GOUTHAM’S Sojourn
A Story by T.J.Vincent
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Goutham stood motionless; by the side of his dying father! His father, Siddarth, was breathing heavily. Even at the peak of the agonies, a serene calm prevailed on the face of the dying man. For Goutham, it was the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning.
For Goutham, at the start of the memory things were vague, misty and clouded. There were things which Goutham was not able to link with his known world; say for example, there were no women neither in the life of Goutham nor in the life of his father, of-course to his knowledge. No mother as others had and he never knew whether he had any! The only person with whom he had any sort of relationship was his father, Siddarth. Siddarth seldom opened his mouth, used only minimum words, and the most luxurious communication was a scanty smile flickered on his face very occasionally
If you are curious about Goutham, I can say little more things about him. The childhood of Goutham was eventless and colorless like that of any other children of the village; running behind squirrels and kitten, picking tender mangoes. During rains Goutham played with paper canoes. His most interesting childhood pastime was, perhaps, to go after the ant herds, moving in lines, marching like a disciplined army [or like migration of Moses and his clan - very often, they were even carrying the tabernacle on their shoulders]. It was much later he realized, that the ants had a life span of twenty years or so, and that they had a very much developed communication system, and that they were at the start of mechanizing their culture. Even the possibility of a superior community of ants taking over the control of life on the planet earth was real probability. You cannot call it a threat, if you have a universal outlook! Can you? The ants have the same sort of right that the human or the homosapien race has over this planet. They are also the offspring of the mother earth.
The destinations of the ants were always mysterious. He spent hours together to find out the ultimate point of their settlement. He wondered about their concept of time. The ants were determined, they were confident too! They were keen to keep the planet neat and tidy. They removed the dead instantaneously to their mysterious destination. Perhaps they too may be expecting for the creator to visit the planet at any moment.
Goutham went to a local, vernacular, school and dropped out eventually. The reason, perhaps may be that his father was not particularly interested in Goutham's academic pursuits, or perhaps the conventional outfit was not suitable for his mental outfit. Though his father was not particularly interested, he was neither averse to it; he was simply indifferent. But, the indifference is something that permeates like other moods. Goutham spent his childhood, adolescence and early youth brooding, dreaming and wandering. If I elaborate, his brooding and dreaming were analysing the mysteries he faced, not simply the mysteries he faced himself but the mysteries that were faced by human race. The meaning of life, the purpose, the ultimate aim, the mysterious disappearance of the individual when he dies and so on.
Siddarth, his father, found his livelihood out of his limited cultivation. He seldom sold any thing but cultivated to meet the bare requirement for their food. During his extra time, he found solace in the stars and astrology. For him stars were trying to model the inhabitants of the planet every moment and rearrange it at every other moment.
* * *
In fact, Goutham was not very much sorry for the poor man but he was feeling about something that he had had to do but was not able to do. He had a vague feeling that his father's agonies were some way connected with him.
Siddarth died of acute bronchial asthma (the time of his death, he had predicted almost to precision - for that matter, astrology is more precise than astronomy, a relatively new subject). Goutham was very much disturbed about the sufferings of his father. The breathing disorder, and the acute physical and mental agonies made Goutham feel guilty for some unknown reason.
Goutham stood motionlessly even when he realised that his father is already dead. For many minutes he had his mind blacked out. There was nothing, simply blank. After some time he went out. At first he thought of informing some of their neighbors. Then he had an after thought; he and his father were always alone and there was no room for any body else there. He went out, out to the river side, to the end of their vegetable garden, the garden where his father found solace always. He made out a pier with some dry wood, dry grass and leaves and took the fragile, light and thin, dead body of his father on his shoulders and left it on the pier, very carefully, very very carefully. Then he looked at the stars burning bright and sat there for a very long time seeking for the stars to decide whether to fire the pier or not. Finally by the end of the night he put fire to the pier and stood motionlessly with his folded hands pointing to the stars giving his father’s soul the way for his eternal journey.
After his father's death, he was sorting out the belongings of his father. The main paraphernalia was a box that he had never seen, even once, opened by his father during his life time. Just for the sake of curiosity, he opened the box and among other things, found some papers, a photograph of a young man in winter suitings, along with a western looking lady holding a baby in her hands. The young man had the resemblance of his father but still it was a mystery how he was wearing the winter suiting, a costume with which he was not able to identify his father. He found a card printed with an address “Dr. Siddarth ... etc.,” followed by a long line of letters of English alphabet, probably his academic qualifications. Goutham was not much concerned with any of these things; the only difference it made was that he got a little more confused and withdrawn to himself.
