Forest Tales

Once there was a huge elephant. He used to roam freely around the forest. He was wise and kind and generous and had much power. Many had gained from him. He never injured others but always helped them. But gradually he became tired and sleepy. He was then attacked by some hunters and other opportunistic animals who were looking to feed themselves on his body parts. He resisted successfully for a long time. He however became more and more weak and tired. Then fatigue overcame him and he fell asleep. He remained in that state for a long time. Then several other hunters came. They found the animal very useful for their purpose and therefore decided to tame him. They chained him, tied him with ropes and thrashed him mercilessly till he bled. However he did not die. Nor did he completely surrender. Even though he was sleepy he resisted them with all his might. He finally succeeded in shaking off the chains and tried standing on his feet. But the hunters had badly bruised him, and dented him with their razor sharp weapons. They had also fed him enough tranquilizers, so that he was in a state of stupor. So for a period, even though he was free, he remained in that state of stupor and daze. He did not remember his might, his past deeds and his potential. He tamely followed some of those hunters, thinking all the while that even though they had enchained him, they were his friends and great beneficiaries. He did not know that they had actually given him tranquilizers and thought that they had given him vitamins and painkillers and was therefore grateful to them.

There was a dragon who lived near the place where that huge elephant lived. He was also drugged by the hunters who fed him with a liberal dose of opium, but he was able to come out of his stupor quicker. When he opened his eyes he saw the elephant. He immediately recognized the great threat the latter posed to his ambition. The dragon quickly became big and powerful and was ambitious enough to rule the forest. He sensed the power and potential of the elephant and aspired to subdue him. In the meanwhile, while the elephant was getting freed from the shackles a jackal was born which fed on the flesh and blood of the elephant which had lost considerable weight and vital parts in the process of its struggle. It saw the elephant as a rich source of food and was greedy for more and more pieces of flesh. It delightfully set itself on feeding on the elephant but despite several attempts could not bite it with enough force. In the process it lost several of its teeth and hurt itself badly. The elephant was bruised and tried to shoo away the jackal but refrained from causing direct injury, being compassionate and kind. The jackal escaped lightly at least four times and it further emboldened it. It mistook the compassion of the elephant as cowardice. It however became more cautious and instead of direct attacks it resorted to indirect attacks, like digging a hole in the soft underbelly of the elephant, the most vulnerable spot, using the help of flesh eating worms and its own claws. It also partnered with the dragon who saw in it a deceitful ally who could be used for the time being. In this way the jackal continued to disturb the peace of the elephant which writhed in pain and did not know what was happening in the underbelly region. The giant elephant, being still in a state of stupor, was unable to determine the intention of the jackal and the dragon. A part of his brain thought that he could make friends with both of them, so that they do not attack him anymore. Another part was more prudent. It warned him against their deceitful maneuvers  But the dullness inherited by the sleep and the drug did not allow the elephant to see through the scheme fully and therefore he disregarded the prudent brain as that would have meant more work in the form of constant vigil and aggressiveness. Instead he chose to be passive. There were vultures and hyenas around him in anticipation of a big feast, who were waiting for the dragon (and the jackal) to strike.

There was one uncle wolf, who was a selfish creature, though he claimed himself to be the moral guardian of the forest. He was weary of the designs of the dragon, as so far he himself had ruled the jungle after the hunters left. He had fought several wars, twice with a mighty eagle who aspired to dominate some parts of the forest and looked down upon smaller animals and birds as “untertiere”, and with a pack of wild dogs who were running free, and was constantly threatened by a great bear. The wolf was ferocious and powerful. His claws and teeth were razor sharp and other animals were terrified by his presence. Nobody, except a few foxes who always accompanied him, loved him. However nobody dared a confrontation with him owing to his gigantic stature and viciousness. He was initially hesitant about the elephant as he did not know the latter completely. He therefore made friends with the jackal. He soon found out that the jackal was of dubious character. But still he could not entirely abandon it. Weary of the dragon, he made some friendly gestures with the elephant. The latter was ambivalent as he had a mistaken notion that peace can be made with both the dragon and the jackal and any friendship with the vicious wolf would also make it unpopular with other species of animals.

The bear was initially a friend of the elephant, or atleast he made him thought so, by helping him to stay on his feet when repeated attacks from the jackal had weakened him. But he was also an ally of the dragon. Therefore he chose to remain neutral. Moreover he had his own score to settle with the uncle wolf. There were other animals and various dynamics were witnessed but we would limit this story with the tale of the elephant as he is the central character.

We can at this moment only conjecture as to what happened afterwards as the full story is not yet developed. The stupor of the elephant was most likely taken as cowardice and the jackal and the dragon launched a ferocious attack. The worms in the underbelly had already weakened him and now came the external blows from the fire breathing dragon. The jackal had attacked from the rear. Uncle wolf tried helping the elephant but was spurned and he desisted from further help, thinking that he would also share some of the booty when everything was over. He did not want to completely antagonize the jackal and the dragon and also he did not have that kind of strength anymore. Overindulgence in sense pleasures had weakened him considerably. This could have been the end of the story for the elephant, but it did not happen. Somehow several mighty and crushing blows acted as a trigger to dispel the stupor. The giant elephant was bleeding profusely, but he discovered a supernatural source of strength within himself. He remembered who he was. He remembered that once upon a time he possessed great might and he was respected by all the denizens of the jungle. He remembered that he was drugged and chained and beaten. He was now angry. The confusion had vanished. He was determined to regain his lost strength. He was injured but not debilitated. He was in pain but not agonized. His supernatural source of strength fended for him. He turned around and with one mighty blow of his trunk he shook off the jackal who fell at a great distance and had its spine broken. It became completely immobilized from the mighty blow. Now it was the face off between the dragon and the elephant. One would be sorely disappointed, but the results were not very dramatic. The dragon, seeing the huge elephant regaining his strength and composure, and knowing for sure that any fight would be suicidal, backed off and refrained from any further hostilities. Uncle wolf, realizing that the elephant had gained supreme strength, came to know of the past achievements of the elephant which far surpassed his own achievements, and was filled with wonder. He became an ally of the elephant and gained considerably from the association. The other animals began to respect the leadership of the elephant and the hyenas and the vultures were sorely disappointed.

The moral of the story, a few mighty blows are essential for a nation which is suffering from momentary dementia and is therefore oblivious of the great might and power that it really possesses, and the memories of its past achievements. These blows necessitate several supreme sacrifices that its denizens have to undergo to restore the nation to its original place.

Now you can draw any analogy with the prevalent socio-political situations.