The Tale of Chitrapur and a Rabbit

Once upon a time, far away on the other side of Chitrapur, there lived a kingdom of Bansari. Bansari was the rich and prosperous king. He was known to be very kind with his subjects. The village under him and its villagers were not prospering and the people were not happy. Though he put lot of effort for his subjects and their happiness, it did not seem to work and somehow it backfired. They drowned in sorrow and lost themselves to ill-health. They often complained and fought with each other. The king saw that his people remained unhappy and wanted to do something to better the situation. He called all his experts and asked to assemble them on one evening. It was a full moon day and the king thought that waxing moon would bring some light on his villager’s lives and end their suffering.

The court was filled with chief advisors.  Also, many people came to witness the meeting. The king sat on his throne. He discussed the pressing matter which came in way between him and his sleep. He told that he was sad to see his people suffering from ill health and sorrow.

The king began “Tell me what should I do? What is the solution to this problem? I am running out of solutions and You, my expert advisors, will come up with the solution and tell me by the next full moon day."

The experts and the chief advisors ran their hands over their temples. Some spoke in whispers.

“Okay, the one who comes up with the solution will receive an award and a small property too"

No sooner the king’s voice scarcely ended than the voices in the court rose and the smile lurked in the corners of their lips. People were extremely happy hearing this and sudden excitement filled the air, clearing the tension.

The search for the solution began. The king, having put the burden on others, heaved a sigh of relief. Though he did not think much about it, his mind wandered at the solution. What if they did not find any solution? What if someone comes up with a solution which will not work in a long run? These thoughts paraded his mind and he again went back to his shell.

On the other side of the hill, flowed river Bhama. Its beautiful stream and the crystal-like water enthralled everyone. On one corner of the river, nested a family of Rabbits. They were happy, free and wild. They did not fight with anyone. They loved and cared for each other. Although, they had to work hard to find food, they were happy and content. They hopped and tickled each other. They ran free on the fields. When the sun came down, they went inside their shell to repose for the day. The Rabbits always had each other for the company. They did their job at peace and enjoyed at the end of the day.

One fine evening, the baby rabbit, while playing in the tail end of the river, hid behind the bushes. It became dark and the baby rabbit couldn’t escape out of the bushes as its leg got stuck in the marshy meadows. It somehow pulled its leg and tried to walk down all the way towards its home. The dark night made it very difficult for the baby rabbit to get back to its home. The sudden noise and call of the birds, the shrill voice of the other forest animals frightened the rabbit. It lost its way and saw a shimmering lantern faraway. It walked and reached the gate of the kingdom of Bansari. The guards of the palace saw the rabbit walking slowly, lifted it and bathed it nicely. The mud got washed in the water and the rabbit was clean again. The guards took it inside. The message was sent to the king that a rabbit from the forest is in the palace. The king smiled and ordered the messenger to take the rabbit to his young son who was just 5 year old.

The rabbit was thrilled to see the cherubic smile on the little prince’s face. The prince too glowed with pleasure seeing the white fluffy animal. He ran his fingers and tickled the rabbit. The rabbit was happy to see the small human and went on hopping here and there almost covering the entire perimeter of the cherub's room.

5 days hence

The prince was busy playing with other toys and occupied himself with other activities. The activities during the day left no time for him to play with the rabbit the way he used to. The rabbit felt sad and lonely. Though he was enthralled at first, with prince pouring love and affection, now he missed his own family. The attendant in the palace was asked to take the rabbit to the garden. He was happy that he was gonna get outside the prince’s room. Now he will see other animals and can play with them. As soon as he was in the garden, he was welcomed with cold shoulder. The animals were hostile towards the rabbit. He saw the cold air enveloped in the garden. The animals did not play with each other and were busy with themselves. The rabbit couldn’t fathom the situation very clearly though he could see the friendly air was amiss. The rabbit suffered greatly. His suffering reflected on his health. The doctors were called to examine the health of the poor rabbit. The ill-health made the rabbit pale and frail.

The king couldn’t come up with the solution. He was already too busy with the kingdom affairs and the brewing problem of his people’s suffering and now one more thing added up to his misery. The rabbit was suffering and losing its existence day by day. The king, having thought at length, sent a message to his chief advisor. He asked them to take the poor rabbit to the far away forests and leave it in the wild. “Let him be free in his last few days as we couldn’t do much to take him out from this condition”, were his words.

The advisors assembled and an attendant carried the frail rabbit on his shoulder and boarded the carriage. As soon as they reached the forest land, they alighted the carriage and walked through the steep ravines. They reached the other side of Chitrapur where the river Bhama ran. The mouth of the river had a divine-like façade. They sat near the water for sometime with the rabbit. The rabbit saw the surroundings with its weak eyes. The surrounding looked familiar. He began to shake its body and tried to sit up. The attendant acknowledged the change in the rabbit’s behaviour. He called all the advisors to witness the same. They were all thrilled. Muffled whispers were heard and the Rabbit gave itself a vigorous shake and drifted away from the attendant’s lap. It hopped and ran here and there. Everyone was puzzled and couldn’t comprehend the situation yet they thought that this surrounding brought change in the rabbit’s manner. They were all pleasantly thrilled. Then they saw a visual which they did not experience in their kingdom. The birds shrieked with glory. The quiet call of the animals turned into noisy laughter. The Rabbit family seeing its own offspring jumped with delight. They hopped, squeezed, cuddled and hugged each other at at the same time. The birds squealed with joy and the tiny insects came out of their tiny homes to witness the joy too. The Rabbit family became one and people saw a blanket of white before them, all folded into one another.

The hostility they used to see and experience in their kingdom and the people living under the king and in the animals that they were domesticating in the palace garden , came before their eyes. The only solution to uplift them from the misery and a solution which will put their king’s worries to rest were friendship and love. Though they had everything in their kingdom which made them prosper, their discontent often led them live a peace less life. Not only that, they often lost themselves to sickness and poor health. The lesson that the little rabbit taught them was priceless. The rabbit opened their eyes by bringing them to the place that it lived and offered them a solution to their great problem. A solution that will overcome their difficulties, giving the people and the king of Chitrapur, happiness and peace.

From then on, Chitrapur saw peace and content. The king was happy with ecstasy that unfolded in front of his eyes. He was grateful to the rabbit forever for bringing the joy to his surrounding and making it firmly inhabit, not only in their lives but also in their hearts too. The rabbit family were often visited and forest animals were given more care by the king and his retinue. The animals in the palace garden were friendly and kind towards each other.

The young prince was now 8 years. He was often seen with his attendant on the other side of Chitrapur where the rabbits and other animals lived. The rabbit and its family also enjoyed the company of the little prince.

The clear water in the river Bhama shone like a pearl taking in the happiness in its vast expanse.