Laughter and Tears

February 26, 2011

This one is about a tale from the Arabian Nights bearing the same name as the subject of this post.  It’s one of my favorite tales. 

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The tale concerns a very poor fisherman who quite by chance happens to 'net' a sea-creature one day, a merman, if you wish.
The merman promises the fisherman a handsome reward, if only he is allowed to go in peace.  The fisherman complies and gets his promised reward.  Further,  the merman strikes a deal with the fisherman: Each day, the fisherman was to procure the best of fruits that grow on dry-land, which was out of the reach of the sea creatures, and give it to the merman, who would pay him in precious stones for each such consignment.  This arrangement was to cater to the request of the King of the sea creatures, who desired to eat fruits that grew on dry land. Both parties were very happy with the arrangement and it went off without a hitch for several days.

One fine day,  the merman invites the fisherman to pay a visit to the underwater world.   When told that the merman's magic charm would allow the fisherman to breathe underwater, as he would be able to do so on land,  the fisherman doesn't hesitate for a moment.  After all,  he was extremely curious about the underwater world.   After chanting a secret charm in a strange tongue,  the merman leads the fisherman deep underwater.  Needless to say,  the fisherman is astounded by the beauty and sights on the underwater world.   Presently,  they come upon a procession of  undersea creatures who seem to be celebrating some grand event.  The creatures are singing and dancing and rejoicing.   The fisherman inquires whether it's a marriage party to which the merman replies in the negative.  It was a funeral procession of a dear friend.  Now, the fisherman is very perplexed.   He tells the merman that he finds their customs very strange and that,  on earth,  people beat their chests in agony and anguish when a loved one passes away.   The merman flies into a furious rage upon hearing this. 
"What can be a more joyous occasion than one in which one of us goes back to our beloved maker? You cry and lament when you should celebrate with unrestrained joy? You and your race are too ignorant to even deserve our friendship and hospitality !" shouts the merman and in a thrice,  the fisherman finds himself tossed out of the water, back on to dry land,  never to hear from his sea-creature friend again.

When the fisherman narrates his tale of woe to a friend and bemoans his misfortune at having lost such a rewarding friendship over a matter as trivial as laughter and tears,  his friend consoles him, but points out that  laughter and tears are really no trivial matters.  Even seemingly trivial matters such as laughter and tears may be matters of great importance,  even the very roots of entire philosophies and schools of thoughts,  to people. 
Tale Ends


Why do I like this story so much?  Because though it seems to be very simple,  I think it is extremely profound.  Often,  in life,  we come across situations in which the reactions of certain individuals or groups of individuals to certain situations/incidents just do not seem to be justified or proportionate.   Instead of trying to place ourselves on moral higher grounds or labeling them ‘abnormal’ or ‘absurd’ or worse,   we should probably reflect on whether it was really a case of ‘Laughter and Tears’.  Your thoughts?