Once upon a time in Tibet - Part 1

Photo by Evgeny Nelmin on Unsplash

Once upon a time in Tibet, nestled deep within the heart of the Himalayas was a small but happy Kingdom. This kingdom was ruled over by a wise Monarch who cared for his people. The people in turn loved and respected him. All, in all, the people in this Kingdom were happy and contented.

The Kingdom was blessed with pleasant weather, heavy rainfall, fertile land and abundant natural resources in the summer. But come winter and it was a difficult story altogether. The winters were extremely harsh, marked by extreme cold and snow -storms. All the waters in the lakes and rivers would freeze and animals would go into hibernation. Therefore, to survive the winter, the Kingdom’s citizens stocked up ample supplies of food and firewood to see them through the cold weather. And by doing so, they were able to survive every harsh winter which passed through.

Then one day, the King who was ailing for quite some time expired. The responsibility of ruling over the Kingdom was taken over by the crown price and his youngest son. Since the previous ruler was entirely busy in matters of administration, he had never found time to spend with this family. More importantly, he never found the time to groom his son to be a worthy king. The new King turned out to be naïve in matters of administration and governance. Absolute power corrupted him totally. He dismissed the earlier band of ministers who had served his father and the Kingdom with loyalty and employed sycophants and yes-men as his aides. Crime and Corruption became widespread as the people suffered under the tyrant’s rule. People who protested were ruthlessly silenced. What had once been a happy and prosperous kingdom now became a decadent one.

And as if the people were not suffering enough, the first winter of the new King’s rule was perhaps the harshest and most extreme of all winters the people had ever faced. It was more severe than usual and showed no signs of abating. The people started getting worried as their supplies started dwindling. They knew that if the winter continued in its’ present state any longer, survival would become extremely difficult due to the extreme cold and the lack of food.

They voiced their concern to the administrators, who informed the ministers who in turn immediately setup a council with the King.

One minister suggested migrating temporarily across the mountains to another region, which was not affected by the vagaries of the winter. But the path to this region was dangerous, harsh and treacherous, marked by harsh weather and wild beasts. The journey itself would take a good part of two months or more, and only the fittest would make it through.

Therefore, it was decided that all the old, sick and physically handicapped people would be left back as they would prove to be a burden and hinder progress.

The people were shocked when they heard the King’s announcement. But they knew they had no choice but to comply, else risk facing the wrath of the King.

In one small village of the Kingdom, there lived a young boy named Dorje. Dorje’s parents had died when he was a small lad and he was brought up by his grandfather, Sangye. He was thus, very attached to his grandpa and was shocked to hear the King’s announcement. There was no way he would leave behind his grandpa no matter what the King said, order or no order.

He returned home and between tears told his grandfather about the King’s announcement. Sangye sighed and told him that the King was taking a practical decision, even if it was a harsh one. The King was right. The old people would only act as a hindrance and would hamper the journey.

Furthermore, if they both stayed back in this weather and the winter continued, they would surely perish. While Sangye was counting his days to the grave, Dorje had his entire life in front of him. It was only fair that Sangye was left alone in this village to die in peace, while Dorje would make the journey.

But Dorje would hear none of it. How could he knowingly leave behind his Grandpa in the face of certain death? He knew that Grandpa was old and feeble and would not be able to take care of himself. Hadn’t Grandpa taken care of him since he was a kid? And now when the time came to return the care, how could Dorje just abandon him?

Sangye protested but in vain. Dorje was determined. Either they would both go, else they would stay back and die together.

“But my Boy,” said Sangye seeing his grandson’s stubbornness, “Hasn’t the king explicitly mentioned that people found violating the order would be immediately executed?”

“I will plead with the King and ask him to make this one exception. I will ensure that your presence does not hinder the journey in anyway.”, Dorje replied. But inwardly he remained doubtful as to whether the king would accede to his request.

When the day of the journey came it was a heartbreaking scene indeed. Across the entire kingdom, people bade tearful farewells to the aged and handicapped parents and relatives as the King’s guards watched on. Some people who refused to comply with the order were immediately executed along with their loved ones.

Seeing this, Sangye said to Dorje, “It seems the King is in no mood for mercy. If you disobey him, both of us will die. I am old and feeble and have lived my time, while you have your entire life ahead of you. I am but merely counting my days to the grave. Leave me behind, my boy and let me die in peace.”

But Dorje was adamant. He said that either his grandpa would accompany him or both would die together. Finally, after much reluctance, Sangye agreed. It was decided that Dorje would conceal Sangye in a large basket, out of sight of the King’s guards. Dorje would personally carry this basket for the entire journey and ensure that his grandfather was not detected.

And so Dorje set-off on the fateful journey with his grandfather in tow, safely concealed in the basket.

To be continued .......