True Lies

I was thinking about all the stories I either heard or read in my childhood. How I believed them and thought such things existed. It makes me laugh now, yeah laugh about all those silly stories I believed in. And for ages kids have been listening to the same stories and continue to believe in them. Take the tortoise and the hare story for instance. I mean how on earth can a tortoise win a race with an hare.

When I was a kid (Ahem! says the kid in me) my parents brought a tortoise home. He was the most boring pet ever. Every time anyone went close to him, he would simply curl in the shell and stay there still, not moving, seemed dead to me. I used to move the shell round and round at an alarming speed, hoping he would get dizzy and at least poke his feet or head out. But No Sir! He would enjoy the rollercoaster ride and stay there inside his shell. There was no playing, no hiding, no enthusiasm or energy. I would see him walking across the living room when I left for school in the morning and find him at the same spot when I returned. Trying to cross the miles of living room. Slow and steady ha!! The distance covered would be few cms at the most. Coz for anyone who walked past him and for any footsteps meters away from him, would be like some earthquake for this soul and then he would stay hidden in his shell for hours, till he was convinced that the natural calamity has disappeared.

And then this story of tortoise and hare. How?? I would ask Ma, how could the tortoise ever win any race. She would reply "Thats coz he slept". I bet even if the hare slept for a decade, he would still win.

And what was that crap about Thumbelina – the little girl. I mean literally a person of the size of a thumb. Wouldn’t she be squished while her mum tried to dab some powder on her face? I used to keep asking Ma size of thumb means whose thumb, your, mine? And she meets this mouse. So I would ask again, “Ma, the mouse didn’t eat her?” No!! Huh?

Then came the Fox and the sour grapes. Yeah right!! If only a fox could think so much. And the moral of the story was “Its easy to despise what you cannot get” Huh?? “Ma, what does that mean?” So if I don’t get a first rank and say that its too hard to get the rank, is it ok Ma?” "No its not ok. You shouldn't do that”. Why not? The fox did it. I could never understand whether the story conveyed “resentment” or to the fact that “someone who after losing denies the intention of winning altogether”. Too confusing.

Then there was the crocodile and the monkey tale where the crocodile wants the monkey’s heart and the monkey convinces him that its back on the tree. I mean really, what crap. Crocodile I believe is a predator and which monkey on earth would agree to sit on his back. Ridiculous! Moreover which crocodile would let its prey get away once its caught. But coming back to the truth- I loved these stories and I believed them and their morals. But I wonder if I would tell them to my kids and whether they would be as applicable then. Probably they would know too many facts, too much exposure and will just not agree with fantasies.

On another completely different note, rice sambar and fried eggplant make an awesome combination. Don’t worry I wont turn this blog into a recipe blog ever!!