THE OLD VERSION…
An ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool. He laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
THE MODERN VERSION…
An ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool. He laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving . NDTV, BBC, CNN, appear on the scene, and click footage to show pictures of the shivering grasshopper along with a video of the ant at a table loaded with food, in his comfortable home.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. Why is this poor grasshopper allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house. Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to grasshoppers on every Indian Railway trains, aptly named as the ‘Grasshopper Rath’. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for ignoring the grasshopper’s fundamental rights.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support for the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and everlasting peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance). The Opposition MP’s stage a walkout. Left parties call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
The CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law forbidding ants to work hard in the heat, in order to ensure equality of poverty between ants and grasshoppers. Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for grasshoppers in educational insititutions and in Government Services.
The Judicial Committee drafts the ‘Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]‘, with effect from the beginning of the winter.
The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it “a Triumph of Justice”. Lalu calls it ‘Socialistic Justice’. CPM calls it the ‘revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden’. Kofi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.
MANY YEARS LATER…
The ant migrated to the US of A, and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley.100′s of grasshoppers still die of starvation, despite reservation, somewhere in India…