After his father’s death he pursued the cultivation of some sort for a livelihood, for some time. Then he got bored and looked for some other engagement. He found one as a hospital assistant, a ward boy. The nature of his work was that to do the odd jobs in the hospital such as pushing of the patients in their wheel chair, taking medicines from the store to the pharmacy, bringing the oxygen cylinder to the operation theater, etc. The occupation gave Goutham satisfaction as it was quenching the fire of his discomfort brought down from the death bed of his father. It made him to feel that he has been assimilated in the community as a human being and that he was doing something for the welfare of others.
The things went smoothly for some time until an incident changed the whole course of his life. One day, as usual, he was attending to his routine work. He was pushing a trolley with the Oxygen cylinder from the store to the operation theater along the hospital verandah. A long line of suffering patients was standing in queue, waiting for their turn to meet the physician on duty. Like in any other public hospital in the country, the poor patients, mostly from the villages, had to wait a long time. Goutham felt pity for them. He found the heavily breathing patients, suffering for lack of oxygen, struggling for breath. His memory took him back to the death bed of his father, a place where he stood motionless incapable of giving any relief when his father was dying. He stood in the crowd, brooding, for a moment. He got resolved himself and opened the valve of the oxygen cylinder and released the oxygen gas in the crowd. His intention was only to give the suffering people a moment's relief. How ever the incident cost him his job.
Goutham was least bothered. Still it brought his attention to the basic necessities of the human race. He realised that the air was getting more and more heavy and polluted. The pure oxygen was becoming scarce, causing bronchial disorders for many. His mind was working out a solution and of course he was able to find out one in his own way.
He raised some money, consulted technicians and engineers and designed a small machine capable of producing oxygen. He installed it on a four wheeler cart and pushed it along the busy roads, markets and other crowded places. His device simply produced oxygen and it was released in the atmosphere. His intention was to supplement oxygen to the atmosphere. It continued for some time. For many people, they could not understand what was going on. For others it was something to be laughed off. But for Goutham it was his way of life.
One day he had to face the real dilemma. The local administration had insisted licenses for all hawkers. Goutham and his cart were mistaken for a hawker and he was interrupted by the authorities.
His explanations were not acceptable for them. At one stage he even thought of doing away with all his ideologies and social feelings. How ever he finally decided to fight it out and had his first experience with the lower judiciary. The judicial authority did not even have time to hear him. He was simply directed to pay a petty amount as fine and the matter was closed. He was happy for many reasons. He was relieved from the burden of explaining his unusual ways and to be laughed off on that. It was this experience made him understand that the judicial decisions can also be a bit, a piece of data, a number in the statistical reports.
A news savvy reporter once came across in the way of Goutham. Goutham’s cart and his real intentions were thus finally caught the attention of a news reporter and he projected the news in the weekend magazine of a local news paper as a curious news item.
A savior for the humanity!
“The little town of Kurisur, in the God’s Own Country, has at last, the savior for the humanity! A man by name Goutham, has found out a unique way to serve and save humanity by producing oxygen by means of certain device. He has fitted the device on a four wheeler cart and is releasing the oxygen produced in the crowded market places and streets. The whole thing is done by himself for no return of any kind.
He had no much explanation to offer. He simply felt to do so and is doing so! The idea is, of course, thought provoking. The atmosphere in the towns and cities and even in the surrounding villages are getting heavy day by day.
For any social activist such vision can be an inspiration? ”
It worked; as the news caught the attention of the intellectuals, social activists and finally the attention of the world media. The result was astounding. Queries came from various parts of the world. It was the Swiss national, Passolini and Dutch national, Kathleen who took over the whole program. They projected the activity, it’s sanctity and necessity, all over the world. International awards followed. Goutham was placated as a torch bearer and became a minor celebrity. Still all these lasted only for a short while.
How ever, the whole activity was sponsored by various peace foundations. An organization by name 'Planet Savers' set up several large oxygen plants at many places and Oxygen produced in huge quantities were released to the atmosphere. Several organizations of the world sponsored the activity and even the Government funded it through their ministries of social welfare.
