Did not Harischandra[2] lose his throne, wife, child, because he would speak nothing less than the absolute Truth whatever happened?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Harischandra (1850-1885), an Indian poet, critic and journalist
This gem of a footnote was found in a RK Narayan short story part of an anthology of short stories. The book contains great short stories by authors as varied as Joseph Conrad and John Updike, all organized by the elements of fiction - theme, setting, character and so on. However I will remember the book and its editors more for the above footnote.
3 comments:
which RKN short story has this footnote?
It is a small one page story called "Like the sun", where a school teacher decides to speak the truth for one whole day. On that particular day the headmaster forces the teacher to listen to his singing and asks for his opinion.
The footnote must have been included by the editor of the anthology.
Good ol' Bharathendu Harischandra. Hadn't thought of him in a while.
Post a Comment