Saturday, June 24, 2017

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Shrewd Barber

The royal barber in the court of King Krishnadevaraya was known for his efficiency. He was a real expert and was known for his skilled hands and expertise. But the barber himself was never happy and satisfied with his work. He wanted to be better and do much better than his present work. His discontentment was known by few courtiers. These courtiers were jealous of Tenali Raman and always came up with new ways to get him out of the court. So they tried to use the discontentment of the royal barber to remove Tenali Raman from the king's court.

The courtiers visited the royal barber and said to him, "Don't you think you are wasting your skills and your life?". On this the barber answered, "Yes, I do believe it myself, that I can do better than this. But I seriously don't know what other than this I am good at!" One of the courtiers laughed on his reply and said, "Who said that one has to be skilled to do better in life! Now just look at Tenali Raman. He is successful for nothing. All he has to do is tell few jokes to the king and make him laugh. He is handsomely rewarded just to do that." Another courtier added, " Yes! In fact we are indeed sure you are rather more intelligent that Tenali Raman. Maybe you should try to impress the king and replace Tenali in the King's court."

The barber was impressed with the idea and said, "Yes! I think I am intelligent enough than Tenali Raman. But how do I replace him?" To this the courtiers suggested, "Why don't you impress the king with a good shave and when the pleased king asks you what you want as a reward you request him to give you Tenali Raman's position." So accordingly the barber, very next day impressed the king with a good shave. The pleased king asked him how he wanted to be rewarded and the barber asked the king to give him Tenali Raman's position in the court. The king thought to himself, " It is impossible to refuse this man. But I am sure the courtiers are trying to create unneccassary trouble for Tenali Raman. Now it is totally upto Tenali Raman to deal with this situation." So the king readily agreed and offered the barber Tenali's position in the court with a promise that the barber should be able to entertain the king as much as Tenali does.

So the next day, in the king's court the barber came and sat on Tenali Raman's seat. When Tenali entered the court he was surprised to see the barber seating in his place but did not say anything. He simply bowed to the king and left the court. The courtiers who were jealous of Tenali Raman were very happy that they were successful in removing Tenali from the court. The court proceedings started and the barber came up with some jokes which were enjoyed by no one. He realized that he had made a fool of himself in front of the entire court. After the end of the session, the barber left for his house.

On his way home, the barber saw Tenali Raman sitting under a tree washing and scrubbing  a black dog. Amazed, the barber went to Tenali and enquired, " Dear Sir, why are you washing this black dog? On this Tenali replied," Well, I saw this black dog on the road, but did not like his colour. So I am scrubbing the dog and removing his colour and turning him white." To this the barber said, "But Sir, we cannot change the colour of the dog". On this Tenali looked at him and replied, "Why not! If one person who is skilled in his profession can suddenly change his own profession and become something he is not at all good at, why can't this dog change it's colour."

The barber realized the message Tenali Raman was trying to convey to him and immediately apologized for his behaviour. The very next day the barber apologized to the king and said, "My Lord! I got greedy and on my friend's suggestion tried replacing Tenali Raman. But Now I have realized that a person can't become what he is not. I am a skilled barber and wish to remain the same. And I hope you will appoint me back as your personal barber again if you have forgiven me for my mistakes."

The king replied, "Don't worry barber, I am not angry with you. It's good to know you realized your true worth. I purposely granted your wish back then of replacing Tenali, otherwise you would never have realized the truth. Tenali Raman is indeed a jewel and his brightness cannot be replaced by anything else." Tenali Raman visited the king and narrated him about the whole incidence that happened the day before about the black dog. To this the king laughed merrily and handsomely rewarded Tenali Raman. And thus Tenali Raman once more proved his wit and intelligence.

1 comment:

  1. Are you writing this from laptop or computer??

    ReplyDelete

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