Iin due course, it was borne on the organizers that the survival of such an establishment on the mercy of the people around or on the governmental help are totally unreliable. Thus it was decided to constitute a corporate body with limited liabilities. An ‘articles of association’ was drawn up, authorised capital was decided upon and equity shares were issued to the public at nominal value. People with broad outlook and a will to participate in the welfare activities, intellectuals and those who had a craze for any novel idea were among the contributors. They were the individuals with no ulterior motive. Still, there are people with the eye of a vulture who can locate a grazing cow anywhere in a vast, virgin meadow. They appear stealthily and swallow the system for their ultimate aim. Such participants also made bulk purchases of the equity shares in the guise of social participation.
The organisers remembered Goutham at the time of establishing of the company and they named it ‘Goutham Oxygen Plant Limited’ and the company was referred shortly as GOPL. An administrative set up and systems of management were introduced. They were able to procure all sorts of concessions from the government since the company was set up with a motive of public welfare. Sufficient land was made available at no cost and materials, expertise, etc. followed suite.
The company prospered.
Management experts, scientists, cost accountants and engineers were engaged by the company. On a latter stage of development, the company decided to generate a flow of sufficient fund for the independent existence by itself. A part of the oxygen produced was decided to be marketed for this purpose. Initially the cylinders filled with oxygen gas were marketed for various purposes.
Later on, an innovative idea was born in the minds of the company's business promotion consultants. They suggested the popularisation of pollution free oxygen in pouches. They promoted the idea by advertising in the visual media. The national sports idol was taking a breath of the oxygen pouch of the company at every break of the game and he was getting rejuvenated at every instant. The advertisement clicked. People began to use the pouched oxygen. At first, it was a status symbol to carry oxygen pouches in public places but gradually it became a common consumer item that found a place in many a house wife's monthly purchase list. In some of the prestigious public schools it was made compulsory for the students to come with the oxygen pouches.
They priced the pure oxygen at very reasonable rates, at a nominal profit over the cost. As the industrial culture developed the pure oxygen became scarce in the cities and also in the suburbs. The potential of the business was enormous. It was thus the Goutham oxygen pouches, the GOP, became a household name.
They produced oxygen tanks for private motor cars and they were even succeeded in getting the new models of automobiles fitted with built in oxygen tanks that can be refilled at wayside stations. Soon it was made compulsory by the motor vehicle department that the public vehicles too should get fitted with oxygen tanks. Breathing of atmospheric oxygen was treated as a most unhygienic act by the affluent and even by the middle class. The atmospheric oxygen meant something used by animals and crude common man.
Company constructed oxygen plants all over the world and they made profits and were shared it among the share holders. In due course, the company was able to procure the patent right for production of pure oxygen.
The corporate bodies are like a huge mass of cytoplasm, moving without sound, without attracting the attention of any body and leaving nothing in its path, not even foot prints and it assimilated every thing that came into contact with it. Or, It was like black holes of the universe. Gradually, the company became the monopoly producer of oxygen in the whole world.
The research and development department of the company is working on the possibility of marketing the sun light in pouches. The company started a new department for Photonics research. The times are changing fast. The likelihood of the sun light becoming scarce is an imminent eventuality. The company is claiming that they have already developed technology for packing sunlight in pouches and they are waiting for the patent right to start marketing.
In fact, the pouching of sunlight was originally invented by a scientist by name Dr.Siddarth, a distinguished physicist who vanished without a trace long back. His theory was that the controlled magnetic activation of photons can produce a glow like sun light. The activated photons that were released will in turn activate photons contained in other substances. As a result everything will become visible. Such photons can be preserved in photo static shield bags and released as per the requirement. The application of this theory can be used to control day and night. If a cosmic strike makes a condition like the one that supposed to have lead to the annihilation of the dinosaurs several million years ago, the theory may come handy. Dr. Siddarth had various ideas about the application of his theory. He had suggested that his theory can be applied for growing tropical plants in the continent of Antarctica or Siberia. Dr. Siddarth just missed a nomination for Nobel price for his brilliant idea. [Some cynics say it was for his brown skin that he missed it]. How ever, later on, the theory in an expanded form secured a Nobel price nomination, and this time, the nominee was none other than his estranged wife, Dr. Eva Pouline Siddarth, a German born Canadian citizen. She was reluctant to accept the price. But Dr. Siddarth was already missing without a trace, for long, by that time.
