Khrietuonyü Noudi
Once upon a time, there was a wealthy farmer who lived in a big village situated on the bank of a big river. Since the village was near the river, the soil was very fertile and the villagers always had bountiful harvest. Apart from owning huge tracks of land which he tilted and cultivated, this farmer also owned multiple cattle and herds which roamed around everywhere in the vicinity of the village grazing grass and herbs. Moreover, he had a healthy and energetic wife who vigorously supported him in every endeavor he undertook. They had seven children and all his children were growing well and seemed to be on their way to inherit a rich inheritance from their father sooner or later.
This farmer had also inherited the lands and properties from his father and forefathers and he intended to one day pass on this heritage and legacy to his children. The village had always enjoyed surplus harvest for many generations and there seemed to be no threat whatsoever from any quarter as no enemies were around and the village seemed to be totally safe from any apparent natural force.
In other words life was good for this wealthy farmer and he was the envy and pride of the whole village and it appeared like he would live a long healthy, happy and fulfilled life and die a peaceful and satisfied man warm in his bed surrounded by his near and dear ones.
But one day everything changed. There was incessant rain for many days and the river overflowed and the waters from the river wiped out everything in the village. Everything in the village was submerged and nobody survived except this wealthy farmer. Though he lost his wife, all of his children and all his property, this man, by a strange miracle, survived.
After the catastrophic experience, he moved to another village and settled down there. And by the grace of god, he did well and prospered and began to live a normal life again. But he was so grateful, surprised and astonished by the fact that he could survive such a devastating flood in which everybody else died that everywhere he went, he would narrate his story to everybody of how he survived a village flood. In other words, his survival story was always at the tip of his mouth and he would narrate his story everywhere and to every new man he meets. He would narrate his survival story so often that finally the people in that village became bored and annoyed by his story.
So this man moved to a big city where he prospered again as a city merchant. He also remarried and became a father of five children. God had been good to him and he was once again a prosperous, wealthy and respected man. But despite all these, this man still could not get over his horrible experience. He still could not believe and fathom how he could survive such a calamity in which everything and everybody perished except him. So, even in this big city, he would tell his survival story to everybody. Undoubtedly he had narrated his survival story multiple times to his wife and children that they were already bored and tired of it. Similar was the case with all of his friends and acquaintances. Of course, his survival story was an amazing one but it had been repeated so often by the same narrator that it had become annoying and irritating.
Finally, this man died and went to heaven. While he was in heaven, there was a big social event and people were invited to share their stories. So, as was his custom, this man decided to narrate his story of how he survived a village flood. But just as he was about to start, someone came from behind and whispered into his ear “Noah is also in the audience”. When he heard this, the man suddenly became nervous, intimidated and speechless because he knew that his story was nothing in comparison to the story of Noah who had survived a global flood. So this time, he could not muster the courage and confidence to tell his story and he sat down and kept mum.
In his classic poem “If”, Rudyard Kipling said that one should not talk too wise or speak too confidently. Many people have the tendency to think and speak as if their story is the ultimate version and that everybody should listen to it. But there may be people out there with much greater and deeper experiences. As such we should be watchful of where we stand and whom we are addressing before we utter any words lest we make a mockery of ourselves. This is because words once spoken can never be taken back.
Buddha said, “silence is not empty but silence is full of answers”. So just because everybody is listening to you when you are bragging does not mean everybody is agreeing with you. It may be just out of respect and courtesy that they are not interrupting. The truth is that they may not ask any question verbally but in their heart, many questions and answers may be popping up.
Now, with another Assembly election just round the corner, we would get to hear many speeches, propagandas, narrations and versions in the coming months. Some of the narrations we are about to hear may be laughable, idiotic or even downright disgusting because many of the speakers will obviously try to project themselves as saviors and messiahs while at the same time demeaning and belittling their opponents. But we all know that most of these are all propaganda to garner support and vote.
To the intending candidates and their chief agents who would be addressing many audiences in the coming months, I would like to remind them that there may be many Noahs in the audiences. In every department, in every neighborhoods and localities, in every market place and in every nook and corners, there are Noahs who know what our representatives did or did not do during their tenures. As was rightly said by Abraham Lincoln, “you may fool somebody all the time, you may fool all people sometime but you cannot fool all the people all the time”.
As election season draws near, we would again get to hear the all too familiar story of what some of our state politicians did or did not do in the past to save the people or to facilitate the Naga solution. But all these stories have become platitudes which are routinely repeated during election times and the public are obviously bored. So this time, it would be good if the intending candidates can at least say something new and different.
In every Miss India beauty contest, the contestants are asked what they would do if they become Miss India. To this question, most of the contestants would say that, if they win, they would like to work as social workers or ambassadors for the UNO and go around the world helping the needy and feeding the hungry. Some contestants would even say that they wish to become messengers of peace and goodwill and bring about better understanding and harmony in the country and the world.
But the Noahs witnessing the contest would know that all these answers are nothing but blatant lies. Here, I can consider myself a Noah because I know exactly for what reason many young Indian women aspire to be Miss India. It is a fact that many young Indian women consider the Miss India Beauty Pageant to be a direct entry ticket to Bollywood. So instead of saying that they wish to become social workers or ambassadors of peace and goodwill, it would be much more gratifying to hear a more straightforward answer from these contestants like, “I want to become Miss India because I love glamour and I want to enter Bollywood and become a superstar”. Such an answer may be too undiplomatic or harsh. But that is the true answer and I would respect any contestant who can utter such honest words in front of the whole country.
Similarly, with the election just round the corner, we would again get to hear many slogans which we have heard time and time again like, “the Naga political issue is our top priority”, “we would end corruption”, “we would ensure meritocracy and transparency”, “we are ready to step down to facilitate solution”, “we want solution not election”, etc etc etc. But we are now all Noahs who know the stories all too well. So instead of hearing all these cheap rhetoric and platitudes all over again, this time, I as a Naga Noah would like to hear something more straightforward and direct from our intending candidates even if it is to sound unparliamentary, undiplomatic or even uncivilized.
