Tenali
Raman and his wife were on their way to Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagaram. On
the waythey passed through a village at the foot of a hill. The villagers had
gathered in front of the village temple. Raman’s wife became curious and
dragged her husband to the spot. Husband and wife pushed through the crowd to
appear in the front row.
A body
builder was exhibiting his strength. He was seen carrying a huge gunny bag on
his left shoulder and twirling his moustache with his right hand.
“He is
carrying a bog of 500 quintals of rice,” said the man standing next to Raman.
“This
is nothing, I can carry a thousand times more weight,” said Raman in a loud
voice.
Startled
by this announcement, the body builder dropped the bag he was carrying.
Everybody looked at Raman wondering whether a new champion had arrived.
Enjoying
the attention, Raman addressed the crowd. “Why, I can carry that hill on my
bare shoulder,” he said, pointing out the hill nearby.
The
villagers gasped. Raman’s wife appeared tense. She had a suspicion that her
husband had opened his mouth too wide. Meanwhile the body builder had recovered
his wit. He laughed out loud and said, “Is that so? Let’s see you do it”.
The
villagers were now excited. They had seen only Hanumanji carrying the
Sanjeevani mountain - and that too in pictures. Now here was a man who claimed
he could repeat the feat.
“I said
I can do it. Did I say I’ll do it now? Asked Raman. “Carrying a hill requires a
lot of preparation”, Raman added.
Turning
to the weightlifter, Raman asked, “How long did you take to prepare for this
feat of carrying the sack of rice?”
“Three
months,” confessed the weight lifter.
“How
long will you take?” the village Chief asked Raman.
“Six
months”, said Raman without batting an eye.
Then
Raman added. “I need to eat enormous amount of food to build my muscles. And I
need someone to massage my body, daily”.
“And we
need a place to live, we are outsiders”, said Raman’s wife.
The
village chief agreed to provide the couple with a house and arrange the food
supply. He directed the weight lifter to give Raman body massage daily.
“And we
will meet here, exactly six months from now,” said the village chief getting up
from the chair.
Raman’s
wife was relieved. They did not have to wonder where the food would come from.
For the next six months, at least.
Raman
led a royal life in the village. Villagers supplied pots of milk, honey and
curd.
Cartloads of rice and ragi were
delivered to their house. The body builder was available to cook food, and also
give body massage to Raman every day.
The
body builder who had become a Raman disciple by now asked Raman about the
practice. “Would you like to begin with a small rock, then move on to bigger
and bigger rocks?” he asked. Raman sent him away asking him to make ragi mudde (balls of steamed
ragi flour).
Soon it
was the D-day. The whole village assembled at the foot of the hill. Raman and
his wife arrived in a decorated cart pulled by the body builder. The villagers
received the weight lifter, Raman with a shout of joy.
The
village chief gave a sign that the show could begin.
Raman
stood in a circle with people seated all round. He sat in the warrior’s pose, Veeramudra, and announced he
was ready.
The
villagers were puzzled. The village chief became impatient. “What are you
waiting for?” he barked.
“I’m
waiting for your men to place the hill on my shoulder,” said Raman calmly.
Everybody
gaped at Raman. The village chief shouted in anger “You said … “
Raman
cut him short, “I said I will carry that hill. Even now I’m willing to carry
the hill. I’m waiting for your men to place it on my shoulder.”
“But
who will lift the hill?” asked the Village Chief in bewilderment.
“That’s
your problem,” Raman said.
“Only
Hanumanji can lift it,” said Raman’s wife.
The
village chief joined his hands in salutation to Raman. “A man of your strength
and determination should carry not a lowly hill, but Mount Kailas.” The
villagers started laughing.
When
they got back home, Raman asked his wife to pack, “We are leaving this
village,” he said.
The End
