THE DEAD BUFFALO, ALWAYS, GAVE MORE MILK

Pic.: Sherry Haridas

“My mother always told me not to handle a buffalo by its tail,

but always catch it by its horns...

And I have used that lesson in everything in my life,

 including the Railways.”

Lalu Prasad Yadav

With your mother’s advice, Laluji, you really did a good job as our Railway minister. And, you know what, sir: my mother, while raising her five sons in our village, would, always, tell:

“Sons, remember the old saying: “The dead buffalo, always, gave more milk.”

Sir, you want to know why she told us this?

Because, when the buffalo was alive, we would only complain how useless the she-buffalo was...  Her milk was not only less, it was bad, too!

So, whenever a buffalo died in our village, and we saw her master beating his chest screaming his lungs out: “What a great buffalo she was... How good the milk was... How much she gave,” yes, when we saw that sight, our mother would point to the heart-broken master and tell us this:

“Sons, you better recognize how great your buffalo is when she is alive... You better value the quantity and appreciate the quality of the milk she gives, now!”

Else, Laluji, you know, when the Buffalo is gone, we, too, would be beating our chests and screaming our lungs out... “What a buffalo she was... he was... it was!”

So, that is why...

That’s why mothers’ advice is, always, good, no?

“Handle it by its horn... not tail,” your mother told...

“Praise it when it is alive... not when dead,” my mother did.

Sirji, so nice... we both love our village buffaloes! You are a big man.; so, they invited you to Harvard to tell them your buffalo story...

I am a small man... I am telling my buffalo story to my friends, in this Blog...

Hope, they will love the buffalo when it is around!

GERALD D’CUNHA