Shon Mehta

Pepil always dreamt of giving a great speech. This dream was born ever since he saw the well-known orator Mefil giving a speech in front of the large crowd. People were eager to listen to Mefil’s every word. Mefil had an absolute power over his audience. Pepil craved for that power. Pepil often dreamt of winning an award and giving a great acceptance speech. Unfortunately, he never won an award. He even prepared his best man speech which could have left the crowd spellbound. But none of his friends ever thought high enough of Pepil, to make him a best man. Pepil was getting old now, and he had not given his great speech yet. His life could have passed just like this; but it changed one day. That day, the local errand boy Nobu came running to Pepil's house. "Lyard is no more" Nobu declared. At first, Pepil could not place that name. "Who the hell is Lyard?” “Lyard! Lyard, your cousin. He died this morning. They are asking for you.” gasped Nobu...

In a village, there was a pond. It was a big pond with many fish, and was the main source of food for the villagers. One morning, someone spotted a huge crocodile in the middle of the pond. Scared, the villagers rushed to their chief, and asked for a way to rid the pond of the calamity that was going to eat their fish. After much discussion, village chief said, "Let us empty the pond. The crocodile will have to run away, or die of dehydration." Immediately, the villagers dug up a channel and started releasing the pond water. By the evening, the pond was half empty. The crocodile was alive, but was getting desperate. Looking forward to the next day, the villagers went home. Next morning, the pond was empty. There was no sign of the crocodile; it had left the pond. All that remained were hundreds of small fish, lying dead in the empty pond. Reflection: Have you ever solved a problem only to realize the solution cost more than the problem itself? Key Philosoph...