Once upon a time there were five friends — a, e, i, o and u — who decided to go and live among a race of people called the Consonants. The Consonants were a rough bunch who rarely got along well with each other. But after the five friends, who called themselves the Vowels, came to live with them, matters improved immensely. They forged new bonds between the Consonants and brought a sense of togetherness to the community. Not long after, all the members decided to elect a king from their midst and no one was surprised when the sensible, modest i emerged as the unanimous choice. “Capital! Capital!” cried the other Vowels in delight as the jewelled crown was placed on the head of i, who now became I, the emperor of the kingdom of Words. I ruled wisely and well with the help of his four friends whom he consulted on all matters. As for the townsfolk, they loved their king so much that whenever they had to speak about themselves, they would use their good king’s name instead. Thus, peace and harmony prevailed in Words. However, not so long ago, the four friends noticed a change in the attitude of the people. Curiously, I’s subjects seemed to be growing resentful towards their king. The reason behind this came to light one day when the quartet received an invitation from a mysterious stranger called Toi. The four Vowels called at his house that night and returned a few hours later, thoroughly shaken. Toi had told them that he wasn’t happy with the existing state of affairs as it was unfair. “Monarchy is a fading notion”, he had explained calmly, “A lone individual should not be invested with all the powers”. Toi told them that he had spoken to the people many times in the last few months and all had agreed with him. “Persuade him to abdicate. It’s for the best”, he had said gently. And so, to the citizens’ delight, I once again agreed to become i, a commoner. Secretly, he was quite relieved as he was getting a bit tired of being king. His friends, too, were glad to have him back. And Toi? He continued being the silent harbinger of change. The question is, is there a moral in this story? Well, even if there is, one thing’s for sure: ‘i’ wouldn’t know.
PS: thats an article picked up from TOI.