Siddarth came from a village where jackals, hyenas and foxes roamed during the time of his ancestors, at the beginning of the century. [Of course, the twentieth century]. It was during the time of the great kings of the Chute kingdom, [some great historian aptly explained the vast empire as some place a person can pass through with the help of one single chute - a bundle of coconut leaves used as torch during nights. What he meant was that the distance between the boundaries of the kingdom was so small] a man from a neighboring province came to the place on the wings of a machine bird and did an aerial survey of the land. He started a spinning mill by floating a corporate body, the first of its kind in the Chute kingdom. The king, may be the ruling king or may be one in the line of expectants, a fifth or sixth Thampuran, [The succession was on the basis of a system where the senior member of the maternal route is to succeed the ruling king. There will be several such routes and the persons to succeed cannot be predicted since most of them will be octogenarians or the like. Thampuran is a common word used to denote God and king in chute kingdom] had a flair for business. The Divan, [the head of the administration] a baniya, [a community of business people] from the neighboring province, was taken into confidence by an entrepreneur who was a baniya himself from the same province that of the Divan. The entrepreneur was a genius, a product of London School of Economics. The mill came up and the face of the village changed. The jackals, hyenas and foxes disappeared but a new breed of human race with identical characteristics came up.
People came to the village from long distant places along the path of the electric supply lines for there was no electric supply lines to any other place. Siddartha’s ancestor Kunjayyappan was among the ones who had to move out. Kunjayyappan was living at the site selected for the factory. He was a bullock cart man. He and his bullocks were awe inspiring sight for the villagers. He was taller than average, sturdier than average, and aggressive than average. He had two wifes, one each on either side of a hillock. He went to their houses on alternate days and even the bullocks knew to which part of the hillock the cart should go on each day.
When the king and the Divan decided, the poor locals, the tenants, had no say but to move out.
The hillock was taken over and was handed over to the company. Kunjayyapppan had to move out. He conveniently discarded the southern hillock and retained the northern hillock at another convenient location. The bullocks were the ones who were confused in the process. How ever, the bullocks and their master did not survive for long, since they were not akin to such type of changes.
His son, Kochuraman, had a wider outlook. He joined the new generation of industrial workers and picked up his life in an altogether different manner. Siddarth was Kochuraman’s son, an introvert who seldom interacted with any one of his generation. He found solace in books and pursued an alien way of life, alien to his tribe. He wandered all alone in the wilderness of the village nights, along the banks of river Kurumaly.
River Kurumaly had a history of its own. In olden days it changed its course frequently and gave great hardships to the people living along its banks. The Goddess Shree Kurumba was prayed to control the mischief of the river and the prayer was accepted after offering a human sacrifice. There after, the Goddess Kurumalikkave Bhagavathy settled by the side of the river permanently.
The dark green vegetation, the wild and sedative darkness with slight humming sound of the river, the hush hush sound of the bats perching on the banian tree behind the temple, all these made the atmosphere tranquil. Siddarth was the lone intruder into that serenity. He spent long hours in that serenity without any particular purpose. His mind was churning with imagination, ideas and dreams.
The people were skeptical about Siddarth. They looked at him as if he is a strange creature. However, in spite of the indifferent atmosphere, he picked up an academic career and got a post graduate degree in Physics. He was lucky enough to obtain a scholarship in a European University to pursue his studies. He took up research in nuclear physics and in the course of time established himself as an expert of sub atomic particles, was able to obtain doctoral degrees and fellowships. His academic pursuits also gave him a companion, Eva Pouline, another genius of Particle physics.
Eva had a mixed pedigree of her own. Her mother was sprouted in the womb of a Jew who escaped a camp out of sheer luck of her extreme good looks that could influence a young German of pure Aryan race, who at the time of the great holocaust, found solace in her and allowed her to escape. She was to carry his generations to the future for he was not luckier enough to survive the holocaust. Her father was a Polish gentleman and academician who settled in Canada.
Siddarth and Pouline made an ideal couple and had a perfectly smooth life. People around them identified them with the Curie couple of the earlier times. One day Dr. Siddarth disappeared along with his little son. His wife was not able to connect any incident to his disappearance.
