Hunger artist

The eleventh hunger mission of Dr. Govind KC brings two stories for me – one of Franz Kafka and another of Robert the Bruce. Kafka’s story narrates the event of a fanatic who could stay hungry for forty days. The story ends in the character’s death under an unpremeditated shock. This hunger artist therefore drives me towards Dr KC for his awe-inspiring battles. Fighting fast unto death may be his folly to the delight of some.

After the event of Kafka’s artist, my next story is of Robert the Bruce who was the king of Scotland in the 14th century. Legend goes that the king had once lost his kingdom at the hands of his enemies and his small band of army was helpless in defending him. In the middle of nowhere the king therefore fled for his life and hid in the forest under a tree. Although hit with a stunning blow, here his eyes chanced to fall on a small life that was a spider trying to climb back to its cobweb along a hanging thread in the tree several feet above the ground. The thread could split at any moment under the body weight to fling it back to the base. But its behaviour showed the thread was absolutely safe because that was its own weaving. The king noticed from the thread the spider’s true strength though it slipped back to the base many times before finally spiraling to the top.

Bravo! The spider had won. Legend is that it was back home after countless failures. The event was a spark of motivation. Then the king launched a fresh battle against his enemies. His last ounce of chivalry with a small army had restored the kingdom.

The stories do not say about Dr. Govinda the stubborn spider or the Bruce when the concern here is about his physical fitness alongside the claims. Opinions like onions come in indefinite layers but are not bad in taste. See out of the box; twisted tongues and cold hearts are rigid; and see inside the box with the threat of the stories of Franz Kafka and Nanda Prasad Adhikary. Some out of human kindness however hope for good and pray too in this distressing scenario. Politics say yes and nay both when conscience has turned deaf. The constitution ensures and protects a life. Any other voices are of secondary concern. Life support indeed is the core task here. But terror shrinks me knowing that a number of people meet with death everyday in road holes.