Krishna Story 10

A  COMMON GRIEVANCE
by J.K. Sivan

 

He  was well known for his leadership and schematic plans and held in high esteem by his friends in the village. Though he was younger to them, they all recognized his smartness, capabilities and crisis management skill!

As a true leader, he was instrumental for the ideas, successful execution of them, and good team leadership.  All the boys loved the black chap, who charmed everyone with his smill and innocent looks.  All he boys in the gang were between 5 and 10 years old and  no doubt the leader was the youngest.

Of late they were after butter. In fact he liked it better than others and so devised plans to invade houses where the pots of butter were easily accessible. He instructed and appointed a few lads to go around every day to locate houses which could be entered and butter looted out during unguarded moments. Though the village had only a few streets none of them escaped the plunder.

The Gopis were worried. Who comes every day to some selected house and steals the butter pots? Every gopi had the same experience of stolen butter in her house and all of them  discussed. No body could catch the thief red handed. But they gathered information slowly by threatening their kids to tell the truth and after some investigation the cat was out of the bag. The gopis decided unanimously henceforth to hang the butter pots high above reach so that the pilferer would be disappointed.

A few days there was no report of any butter stealing!   But this morning there was an incident. The house next to Yasodha was entered in the absence of the Gopi who had gone out to Yamuna for washing and bathing.  The group of thieves entered the house  in her absence.   Krishna as usual commanded and ordered the boys. They found the butter pot high above hanging from the roof beyond their reach. He selected the bigger boys to kneel down  on their fours, another climbing upon him, and another so,  thus they devised a human pyramid. The small crafty leader Krishna was on top of the 3 boys  down below and reached the pot. He could not reach the mouth of the pot and so hit it with his flute. The moment the butter started pouring down he collected handfuls and passed on to friends below to enjoy eating it and consumed a lot himself.  A few handfuls were passed on to the two boys guarding the entrance to alert them  when the gopi of the house would return. 

The watch keeper alerted them that the gopi was returning. So they all sprinted out leaving  the small Krishna  to fend for himself as his house was nearer.    He was the last to move out  and the Gopi had seen him running away from her house.

She was wondering why the boy was running out of her house and was surprised to find the pot  hung above was partly broken with the contents lost. The gopi rushed to other houses and the news spread among them identifying who was the culprit behind the butter loss in their houses.  They discussed among themselves and unanimously decided to go and report this to Yasodha so that she can somehow put an end to this recurring problem.

All of them  that evening entered Yasodha’s house.  On seeing them  young Krishna knew the purpose of their visit in a group led by the next door Gopi.  She  loved Krishna most and was hesitating how to complain about him as she was reluctant to get him punished or beaten.  She could not bear it.  The other  gopis too  were silent wondering who is to bell the cat?

Yasodha innocently asked them why all of them are together that evening and was there anything they should all discuss  and seated them on a carpet.   None initiated.

Yasodha was standing in front of them wondering what was the purpose they all visited and why silent without opening their mouths.  She  however surmised.  Is there anything you wished to tell me ?  Is it anthing about this young fellow?  She meant Krishna  who was hiding behind her his hands  clamped around her hips.  He was uneasy and afraid and looked pathetically  at the gopis facing Yasodha.  His eyes silently pleaded them not to reveal and expose him.  The moment the eys of all the gopis met and got interlocked with Krishna’s,  one of them replied Yasodha.  "  Yasodha, we all were free this evening and wanted to discuss with you whether we all can plan to  go out on the coming full moon night to Yamuna and have a get together there on the sands enjoying moonlight dinner?"  .

"Why not?  Let  us all prepare different varieties of food  and really enjoy a moonlit night dinner with the children".

Krishna silently thanked the gopis through his powerful eyes looking at them.!!!

Dear Children,  do you know why Krishna liked butter, it is the end result of boiling the white  milk, adding a spoonful of butter milk or curd to it when lukewarm, allowed to cool curdle undisturbed for hours, then churned until the cream of butter is brought out.   What does this show.  Our  disturbed mind, when a bit calmed down, should be allowed to reason out for the cause of disturbance, followed by introspection and after churning out the should extricate only with the purity of the mind filled with love, selflessness, and sacrifice."  This is what Krishna explains us later in Gita also exhibited in action by preferring the butter as a child.

I suggest you all listen the beautiful song in Tamil PAARVAI ONRE PODHUME composed by Uthukkadu Venkata subba iyer, a great exponent of Krishna Ganam and if you don’t know ask some one who can explain you the meaning of it  which depics the above scene.  In fact it inspired me to  write this episode when I was casually listening to the song sung by late  Maharajapuram Santhanam.

 

 

The author can be reached at: jksivan@gmail.com