Genuine Pabavathi
 Disciple was surprised to see master in that smart attire.
“Are we going to see a very important person?”
“A royalty, in fact.”
“A king, I suppose.”
“That’s right.”
Disciple checked his own attire. It looked all right for the moment.
But later on he will have to put on something more than decent.
Their visitor was Parakramabahu the second. Disciple remembered a
past event, when they met another king. It was Mugalan the fifth. The
one who wrote poetry. It was simply amazing that kings can write too.
Moments later they found themselves in a royal mansion. A crooked old
man led them to a dusty room. The room was long and grey. There were
bookshelves stretched across the room. Leaning against a wicker chair
was a small-made old man, his feet propped down against a small table’s
legs. He was the king, though he didn’t look one. His crown was left
aside, gathering dust. The room smelt of old paper.
Parakramabahu greeted them with a smile. He instructed the crooked
man in a whispering tone. May be to bring refreshments.
“Great to see you master and son. How are you keeping?”
Disciple looked at the master to give the answer.
“We are doing okay, Your Majesty.”
“Forget that Your Majesty. I’m more into this than ruling the
country.” Parakramabahu said, pointing by his hands towards the books
that surround him.
“I forgot to tell him why I chose to meet you.” Master told the king.
“May be I can give you an explanation. I was always fond of Kusa
Jataka. But I didn’t like the way the Jataka author treated the woman.
It was unfair, by all means.”
“Unfair?” Disciple questioned, stressing the word. He was wondering
if it was rather contemptible.
“Yes, it is unfair. Do you know the story of Kusa and Pabavathi?”
“Sort of, yes.” Disciple responded.
“Well, basically it’s some beauty and the beast type story.”
“Do you know that story too?”
King chuckled and continued.
“Pabavathi was so pretty and King Kusa was so ugly. Kusa fell in love
with Pabavathi, but the woman ignored and mistreated him. All because he
was ugly. If you read the story, you will start despising Pabavathi for
everything she does throughout the story.”
“So you fell in love with Pabavathi to change the character?”
“Exactly. You got the word right out of my mouth, son. Brilliant.”
Saying so, the king paused.
“So, what happened next?” Disciple asked.
“I completely changed Pabavathi’s characterization. My Pabavathi
never blasts Kusa. She doesn’t chase him off. When Kusa faints,
Pabavathi gets close to him, because she genuinely felt sad. Her lament
is genuine.”
“Actually son, Pabavathi is quite the opposite in the Jataka story.”
Master offered an explanation.
“You went against the generally accepted opinion of the woman, I take
it.” Disciple said. The king was thoughtful for a moment before his
response.
“In a way yes, I specifically wanted to prove that Pabavathi too is
human. Most of the Brahmins treated women in a negative way. That
influenced the Jataka author too. Kusa suffered for a long time just for
the sake of Pabavathi. I don’t think a sensible woman would still
mistreat such a man just because he is bad looking. Whatever person Kusa
must have been, any sensible woman might feel pity for him. That’s human
nature. I wanted to portray the human being in Pabavathi.”
“That’s so great.” Master said aloud, all of a sudden.
“I think that’s what we should do in literature. We must be able to
remind the humanity in ourselves to the reader. You have to keep on
reminding this. You know why?”
King was silent and others didn’t respond either.
“Because as humans, we tend to forget our own humanity.”
Through the window master and disciple could see both sunshine and
drizzle. It was unchanging, at least for a while. The eve was full of
allusions, disciple felt in the silence.
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