Worthless sons, worthy examples
TODAY is the day of telling stories. Such stories are kinds that set you a-thinking, as they have substance worth pondering. These are stories of people involved in power and power-play, and in intrigues and ingenuity, that is all about the strange rendezvous called politics. So let us indulge ourselves a little in this hot and humid weather. We begin humbly with a preamble.
Traditionally, sons of the emperors and kings sit on the throne when they become worthy of it. They groom themselves up with education, knowledge and skill to become worthy of the throne. But, not necessarily such coronations always take place in a peaceful manner. History tells us, many unworthy sons did not hesitate to banish or kill their fathers to claim the royal sceptre. To commemorate their contribution there is an oft-used phrase: Unworthy son of a worthy father - in the English lexicon.
In Bangladesh, there are many such unworthy sons who have created a dark niche for them in our history. Whatever worthy their fathers did through hard work, those sons obligingly undid it all within years. We know the story of this particular worthless son of a famous person in this country. This son became a prince from a pauper. His lust for power and wealth grew to legendary proportion. This pauper-turned-prince in his heydays built a separate abode for himself and named it the Windy Castle.
He loved to be surrounded by a motley band of looters and schemers and had the habit of summoning ministers at odd hours to carry out his orders. He ran a parallel administration thereby interfering in government activities. Even senior civil and police officials ran behind his car when the prince went on visits outside the capital. Party men built a thousand torones (gates) on one-kilometre road to win his heart. The prince was preparing himself to sit on the throne one fine morning. Though the people didn't want him, yet the party men were all set to arrange the most expensive and lavish coronation the world has ever seen. Today, we do not even remember his name…
Then there is the story of a worthy son of a worthy father who lives in a nearby country named India. His name is Rahul Gandhi. Many people admire this young man who has studied abroad and who never rides expensive cars or make civil, police officials run behind his car.
He often makes his way to remote villages to live with the simple village folks and learn about their life. He never takes bodyguards or secretaries or chamchas with him to provide entertainment while on such unscheduled visits. When he goes abroad, he never carries more than one suitcase. And his mother does not even own a car!
Recently, Rahul Gandhi surprised all by saying that he was not ready to be the prime minister of India. He gave two reasons why he could not accept the post. "One is that I am working in the organisation of the Congress party, which I think is fundamental for this country. I think it is very important that a strong, progressive, pro-poor youth organisation is developed in this country and that is a very, very big priority of mine. Number two is I don`t think I have the experience to be the prime minister of the country right now. " By golly! Ask our prince whether he would want to be the prime minister of Bangladesh!
I would like to end this story-telling morning with an interesting anecdote. This is a real-life incident involving another son and a father. The Rockefeller family in the US is known for many things, especially for the great wealth it earned from business. It all began with John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937). So, the story goes like this. One day John D. Rockefeller lunched at a posh New York restaurant and gave 10 dollar as tips to the waiter. The waiter smiled and said, "Sir, your son always gives 50 dollar." At this, John D. Rockefeller said, "Young man, he is the son of Rockefeller, but I am not." Well, that speaks a lot about how sons often treat the hard earned wealth of their fathers, doesn't it?
When sons of worthy fathers turn worthless, people tend to blame the mothers in most cases. There may be some truth in it. When fathers remain busy creating history, it is the mothers who should groom their sons and guide them to follow the footsteps of the worthy fathers. No mother can be proud of unworthy sons.
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