A Little Prince

I believe in angels. I have to say thank you to Jimit for being one of them, for actually reading me after i thought everyone had stopped, and for acknowledging that Im merely human. Thank you.

Another angel came to me again in the form of an unassuming little book. A mere 107 page, young-reader-sized font wisp of a book called A Little Prince, written by a gentleman with a name longer than his title, Antoine de Saint Exupery. It is about a pilot forced to land in the Sahara, who encounters a little prince from Asteroid B-612, who has been travelling, about his little planet with 3 volcanoes, multiple sunsets and a haughty flower. I read it for the first time when I wa sin my mid-teens and thought it no great shakes. I mean, it was about some conceited guy, some king, some lamplighter, some businessman, some drunkard, some geographer, some fox, some snake, what what yaar! I mean, cute, but huh?

Then I came across it a second time, in French class, (which is also the first time I realised the great loss we suffer when we read a translated work, however accurate the translation may be). The extract we read was the chapter about the prince's encounter with the fox. That is the clearest and wisest chapter in the book - one of the most obvious ones if you will... Im still in the process of making sense of the others. Basically, the fox asks the prince to tame him so that a bond may be created between them, with all the joys of anticipation and association and a reason to live, and warns him that it requires a lot of patience. And when he leaves, the fox tells him a secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. And armed with this knowledge, the prince goes to find his destiny.

I never thought I could cry so much about a simple parable! Here is the definition of a parable - one needs to have one's memory refreshed about these things once in a while):

1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.

NOW READ NO FURTHER UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK AND WISH TO DISCUSS YOUR INTERPRETATION OF IT!!!!!! IM WARNING YOU!!!!

This little story of the prince, his rose and his travels is only about love, and life, and death. The responsibility and suffering that comes with love, the different ways in which men and women react to each other. Everyone has need of the ones they love, and this love comes with time, and this love is made special because of the time and care we have lavished on it, no matter what other external attractions they may be. And god knows in this life there are many to distract us from our goals, be they career or emotionally related.

The author also demonstrates the importance of encouraging the minds and imaginations of children, of the children in us that we often forget, of the frank ridiculousness of many adult pursuits. The businessman reminded me of the stupidity of Paris Hilton's trying to patent "that's hot!" just because she uses it, how we the supposedly educated people are very stupid about intellectual property rights. The drunkard reminded us of our cowardice and silliness in our approach to many things in life, rather than facing our fears head on. The king I relate to the silly importance many of us want in our lives, just to feed our ego, deluded that we would be benevolent if we only had the opportunity, when it is well established that power rarely does anything but corrupt. The conceited guy to me represents our desire for credit without making any effort. The geographer is Saint Exupery's critique of the compartmentalisation of our education, making us bookworms, not survivors. The lamplighter Im not sure what to make of, except maybe comparing him to our poor young graduates slaving for multinationals without meaning or purpose - to what end? No rest, no enjoyment, no LIFE (I sound like someone from another generation but thats REALLY my opinion).

And the episode about his rose - so much misunderstanding - all I could do was think about human relationships, and that made me so sad, how much saving face is important, ego and attention and trust, waking up to smell the coffee when it is already burnt and bitter - the realisation that we're all human and not perfect - to use that cliche present in assorted fowards - that just because we cant love the way one wants us to doesnt mean we dont love with everything we have - that, at the end of the day, it doesnt matter if you're the most amazing, educated, intelligent, handsome, nice, rich whatever person in the world, I dont care because youre not mine. And YOU, because you are mine and everyday is a new day and we try and though it hurts, its STILL worth it and will always be.

Just as it is a story of love, so too is it a story of loss. During the course of my engagement, I have encountered a couple of deaths. They all have stories, and they all leave behind tears, some amount of guilt, uncertainty, emotional upheaval. Its normal. But if one would only understand that there is a point in everyone's life when the "body is too heavy" for the spirit, one would let go. One must let go of the things one loves, for it is only love when one is willing to let go for the other's happiness. After all, arent we being only returned to, engulfed in LOVE? We dont die when there is memory; attachment to that memory makes the transient, permanent.

My bhabhi had told me that she loves this book for the meaning changes every time she reads it. I discovered that yesterday, and hope you will too. I definitely want my Rudra to read it!