AN IDIOT AND HIS ATTITUDE

One day, Mullah Nasrudin, was badly in need of money. So, he went to a wealthy man to borrow some money.

"What do you want it for?” asked the wealthy man.

"To buy an elephant," Mullah replied.

"What did you say?” reacted an annoyed wealthy-man, “You have come to me to borrow money, of all the things, to buy an elephant?”  He yelled at Mullah, “How on this earth do you think you can maintain it?”

“Well,” retorted Mullah, unruffled by what the angry money-lender had just dished out, “did I come here for money, or for your advice?”

In the all-time favorite movie, ‘3-Idiots’, there is this amazing scene: Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) has come for his first job-interview on a wheelchair, his bones all broken!

“How did it happen?” enquirers one of the interviewers, “An accident?”

“No sir, not an accident,” Raju makes his honest confession, “I had attempted a suicide, jumping off the building out there!”

‘Shocked!!!’ Well, this is too mild a word to describe the reaction of those panel members. They look at each other through the disturbing silence… until the same interviewer breaks it: “Sorry to say this, gentleman, we prefer a candidate who is diplomatic; your straight-forward attitude may be a handicap for our organization. However, if you give us an assurance that you will control your attitude, perhaps…”

Raju is not ruffled at all. He needs that job badly. Still, we see him quietly closing his folder, looking in the eyes of the interviewer and declaring, “Sorry sir; with a great difficulty has this attitude come in me. You please keep your job, and let me keep my attitude!”

Raju is already on his way out…

“Stop,” we hear the interviewer shouting, “for more than twenty-five years, I have been conducting interviews; but I have never come across a young man like you… Won’t you ask about your salary?”

Both are stories… Just fictions!

One is a popular folklore… Perhaps, just a funny story spun around the adorable Mullah.

The other is from our popular Bollywood film… Certainly, an insane scene spun around by the film-maker.

Both reflect high attitude of the protagonists: Mullah Nasrudin and Raju Rastogi.

Both are outright impractical… “For God’s sake, don’t ever try such tricks to get a loan or a job!”… Yes, even I advise you!

Yet, both make us smile, laugh… They, even, inspire!

But, in the end, we do not know whether or not Mullah got his loan…

While, we do know this ‘idiot’ – Raju Rastogi – had got his job!

What is the moral of the story – this Post?

For a change, just the story is enough…

Smile…

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Vivek D'cunha