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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Comedy / Humor
- Published: 03/09/2011
The boy is guilty!
Born 1948, M, from Srinagar/Jammu & Kashmir, IndiaThe boy is guilty.
A cry went round the bus - ”poor thing!”
A boy had fainted.
The passengers made the bus stop and carried the fainted boy out.
One passenger rubbed the soles of his feet, another pressed his hands, and a third held his head on his lap, while a fourth fanned him with his handkerchief. Someone fetched water and another sprinkled it on his face.
The boy regained consciousness and sat up slowly. The crowd of passengers was well pleased.
One of them enquired from the boy, "What happened?"
Another asked, ”Is this the first time you have fainted or does it happen often?"
A third was telling his fellow passengers, "The bus was really overcrowded. The poor fellow must have suffocated. This pushing and jostling is enough to make even a robust fellow faint.”
Nearby, another was asking the boy, "You don't suffer from epilepsy, God forbid?"
Tears welled up from the boy’s eyes and he pouted, his lower lip thrust far out. Exposing his inner coat pocket to the crowd, he said, "My pocket, sirs, has been picked."
Astonished, passengers began to examine the pocket. The coat was pulled in all directions by solicitous people, so was soon turned into shreds.
One, drawing a conclusion after his examination, pronounced, “This pocket, my dear sirs, has been slit with a pair of scissors."
Another immediately disagreed, "No, sir, it is clearly the work of a blade."
"Better listen to me, sir, scissors, no doubt about it." The man added sarcastically, "Pray where are the frayed edges a blade would have left?"
"Not necessary at all," the other insisted. "This cut, begging your pardon, is in a straight line, and that can only be achieved with a blade. Had it been scissors my dear sir, there would have been a certain amount of curvature in it, which I am afraid, there is not."
Not to be silenced by this, the first man persisted in his view of the matter. By this time both the opponents had gathered a sizeable number of supporters for their different theories. And now both the sides advanced reasons and arguments in support of their stance and a fierce debate ensued, with the passengers divided into two camps: Scissors versus Blade.
In the midst of the argument, the Scissors-man raised his voice, "You are so uncouth. Your belligerence is no proof of the soundness of your argument."
As a result, the Blade-man lost his temper and shouted, "You have no manners at all. After all, what can one expect from someone with such lowly origins as you!"
The debate grew more heated, arguments multiplied, the issue snow-balled into a full-blown quarrel. The quarrel did not remain confined to the protagonists alone but drew both the camps into it.
Eventually the Scissors-camp formed a committee, while the Blade-camp quickly constituted a party. Both the parties held their separate meeting. Allegations were hurled freely and motives attributed.
The Blade-man referred to the Scissor-party thus: “These are the people who have always betrayed the nation. They filled their own coffers, fattened themselves and strangled the common man.”
The crowd applauded in full agreement.
And the Scissor-man was expressing similar sentiments in a lecture to his supporters.
While this was going on, emotions were roused and a fight broke out between the two groups.
Stones were hurled and several people were hurt, some of them seriously. The police came, burst tear-gas shells and made a lathi-charge (baton charge).
Now the road was clear of people. There was total silence all around, the bus far in the distance.
But the boy was arrested on the charge of having started a riot.
The boy is guilty!(nazir jahangir)
The boy is guilty.
A cry went round the bus - ”poor thing!”
A boy had fainted.
The passengers made the bus stop and carried the fainted boy out.
One passenger rubbed the soles of his feet, another pressed his hands, and a third held his head on his lap, while a fourth fanned him with his handkerchief. Someone fetched water and another sprinkled it on his face.
The boy regained consciousness and sat up slowly. The crowd of passengers was well pleased.
One of them enquired from the boy, "What happened?"
Another asked, ”Is this the first time you have fainted or does it happen often?"
A third was telling his fellow passengers, "The bus was really overcrowded. The poor fellow must have suffocated. This pushing and jostling is enough to make even a robust fellow faint.”
Nearby, another was asking the boy, "You don't suffer from epilepsy, God forbid?"
