P. O. V. - part 1

This was a speech I delivered in Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Samayapuram, as part of the Trichy Toastmasters Club meeting. The audiences were a full house of students coming from various departments who were enthusiastic about public speaking. This story is a result of my improvisation of 3 folk stories originally from Aesopica/Panchatantra.

I assume position on the stage and acknowledge the audience with eye contact and a smile.

You know, this place is just like my college auditorium where I have attended numerous meetings. Back then, I would be sitting as part of the audience commenting or making fun of the speaker. I mean, come on, not all speakers are interesting. Some are boring, some are in fact funny, and some others are so good at putting us to sleep that the only way we can remain awake is by entertaining ourselves. Now, the tables have turned, and I am the speaker standing in front of a big bunch of students wishing for good behaviour. I mean, come on, I have prepared hard to deliver some good content, all this attention is making me nervous and the least I expect is undistracted listenership. Isn’t it interesting how our opinions change with our position and point of view? From the trivial stuff to the more existential ones?

  That is what I’ll be talking about today, let me elaborate; you all must’ve heard the fox and the crane story, right? How about fox and the grapes? I’m sure you know the story of the fox and the crow.

Every time we hear these stories, we associate ourselves to the crane, or the grapes or the crow because we are always the good guys. To be fair, there are times when we are like Mr. Fox here, but that doesn’t make us the bad guy because there is always a solid reason for why we do what we do. So, let’s look at the Fox’s P.O.V.

        Once upon a time in a jungle, were two friends, the fox, and the crane. One day the crane invited fox to dinner and served him fish in a jar. With just the aroma of it, he knew that the fish was marinated with the choicest of spices, grilled to perfection, sprinkled with lemon zest and garnished with herbs. Salivating and consumed with desire, he reached out for the jar and put his snout into it; but it was too short to pass through the narrow neck of the jar and reach the fish at the bottom, he then put his paw inside the jar but couldn’t hold the fish; in a desperate attempt to eat, he abandoned all courtesies and tilted the jar and shook it vigorously hoping for the fishes to fall out and into his mouth, but in vain. He so wished the food was served in a flat dish. The crane on the other hand put his long slim beak into the jar, picked up the fish with grace and enjoyed the meal without a care in the world.

        Fox felt very insulted and confronted the crane about the inhospitable treatment. The crane replied,” It was you who put me in the same awkward spot first; when you served soup in a shallow dish at your house, I am merely returning the favour and serving what you deserve!”. Fox was flustered, he was taken over by shock, shame, guilt but mostly he felt betrayed. He thought, “Alright, I made a mistake, but it wasn’t deliberate. I was just inexperienced at hosting dinners. All he had to do was tell me and I would’ve corrected myself. What kind of a friend quietly schemes a revenge?”. Fox was convinced that crane was more at fault than him, so he got up angrily and left.

      He walked back with a broken heart and his stomach was growling in hunger. Just then, he noticed a big juicy bunch of red grapes hanging from a vine. The very sight of it was delightful; he felt assured that that was his dinner. With high hopes, he jumped higher and higher, but to no use. With each unsuccessful attempt his optimism died a slow death, he had to go to bed hungry. This incapability to reach the grapes was like rubbing salt to his wound. The fox thought, “I mean no harm to anyone, but everyone betrays me. The crane was a fake friend who delighted in my plight and now these grapes don’t care that I’m hungry, such snobs. What is the point of being a fruit and showing off, if you won’t let anyone eat you? Oh, I know, they must be sour, that is why!”. Criticizing the grapes made him feel better about himself and push away feelings of being unloved and defeated.

  As he proceeded towards home, he made a mental note to be shrewd because the world is out there to get him. A few steps ahead, he saw a crow perched on a tree branch holding a vadai in his beak. The fox’s survival skills urged him to act quickly, he started rambling, “Wow! What a beautiful bird you are. I have never seen such a magnificent creature. I am sure your voice must be the sweetest, can you please enchant me with a song?”. He was so good at flattery; the crow fell for his trick. No sooner than he opened his mouth to sing, the vadai fell off his beak and the fox gobbled it up immediately. He could see the crow astonished by the rapid turn of events and told himself, “ I didn’t take the vadai by force, the crow had the choice to be careful but he wasn’t. I utilised the opportunity, that’s all. Anyway, he didn’t make the vadai himself, he stole it from that poor paati. It is just his karma playing out, I merely facilitated it”.

    And that, my dear audience, was the story from the fox’s P.O.V? He has a point, right? Think about it, not all of us are born experts to be doing the right thing always, we learn from our mistakes. The crane could have practiced some tolerance and talked it out, after all, that is what are friends for, aren’t they?

   Coming to the next story, there is a 50% chance for those grapes to be sour, nobody would know unless it has been eaten.  So the fox wasn’t lying, he focused on only that part which was true and favorable to his position ;it helps to cope with the failure and disappointment. Not a big deal, is it?

    About the crow, you can't exactly call it cheating! It was a fighting chance, that is the way of the world. Survival of the Fittest’! Being alert is a basic survival skill, or you fail the quality control test. But really, the crow first cheated that paati to steal the vadai ; what goes around comes around.

   So, where is the fault in fox’s behaviour? He was just being  normal, like any of us, trying to wing it on a hard day!

What do you think?

To be continued

Click on the link to read the second part

https://hridayakamala.blogspot.com/2023/02/continuation-of-part-1-click-on-link-to.html