Who bodes ill?

By Amarjeet Malik

The entire town had a superstitious belief and was convinced that Ramaiyya was a jinxed man and his presence bodes ill for everyone. The people of the town believed that if one saw Ramaiyya's face in the morning one would not get a morsel of food the entire day. Hence nobody liked to confront him early in the morning.

Somehow this matter was conveyed to the king, Raja Krishnadevraya who decided to test this belief. He sent for Ramaiyya and asked him to stay with him for a day. He wanted to see his face first thing in the morning and experience its consequences. And the next morning he did so. Then the king went to hold court. Upon finishing his morning session the king went to have his food and found a fly in his food. The king lost his appetite and began to wonder if Ramaiyya was the reson for this situation. He decided that Ramaiyya was an ill omen for the welfare of his people and had to be put to death.

When poor Ramaiyya was being taken to the scaffold, he happened to see Tenaliram – the clever and witty court jester of King Krishnadevaraya. Ramaiyya told him about his ill luck and requested Tenali to help him. Tenali whispered something in his ear and asked him to repeat the same before the king.

When Ramaiyya was standing on the scaffold, the king arrived and as was customary asked Ramaiyya to express his last wish. And Ramaiyya said: "My last wish is a request to all the people of the town; I wish to tell all of them that his majesty, the King's presence is much more ominous than my presence. It is widely believed that he who sees my face early in the morning has to forgo his food for the entire day. But he who sees our king's face early in the morning has to lose his life. This execution is an evidence to prove my contention!"

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The king immediately rescinded his order and gave ample award to Ramaiyya to prove that viewing his face in the morning entailed good reward.