Man Ke Chane

Someone I know told me this quaint story...it took a while to realise what it meant because it was narrated in pure Hindi...and I mean pure, because there was no hint of the several common Urdu words that have seeped into Hindi over the years.

It so happened that a (sort of wise man - Mr. A) was decided to go to the beach for a stroll. It was in the early evening (when the sun is nearing the horizon and although there is adequate light, there is almost no heat...the breeze becomes cooler and more refreshing). After stretching his legs sufficiently he found a comfortable spot on the sad and sat down to stare at the waves for a long while.

Somewhere towards the end this lengthy period spent watching the waves and letting one's thoughts relax and wander, Mr. A's attention was caught by another man sitting nearby. When he had initially settled down on the sand, Mr. A had noticed that this man cupped something in his left hand and frequently use the fingers of his right hand to take a pinch of something from there and put it in his mouth. This had gone on for quite a long time and Mr. A could not understand what the other could be holding in just one cupped palm, that could take so long to eat, even when eaten so rapidly.

He looked about the man for signs of some bag of food but there was none. Curious to know what the matter was, he rose from his set and walked over to the other man's spot, very casually so as to not appear obvious and yet to allow him to observe that there was no container of food anywhere near the man which could serve as a store from which he replenished the contents of his left palm. Further, this odd fellow, did not even have any pockets on his kurta.

Mr. A's curiosity got the better of him and he approached the other chap, (let's call him Mr. B) and he asked him what he was eating and explained his reasons for asking so. Upon this Mr. B smirked and said "Man mein chane khaa rahaa hoon" (I'm eating imaginary ground nuts) - as far as I'm concerned, this chap was an attention seeking smart alec! I think Mr. A developed a similar opinion of the chap because his instant response was a hearty laugh followed by "Arre bhai, agar man mein hi khaanaa hai to sirph chane kyon, pakode khaao, rasgulle khaao...maamooli chane ko intni der tak kyon khaa rahe ho? Itni der mein tum bilkul mahaaraajaaon ka naasthaa khaa lete!" (My friend, if you really have to eat imaginary things, why eat mere nuts for such a long time?...Eat pakodas, eat rasgullas! In such a long time, you could have enjoyed an evening feast fit for a king!). Needless to say, Mr. B looked a little sheepish.

Although I am inclined to think that somewhere Mr. A was being a little nosy and that Mr. B is entitled to eat whichever imaginary food he desires and for as long as he desires, the moral of the story is "let your imagination have no boundaries...dream of great things...aim high..."