Ant and the GrasshopperCLASSIC VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and 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.
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MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and 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.
BBC, CNN, AAJ TAK, NDTV 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. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper. Opposition MP's stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter. The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by BBC,CNN, AAJ TAK and NDTV. Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.
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I know that the mail was in jest and I take it as it is but I need to point out that the poor are not poor b'coz they, like the grasshopper in the original story sat through summer enjoying a song and mocking at the hard-working ant. They work just hard if not harder than any of us, corporate executives, bank managers and software professionals.
And Arundati Roy, Kofi Annan or anyone for that matter, advocating the cause of these poor people do it b'coz as a society we have failed them, actually robbed them blind. The analogy therefore is simply untrue.
I just wanted to indicate that as 'informed' people we should not make such hasty and insensitive comments. We don't have to join these people in the fight. Lets atleast not trivialise it. In truth we are leaches thriving on the blood of these 'grasshoppers'. Let us not take an air of superiority b'coz we got lucky in His roll of dice, lucky enough to be what we are.
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One year in blogworld. WoooHoooo!!!!
23 comments:
One year of blogging! Congrats! Shouldn't u be writing a celebratory message rather than a dull boring long post on ants and grasshoppers
Anu
Congratulations. May I blogroll you?
You are right! But what do I do when such a topic comes on such a day. Surely you can't expect me to not respond to an insensitive forward like tht, anniversary or not.
Lalita!
Please do! I am always open for more readers. And I'll blogroll you with your kind permission.
Thanks, I have done so. Please do blogroll me. I can do with more readers, too. :D
Some of my friends were wondering why I felt so bad (that blood boils) for a benign story. They didn't see anything wrong in the modern version of the story at all.
Is it just me??? :-|
There are none more blind than those who refuse to see. Injustice is a one-way street for some people. It only counts when they are crying foul.
That's my take on why some of your readers don't get it.
Precisely, Priya! Some of my friends thought so too. More on it later.
I am afraid tht the story cud be seen in many levels. Poor countries and rich ones. Poor people and rich people. And perhaps communities based on caste/colour/creed. And my argument is that whatever level we look at this the analogy is false. The insinuation that the poor deserve to be poor which is how i read the story is arrogant.
Lalita has raised a valid point - injustice is when u cry out aloud. And then Priya thought the story was on reservation. Putting them together... I am confused.
Reason: I am against Reservation.
I seriously wonder now why I'm against it.
Am I being an 'ant' here feeling deprived of the luxuries b'coz 'grasshopper' has Left parties and Arundati Roy fight for it. I hope not.
i think that reservation that is beneficial in the long run is necessary. i am sure reservation, as in special focus on good primary and secondary education for the under-privileged classes is essential. and i believe under-privileged should take into acct socio-economic conditions instead of merely social status. but for tertiary education???
truth is I DON'T KNOW. and as most uninformed ppl i either take the route tht will have least -ve effect on my life or wish to maintain the status quo.
In this respect I am keen to see the White Paper from the Government demanded by the 'Youth for Justice' on how reservation has benefited the poor and which castes have come up the social ladder b'coz of it. Perhaps then I can make an informed & equanimous decision.
Education is every one's right. Education is necessary for the development of the society and the upliftment of a country, and when i say this i dont mean to give a failure or below average student admission in medicine, but may be something else which he can do. Education till some stage should be must. That would make their level of thinking higher as well as broader while also getting over the soical evils and terror present in thir minds which at a later stage can be dangerous. On a side note, would the so called discriminated tasted the fruits of education without reservations in the first place? This makes me conclude that reservations are here to stay. The political dingbats are playing stupid games to appease the vote bank.
P.S->Congrats! Do you mind if i add a link to your blog in mine?
cool take on the topic. And it made reading what is essentially the same content on every second website, enjoyable
Siva sivaa and qfunk!
Welcome to the website.
Siva sivaa!
Reservation is here to stay. Sadly. I dunno if anyone else has said this but we need to have a timeline wherein we phase-out reservations. With a fixed timeline, I am sure Reservation will have more benefit as a leveller. Pls do include me in ur links!
qfunk!
I am sorry for talking abt the same stuff tht others r doing. blogger's bane. still! i am glad u liked my take on it.
WooHoo! New readers! :)
the story is quintessentially a study of a sensitive topic.
great post.. as always....
Reservation, if we have to have it, should be linked solely to economic need. Merit shouldn't be compromised in higher education. If we had better policies and implementation for primary education, reservations can be phased out.
But we are talking about Utopia then, not our country's blinkered vote bank politics.
vijay!
thnx for tht vote of confidence. :)
yup! the story is a sensitive one. in the version i read as a child, the grasshopper was lazy during summer and had to starve when winter came. but the ant was kind enuf to take it in (as against letting it die). and the grasshopper repented making fun of the hardworking ant.
now thts a lot better. :)
Lalita!
A dream for Utopia! I think it is an achievable dream. Will take a lot of time. But achievable.
Yup! agree on the economic need part. even then reservation isn't the way out. give fee waivers/scholarships for the meritorious poor. and primary education...i can't stress tht enuf. but r the policy makers listening
Hi, congrats. It was a pleasure to read an unbiased take on things. I wish more people who didn't know too much about the issues involved were as honest as you, instead of jumping into this dialogue of the deaf that appears to have taken over our lives. I am rather combative and have been itching to post on the topic, but better sense has prevailed and I've kept my mouth firmly shut. If I open it, I intend to link to this post.
Truly go by ur views... Check out the piece here. A good analogy... Well things at mumbai are lot tight...!! hope things end out right at the end..!!
Nevermind!
Unbiased take... I am flattered. Gee...thnx.
Priya! There are some who find some hidden meaning in the most pedestrian of things and several who wudn't bother if meaning danced a tango naked
Hey... congrats on the anniversary :)
Also, you need to read Kamal Nath's interview to get a bigger laugh. Refer to this post of mine for the funniest part
Btw, I had been to Canberra for a short day trip... it was quite beautiful!
L: The article was very interesting but a let-down for me that a former director of an IIT would go as far as to talk like Bush - 'u r either with them or with us'. And reproduce like rabbits... so sad and so not unbiased. (and to use the word Hindu irks me as not all SC/ST/MBCs are non-Hindus)
ofcourse most non-FCs are happy to use the reservation when they r entitled to it. wud i think twice abt taking an offer which says i don't have to work my ass for my bread. most of these beneficiaries will be silent - not speaking for or against it. and few will obviously be very vocal abt their stand
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