Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Fast

It was a strange quandary for the king, the father of the beautiful princess Husn.

Three of his knights, Agyaan, Aham and Aveer, were on a fast unto death, wanting to prove their love for Husn.

Agyaan wasn't very bright, but was willing to die for the love that he proclaimed for her.  Aham was no less.  Though he wasn't handsome, he insisted that he was the only man worthy of being Husn's husband.  Aveer was known to be a coward, and his going on the fast had surprised many, but he also maintained that he was just the man for Husn.

Husn wanted someone who wasn't lacking in anything.  Someone who was bright, handsome and brave.

The days and nights were going by and all three knights were getting weaker and weaker.  The kingdom's physician gave only a day more before one of the knights would die of self-starvation.

The king had come to his wits' end.  In desperation, he left the decision to Husn.

Husn was supremely perplexed.  She had asked every wise person that she knew but none had any advice for her but to accept one of Agyaan, Aham or Aveer and to let the other two die.

Husn was a sensitive woman and she didn't want anyone to die for her.

The night went on, and the whole kingdom was sleepless.

The next morning, she came to the town square, where the three knights were fasting.  She was veiled and only by seeing her chariot could people guess that it was the princess herself.

She announced that she would be taking off her veil at noon.  And whoever among the three knights was the first to come to her in her chariot and take her hand, she would marry him.

The three knights wearily sat on the ground, ready to run with whatever little energy they had to get at the princess.

At noon the princess unveiled herself.  As her veil fell on the ground, a shriek of horror echoed through the entire town.  She had mutilated her face with a chemical during the night, and was hideous to look at.

None of the knights moved an inch.

In a few hours, as the townspeople went their way and the now-ugly princess went to the palace, the three knights ended their fast.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice portray of society and human thinking...but why all three charecters are dumb? Because they are fasting for beauty or chasing something which was not their destiny ?

Harmanjit Singh said...

@anon: The parable/story is open to interpretation. I intended it to illustrate the psychic compulsions and the emotional complexities of forcing one's way through a dispute/demand.

Anonymous said...

Well, if I read the way you mention the ending or psyche of struggle to deal such is escaping or not different than sucide !! Either you give up or you live it, chices are always there and we select one which fed more in entire our life.. :)

Still, my question is unanswered , why all three kings were dumb? :)

Harmanjit Singh said...

@anon:

"why all three kings were dumb?"

They were wanting what they thought they deserved/had-a-right-to. As for the means of expressing their desire, it is all quite common in passive-aggressive societies like India.