KAHANI YOUNGISTAN KI--II. FROM RENUNCIATION TO HORSE TRADING.

Although the story about Youngistan had ended with its destruction , it is prudent to narrate the story between the failure of the arrangement between the Pradhan Mantri and the Reds and the destruction of Youngistan , so that the readers get the entire turn of events in its correct perspective . Besides sequels are a good way of cashing in on the success of the originals .
Well ,the wily magician was already brewing various potions with a concoction of Lizard tails , rabbits whiskers and similar stuff, in order to save the Government of the Pradhan Mantri . Since he was now on the side of the Government , he had no fear of booked under the laws of prevention of cruelty to animals .
On the other hand , the Pradhan Mantri , that epitome of integrity had kept his side of one of the bargains he had entered into with the magician and his chief , who had for all practical purposes been obscured by the magician . The arch rival of the duo, i.e. the lady on the elephant had been booked under the prevention of cruelty to animals act . An age old case of procuring an elephant without the requisite permission was revived against her . The lady could not even cry wolf , for the fear that it might also be used against her .
But the lady who was one smart person , went straight ahead and aligned with the Reds against the Fire deal. She proclaimed that since the people of the kingdom were Fire worshippers and since the technology involved the production of fire by means other than the ones prescribed under the religious tenets , it was 'anti religion'.
The magician on the other hand couldn't be less bothered . With the lady distracted , he went for the kill , not by speaking in favour of the Fire deal but by getting the Pradhan Mantri to implement his 'personal agenda'.
In order to explain the 'personal agenda', we need to take a small detour in the story . Kindly bear with the story teller .
In the kingdom lived a very rich businessman , who in his youth worked as an attendant in a stable where he used to feed the horses . By dint of hard work or chicanery , as it pleases you , he worked his way up the social ladder and was included among the Navratnas of the kingdom . He dealt in clothes , especially sarees , drums used for communication , fodder for horses , and it was said that his fodder was good for 'horse power'. His business empire fell into disarray , once he passed away , for his successors , his two sons bickered over the spoils incessantly . Finally the empire was partitioned between the two sons , who in themselves were master manipulators .
The magician , who with his bag of tricks had worked himself into this business empire , was said to be the instigator of the conflict between the two brothers , sided with the younger brother .Both the brothers were the richest persons in the kingdom and owned huge tracts of land , thousands of Arabian horses and the best of luxury .
In order to cut down the elder brother to size , the magician asked the Pradhan Mantri to impose a special tax on the fodder business of the elder brother . Apparently , since the air quality in the vicinity of the fodder business of the elder brother had deteriorated because of chaffs of fodder , the tax was referred to as 'Wind Fall ' tax . Further , the magician advised the Pradhan Mantri to provide the younger brother permission to increase the size of the drums he was producing for communication purposes , which had been denied to other drum producers. That this could also result in rise in noise pollution , was no body's case really .
Never before in the annals of Youngistan had a Pradhan Mantri entered into such a patently family conflict , but then how many Pradhan Mantris before, had faced such predicament to save the government ? The Pradhan Mantri , with all the public posture about probity in public life had to save the Government , for he was assured that the Queen Mother would not give him a second opportunity .
In the meanwhile , the bartering prices continued to rise . The Aam aadmi was finding it difficult to make ends meet , but the Government had a separate agenda to attend to . Isn't it said that you get the government you deserve . After all ,hadn't the same Aam aadmi kept silent against injustice of all sorts for centuries . The chickens had come home to roost .
The magician went in for an overdrive . The chieftains were offered 500 hundred Arabian horses in lieu of their support to the government , initially . In a couple of days 1000 Arabian horses were being offered to each individual . It is said that the term 'HORSE TRADING' originated from this very act of the Pradhan Mantri .
The Queen Mother , as usual , was silent .'Goddammit', she thought to herself ,' when will the Yuvraj locate another speech writer ?' The kingdom was slipping away from her grasp by the machinations of the Pradhan Mantri and the magician , and she could not utter a word .
From 'renunciation' to 'horse trading', how the mighty have fallen . These observations emanating from the aam aadmi made the Queen Mother cringe , but then her virtue of silence had turned into a liability .
The cynics were having a ball , " What could she speak anyway ," they remarked . Some even went on to the extent of citing a Sanskrit saying ,'Maunam Sweekriti' (Silence is acceptance). Nobody knew the truth, which anyway was at a premium .
The silence of the Queen Mother was the least bit of concern for the Pradhan Mantri and his associates . They had to get the numbers , and get them fast . Some of the chieftains were now bargaining for creation of a separate province , some wanted 5000 Arabian horses .....the list was endless .
People in the streets stopped all work . All the conversation in the market square and temple courtyards revolved about numbers . Teachers in Gurukuls asked their shishyas to solve mathematical problems involving the numbers required for the government to survive this ordeal . Since every shishya came up with a different answer ,it was the origin of the theory of probability. At least something good evolved out of this mess, so said the gurus .
