[Assam] The Ant and the Grasshopper/The Headlines

[Alpana B. Sarangapani]

Eh...robo, robo C'da. Gaat paati loise kelei? :) Who said what about the "hardworking" and the "real patriots" that you always 'guun bokhani tot nepai' ? :)

It's a nice story Mahesh-da has just shared with us!


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-----Original Message-----
From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 17:57:09 
To: <assam at assamnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Assam] The Ant and the Grasshopper/The Headlines

*** The gist of the fable below is manufactured from a belief, if not  
an assumption that the movers and shakers of India's "progress"  are  
the hardworking
self-made men, and all them troublemakers are lazy, good-for-nothing  
parasites looking for a free-ride on the backs of the hardworking
achievers, aided and abetted by the named villains.

*** If there is a better validation of my comment earlier in response  
to Uttam :

                >----it is that part of Indian society, who, having been chosen  
beneficiaries of the
                >system of feudalistic Indian governance  ( never mind what other more
                >benevolent terms others prefer to call it - the truth cannot escape  
scrutiny),
                >now seeking respect in the world as self-made-men,--

I wouldn't know what that might be. And I rest my case with Alpana's  
own approval "Great analogy there."  :-).

*** The only mysteries left here are:

        A: If Mahesh-da posted the latter-day-desi-fable in response to my  
post.
        B: If he did, whether it was to validate my contention or to refute  
it :-)?











On Apr 7, 2010, at 10:28 AM, Mahesh Baishya wrote:

>
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>
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>
>                        An Old Story:
>
>                        The Ant works hard in the withering heat all  
> summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The  
> Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the  
> summer away.
>
>                        Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed.  
> The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
>
>                         Indian Version:
>
>                         The Ant works hard in the withering heat all  
> summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
>
>                        The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and  
> laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
>
>                        Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls  
> a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed  
> to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. NDTV,  
> TIMESNOW, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering  
> Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with  
> a table filled with food.
>
>                        The World is stunned by the sharp contrast.  
> How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
>
>                        Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front  
> of the Ant's house.
>
>                        Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other  
> Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer  
> climates during winter .
>
>                        Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on  
> Minorities.
>
>                        Amnesty International and Koffi Annan  
> criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental  
> rights of the Grasshopper.
>
>                        The Internet is flooded with online petitions  
> seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and  
> Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for  
> non-compliance) .
>
>                        Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties  
> call for ' Bengal Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a  
> Judicial Enquiry.
>
>                        CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law  
> preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about  
> equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.
>
>                        Mamta Bannerji allocates one free coach to  
> Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the  
> 'Grasshopper Rath'.
>
>                        Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the '  
> Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with  
> effect from the beginning of the winter.
>
>                        Kapil Sibbal makes 'Special Reservation ' for  
> Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.
>
>                        The Ant is fined for failing to comply with  
> POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's  
> home is confiscated by the Government
>                        and handed over to the Grasshopper in a  
> ceremony covered by NDTV.
>
>                        Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.
>
>                        Mamta calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.
>
>                        CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence  
> of the Downtrodden '
>
>                        Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to  
> address the UN General Assembly.
>
>                        Many years later....
>
>                        The Ant has since migrated to the US and set  
> up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley ,
>
>                        100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation  
> despite reservation somewhere in India ,
>
>                        .....AND
>
>
>                        As a result of loosing lot of hard working  
> Ants and feeding the grasshoppers,
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        .
>                        India is still a developing country.!!!
>
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>                  .
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> _______________________________________________
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