Random truth

My nine year old son reads and collects twinkle comics and ever since we had been transferred here, he had been buying a copy each from the only shop that sells comics every time we go for an evening stroll to the shop. I too flip through some copies sometimes when I don’t have any task at hand. While flipping through a copy, I came across a story about a Pundit (Hindu scholar) who found a bird’s feather stuck on his teeth while eating a meal. Now the Pundits are supposed to be a vegetarian and he didn’t tell about the incident to anyone at first. Later he disclosed it to his wife who in turn told her friends about the incident and the story passed through many mouths with various additions. The feather became wings, the wings became a bird and the bird became a flock of birds that flew out of the pundit’s mouth. Imagine the plight of the Pundit when he found his neighbours banging his front door demanding to see the nest of the birds in his mouth.

In the society we live in, there are some people who find contentment in gossip. They sometimes do not bother to cross check the facts and pass on whatever they have heard by adding something on the original version.

For instance, this morning I walked into the office to find some of my colleagues already seated and sharing the news about the bomb blast which occurred in Phuentsholing last night. I listened  halfheartedly since I had already heard about it last night when my husband called me from Phuentsholing. A colleague was telling the gaping listener that there was a casualty and the blast occurred in front of the movie hall. For once I corrected her and said, “The incident did not happen in the movie hall, it was in the Zangtopelri area”. She gave me a look that said it all. I ignored her dagger looks and continued, “My husband called me last night. He is in Phuentsholing”. That silenced her altogether.