On Looking Stupid. Or, What did Tenali Rama tell the Footballer?
When I was a kid growing up in India, me and other kids like me were brought up on a steady diet of stories. The most popular of these were stories of Tenali Rama, the Court Jester, the Royal Clown in the court of the great Krishna Deva Raya, king of Vijayanagaram in the South of India. His wit and humour were always backed up by an innate wisdom and a deep understanding of the human psyche. Here’s a small Tenali Rama story to put you in good humor, as a prelude to me getting your goat. Once, the King got annoyed with Tenali Rama for some reason. Tenali Rama had rubbed him the wrong way, and the king wanted to punish him. So he looked sternly at Tenali Rama and said: “Tenali Rama, you are so wise. You must make my horse fly.” “Hmmmm,” said Tenali Rama. “What do you mean, hmmm? Don’t tell me you dare to disobey a royal command. Here are my orders. You are to make my horse fly. Else I will have you beheaded in public.” All of this was happening in the court, bang in the ...