While the whole world was frantically searching for Dr. Siddarth at the instance of his wife, he was escaping to his dream world along with his little son, whom he had taken away from his wife. The reasons, of course, partly real and partly his wild imagination. Of late, he had noticed that she had developed a sort of repellence towards the child. He never knew whether it was because of the brown skin of the child or whether it was because she was bored with Siddarth himself. Perhaps, she had tolerated Siddarth for his brilliance. He felt disillusioned and thought that for a son she never wanted a brown skinned, orient looking boy. To her observation, the boy was slightly retarded too. For Siddarth it was an insult, an insult he felt as most grievous and unpardonable.
It was how they, Goutham and Siddarth happened to settle down in the village away from the crowded world of sharp edged civilization. The river Kurumaly was still humming its gentle tunes, the banian tree with bats and the wild beauty of the night forest, was still there to give Siddarth the solace he longed for. The place selected by him was a long way upstream from his native village and he could manage as an unknown entity.
The death of Siddarth was quite unexpected. Of course he was sick and was suffering from the Bronchial asthma and all, but his sudden falling into a coma and subsequent death were as unexpected as all the other incidents of his life. Just before the moment he had something to tell to Goutham but he failed miserably to express it. Goutham thought of the unexpressed message of his father and it remained one of the unresolved puzzles of his life.
Now, coming back to Goutham, you must be wondering the function of Goutham in a multinational corporate body like Goutham Oxygen plant limited. Of course, Goutham was treated well. The board of directors of the company considered the issue of accommodating Goutham in one of their regular meetings. They considered Goutham for the posts of production manager to technician. But, what puzzled them was that Goutham was lacking formal academic qualifications to suit to any of these posts. Finally they decided to appoint him in a post specially created to accommodate him, an 'assistant to the technician', with out any special assignment. It was decided to give him a reasonably good salary packet.
Goutham was there for sometime and one day he left, rather simply vanished, with out inviting the attention of any body. The Company continued to credit his salary to his account
* * *
Goutham wandered along the roaming rivers, rhyming sea shores and foggy mountains; along the roaring cities and weeping villages. His mind was always looking for any opportunity to help the human race. He observed that there was another real problem that was mounting up, the scarcity of potable water. The solution he found was very simple. There is enough water in the sea. He just started distilling the sea water and distributing the same among the fishermen living along the sea shore.
The activity was first noticed by the law enforcing authorities. They thought that Goutham was distilling illicit country liquor a generally thriving business in the sea shore villages. When they realized the true nature of the activity they laughed it off. Still, the activity gradually attracted the media attention and was lauded as a great, innovative approach against the imminent danger of extinction of the human race due to the scarcity of drinking water. More over Goutham was recognized by some news reporters as a social worker of world acclaim.
The Goutham Oxygen Plant Limited came forward with sponsorship for the activity. There were other claimants too. One of the world wide charitable societies came forward to take up the whole activity. They even challenged the right of the company in a court of law since it was an establishment with profit motive. The court agreed and a new charitable institution was set up with adequate monitory base. How ever after some time they also realized the difficulty in running an establishment on the help and charity of others. Thus they approached the court of law for a second time and got permission to constitute a corporate body.
Professional management steered the company to new heights. In no time it was developed into a world wide organization with factories and plants everywhere along the shores of the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. They produced and marketed pure water at most reasonable rates. In due course, they acquired the patent right for the pure water. They were able to consolidate their right over all the natural resources of pure water by successfully manipulating the patent right regulations. Thus the tentacles of the company tightened their clutches on rivers, lakes, streams and even the rains and clouds using their patent rights. The spear heads of the comets, which were found out to be containing large quantity of water, were within their legal rights. [This however did not mean that the comets were controlled by them, but in the event of the comets ever coming to a collision course with earth and the water happened to enrich the earth's water stores, such water will also be their private property, with absolute right to preserve, purify and market].
Quite naturally, after a short while, Goutham left the establishment, though he was designated as 'Water tap operator' with a reasonable salary package. He pursued his solitary trips to the end of the world and even to the barren Sahara. On his trips he had recognized the forthcoming famine, the possibility of an acute shortage of food grains. This condition, to some extend, was due to the restrictions imposed by the Goutham water Resources Management Center, a regulatory body constituted by the company 'Goutham Water Limited'. How ever, Goutham by this time, had acquired sufficient knowledge of patent regulations of various countries especially that of international regulations. Goutham noticed that vast expanses of the virgin Sahara was waiting and also the non tapped, non regulated source of water, willing to nourish the virgin soil that escaped the hawky eyes of the patent right experts.
