WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7596

Date uploaded in London – 20 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

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A village singer who was not good at singing came to the capital city of the kingdom thinking that he could obtain a good gift from the king. He stayed in a rented house in a street far away from the palace. The next morning, he started practising singing in the rented house. A washerwoman in the next house cried out with a loud voice and wept. When he stopped singing, she also stopped weeping. Thus, it continued for a whole week. The singer lost his patience and sent for the washerwoman and said to her,

Why do you weep whenever I sing?

Sir, said the washer woman, whenever I hear your golden voice, I am reminded of an ass of mine which died last month, so I weep so saying she wept.

The singer was ashamed and returned to his village without seeing the king.

Therefore a foolish man who knows not his weakness will suffer disgrace in the world.

Most famous Tamil poetess Avaaiyaar compares Turkey and peacock…….

The turkey, having seen the wild peacock displays his noble plumage, takes himself to be one: and he too spreads his own ugly wings and struts about. Such is the recitation of a poem committed memory by an illiterate man.- Muuthurai of Avaaiyaar

There is a beautiful Tamil proverb echoing Avvaiyar’s verse

However high a house sparrow flies

It would never become a falcon/eagle

Most famous Tamil poet Tiru valluvar in his Tirukkural says,

Never extol yourself in any mood nor do any act that is good for nothing – Kural couplet 439

Another translation of the same couplet-

Never indulge in self- praise; nor you should go in

For activities that produce no good results – 439

xxx

Mozart’s retort

A lad once asked Mozart how to write a symphony. Mozart said, “you are a very young man. Why not begin with ballads?”

The aspirant urged, “You composed symphonies when you were ten years old.”

“Yes”, replied Mozart, “but I didn’t ask ‘How?’

Xxx subham xxx