SATYAN
-9. An Offer For Dishonesty

As they were moving along to the palace, King Bharadwaj reminisced, “Once I had reprimanded you for not possessing the noble qualities of your father.  And here, I , too, am guilty of not having any of my father’s virtuous qualities!  It is rightfully said that it is very easy to advice others.  He, who practices what he preaches, is indeed a great soul.”  Vasudev smiled at these words of fact spoken by the King.

Bharadwaj left over Vasudev’s friends under the guidance of some renowned teachers so that they could blossom in their fields of interest and carve out a name for themselves.  Thereby, he returned to his abode with Vasudev.  From that day onwards emerged a new King who devoted his time to hear and solve the grievances of his subjects.  Vasudev earnestly helped the King in his mission by keeping a check on all the activities of the kingdom and instantaneously apprised his ruler if there was anything amiss.  He formed his own set of trusted aides who amply helped him in successfully delegating his responsibilities.  As there was no proper rule, the rich dominated the poor who were made to work mercilessly without being properly paid.  When Vasudev informed Bharadwaj of the injustice being meted out to the poor, he personally met the oppressors and warned them of rigorous punishment if they did not mend their ways.  Thereafter, he himself kept a check on their activities, which brought a dramatic change in their offensive attitude towards the poor.  Suddenly, the kingdom of Somnapur began to prosper which surprised one and all.  Initially, no one could make out the reason behind this sudden metamorphosis underwent by Bharadwaj but slowly word spread that it was due to Vasudev that the King had changed for the best.  Vasudev, too, became popular among the masses who came to be known as the most dedicated aide of the King.

Once, Bharadwaj had to go to another kingdom for a couple of days to attend some function.  Before leaving, he sat with Vasudev and chalked out some remote places of the kingdom, which he wanted his aide to visit.  As these places were very far way from the heart of the kingdom, he had not paid much attention to them earlier and had left them over to his ministers.  He, now wanted Vasudev to visit these areas and see if everything was fine.

The same day after the King had left his kingdom, Vasudev paid a visit to these places with his men.  There, he was shocked to see the wretched conditions the people lived in.  Most of them were unemployed and were living in abject poverty.  Besides, the roads that led to these places were in very poor shape.  It was replete with large potholes and deep cracks.  On enquiry with the people, Vasudev came to know that one of the King’s ministers, Vinayak -who was given the responsibility to look after the welfare of the people living in these districts – had collected huge amounts of tax from them the previous year under the pretext of repairing these roads.  Though work was undertaken and the roads were made accessible, things changed for the worst in a few heavy downpours during the monsoon.  This surprised Vasudev and he assured the people that he would look into the matter.

Vasudev met the minister, Vinayak, and brought up the matter of the inaccessible roads before him.  But Vinayak did not appreciate these enquiries made by Vasudev.  “Those are the areas which have been placed in my jurisdiction by the King.  Where is the need for you to interfere in this regard?” 

“Sire,” Vasudev said calmly, “I am only doing my duty.  When such heavy taxes were levied on the people, it should have been properly used for their welfare.  The very fact that the roads are in such bad shape today only due to some heavy showers in this year’s monsoon shows that ‘pucca’ work was not undertaken in those places.” 

“Enough, Vasudev!” shouted Vinayak.  “In all these years of my service, no one has dared to question me!  You, a mere boy, have the audacity to point an accusing finger at me!  I am not answerable to you!  Please leave!” 

Vasudev got up from his seat calmly and addressed Vinayak, “I shall take up this matter with the King and get to the root of this issue.  You may not be answerable to me but you are certainly answerable to the people and the King.” 

Vasudev took his leave leaving Vinayak stunned.

The next day, Vasudev had an unexpected visitor to his chamber.  He was none other than Vinayak! Vasudev did not show any animosity towards him and welcomed the minister to his chamber.  After they were seated, Vinayak said softly unlike the harsh tone he had used the other day, “Vasudev, I am sorry for my outbursts yesterday.  I was not in my best of moods when you came over.  Today I have come here to not only make amends for my intemperate behaviour but also to make an offer.” 

As Vasudev listened intently, he continued, “There is no need for you to take up this matter with the King, Vasudev.  Let’s keep the truth among us and tell him that all is fine.  If you say so, he shall certainly believe you.  Look, Vasudev.  Being your elder, I have a piece of advice for you.  Do not care so much for the people.  Also think about yourself and lead a happy life.  If you take our side, I assure you that you will never regret it.  Doing the least amount of work, you will earn much more than what you are now getting under the King.  That’s all I had to say!  An intellectual person like you should be able to grasp my point!” 

Vasudev smiled at Vinayak, “Of course I have figured out what you are trying to say, sire!  But you will have to wait for my decision.  Hope you won’t mind that!” 

“Certainly not, Vasudev.  Take your own time but your decision should be in our favour!”  Vinayak took his leave as Vasudev sat on his bed thoughtfully.

(To Continue)