. He was right where he had planned, the exact street through which the king would pass by every day! On that day, as the king passed by, kaalu shouted, "oh! noble king, won't you help this crippled man cross this busy street?", everybody turned around, the king saw kaalu, he stopped, and replied back, "yes! my beloved citizen, come ride with me, i will take you to your destination", to which kaalu replied, "my lord, i am physically challenged, please help me get on to your majestic horse". To this request, aatmaswarupa got down from his horse, and helped kaalu to get on to the horse, and as he was about to climb the horse, kaalu rode the horse away, in front of everyone, the soldiers rushed to catch him, but their speed was no match to the white beauty. The king was left, separated from his pride, all alone in a crowded streets of the kingdom's fair.

A few months passed by, and one night as the king was taking an evening stroll, he saw someone coming towards him, on a horse, a white one..

"Greetings my noble king", came a voice from the other end. "Hello kaalu, greeted the king!". Kaalu was shocked, how did the king know his name ?? Could it be ?? "Did you know that it was I, who stole your horse on that day?", asked kaalu out of curiosity. "Yes! Your disguise was very revealing", smiled the king. "Then.. then.. why did you not arrest me immediately when you so clearly saw my intentions", asked kaalu. The king smiled again, and said - "kaalu, we were in the middle of a fair, a fair filled with common people. If i had arrested you then, as a thief, let me remind you, that you presented yourself as cripple. With the arrest, my citizens would praise me of course, but from that day on wards, they would also start suspecting every cripple in the society of being a theif. To stop that negative feeling from growing into the minds of the common people, i sacrificed my horse". Kaalu was humbled. All his pride was destroyed by the kings answer. The king continued, "Besides, you rode a king's horse, no body would buy it if they knew that it was a stolen, and I knew you had to come back to me, so all i had to do was be patient". Kaalu feel to the king's feet, asked for forgiveness, and went away. Story ends..

Lets look at this a little closely shall we: We are always very prompt in punishing someone when they do something wrong, be it a theft, a crime or a petty quarrel ?? The outcome is always the same, I have lost something, and justice has to be done for that! But wait.. hold on for a minute, and observe, what will this "justice" beget ?? A temporary satisfaction to the person who raised the voice, and a permanent disbelief and hatred in the person who is punished. And I always wonder, shouldn't justice change the view of a person to make him a better person tomorrow, so that he can contribute to the society and not grow hatred in him and make him an anti-social element.

I love this story, because, when I read this i remember what shakespere through the voice of Portia tells - Justice tempered with Mercy.. Justice tempered with Mercy.. Yes! That's the way it should be..