The patent right experts had missed to include atmospheric water vapor in their claim on water resources. Goutham noted that the regulations for water management cannot be applied on the water that was drawn by plants from atmosphere and distributed to the earth through their roots.
On one of his trips he had noticed a certain type of plant on the peripheries of the Sahara that draws water from atmosphere. The plant was pumping the water so drawn into the soil through its roots. It was like a mother feeding her offspring. In fact, the plant was rightly called as "the earth baby's mother" by the local tribesmen using a word of equivalent meaning of their dialect. It was some sort of automatic preservation arrangements developed by the nature even before the regulations were imposed by the human intellect.
Goutham worked on this idea. He collected the plants from various places and cultivated it in a systematic way, experimented with it in his own way. He planted food grains along with the plant in the desert. The system worked and the Sahara developed into a fertile land. The famous Sahara Greenery was an after story.
Naturally for any successful system that works, there came promoters, to promote the system and to promote themselves. The contemporary history of the 'Goutham Grains and Cereals Ltd,' was no exception. The company developed, developed into a great movement. The whole of the Sahara was cultivated and was converted into a million kilometer greenery and as the granary of the world. The shortage of food became a fiction. The right over the grains production and processing of all type of cereals were organized and patterned. The company acquired patent rights over all sorts of grains, pulses and cereals. The Company was very conscious over their duties and they never misused their rights. They produced the cereals and pulses sufficiently for whole the people of the world and they sold it at very reasonable rates.
It was at this time the protest from the environmentalists started to create problems. Their point was that the equilibrium between the desert land and green fields should not be violated. Otherwise it may cause the danger of extinction of rare desert flora and fauna. Their protest was not without basis. The desert flora and fauna are the classic examples of survival at the extreme circumstances. It may be containing the clue for human survival in an unexpected eventuality. If the human race, at any time, face with the necessity of migrating to other planets the survival techniques of desert flora and fauna may also come handy.
The Idea was lauded by intellectuals of many countries and it led to a set of new international regulations for desert preservation. These regulations were adopted by all the countries of the world. The Idea was simple. Where ever desert was converted, it should be ensured that an equal area of desert was artificially made and should be preserved with all the natural qualities of a desert.
The company purchased large areas of land in all the countries of the world and deserts were developed. These conversion activities had its own merits. It catalyzed a lot of development in the underdeveloped and undeveloped countries. The Company spent millions of amount for these activities. It was a relief for the poverty stricken , unemployed masses of rural undeveloped areas. Many cities and populated areas were evacuated and the inhabitants were rehabilitated. Millions of acres of land were thus converted into deserts.
A new set of values for measuring the development of a country was formed. The extent of development was projected on the basis of area of the converted land in each country. Departments of desert conversion were formed for monitoring this development. The portfolio of this ministry was considered as most lucrative since the highest budget for expenditure was allocated to this ministry.
New experts, new engineering technology and new approach towards esthetic architectural models developed. New monopolies of business houses came into existence. An entirely new array of earth moving machines were produced by automobile industry. A new branch of Engineering was started in all the technological institutions where the subject of specialization was 'Desert Conversion'. The world was boiling with new energy concepts. Still, for the majority of the people, their life became volatile. Yet, people were happy to some extent because they had some sort of profitable engagement and there was something to eat. The most basic need of the human race, the food, was the basic issue and it was well taken care of. Meanwhile, the scientists and technocrats of the world had started thinking in terms of the universe.
There was a proposal to start cultivation in moon and mars. A proposal to convert the earth as a whole into a desert was born in the brain of some over enthusiastic head of the company's development engineering wing. He presented a thorough scheme to transport the whole of the inhabitants of the earth to some other planet so that the entire desert can be used for cultivation. His motive was only to find sufficient alternative earth space to convert into the desert. The international rule of the desert preservation was also very rigid that some such measure had to be introduced for properly complying with it. How ever, this idea was objected vehemently by certain undeveloped and underdeveloped nations since, they feared that it may be a conspiracy to leave them behind to rot and ruin.
