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.
Lyard was Pepil's distant cousin. Apparently,
all of Lyard's close relatives stayed at a distance. Pepil was a distant
relative, but stayed close by.
Pepil hurried to Lyard's place. The funeral was
arranged in the neighbourhood community hall. True to the tradition, there was
free wine; and most of the neighbourhood had gathered to pay respects, and have
the wine.
"Can anyone say a few good words about
Lyard?” the priest called out.
The wine was strong, and many were in a trance.
A few of those not too drunk yet thought of
getting up, but the need for "a good word" stopped them. A good word
about, Lyrad? In his entire life Lyard
had never uttered any good word about anyone. They gave it a thought and
preferred another serving of wine instead.
The priest was waiting.
"Let his cousin Pepil speak, as a family he
would know Lyard better.” said someone.
Pepil stood up. He hurriedly put up a solemn
face, and began. "Lyard was not just cousin to me, but he was more than a
cousin."
That’s all he had. He stared at the crowd front
of him. In a drunken trance, they all were looking at Pepil -- hanging on to
every word coming out of his mouth.
Suddenly, Pepil realized that this is his moment
-- the moment he has prepared his whole life. He needed to capture this moment
and deliver the greatest speech ever.
Pepil cleared his throat, took a deep breath,
looked around, and started again.
"My friends, my brothers, my countrymen.
Today, we are gathered here for Lyard’s funeral. We are not related to each
other by blood, yet here we are — together, on this occasion. This is a
defining moment in human history."
The word "History" gave Pepil the
direction for his speech. He was on a familiar ground now.
"The history, my dear friends, what can I
say about it. Everybody has a history -- you, me, even Lyard.” Pepil continued.
He spoke about turbulent history of his and
Lyard's relation. Then, he spoke about human history. Pepil had earmarked a few
books on world history, he considered himself an expert on the subject. He
spoke of rise and fall of civilizations. He spoke about the great Roman Empire,
he spoke about the mighty Mongols, and he spoke about the treasures of
Mesopotamia, and the teachings of ancient Greeks.
People kept listening, and drinking. They
cheered him on, sipped their wine, and nodded thoughtfully. Some snored.
Pepil spoke and spoke and he spoke. The insightful quotes that he had memorized all these years flooded his mind. There was so much to say.
The afternoon turned into evening, and soon it
was getting dark. The wine had long finished, and the crowd had started getting
uncomfortable.
Like any good speaker, Pepil noticed the
restlessness in his audience and he decided to stop.
"I would like to thank all of you for
gracing this event."
"I am feeling extremely happy. I hope we
get many such occasions in the near future." Pepil concluded.
“Here, here!” People clapped. Everybody went
home. Pepil slept peacefully that day.
Many years have passed since this incident. Yet,
whenever anyone stands for a speech, someone always asks "Will it be like
Pepil's speech?”
This always draws a chuckle from the crowd.
Shon Mehta is an author and philosopher, creator of the Jivavarta Universe—a grounded sociopolitical world exploring human resilience, social dynamics, and moral philosophy through systems thinking. Her novels (The Timingila, Lair of the Monster), poems, aphorisms, parables, and stories are used in academic curricula internationally and featured by Oxford University Press.
At the core of her work is the Jivavarta Framework, which includes tools such as the Jivavarta Systems Equation: Outcomes = Choice×Structure×Constraint, and the "Survive, Thrive, Strive" Jivavarta hierarchy. Together, her writing and framework form a literary and philosophical system recognized for its clarity, depth, and enduring relevance
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"I am feeling extremely happy" checks out.
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