The Rice story

Once upon a time, there was a grain of rice. It was called 'rice' in English, 'chaawal' in Hindi, 'bhaat' in Gujarati, 'saadam' in Tamil, 'La riz' in French and 'Arroz' in Spanish. So the English first decided that 'Rice' was the best description for that humble grain. The french disagreed (as they usually do to the English) and claimed that 'La riz' was the best Rice in the world. The Tamilian jumped in with full fervour (again, as they usually do) and claimed that theirs is the oldest and purest language in the world and hence 'Saadam' was the best Rice in the world. How can the Gujarati, the North Indian and the Spaniard be left behind? They all started fighting amongst each other regarding the best name for Rice.

All this, while, thousands of poor struggled for their daily bowl of Rice. Those who could not get it cursed Rice for being so selfish that he was available only to a select few. Those who had the Rice were busy fighting each other with regards to who had the best name for it. Soo, as it usually does, a fight broke out amongst two groups, both of who claimed the superiority of their name. Hundreds were killed in the name of Rice. It led to a new breed of disillusioned people who started hating Rice because of all the strife it had brought. They started believing that Rice is the worst thing that has happened to mankind and started mocking anyone who consumed Rice. All this while, tonnes of Rice was rotting inside closed godowns where only a select few were allowed entry. There was plenty of Rice for everyone but was available to only those who could pay the entry fees for the godowns. This led to further anger and disillusionment among those who could not get their Rice. They joined the band-wagon of Rice-haters, forgetting that they could have easily sown fresh Rice in the fields that were all around them. They only sought the Rice in the godowns.

All this continued. The fights among the speakers of different names of Rice continued, sometimes breaking into riots. The non Eaters and Eaters of Rice  argued, debated endlessly, both failing to convince anyone. Godowns were still full of grains which just a handful could get, and the others still stayed at the periphery, hoping to get a few grains now and then. The rights to sow Rice were assumed by the godown owners themselves, and nobody cared to grow their own Rice. Everyone wanted Rice, but they all blamed it for being so inaccessible and for bringing them so much misery.

All this while the humble white, carbohydrate laced grain merely sowed itself in the soil, hoping to grow into paddy and solve some of the world's problems.

-Shivam'da'