Meethu's Freedom: Hareshwar Roy
Meethu's Freedom: Hareshwar Roy
This is a story from a long time ago. A priest lived in a village. He had a parrot named Meethu. That parrot was his sole means of earning a livelihood.
Every day, the priest would take Meethu in a cage and head to the city. There, he would set up his seat under a tree by the roadside.
The priest was a fortune teller. With Meethu's help, he used to tell the future to interested people. The fortunes of the people remained enclosed in the envelopes placed in front of Meethu's cage.
At the priest's gesture, Meethu would pick up one of those envelopes in his beak. The priest would extract the piece of paper inside the envelope and read it out in his own distinct style. After learning their future, the person sitting in front would give a donation to the priest. Meethu felt immense pity for the foolishness and superstition of the people who paid the money.
Drawing out envelopes year after year, Meethu had grown tired of it. He wanted to break free from captivity. However, he could not think of any way to attain his freedom. The priest was also very vigilant. He always kept the door of the cage securely locked.
One day, before leaving for the city, the priest went to take a bath in a pond. He took Meethu's cage along with him as well. After bathing Meethu along with the cage, the priest set the cage down on the bank of the pond. Afterward, he started taking dips in the water. By mistake, the door of the cage was left open. Meethu did not let such a golden opportunity slide. He stepped out of the cage and flew away into the open sky.
Flying on and on, Meethu went far away. Evening approached. In the western direction, the sun was just about to set. From flying all day long, Meethu was utterly exhausted. The moment he spotted a dense tree, Meethu perched upon it. Despite such fatigue, Meethu was overjoyed; after all, he had gained his freedom after years.
As soon as the sun set, a large number of parrots came and perched on that very tree. Meethu's joy knew no bounds. In no time, he mingled well with them. That night, he had a very sound sleep.
When morning came, all the parrots prepared to set out in search of sweet fruits. Meethu was still sleeping. The leader of the parrots woke him up and asked him to come along in search of sweet fruits. Since Meethu was hungry anyway, he readily agreed.
Before taking flight, Meethu asked the parrots' leader, "Where will we go in search of sweet fruits?"
"To the orchards," the leader of the parrots replied.
"Do humans also live in those orchards?" Meethu asked again.
"Yes, yes, they do," the parrot leader answered.
"Then you all may go. I do not want any sweet fruits," Meethu said.
Explaining to him, the parrot leader said, "Brother! Here one has to depend on the orchards of humans. Apart from those orchards, there is nothing available to eat anywhere else. Here, you will starve to death."
"It is much better to starve to death than to face the possibility of being caged again," saying this, Meethu flew off once more. He wanted to roam freely in the lap of Mother Nature, where there was neither bondage nor the fear of bondage.