The magician ordered the drum beaters to confuse the people by sending out varying drum beats . A big ruckus was created by these drum beaters , and it seemed that the entire problems facing the kingdom would be resolved , if the Fire deal went through . Even an old scientist , who was respected throughout the kingdom , but had nothing to show for his credentials individually, was brought out of the closet to propagate the virtues of the fire deal . Incidentally , this scientist had been publicly humiliated by the Pradhan mantri and his government , just around a year back . But now his statements in favour of the deal were being touted by the magician , before the public.
The Aam Aadmi , who as it is was hungry , because of the rising barter prices , was absolutely confused. The saying ," Bhooke pet ,na bhaje Gopala" (you cannot worship on an empty stomach), seemed apt for the situation . But sice the Aam Aadmi would not raise his voice , nobody was concerned . He could very well starve to death , for all they cared . Saving the government was the only agenda on the table .
Confusedistan , which as usual was in disarray , could not let go of this golden opportunity . With the covert support of Alexander Dubya , it let in a stream of 'freedom fighters' into the province of Jannat , to create chaos in the province , as it had been doing for centuries .
These 'freedom fighters' were nothing else but rogues , whose agenda was to kill people ,destroy property and similar stuff , were another confused lot . Nobody knew whose freedom they were fighting for . It was a known fact that Jannat was better off with Youngistan , where they were a pampered lot , whereas aligning with Confusedistan would result in their submission before the rulers there (whoever they were, as it was still not clear), and withdrawal of all benefits . It appeared that these 'freedom fighters' had a proclivity for fighting, and since they dare not venture into Fightistan for this purpose , for the people there fought as a matter of hobby , and these 'freedom fighters' would be annihilated , Jannat was a better option .
But the Pradhan Mantri had no time for these trivial issues .
The magician now appeared at public squares and started giving speeches . Interestingly , not a word was uttered on the benefits of the Fire deal, instead , the monologue revolved around the 'wind fall tax', 'permission for building bigger drums for communication', which had been obtained from the Pradhan mantri .the danger posed by the lady and her elephant , the Reds and the Saffrons .At once such meeting , a hungry , confused person , raised a query, "but what about the Fire deal?"
The magician who had by then completely forgotten about the Fire deal, retorted,"What Fire deal?" Realising his mistake and listening to the snigger's of the public , the magician was embarrassed . But by then , the wrestlers accompanying him went berserk , and the thrashing that unfortunate man received ensured that nobody dared to raise the question again.
The magician also announced that he and his chieftain would support the present incumbent as the next Pradhan Mantri ,presumably over the claim of the Yuvraj .
This threw the Queen Mother into a tizzy. She was prepared to bear the slur of "from renunciation to horsed trading", throughout her life , but this was too much . After all the post of Pradhan mantri had been kept in waiting for the crowning of the Yuvraj , so meticulously by her . But this Pradhan Mantri and his new 'friend' , the magician seemed hell bent on thwarting her plans . The fact that she had become like the Aam Aadmi , in not speaking ,pricked her mind incessantly. Oh ! how she would have loved to have her speech writer back at this moment.
The Reds were not taking this 'chariot being Youngistan territory ' lying down . They called this 'betrayal', and launched a kingdom wide agitation . They too had plenty of drum beaters at their disposal , who did their bit, accentuating the confusion of the Aam Aadmi , who by now was on the verge of exasperation. The cacophony emanating from all these drum beaters was deafening . To top it all ,the Aam Aadmi had given up on any hopes of procuring edibles , for they had reached beyond his bartering capacity.
The Saffrons , well , this was bliss was for them. The Pradhan Mantri and the Reds had turned out to be their best friends , after all .The two were acting like the drum beaters for the Saffrons ,albeit unintentionally . If you could surge ahead without uttering a word , why spoil it . Although they made sure to keeep the pot boiling .
Alexander Dubya kept up the pressure on the Pradhan Mantri. Everyday smoke signals were received from Policestan .There was no way Dubya would give up on his legacy .
By the day when the fate of the Government was to be decided , chieftains were being procured for 7000 Arabian horses .
Whether the magician was able to work out his magic for the PradhanMantri and save his government or whether theReds or the Saffrons won ,is not important . The kingdom had lost out . The Aam Admi had lost faith in this system of governance . It was better to be ruled by despots and autocrats , they felt . The fissiparous tendencies started gaining ground . Jannat was Jannat, only in name . The rising cost of living coupled with the rich getting richer , spread discontent . Apathy , anarchy ruled the roost . The Aam Aadmi had vowed silence in the face of this anarchy , and his end came in silence . He was not defeated by any invading forces , but by his own apathy. You can fight a foreign invasion , but cannot fight an invasion of your mind , by forces like apathy , selfishness. The end was not sudden ,but gradual .
Today, not even the ruins of Youngistan remain . Confusedistan, Fightistan, Dubya .........well that is another story, which will be told some other day.

MORAL OF THE STORY:: IF YOU DO NOT LEARN FROM HISTORY , BE PREPARED TO REPEAT IT.

DISCLAIMER:;This is a work of fiction . But please do not ignore the moral of the story . Any resemblance to characters alive or incidences is unintentional and merely coincidental.