Two Brothers

When big events unfold in the lives of the rich and powerful, it8217;s inevitable to see how the situation applies to lesser mortals, becau...

When big events unfold in the lives of the rich and powerful, it8217;s inevitable to see how the situation applies to lesser mortals, because though the scale of the big situation is so enormous, at the end of the day, it is after all about human beings with all their vulnerability and angst. One poignant folk tale from rural India I think from Uttar Pradesh is about two amazingly bonded brothers. When their father died, he left the fields, homestead, cattle, storehouses and farm equipment equally to his two sons with the advice to stay united, for in that alone lay their strength as a holding and as a family. The elder brother was then, astonishingly for an Indian elder brother, yet unmarried. The younger had a wife and two sons.

The first harvest after the father8217;s death, the elder lay brooding at night, thinking of the store room so pleasantly full of sacks and sacks of grain, which they would take to sell next day at the mandi. By mutual consent, the big family store room had been partitioned down the middle and the sacks carefully counted and distributed half-and-half.

8220;My brother has a wife and two sons to support,8221; thought the elder brother, watching the clouds scud across the harvest moon, 8220;whereas, I am a free soul. Why shouldn8217;t I quietly give him some of my share? But he8217;d never agree, his sense of fairness wouldn8217;t let him. No, the only way to manage it is quietly.8221; Without further ado, big brother rose and stealthily transferred some of his sacks to his brother8217;s side. Shortly after, the younger brother awoke. He glanced lovingly at his sleeping wife and two pretty children. 8220;How lucky I am!8221; he exulted, but almost instantly, his heart smote him. 8220;My elder brother lacks these blessings. How I8217;d love to slip him a few sacks, just to redress the balance a bit. But he8217;d never let me. Now suppose I did it while he8217;s sleeping?8221; So the younger brother moved some sacks to his brother8217;s side with utmost cunning.

Next day at the mandi, both brothers were jointly and severally astonished to see that they had exactly the same number of sacks as before. But they did not mention it, resolving to figure out the puzzle on their own. The upshot was that each harvest they pulled the same stunt on each other. Even after the elder brother was persuaded to marry and beget, the exchange continued with the logic that BOTH needed that bit extra8230;

Too idyllic? But isn8217;t it touching how this folk story, rooted in our sturdy Hindustani soil, has valiantly endured as a tale of strength that anybody of goodwill can profit by?