Andheri Nagari

Unfortunately Jacob’s concept of nobility is exactly that – Jacob’s concept. It has no takers in the rest of the teams. The rest of the team wants differential treatment. Some want a higher bonus, some, more attention, and some, the best corner in the office space. Jacob argues, “If I create differentiation, then someone will be at the bottom of the pile. In a pyramid, there are always few who benefit and many who don’t . That’s not fair.” No pyramid for Jacob, a round table it must be. The result , Kevin leaves. Jacob’s beliefs do not give him the desired outcome. His idea of perfection remains on the design board — in reality it leads to the collapse of Camelot. And he blames Kevin for it. For not aligning for what he believes is a nobler (and the correct) worldview. Jacob’s friend then told him a folktale from India based on a famous verse: Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja, takey ser bhaji, takey ser khaja, which loosely translated means ‘In the dark kingdom of a flat king, you can get a measure of vegetables for a rupee and the same measure of sweets for a rupee.’ Is that good or bad? One young man thought this was a very good thing. “Let us stay here,” he told his guru when they were passing through this kingdom. “No matter what you buy here, it costs a rupee per measure. A measure of gold costs the same as a measure of rice as a measure of cloth as a measure of hay. It is wonderful ! Paradise indeed!” As soon as he said this, the guru said, “Lets get out of here immediately . Run!” The student did not understand. He felt this was the best place on earth. Everyone , even the poorest man here, can live like a king. He fought with his guru. In the end, he refused to leave the dark kingdom of the flat king and the guru proceeded without him. Life for the student was good. Despite earning a very low salary, he could afford all the luxuries of life. All for a rupee per measure. He could not understand his guru’s behavior. Months passed. Then one day a murder took place in the kingdom. After an intense search, the murderer was caught. The king ruled that the murderer must be hung by the neck from a tree till he was dead. The whole kingdom gathered to witness the punishment . Unfortunately, the rope for the noose turned out to be too short. “Get a longer rope,” said the king. The whole kingdom was searched. But a longer rope could not be formed. Everyone turned to the king for a solution.

The king said, “Simple, get a taller man.” Scouts were sent out and they brought the student before the king. “Sir,” said the soldiers, “He is
tall enough.” “Hang him for the murder,” said the king. The student protested, “How can you do that? I did not commit the crime.” The king replied, “A crime has been committed. A punishment must be given. Since the murderer is too short, we must find a taller man.” “But he is the murderer, I am innocent,” shouted the student. “We know,” said the king sounding impatient, “But he is short and you are just the right height. Can’t you understand?” As the student was being led to the gallows, he saw his guru in the crowd and the guru said, “If the king finds no difference in value between a measure of vegetables and the same measure of sweets, then he finds no difference in value between a murderer and an innocent man. Everything has the same value in the dark land of the flat king. That is why I asked you to run.” Jacob wants to create a world of equals. A noble thought. But do the knights want to be equal? A Kevin does not. And there are many Kevin’s out there.
Points To Ponder The notion of Camelot, where the king is first amongst equals, is imagined perfection. People want to be differentiated from others and differentiation invariably creates hierarchy. If one attempts to equalize unique features of team members, one ends up becoming Chaupat Raja of Andher Nagari.