Once upon a time there lived a noble king who ruled a tiny little kingdom with a magnificent town as the capital. The king was known for all the good reasons at places far and near . The people were happy and content and there was no beggar ever found in the capital city. The king had trusted lieutenants who cared for the wellbeing of the kingdom and there was no feud or animosity. The state had its army but never really attacked another country.. There was one rule to be followed by all subjects. The gates to the city were to close at sunset and again open at sunrise. This had been the practice since generations and nobody questioned it. Everybody accepted and respected the rule by choice .
Like all kings, our king was getting older and thought that he should relinquish power to his eldest son Naren. Naren was adored by the entire populace and accepted as the rightful heir to the throne. So the prince was coronated and assumed powers.
Naren had been fond of his ‘Dai’ since childhood and wanted to repay for her kindness and love. So he asked her in what way would she want to be repayed. The “dai” was a simple lady with high virtue . She replied “Bless thou O king that you cared for me ! . I donot seek anything for myself . I only pray that my son Deven be allowed to serve thee “. Amen! said the king and made Deven the head gatekeeper for the capital town. His job was to guard the gates and ensure that they are closed and opened at specified times. Devendra was a person of average caliber but made up for the same by his dedication and hardwork,
Once while Deven was guarding the city gates at night, he saw an old man approaching, accompanied by a young girl. Deven stopped them and informed that the city gates are closed and would only open at dawn. The man told Deven that his daughter has been severely ill for past days and that he needed to see the physician urgently. Deven refused to budge but the old man continued begging for an entry. Deven thought for a moment “ What harm could an old man and a sick girl possibly do to my country ?” and allowed the duo an entry into the city. Deven felt a sense of guilt since he had defied the orders and age old tradition ,but took respite in the fact that he helped save the girl’s life . He was thanked by the old man while leaving the next day. The old man and the girl continued to visit for the next few days and returned Deven’s favour in kind which Deven accepted after much persuasion .Finally the girl was cured and went back to her village.
A few days later, Deven was approached by the old man. “ What brings you here ? Are things fine with your daughter ?” asked Deven. “ Thanks for your help” said the old man “ My daughter is completely cured and in good health. I have come to discuss something that would be of mutual benefit”.Deven asked for the motive and here was what the old man had to say “ I live in a village away from here. Every day morning , I gather fresh vegetables from my farm and sell it to nearby villages. From the last few days that I had been visiting your town, I realized that I can do more business here than I do by going around all villages. However, it takes me an entire day to reach the city and the gates are closed by then. So I am not able to sell my vegetables in the town. If only you could do me the favor of allowing entry at night, I can sell all my vegetables very quickly. Besides I bring variety of vegetables which should please your country men”. Deven was hesitant but then thought “ What harm could a vegetable seller bring to my country. Besides I have known him for a few days now and finally, my countrymen would get to eat some variety of vegetables “. So he relented.
Days passed and then months. The vegetable seller was sometimes accompanied by his friend ,a milkman which eventually became a regular feature . Soon the caravan consisted of the vegetable seller, the milkman, the fisherman and all those who benefited from entering the city at night. Deven didn’t have any problems with this. In fact the visitors would often offer “token of appreciation “ to Deven in cash or kind, which Deven would share with his fellow guards. Years went by.Things were going good and nobody seemed to have problem with this. The old man was often accompanied by his daughter Satyavati who by now had come off age . Deven had begun to develop love for her and proposed the old man to marry off his daughter to him. The old man was more than glad to accept the proposal and Satyavati was ceremoniously wedded to Deven. Soon she was appointed as maid at the palace courtesy the “dai”.But all this came with baggage. The old man by now had increased his band to fifty people and would collect fees from them in lieu of permitting entry to the capital town. Some part of the fees were offered to Deven and he most certainly accepted them. After all ,now he had a family to take care off.
Deven’s and Satyavati’s fortunes continued to grow and soon there were whispers about them. . Satyavati would often flaunt precious ornaments which would make quite a few women jealous. The spies had meanwhile suspected something fishy and followed the trail. They soon gathered the complete story and reported to the king. The king was furious and deeply pained. He summoned Deven and all the vendors to the court. After listening to the complete story, the king ordered that the Old man be not allowed an entry into the city ever again. The others were let off with hefty fine. The king was highly pained due to Deven and wanted to punish him severely. However, cognizant to the fact he was the dai’s son , the king demoted Deven and placed him at the palace service. Satyavati was aghast by what had happened. She could not digest the fact that her father and husband had been publicly humiliated . Satyavati was a strong lady and couldn’t take things fallen down. She vowed to avenge for the insult.
Meanwhile, the king issued strict orders that the gates be opened only at dawn and closed at sunset. Whoever defied the orders was to be severely punished. The Deven episode was talk of the town for quite a few days. One of the effects was that people had started questioning the rule of the gates ,albeit in private .It was still obeyed but more out of fear than out of respect or relevance. In fact , some of the entrepreneurs had already started realizing the benefits of an open door policy. It was much easier for them to do business since it enabled them to travel long distances in a day. Also, they could get back at odd hours thereby maximizing their business hours . They started with the activity again ,though in isolation and were helped by one of the guards who had been Deven’s subordinate and had to live with “only” his salary since past few months.
The king had a step brother Viren who by now had developed into a young man and like all step brothers, had his eyes on the throne. Satyavati was smart enough to notice this and developed proximity with Viren . She impressed upon him the need for having people loyal to him if he were to ever stake a claim. And loyalty was to be bought monetarily . Either ways, Viren felt far too humiliated while demanding for his monthly expenses from the king. With tactical approval from Viren, Satyavati created a consortium of businessmen wanting the gates open. They would pay their monthly fees to Viren and were permitted to venture out of the city gates at any time. The security guards and spies were ‘taken care of ‘. This consortium was soon joined by the vendors from outside the city and the trade flourished. Soon the city started witnessing the benefits of this prosperity . However ,with prosperity ,also came vices such as liquor and prostitution and thus started the saga of degeneration .
The king in the meanwhile had been helplessly watching the deterioration of the city and moral fabric of the society. He felt anguished at the situation but things had gone beyond his control. But then he was the king after all and had the final authority. He ordered some of his most loyal guards to take care of the city gates and issued strict orders for adherence to the rules of the gate. By now, many of the people in the city had developed interest in the “gates” either directly or indirectly. This new order was seen as an hindrance to their prosperous lives and immediate action had to be taken. Satyavati, realizing the situation, instigated Viren to stage a coup which was well funded and supported by interested people. Naren was captured and beheaded. Viren was enthroned and there was jubilation in some circles about justice being done.
Once the king, Viren opened the city gates to all ,throughout the day. However, this created a lot more competition for the businessmen, who had so far enjoyed exclusive privilege at the cost of some ‘fee’. He was forced into reversing this rule and did so ,fearing a Naren like fate. A few decades later, one of the descendants tried to free the city of outsiders and self centered businessmen .He wanted to bring back the moral fabric of the society and get back to the days when the king lived. He also tried to enforce the ‘gates rule’ . However, this time ,the businessmen approached a neighboring king ,who was a regular benedictory of the trade .The king threatned to attack if the gates were not left “Untouched”.
Centuries later, after lots of invasions, infighting , satyagrahas , freedom and renaissance , this erstwhile kingdom is now a part of country named India. We still have the policy of closing the gates at night while they are opened for the few…….
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