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Glad to be alive, he got up. He was on a large island, and
some miles inland he could see a city. Veeravara started walking in that
direction. When he reached the city, to his surprise, he was greeted by a great
crowd that cheered him. He did not know what happening. An elephant was brought
forward and he was made to sit on his back. A sad-looking man was also sitting
there silently. The elephant marched towards
a palatial building. Veeravara asked the old man, “Why do the people welcome a
stranger like me in this grand fashion? What are they celebrating, and where
are they taking me?”
The old man now looked sadder. “This is an unusual island,”
he explained. “The people here are very intelligent but they have some funny
rules. They are prosperous but they don’t have a king. They feel that if they
choose a king from within themselves, he will be partial. So they wait for an
unknown person to come to this island. When someone like you, a shipwrecked
traveller, gets washed to the shore, they make him their king. They are taking
us to the palace. You are our new king now.”
“What happens to the previous king? And who are you?” Veeravara asked.
“I was the king till you came along. The old king given a day to teach the now
one the ropes. Then he is sent off to the next deserted island, where he has to
look after himself. That’s the rule.” Saying this, the old man pointed to an
island. Veeravara could see it was covered with dense forest. Now he realized why
the old man was sad.
Veeravara was crowned king with great pomp. He quickly
learnt his new job and became a good and fair king. But deep inside, a little
part of him remained unhappy. When would the next shipwrecked person show up
and he be sent off to the other island to live till the end of his days with
wild animals and other retired kings?
As he thought about this, he came up with an idea. As long
as he was the king, he had absolute power. He ordered his men to go the island
and clear a part of the forest. Then he ordered reads and houses to be built.
Soon there were roads, shops and pretty little houses on the island. People
would go to the forest and see the wild animals; they gathered honey and fruit
from the trees, and in a few years, the island was no longer deserted but a
cheerful little town.
Now Veervara was not worried at all. When the next king
appeared, he would not have to fend for himself in the forest. Instead, he
would live in a little cottage and grow vegetables. Years passed and he got
older. The people loved him and were sad whenever they thought he would no
longer be their king. Then one day Veervara called his people and said, “It is
good when you make a person from outside the island a king. He is fresh and
unbiased. But this may not always be a good idea. What if the next person who
comes here is a crook? You will make him king without knowing anything about
him. Instead, let’s have a system where the cleverest people of this island are
chosen and rule the place together. Then no one person will have absolute
power, and if one of them turns out dishonest, you can always remove him from
the council.” The islanders liked the idea, and in a few days, chose their new
rulers. Veervara handed over the kingdom to them and retired happily to his
cottage, where he stayed till the end of his days.
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