A BITS Tale

[Pubby's Note: This post is mostly fiction, and very mildly fact. Please do not take it seriously]

A long, long time ago, in the land of Rajputana, there was a small, peaceful kingdom in the region of Gaumukh. The kingdom was called Dosamgarh, and it was a fast-growing realm of businessmen; people who liked to speak, to negotiate, to cut deals, and to gather goods and money.

This money they gathered wasn’t for their own personal needs, although the drinks they got they generally kept to themselves. The money was used to hold the three big festivals, held every year in the honour of Tukdeydev, the lord of culture, innovation and sports. The festivals were the most important affair in Gaumukh; so important that the king of Dosamgarh used to spend his entire life working for them, and his scions were the high priests of the festivals.

After a few years, though, it became apparent that Gaumukh had become a very desolate place. Most people who used to live there had either emigrated to other parts of the land, or had become denizens of Dosamgarh itself, now one of the greatest kingdoms in Rajputana. As a result, the people who used to attend the three festivals dwindled sharply, and it was clear that this state of affairs could not go on for long.

After much debate and discussion, it was decided by the Elder Council that Dosamgarh could not ensure the entire well-being, and it was vital to create another territory, which would ensure that people from all of Rajputana come to Gaumukh for the three festivals. This kingdom was to be called Depnagar, and to ensure that it functions well, the founding fathers of Depnagar were picked from among the princes and ministers of Dosamgarh; now a smaller, humbler state.

Things went fine for the first few years. The festival attendees kept on growing, the money kept pouring in, and Dep and Dosam, though they were never the most cordial of neighbours, worked along fine enough to ensure that Tukdeydev was pleased.

There came one year, though, where all this changed suddenly. Since the formation of Depnagar, the three festivals had had joint high priests, each a prince in his own kingdom. One year, the high priests of Karak, 2 learned men named Ved Vasa and Rishi Kesh, discovered an instant disdain for each other’s way of working (worship is work, after all), and decided to ignore each other’s efforts for Karak until the festival would be over.

The ensuing discord soon cut any lines of friendship the two kingdoms might have had. Both Depnagar and Dosamgarh, now huge states equal in size and power, started doing what any 2 kingdoms of equal size and power do when at loggerheads; they started seizing more power, looking for more work to do in order to prove Karak was their brainchild. It is hardly a surprise that Karak did not go as planned that year. There were at least 8 cases where Karak failed to live up to the standards it had set the year before.

The storm over the smooth functioning of Karak (or the lack thereof) spilled so much bad blood between the two dominions that it looked like they were doomed for an eternity of hatred towards each other. Only a miracle could save them now.

Miraculously though, the embitterment, did not last overlong. As it happens, it was not hate that drove away hate, but a seed of affection that saved them from perpetual destruction. A stalwart prince of Depnagar fell for a charming princess of Dosamgarh, and their secret meetings away from the leaguer sprouted the softening of many a heart on both sides of the border.

Today, the two monarchies still coexist, working once again for the three festivals, with something of the old cordiality coming back, and growing steadily by the constant presence and efforts of the young couple.


And how do I know all this? Well, my dear readers, I was also one of the princes and high priests of Depnagar. With my festival behind me and my prayers to Tukdeydev all but answered, I have now taken, what can only be described as Sanyaas, from Rajputana. I spend my days now loitering around river beds and distant lakes, in Remembrance of Things Past.

Comments

Nice one, but just to be clear...which prince and princess are you talking about? I can think of only one.
Psycho Surd said…
"In the long run, we're all dead" -- JM Keynes.
Think about this again.
Prashant Nagpal said…
@Ajach and Gunner
Any explanations can be asked of me in person. You know where I live. :|

@Witchie
They're the very same

@PsychoSurd
Yeah, but there's no reason not to have a bit of fun while we're alive!
Sagar Premkumar said…
There's no explanations required,its still :|
P said…
god bless ye merry fireballs :)
Anonymous said…
god bless ye furry mothballs :|
Prashant Nagpal said…
Bid glass ye furry mothballs :| :|

Popular posts from this blog

And when did you last go to Goa?

Abstractions in Romance