Kings of India

                     How we value or imagine certain things is very interesting. My father-in-law had lent money to some of his friends. When he fell sick he started sending my wife and her elder sister to collect back the money he had lent. One such friends to whom he had lent money was from Srivaikundam in Thirunelveli district. This friend hailed from a caste called Kottai Pillamar. Kottai pillamars usually build a fort and they lived inside the fort. The fort was made of clay and brick, and entry to the fort was very restricted. This particular friend of my father-in-law was the chieftain of his fort. My wife and her elder sister went to Srivaikundam to collect the money back from him. In my wife's mind the idea of a fort and a chieftain had created a big imagination. She thought that being a Raja[chief] meant that he would look like the Kings depicted in our history books. When she entered the gate along with her sister, the guards told them to wait.After getting permission from the King, they were allowed inside the courtyard of the Chief. The courtyard was another clay building and a man with bald head,and a dirty linen appeared. On coming to know that this ordinary man was the king, all the imagination built up in my wife's mind went to dust.

                      In another incident she went to Anantha Padmanabasamy temple in Trivandrum. She was told that Raja of Travancore will be visiting the temple in the early morning. So she went to the temple and positioned herself to have a good view of the King. And then a man with ordinary cloth appeared without jewels and other ornaments of a KING. In India we have many stories like this.