The concept, the values and the out look changed. Goutham sighed himself and believed that ultimately all these may be for the betterment of humanity. Still he had his own doubts; a sort of discomfort from the inner mind. The beacon of insight, his father had acquired in his pursuits, was starting to shine in his mind.
* * *
It was dusk, evening light was fading and the dark pullover of night was about to cover the earth. He was found to be more and more disillusioned, wandering in his village and finally settling under the banian tree, a tree that was considered sacred in India. It was clear that he had nothing in his mind.
The tree was a night shelter for crows. Before settling for their nights rest they used to discuss all sorts of contemporary events and they expressed their opinion in a very hot manner. They were the authentic critics, who had the prerogative to raise their opinions, for you know, each of these crows had possessed the perching souls of the predecessors, the forefathers. They were watching the performances of their successive generations and were discussing the follies and wisdom of their successive generations. The furious tune of their talk was revealing the desperation of these souls for the simple fact that they were finding it very difficult to harmonize with the ways of their successors. It was the sharp ears of Goutham that analyzed the sound of fury and realized the real reason. Goutham found that the crows were representing an older generation and recently perched souls are missing among the crows. On a closer analysis Goutham perceived that the population of the crows were insufficient comparing to the requirement by the souls. He sensed that this will be the greatest tragedy for the humanity. The life in the planet is altogether a tragedy. And now, even the life after is going to be waiting in line for a crow to perch on, will still be a worst tragedy ever. Goutham realized the necessity of finding a way out. The idea of crow breeding for the wandering souls to rest was his next mission.
Goutham studied, experimented and formulated new methods of breeding birds. He visited various poultry farms and pet bird farms for this purpose. The start, as usual, was with a limited magnitude. This time the meaning of the activity of Goutham was not understood by the world community. Still, when they realized it was the same Goutham, they guessed that it must be meaningful. Finally the curiosity of news hunters world, detected the secret, at last. This time the Nations Welfare Organization itself sponsored the activity. A Corporate body was set up by the NWO to control the whole system.
By this time the companies originated by Goutham and bearing his name were grouped together by amalgamation and assimilation. A lot of corporate wars were fought between the companies before every thing settled down. Finally it was known as Goutham group companies. They even attempted to patent Goutham himself. How ever, the patent right regulations were not favorable for this mischief, since it will be curtailing the freedom of the individual.
The Goutham Group companies took over the control of the NWO body by corporate maneuvering. Thus the Goutham Crow breeding Farm limited became another subsidiary of the group. The company successfully prevailed upon the NWO to introduce a new clause in the International Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
The new clause was like this,
"When ever a country is entering into the nuclear club by producing nuclear weapon or any similar weapon meant for mass destruction, it should satisfy the international authority that it has sufficient number of crows in their crow preservation centers to equal the number of citizens in the country on which it proposes to use the weapon, and in the event of using the weapon on that country, the crows should be released in that locality, immediately after the explosion, so that, the souls that are released from their worldly abode, may be able to find an appropriate crow to perch on.
Those countries, which are already members of the nuclear club or in possession of weapons capable of mass destruction should make appropriate arrangements for preservation and release of crows before using their nuclear weapon and it is mandatory to get the clearance from the international authority that sufficient number of crows are available with them, with in a given time frame".
In short, each nuclear country had to preserve crows equal in number to the world population, so that they can use the weapon on any country at any time. Goutham Crow Breeding farm took up this opportunity to make contract with such countries and open its branches at their crow preservation centers to breed and preserve crows in sufficient numbers.
A team of experts from various countries was engaged by the NWO to inspect the crow preservation centers. The Inspection team was very meticulous and several suggestions and objections followed. Controversy regarding the counting of the crows was one such issue. Then, there was another issue regarding the amenities provided by the countries to the crows. The preservation of special crows meant for the heads of states of the countries had to be treated in par with the heads of the states of the respective countries. The inspectors of the NWO noticed that certain countries were not giving the protocol priority to the heads of the states of certain rival countries. The diplomatic problems created as a result of this had to be sorted out at higher levels.
By the introduction of this new regulation of the NWO, the crow breeding company became the most profitable of all the Goutham Group companies. They opened their branches all over the world and made contracts with the respective countries for breeding, feeding and preserving of sufficient number of crows.
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And, it was at this instant Goutham vanished without a trace.
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