Food for Thought, Humour, Post A Day 2012, This is Life, Travel

Better be a Lion…

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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The gist of the story, I have retold here, has gone on the rounds over the web for some time. I don’t know who the original author was. However, here we go…

Not long ago at a zoo in Asia there was a young lion that stood erect and proud. He commanded the respect of his fellow cell mates and all other animals in the zoo. Visitors to the zoo admired him for what he was – the king of the jungle. Even so, the dirty living quarters and meager meat just enough for sustenance frustrated him.

One fine day, an offer came from a US Zoo to the lion.

On arrival in the US, the young lion roared with pleasure when he saw his cell with facilities for an all year round environment – centrally air-conditioned to ward off both summer heat, and the chilly winter.

After the lion settled down they brought him food in an attractive sanitized parcel. A new experience for him. In his country, the meat was just thrown on the dirty floor.

The hungry lion opened the parcel in a hurry. He got a shock when he saw that the parcel contained only bananas. He became angry and wanted to roar out his disappointment. Being intelligent, he restrained himself for he thought the US zoo management cared much for his health, and they knew better.

The time for his next meal came. Again they delivered bananas wrapped in an attractive sanitized bag. Day in and day out they gave him only bananas.

After a few days, the lion, now lean and hungry, trembled with fury, lost its wits, and unable to control himself roared constantly at the zoo attendants.

A visitor seeing the lion’s fury and the bananas in front of him, asked the zoo manager, “Don’t you know that he is a lion, king of the jungle? Why don’t you give him meat instead of bananas?”

The manager politely said, “Sir, I know that he is the king of the jungle, but he came here on a monkey’s visa!”

Moral: Better be a Lion in your own country than being a Monkey in US!

I do not want to end this narrative right here.

Why?

You know very well that a coin has two sides.

A few days ago, I came across a post in Anilyzed titled, “I am moving back to India. For Good! Good Bye America. I Love You!”

I recommend Anil’s article to all people in Asian countries who aspire to come to the US, but have doubts in their mind about their future in this country.

Why?

Because, I feel that this story about the lion was originally written, out of frustration by a cynic who was not able to get an entry into US or into any other foreign country.

My wife and I are now here in the US for some time. Though, I love India, I can’t resist endorsing the Anil’s point of view. Humorously and sarcastically, he has analyzed the way of life in the two countries – US and India. This person has not only stepped on but also has rolled on the grass, here in the US.

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14 thoughts on “Better be a Lion…”

  1. Pingback: I am moving back to India. For Good! Good Bye America. I Love You! « Impressions

  2. In Belgium I do sometimes get frustrated I am not able to help my Christian friends in India not more. Often I am invited to come to India, which I would love, but because of my bad health this would be too dangerous for me. So the only connection would be the internet.

    But I, as my son, also get a lot of requests of brothers and sisters from India who would love to come to Europe to live and work here, while I do think they have a totally distorted picture of this part of the world, where they do think to find gold offered on a plate like nothing. (They even do not notice that the flight company of my son is only a virtual company, and not able to offer real life work for pilots.)

    I do agree we do see a lot of intolerable poverty and lots of discrimination between the casts. The cast-system, something to have been abolished already a long time.
    We also do think it is so difficult to get rid of pollution and dust and especially the nasty fowl pungent odour, because the country is so big and in many places there seems to be corruption, which is getting every country on its knees (look at Greece and Italy). People should first work in their little community, getting everything in order and hygienic. they should come to an attitude and a way of living which does not allow spitting, shitting and littering all around, being aware that to get somewhere it should be organised, with keeping to certain rules, with traffic sense, but most of all they should come to (the all incomprehensible) civic sense, having respect for a fellow-human, child, adolescent, woman and man, but also having respect for nature (plant and animal).

    I can imagine myself those who have tasted the west, shall be able to find lots of nice things in it. But the bad things about the capitalist (egoist) system they also should recognise.

    Those coming here in the west do not feel at home here, or feel not belonging to the system (often because they did not enough effort) but going back to their own country, there they can find that they are also considered a stranger there. So they have to face the danger not to belong anywhere any more.

    In case the lion wants to be nomadic it has to have enough qualities and the ability to look beforehand, analyse, and take the right measures, reacting always in the good way according to the people around him.

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  4. Pingback: “Be a Lion in your homeland, spit and shit anywhere you want” aka “Civic sense in India” aka “Heaven is here” – Part 3 « Impressions
  5. Pingback: “Be a Lion in your homeland, spit and shit anywhere you want” aka “Civic sense in India” aka “Heaven is here” – Part 2 « Impressions
  6. Pingback: “Be a Lion in your homeland, spit and shit anywhere you want” aka “Civic sense in India” aka “Heaven is here” – Part 1 « Impressions

  7. Hello Tvaraj,so good to meet you,and let me tell you that story had me rolling,side cracking funny. But as I moved on into the story it got kinda sad,it must be hard coming here expecting so much, then being let down ,and so very many others are being used like slaves. You are certainly a good story teller and thanks for your visit.
    Love ya 😀

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  8. Thanks for “liking” my blog. I enjoyed reading “Better to be a Lion”,because although humerous it has a deep message. Judy

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  10. Pingback: I am moving back to India. For Good ! Good Bye America. I Love You ! « Anilyzed

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