Tears welled up from the boy’s eyes and he pouted, his lower lip thrust far out. Exposing his inner coat pocket to the crowd, he said, "My pocket, sirs, has been picked."
Astonished, passengers began to examine the pocket. The coat was pulled in all directions by solicitous people, so was soon turned into shreds.
One, drawing a conclusion after his examination, pronounced, “This pocket, my dear sirs, has been slit with a pair of scissors."
Another immediately disagreed, "No, sir, it is clearly the work of a blade."
"Better listen to me, sir, scissors, no doubt about it." The man added sarcastically, "Pray where are the frayed edges a blade would have left?"
"Not necessary at all," the other insisted. "This cut, begging your pardon, is in a straight line, and that can only be achieved with a blade. Had it been scissors my dear sir, there would have been a certain amount of curvature in it, which I am afraid, there is not."
Not to be silenced by this, the first man persisted in his view of the matter. By this time both the opponents had gathered a sizeable number of supporters for their different theories. And now both the sides advanced reasons and arguments in support of their stance and a fierce debate ensued, with the passengers divided into two camps: Scissors versus Blade.
In the midst of the argument, the Scissors-man raised his voice, "You are so uncouth. Your belligerence is no proof of the soundness of your argument."
As a result, the Blade-man lost his temper and shouted, "You have no manners at all. After all, what can one expect from someone with such lowly origins as you!"
The debate grew more heated, arguments multiplied, the issue snow-balled into a full-blown quarrel. The quarrel did not remain confined to the protagonists alone but drew both the camps into it.
Eventually the Scissors-camp formed a committee, while the Blade-camp quickly constituted a party. Both the parties held their separate meeting. Allegations were hurled freely and motives attributed.
The Blade-man referred to the Scissor-party thus: “These are the people who have always betrayed the nation. They filled their own coffers, fattened themselves and strangled the common man.”
The crowd applauded in full agreement.
And the Scissor-man was expressing similar sentiments in a lecture to his supporters.
While this was going on, emotions were roused and a fight broke out between the two groups.
Stones were hurled and several people were hurt, some of them seriously. The police came, burst tear-gas shells and made a lathi-charge (baton charge).
Now the road was clear of people. There was total silence all around, the bus far in the distance.
But the boy was arrested on the charge of having started a riot.
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Nazir Jahangir
02/04/2020burlesque: an absurd or comically exaggerated, especially in a literary work.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
09/06/2018Nazir,
Jd, Hannah both were much more eloquent than I, but I will say this: I have seen this story in real life, in many ways, and like both Jd and Hannah, I applaud you!
Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
JD
09/06/2018Despite the fact this story highlights the often stupid, absurd, and dark aspects of human nature, it does give one pause to stop and consider.... and considering we human beings have made so much progress in so many ways, and accomplished so much good in the world, in spite of our own innate stupidity, frailty, and tendencies toward the dark side, I think is truly miraculous, and gives me hope for us and for the future....
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Hannah
09/06/2018This reminds me of a game I played, once, (which was very gruesome) but was also very true. It was a game where you were a camera and had to take pictures of these little people walking across the screen. When you took a picture, it was transferred into the "news" and many more people would see it and copy whoever was in it. The more pictures you took, the angrier everybody would get at each other because simply only one person started out angry. It just reminds me how stupid humans are sometimes. Good story!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
JD
09/06/2018There is a LOT to think about in this story, Nazir, so I can only scratch the surface! Your story is both comedy and tragedy. One cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, and the way it rings true to life. We frail and fickle human beings are always picking quarrels with one another over the most minute of issues and inconsequential details. And we form committee's and parties and denominations and religions over many of these absurdly unimportant issues and details and continue to bicker and quarrel over them for lifetimes and centuries, often killing one another en mass over such absurd things. In the process we totally lose sight of what really matters in life, and in humanity as a whole. And inevitably creating innocent scapegoats to blame for our own foolishness and inability to make significant progress in our meaningless battles.
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