Log in or Sign up

Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
Dismiss Notice

Reporting my change of heart!

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Mar 19, 2010.

Page 1 of 5

Mar 19, 2010 #1
Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

12,637

Likes Received:

16,941

Trophy Points:

538

Gender:

Male

I had my early schooling in the Hindu High School in Chennai. It was a school which taught only in Tamil medium and we were taught the English alphabets only in the sixth standard which was then known as First Form. In other words, the English ‘Akshara abyasam’ or the initiation into letters started only when we were around ten. The Aesop’s fables that we learned in Tamil when we were five were again repeated in English after about five or six years. Only the English language was taught in English and all other subjects were taught only in Tamil till SSLC or the eleventh standard. So whenever I sit to write something in English even today, I first frame my sentences in Tamil in my mind and then translate it in English!

This is not what I have come to write about now. I am not aspiring for a job in the Buckingham Palace and rehearsing what I should tell the Queen if she raised her eyebrows at my peculiar English! I had mentioned it to draw your attention to my initiation into Aesop’s Fables twice in my childhood, once in Tamil and a second time in English six years later. Recently for want of anything better to do, I was just browsing aimlessly when I came across a site on Aesop. What I could read about him made me extremely penitent. I’ll tell you why but before that, let us look at Aesop’s background. He lived as a slave in the 6<SUP>th</SUP> Century in the Greek Island of Samos and many scholars believe that he was not real. He was reported to have been slain by the priests at the Oracle of Delphi for having rubbed them on the wrong side His brief moral tales are sharp allegories of human folly -- even when the characters are foxes, crows, mice, tortoises and hares. Aesop's Fables teem with the wisdom and gentle mockery of someone who knows the human animal inside and out. He never tried to moralize but the readers of his fables made it a point to highlight the moral of each of his story in the end.

Among his 600+ fables, the one that I liked most was this one. A Countryman's son by accident trod upon a Serpent's tail, which turned and bit him so viciously that he died. The father in a rage got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail. So the Serpent in revenge began stinging several of the Farmer's cattle and caused him severe loss. Well, the Farmer thought it best to make it up with the Serpent, and brought food and honey to the mouth of its lair, and said to it: "Let's forget and forgive; perhaps you were right to punish my son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was also right in trying to take revenge; now that we are both satisfied why should not we be friends again?" "No, no," said the Serpent; "take away your gifts; you can never forget the death of your son, nor I the loss of my tail."

What an amazing story! Two arch rivals who cause each other untold sufferings just cannot forget the past and shake hands to feign friendship. It may be possible for the likes of Emperor Ashoka or Mahatma Gandhi or perhaps for Radhika in TV serials but it is just not possible for ordinary human beings. The moralizing nature of the reputed author of the world's most famous fables -- man or legend – makes him stand as literature's great proto-Cynic and it is here that I feel penitent.

Some of you may have read my thread titled ‘A cynical look at the Cynics’ that I wrote in my early days in IL. It was a thread inspired by a quote of the novelist George Meredith who was hailed as the Grand Old Man of Letters that the cynic made the world as barren for others as he made it for himself. It was in this perspective that I looked at all cynics until then but the story of Aesop indeed opened my eyes. I realized that I was equating all the trigger happy guys with cynics but in reality, the cynics are those who wage a relentless battle against mediocrity like Aristophanes, the undisputed king of ancient comedy. This Athenian genius lampooned the political, social, and literary trends of his time in a series of mirthful comic plays. Aristophanes had a wonderful sense of the ridiculous, as when he put a dog on trial in The Acharnians. Like any good cynic, he was always eager to deflate the more pretentious intellectual fads of his day. They all had this great penchant for perfection that alienated them from the normal crowd.

I am happy to admit my folly in my earlier assessment of a cynic. Cynics are like lamp posts that guide us through the darkness. If we get drunk on our own stupidity and knock our head against it, we cannot accuse it as standing in the way of our progress!

Cheeniya, Mar 19, 2010

Cheeniya, Mar 19, 2010

#1

sindmani, crazywriter and Pallavi4me like this.

Loading...
Similar Threads
1. Reporting B B C Style!
  
  Cheeniya, Feb 21, 2023, in forum: Interesting Shares
  
  Replies:
  
  2
  
  Views:
  
  584
  
  swarnamary
  
  Feb 22, 2023
2. Tattling Versus Reporting
  
  Rihana, Feb 25, 2021, in forum: Schoolgoers & Teens
  
  Replies:
  
  7
  
  Views:
  
  1,583
  
  nayidulhan
  
  Aug 13, 2023
3. Reporting Sexual Harassment Years Later
  
  Rihana, Nov 28, 2017, in forum: Working Women
  
  Replies:
  
  3
  
  Views:
  
  1,482
  
  momsky
  
  Nov 29, 2017
Mar 19, 2010 #2

iyerviji IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

34,593

Likes Received:

28,760

Trophy Points:

640

Gender:

Female

My dear Anna

After long time I am here to give you the first fb. Though you say you have studied in Tamil till Xi Std, your English is too good. I have also read some Aesop's fables in those days.

