The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Classic Old Version
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house
and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays
the summer away.
Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food
or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
Modern Version
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its
house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays
the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed
while others are cold and starving.
NDTV,India Today, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering
Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a
table filled with food.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this
poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding
that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
Amnesty International and United Nations criticizes the Indian Government
for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt
support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).
Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh"
in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
Left govt in states immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working
hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants
and Grasshoppers.
Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian
Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the 'Prevention of Terrorism
Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of
the winter.
Arjun Singh makes ' Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in
Educational Institutions & in Government Services.
The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing
left to pay his retroactive taxes, it's home is confiscated by the
Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by
NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it 'A Triumph of Justice'.
Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.
CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden'
Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.
Many years later...
The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar
company in Silicon Valley .
100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation
somewhere in India...
As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the
Grasshoppers, India is still a developing country !!!