Shashanka was the first to bring the whole Bengal (Banga, Samatata and Gaud) together under one rule. Shashanka's death in 625 AD left Bengal into the hands of feeble rulers.Harshavardana and Vashkarvarma came hounding. There was total entropy of the polity. According to Tara Natha – every single Brahmin, every single Kshatriyo, and every Elite became too powerful within their own small fiefdom. He described the condition as Matsyanyaya (big fish eating small fish) until the people got fed up and elected Gopala as king in 750 AD. Gopala was nothing more than a garden variety Khastriyo. His Pedigree was not of high kind; definitely not the kingly kind, that our current Prime Minister or her perpetual nemesis Begum Khaleda Zia do aptly delude of. Yes, the first popularly elected leader of Bengal, Gopala made a great king. My be, he is the greatest Bangalee of all time! Anyway, genetic make up, indeed, is not needed for the make of a good king and/or leader.
***
It is a fact that, like our honorable PM is an accomplished artist; so was Hitler. But I shall talk about a different kind of artist now – Magadha'a Bimbisara was a true musician. He was no fan of the Licchavi republic at his northern border. But the knights of the Licchavi had Ambrapali – whose beauty was exquisite and her skills outstanding. She was a courtesan of the highest order – kind of a institution by herself and a pride of the Licchavi knights. Bimbisara was smitten and when, in disguise, he met Ambrapali, he was doubly smitten. His musical talent was a boon – Ambrapali too was smitten. But his days of dalliance with Ambrapli enraged the Licchavi knights of Vaisali. And the subsequent stories were rather incarnadine.
Affair of heart, yes, is not very compatible with affair of state. Thus, when the supposed servant of the people, the PM pours her heart for a N'Ganj family of ugly repute, not knowing how her heartfelt affair shall influence the rule of law, I cringe ... Ambrapali, eventually saw the light and dedicated her life to the alter of the Sakya prince – the Buddha. And let's hope for something of this sort to befall on the PM's beloved family of N'Ganj ...
Affair of heart, yes, is not very compatible with affair of state. Thus, when the supposed servant of the people, the PM pours her heart for a N'Ganj family of ugly repute, not knowing how her heartfelt affair shall influence the rule of law, I cringe ... Ambrapali, eventually saw the light and dedicated her life to the alter of the Sakya prince – the Buddha. And let's hope for something of this sort to befall on the PM's beloved family of N'Ganj ...
***
And the prince of the vacuous house of air or Hawa Vobon is on a tirade. I guess a smart tirade! The lesser Rahman (his father) was being vilified right and left with very unkind words by the PM and her lackey ministers and her Awami minstrels.
So, the evil prince came swinging. He knew it well that Awami League (and also his own party) are glued together by apparitions of its slain leader. So, he is trying to bring the aristocratic image of the Father of the Nation down to the dirty and dinghy earth. Questions are being raised. But the people are smart, they have seen a lot and they don't care much.
But the Awami leaders seems to be more gullible and they are snarling right and left, oblivious of the fact that they, too, are not immune of Achilles heel.
So, the evil prince came swinging. He knew it well that Awami League (and also his own party) are glued together by apparitions of its slain leader. So, he is trying to bring the aristocratic image of the Father of the Nation down to the dirty and dinghy earth. Questions are being raised. But the people are smart, they have seen a lot and they don't care much.
But the Awami leaders seems to be more gullible and they are snarling right and left, oblivious of the fact that they, too, are not immune of Achilles heel.
***
The turbulent 9-month caesura that gave birth to a politically independent Bangladesh had no kings or queens. Dedicated leaders of like Tajuddin Ahmed handled the most critical period of our national life just right. With out the benefit of the wisdom of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, things went very well. Now, when the country is immersed in another crisis, reminiscent of post-Shashanka Matsyanyaya - may be we need another commoner like Gopola or Tajuddin.
***
Michelle de Montaigne was an aristocrat who after a brilliant carrier in public service, retired at age 38 to write and reflect. He wrote numerous essays, often loosely bound – full of quotations, anecdotes and stories; essays long and short – some as long as a short book.
Despite his earthly riches and a lofty mind, he was refreshingly humble. “ ... so the opinion I give of this is to declare the measure of my sight, not the measure of things” - he said; and from this tangent of ignorance he was able to question all the inequities of our lives. And as such, he was refreshingly down to the earth – a simple fallible man, a true humanist.
He worked as a courtier and lived in a castle; he was a philosopher influencing the likes of Shakespeare and Nietzsche – and yet he attacked his own pedigree by saying, “Kings and philosophers defecate, and so do ladies.”
***
Despite his earthly riches and a lofty mind, he was refreshingly humble. “ ... so the opinion I give of this is to declare the measure of my sight, not the measure of things” - he said; and from this tangent of ignorance he was able to question all the inequities of our lives. And as such, he was refreshingly down to the earth – a simple fallible man, a true humanist.
He worked as a courtier and lived in a castle; he was a philosopher influencing the likes of Shakespeare and Nietzsche – and yet he attacked his own pedigree by saying, “Kings and philosophers defecate, and so do ladies.”
***
When shall our leaders shall realize that they are just fallible human and they, too, do defecate ...
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