Regards
viji

iyerviji, Mar 19, 2010

iyerviji, Mar 19, 2010

#2
Mar 19, 2010 #3

Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

12,637

Likes Received:

16,941

Trophy Points:

538

Gender:

Male

iyerviji said: ↑

My dear Anna

After long time I am here to give you the first fb. Though you say you have studied in Tamil till Xi Std, your English is too good. I have also read some Aesop's fables in those days.

Regards
viji
Click to expand...

My dear Viji
Thanks for thr the first FB! Yours is a lucky hand!
Please don't call my English as too good. People like OJ, Tubelight, Padma Srinivas, Balaji, Shail, k2s, Mindian and such ILites tower over me indeed!
But I am your Anna. So I am greater than them!
Sri

Cheeniya, Mar 19, 2010

Cheeniya, Mar 19, 2010

#3
Mar 19, 2010 #4

Tubelight Bronze IL'ite

Messages:

584

Likes Received:

4

Trophy Points:

33

Gender:

Female

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHome%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>  </style> Hi Cheeniya !
It was with some trepidation that I clicked on this post because the title had me imagining all sorts of singularly joyless eventualities. What change of heart was Sirji reporting ? Has he decided to forgo his trademark Wodehousianism and to henceforth give us only sugar- free, fat- free, sodium- free, gluten- free, lecithin- free morsels of Thought-Food ? Please God , no no no no ! A serious Cheeniya would make the world a dreary place.

Thank goodness ! its only a rethink on Cynicism and dear Sirji's clinical vision is still intact in its former….cynicism !

This particular Aesop’s Fable, I have not heard. But how true it is ! It is in the nature of a snake to bite, a scorpion to sting and a man to harbour bitter memories. Saints are one in a million. Re. Gandhiji, I am tempted to take the cynical view that it was only because he did not forgive or forget the insult in the S.African train station, that he galvanized the movement for civil disobedience, satyagraha and freedom. Had he merely dusted off his pant saying “ forgive him for he knows not what he does” and walked away to the coloured compartment, where would we be now ?

In high school Social Studies class we learnt that Cynicism started as a great philosophy that promoted a life of Virtue attuned to Nature, rejection of desires and possessions, and understanding that suffering comes from false judgements and wrong priorities. But look who is called a cynic today ! Any geriatric wet blanket grumbling about the ways of the younger generation or any habitually bitter misanthrope is labeled a cynic. How sad.
I want to be that Classical Age Cynic , not the modern version.

. Cynics are like lamp posts that guide us through the darkness. If we get drunk on our own stupidity and knock our head against it, we cannot accuse it as standing in the way of our progress! :yes:


<u1></u1>

Tubelight, Mar 19, 2010

Tubelight, Mar 19, 2010

#4
Mar 19, 2010 #5

Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

33,566

Likes Received:

3,756

Trophy Points:

490

Gender:

Female

Dear Sri,
I rushed here seeing your title, so excited & happy! I thought:
Oh, finally this man decided to follow the doctor's advice & start his exercise regime!What else does a change of heart mean??:idea
Oh, no, you disappointed me completely :hide:

So, you have come a full circle in life; then you looked at cynics, cynically. Now, you look up to them as guides!
I wonder whether age, experience etc have anything to do with the change of perspective??? Or, have you become one yourself??:biggrin2:
Love,
Chithra.

Chitvish, Mar 19, 2010

Chitvish, Mar 19, 2010

#5
Mar 19, 2010 #6

Mindian IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

6,330

Likes Received:

3,346

Trophy Points:

355

Gender:

Female

Dear cheeniya sir,

First things first

Well!! Well!! Well!! Admiration for cynics and pure altruism in your reply to your 'Thangai'? What a combo! Myself, very happy, though incredulous, at being included in the list! Thank you, Vasishter!

As for vying for vijis relationship she considers me her daughter, you know, so there I do score over you, after all! Hahaha.

Wish you lots of fun at the wedding in Cbe. The boys are indeed having a day out.

Now with regard to the post, you seem to have moved from admiring the do-gooders to admiring cynics? This is change indeed!

