What love can do

Ganapati’s eldest brother, Samrat, was extremely close to this uncle’s eldest son, who was named Kulai. Both Samrat and Kulai were many years older than Ganapati.

It happened that Kulai became sick and had to go into the hospital. After two or three weeks, his case became very serious. Then, early one morning he died.

On that particular day, Samrat was supposed to take his final examination at college. Ganapati’s uncle knew that if Samrat came to learn that his dearest friend had died, he would feel sad and miserable and not do well in his examination. So he cleverly, wisely and compassionately kept his son’s death a secret.

On the morning that Kulai died, the cook in Ganapati’s house did not appear. So this uncle started cooking for Samrat. While cooking, he was smiling so happily.

He told Samrat, “When you come back from the examination, I will have a most delicious meal for you. I will also cook a second meal for your dearest friend, Kulai, and you can bring it to him.”

Then he pretended that Kulai was making a surprising recovery. Samrat was so delighted to hear that his friend had taken a turn for the better, and he was looking forward to visiting him that evening. So he was doubly happy when he took his examination. He always stood first, but on that day everything came easily to him. Because of his unimaginable happiness, he finished his examination in a very short time!

That evening, after eating the meal that his uncle had cooked, he brought the second meal over to the hospital for Kulai. There he heard the sad news that his dear friend had passed away earlier that morning.

In the Indian system, the body has to be burned on the day of death. So already the body had been taken to his maternal uncle’s house. Samrat cried and cried as he went to his maternal uncle’s house to see his dearest friend for the last time.

Ganapati’s maternal uncle had fooled Samrat only because of his tremendous love and affection for him. Otherwise, how could a father do this kind of thing?