A DOG IN THE MANGER! -A story for the big kids out there-

There was a dog by name Chakko who lived close to the river with his master Baradwaj. Chakko by nature was a lazy old dog. He was too old that he didn't really have any desires left. He was happy with the very little basic shelter and needs Baradwaj would offer and be content with it. Being a very economical deal, Baradwaj was happy to keep Chakko at his service and Chakko in turn would try his best to please his master. Over a period of time they had developed a symbiotic relationship.

In due course, when his master had started a new farm that reared race-horses, a few more well trained watch dogs were hired for taking care of the farm. Chakko being the senior most was assigned the head of horse rearing team. That's when Chakko's ego started to bloat up. He knew he was weak and old. He felt those new appointments could be a threat to his chair as the Head. 

He was scared if his subordinates did a better job than him, he knew his master will eventually lose interest in him and may even be thrown out of the home. So he charted his plans. He decided to not let them do any job and deny them of their freedom. He passed a rule that if there's anything the junior wanted to do, they need to take permission from the head.

Now that he got that done, he would know every single step that others are taking. He would criticize every single suggestions, prolong every single request and hold on the papers indefinitely  And sometimes to show his diplomacy, he would accept a few suggestion, sign out as if it were his genuine idea and nullify it in few days before it took full shape.

Now that he had control on everything and every one in the team, he was overjoyed. He felt powerful like a dictator. And every time he succeeded in making things difficult, his sense of ego grew even much taller. And so his next move would be to satisfy that ego.

At the same time the other dogs in the team started to feel annoyed. One of them couldn't take it anymore and left the herd one fine day. The rest of them contemplated on leaving the herd.

Major chunk of Chakko's time was occupied with suppressing his juniors and his prospective threats. Because of that, he failed to look into the horse farm and their well being. One fine day, when he took a peep into the farm, he realized that among the two mares in one shed, Sheela was healthy and doing excellent. Nisha, the other one in the shed, who was on the weaker side, was also getting better. 

He was shocked. When he reared alone, they were not that healthy and competent. He can't afford to take that risk. If the master came to know that, he would definitely think it's because of the new dogs they are doing good. And in the depth of his mind, he feared on what he would do if Sheela evolved to be another  Zenyatta and overtook him in the field. After all he has become too old to compete with Sheela. The very thought of it made him feel insecure.

 He had to stop sheela from progressing. He plotted all the possible plans he could think of and finally decided to try the divide and rule policy. He decided to build a wall between Sheela and Nisha. He tried to inflict hatred, insecurity and inferiority complex in Nisha. Nisha being on the weaker side of the divide, fell for it. She started acting strange and tried her best to compete with Sheela. On the other hand, Sheela felt depressed for the odd behavior of her companion. But she didn't let her ambition fade away from mind and kept striving forward, undeviating.

When Chakko realized that his plan was not working, he tried all his other tricks. Finally it came to a point that Nisha could no longer take it and left. She left the herd in search of a better herd to rear with. Though Sheela felt bad for Nisha's departure, it didn't disorient her. She kept moving at her pace to her destination.
Now Chakko realized that Sheela was indeed a tough problem to handle. And he had to interrupt her  progress at any cost. So he decided to prevent her from feeding. When he can't feed, others should also not feed as well; he thought. He then shifted all the hay from her shed to the manger in his room. And then sat over it whenever the horses came to eat. The remaining hay he kept it locked in another chamber.

But that didn't stop sheela. She kept her stare fixed at her target and kept moving. She wandered around in search of hay. In the process, she not only got the best hay, but grew stronger with every bold step she took.

Chakko kept trying one trick after the other to stop Sheela. But never succeeded  Every time he fails Sheela grew stronger and became more determined. 

That's exactly how the phrase “A Dog In The Manger” came into use. And the moral of the story is, “when Sheela is determined, no bloody Chakkos can even dream of stopping her!”

NB: The characters in this story might look real and annoy few of the Chakkos and Chakkophilics. So let me make it very clear: This being a work of fiction, names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s weird imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.


Image Courtesy: A 1899 theatre poster for the farce by Charles Hale Hoyt.

9 comments:

  1. Leo, that is new wine in the old bottle! It is a wonderful allegory. Here is wishing filthiest Hell to the Chakkos of the world. Do take care.

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  2. Ha ha ha. Enjoyed it. Hope the Chakko's of this world are controlled and shown their actual place.

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  3. Chakko is a nice name for a dog. Great post.

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  4. AN astute analysis of the goings on in our country--no wonder there is this brain drain.

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  5. Good one....And Sheela is nice name for a horse...reminds me of Katrina :)

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  6. You there, this is really good post here. Thanks for taking the time to post such valuable information. Quality content is what always gets the visitors coming. 5 Ways to Get Your Dog to Do Any Tricks for FREE!

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