Some people say, those who perform altruistic acts do so only because they feel good about it! i.e. in reality they are motivated by purely Selfish motives! Pure Altruism without even feeling good about it is extremely rare except possibly from Parent to Child. But that's again probably from a sense of duty. That IS one way of looking at things, and very cynical, I suppose.

I do strongly believe that most people, ordinary people at that, are incredibly altruistic and it is only a small percentage of people who are pure cynics. The natural tendency is to brighten the world for the people you know, starting with a simple smile and an enthusiastic Good morning.

For my own selfish, cynical reasons, I would like to and actually see the world as an altruistic one.

Mindian, Mar 19, 2010

Mindian, Mar 19, 2010

#6

1 person likes this.
Mar 19, 2010 #7

Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

13,153

Likes Received:

5,818

Trophy Points:

545

Gender:

Male

Dear Sri.

Well i will meet u tomm, and learn more about the Fables which have fascinated me now, this serpent and the kind thing is too good.Yes how can u forigve and forget.

i remember once someone say, i forgive but dont forget.Like if a friend borrowed money, u lost the friend and the money.Well u make up with him, u may forgive him, but u would be a fool to forget

And this one is good, thinking in Tamil and translating in English.Well thisis something we never think of Sri.

There are times i think in English, times when i think in Sindhi, depends on the occassion.And when i curse, it is in Hindi, for i know the choiciest bad words in Hindi:biglaughIt would be interesting to know what the readers think on this and let us know.

And i will chew yr brains on the fables, do let me know the English translations and wehre i can find them on the net.

Too good as usual.And more from the horse's mouth tomm.:rotfl

Regards

kamal

Kamalji, Mar 19, 2010

Kamalji, Mar 19, 2010

#7
Mar 19, 2010 #8

Vysan Gold IL'ite

Messages:

1,378

Likes Received:

103

Trophy Points:

103

Gender:

Male

Dear Sri,

I am coming here after long long time...

I was wondering, what change of Heart,...

Though I dont know anything about Aesop's Fables... Your story made me think...

Can US forget the 9/11 or Mumbai forget the 26/11... or the people in the Gaza strip can forget what happened... But we talk about peace talk and all other political gimmicks that is going on... We keep talking and talking and talking only... No action or concrete steps to move forward... But the fight keep continuing...

Is it all because people couldn't foreget the past??? and hence they couldnt move forward...????

Anyways... Nice to read your blog ...

Veda

Vysan, Mar 19, 2010

Vysan, Mar 19, 2010

#8
Mar 22, 2010 #9

Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

12,637

Likes Received:

16,941

Trophy Points:

538

Gender:

Male

Dear TL
I am sure that the momentary trepidation would have been unnecessary if only you had noticed my new signature line! Sugar-free , fat free, sodium free, gluten free, lecithin free food can be thrust upon a defiant Cheeniya but try thrusting such thought-food on him and he’ll react as violently as an elephant being forced to eat mutton biriyani! So quit worrying for Heaven’s sake!

The Aesop’s fable that I have quoted is not to highlight the basic nature of living beings. I just wanted to stress on the fact that knowing that it was what you should expect from the living beings, it would only be prudent to avoid getting into such occasions which would kick start the process of vendetta. I fully agree with your reading of the South African episode which has changed the history of India totally. If those fanatic white men had not pushed Gandhiji out of the first class coach, all those undeserving politicians wouldn’t be flying around the world today putting through unholy deals which fatten their vaults every minute! How would Gandhiji know that the people who he fought for continue to travel in the unreserved coaches of trains stuffed like cattle!

I am happy to note you have understood the underlying sentiment that made me revisit the ancient cynics and how well you have brought out the difference between the ancient and modern cynics in the words, ‘ Any geriatric wet blanket grumbling about the ways of the younger generation or any habitually bitter misanthrope is labeled a cynic’. But it pains that cynicism has been branded by you as the hallmark of the geriatric!

Sri

Cheeniya, Mar 22, 2010

Cheeniya, Mar 22, 2010

#9
Mar 22, 2010 #10

Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

Messages:

12,637

Likes Received:

16,941

Trophy Points:

538

Gender:

Male

Dear Chithra
One of the strongest mottoes of my life is :
Take no advice, give no advice, if they come from well-intentioned people take it in my strides and forgive them!

Sorry I disappointed. What did you expect? Start jogging back straight from Doctor's clinic? I am a harder nut than any Doctor would have ever handled!

Maybe I am in transition to a cynical humorist. After all, age has to catch up with us at some stage. Having already been caught, you should know better!
Sri

Cheeniya, Mar 22, 2010

Cheeniya, Mar 22, 2010

#10

(You must log in or sign up to reply here.)

Page 1 of 5

Share This Page