The Carpenter

The story begins in the sub-Continent about 100 years ago. There lived two friends, Raju and Anjum, who were just like brothers to each other. Both were farmers and had their farms adjacent to each other’s. Both were extremely successful in their enterprises and their relationship of love, trust and brotherhood that spread over a span of 40 years. Their companionship was exemplary and the whole vicinity drew inspiration from such a strong bond of brotherhood and selfless friendship as theirs that stood the test of time. They had many admirers but at the same time some were also jealous of their relationship and kept looking for any opportunity to exploit.

Then the unexpected happened. The clouds of doubt, misunderstanding and poison overcast their friendship. A 40-year long friendship saw rifts and within months, hatred-drone shattered their brotherhood into pieces. They were at daggers drawn and everything was spoiled which they had been preserving for the last four decades against the onslaught of harsh winds. The news spread like a wild fire all around and people, out of their curiosity or to add fuel to fire, flocked to their houses to know the facts. Both, Raju and Anjum, received visitors everyday that went back with information which they spread after dressing it according to their bent of mind.

One gloomy afternoon, Raju heard a measured knock at his door when he was brewing conspiracies against Anjum in order to hurt him in the superlative degree. When he opened the door, thinking it to was another routine visitor enquiring after the rift between them, he saw a man, with his carpenter’s tools, smiling.

‘How can I help you?’, said Raju looking straight in his face.

‘I’ve heard about your compassion, kindness and love for the poor’, replied the carpenter, ‘I am a skilled carpenter and I need a job desperately, sir. Do you have any job available at the moment?’

Raju got lost in some far-fetched thought and after a while he motioned the carpenter to follow him.  

‘I have a very big job for you but it needs to be done fairly quickly. I want you to start the project in the morning.’ said Raju when they got into the living room. And then he told the carpenter to build a 10-feet high fence between his and Anjum’s farm. Raju told him that he wanted to block out even the very sight of Anjum’s farm as he wanted to terminate that long relation forever.

As the carpenter had already heard about their strong friendship, he was surprised at the project. He asked Raju why he wanted the fence. Raju told him his version of the story how Anjum bulldozed the river embankment to create a creek between their farms to water his farms; and how the river water flooded Raju’s farm and ruined the crops completely resulting in an enormous loss. Therefore, he wanted to teach Anjum a lesson. He gave the carpenter instructions regarding the fence and asked if he had any questions on that. The carpenter replied in a very composed manner: ‘I know my job very well and I promise to build a construction that would please you.’ The next morning, Raju took the carpenter to the site and provided him with all the materials needed. The carpenter requested Raju to revisit him in the evening as he would have finished the job by then. Raju promised to comply with his request.

The carpenter spent the whole day working hard. When the sun was about to set, bringing forth the tidings of coolness of the night, Raju arrived at the site as promised but only to be shocked. There was no fence at all. Instead, he saw a very well structured bridge. He turned furiously to the carpenter, who was smiling, to get explanation for not following his instructions but he could not say anything. Raju saw someone, from the other side of the bridge, coming towards him. He could not believe his eyes. It was none other than his old friend and loving brother Anjum. Seeing him, Raju could not stop himself. He rushed towards him and both locked themselves up in a tight hug right in the middle of the bridge over the creek which had thrown cold water on their feelings. They were speechless for some time but in the hearts of their hearts, they knew that the carpenter must have had some knowledge about their fight and came to build bridges between them. Both turned to the carpenter, thanked him, and requested him to stay and work for them. The carpenter, who had already packed his tool box and was about to depart, appreciated their kind offer and replied:

‘I would love to stay on and work for both of you but I have many more bridges to build.'

The story ends here but it gives us a very simple solution to the most complex problems our world is facing at present. Can the elders of this world not build bridges today to make our world a beautiful place to live in? Today is the right time to take positive actions and change the world into a paradise, which has already been transformed into a hell. Let us be wise and let us love, respect and care for each other; otherwise, different creeks of vested political interests, wars, terrorism, religions, races, cultures, business motives and economy will keep ruining and flooding our beautiful globe where our children have to grow up. If we cannot see the Beauties of God scattered on the mother earth today, let us make it a safe haven for our innocent children who can see them tomorrow. Let all of us be like the carpenter.