“A common man, what does that even mean? Who are these people? Everybody say that they are every where; they are the most enduring form of human life. Then why? Why haven’t I had met with any of them so far? Where are they?” these were the questions he asked from himself.
And thus began a greatest quest of finding. If these words were used 2000 year ago, nobody would have extracted anything meaningful from them. This is simply because it hadn't came into existence then, so, there were no records or documentation about the usage of these words. Our boy first heard this phrase on a television set when a middle age man in white Khadi apparel was squealing vociferously in front of a thousand people who were sitting on the ground, lauding and cheering for him. The more he used that phrase in his extempore more the people applauded him. The boy was juvenile and had little understanding of language and hence, had no clue what the old man was shouting about. But that word had grasped his attention like it did with the numerous people on the TV and that captivated his mind.
He started getting promoted in his classes and developed a decent interest in literature and languages. He was the best in writing essays among all the students of many sections of many classes. Owing to his simple and calligraphic writing his talent has developed into something extraordinary and irresistible. He also frequently used his favorite, magical idiom in his essay writings, in his exams and in the morning speeches he use to gave very nicely and positively. He was praised by the faculty and his teachers.
One day he came home with a good news that the principal had selected him for an inter-school speech writing contest out of 3000 other children of his school. He would be competing with 200 other school children from all over the country. His mother became overwhelmingly delightful and felt blessed about her family. She lifted her boy like she used to when he was little. Although he was in his early teens and just a few inches shorter than her, it was quite difficult for his mother to lift him now. But she was on the seventh heaven of joy. She put him down and kissed his forehead and told that she was proud of him.
In the evening when his father came back home from the temple, the mother told him about their boy’s achievement ambitiously. His father was a priest and took care of the accounts related matters of the local Brahmin association. After hearing the proud news he showered his love on his son and prayed to god for his competent accomplishment. The mother also told his father that the school needs entry fees of 500 for his registration. The father’s forehead frowned with fluster and he sat down beside his son holding his hand. The mother knows why this was so, that was because her husband was just a priest and out of the little money he earned was spent on the household expenses and rest was given for his school fees. Since the boy was studying in a well reputed public school, the cost of education was very high in that kind of institute.
The mother’s eyes became saturated and the tears started dripping down from her eyes. The mother felt contempt about herself because he was their only child and it’s the first time he had asked for something and she couldn’t help him. She ran in the kitchen to hide her tears from her son. His father was a wise man and a noble priest. He elucidates his son about their condition and said “son we are common people of a middle class, we can’t have the luxuries of life like the high society people enjoy and sometimes we have to compromise on our ambitions and desires”.
These phrases had sabotaged his dreams and he became very disappointed. But more dismally it had shattered his illusions on the awesomeness and beauty of the hypnotic word ‘the common man’.
From then onwards his thinking about this utterance had started changing and a shifting of perception started taking place. He came to know that it is widely used by the powerful people to tame the peasants by creating a sense of relativity among them and hence gaining their support and trust.
Then began his college days where he understood the people who were not only in power but also were using these words for various purposes. He learned how to slip these phrases into a conversation to end it at your wish. He got educated in fact that how frequently ‘the common man’ was used in daily, day to day routine to create or evade a situation. The boys use it for making all kind of excuse to him like ‘I don’t have a girlfriend because’, ‘I can’t fight because’, ‘I can’t go to that party because’, ‘I can’t do post graduation because’, ‘I can’t do what I want to because’ and ‘I can’t be what I want to be because’ I am a common man.
The sweepers used it, the teachers used it, the police commissioner used it even the Prime Minister of the country used it. The boy had already lost the affection for the words in his teen age and now as an adult he was starting to develop hostility against it.
He got graduated from his college with the upgraded understanding about the syllable. He started writing for a top-notch newspaper in the editorial section and also became a free lance journalist. He was gifted in this kind of writing and was a perfect asset for the newspaper. But he also had chosen freelancing to explore the truth not for others but for his own illumination. He saw that ‘common man’ was also a hot dye in the press business and it kept the paper's circulations sturdy apart from the advertizing which was the main source of income of the newspaper.
Years went by and he secured a position in the top panel of the editor and also became the blue-eyed-boy of the editor in chief. But he didn’t quit the freelancing because it kept him busy to find something new and truthful about the old misconceptions. It also kept propelling his hunt for the meaning of that syllable which he’d once thought very magical. By the time he became deputy editor he had established himself in the media world and became a famous name among the communication and media personalities.
He was popular but most of the people didn’t like him due to his fiery writing style and irrevocable state of opinion. His own news paper personals called him a stubborn man who never writes anything in the favor of any class of society or the investors who aid this newspaper. The editor himself had to postpone his retirement for next five years due to his self righteous prejudice. They can’t fire him due his huge fan following maximum of which were from NGOs, social activists and protestors of one or another kind.
He was no longer an explorer of truth but a preacher of reality but also because he was no longer young enough to carry those extremely exhausting expeditions of findings. He thought that what he had known was enough for a life time and none of that was worthy of his labor, at least not positive enough to tell a tale to rejoice. He helped needy people but also at the same time he criticize them for their peasantry, he kept on destroying the reputation of powerful people like politicians and bureaucrats but also praise and advocates their power of deception to personal gain. This was the reason why they call him ‘the gifted news writer’ and this was the exact same reason why they wanted to made him extinct.
Then came the historic night when he wrote the most important article of his life. The editor was sick and on a leave for a week. Now he had the power to run the place and was going to do what he wanted to for a long time. He quietly gathered his resources and subtly placed his sources and guileless followers in the press to print the Sunday edition of 26 January. He printed a small column in every single page of the newspaper dismembering all of the reputed and powerful personalities of the nation. He put in his all knowledge and finding of his exploring life to that edition of the news paper. It was as grand as the mythical ‘SAGAR MANTHAN’ which tripled the sale of the newspaper on republic day but the editor had fired him instantly. The paper evoked a huge response all over the country. Thousands of protestor who praised him and gathered around his house and others who were against him protested in the television media. They were the powerful people who were defending themselves by claiming him as a fake and treacherous person.
But there was a huge section of people which was silent, which call themselves ‘THE COMMON MAN’ and they were thinking very intensely. The article was written on the front page by a little boy who had fell in love with that word but witnessed the shattering of his expectations when the myth about it was disavowed by the truth.
The heading of the article was bold in the biggest available font and it read LISTEN YOU, THE COMMON PEOPLE
“Either you are a pageant or you are extravaganza but you are not what you claim to be. You, the so called common man. I loved you when I was an urchin but my love was based on the false myth surrounding you. I accepted you in me because I thought you were magical and powerful and you were everywhere. You thing by calling yourself with this name will make you magical, or you think it can make you feel proud just because it was mythically well described and meekly portrait.
This is a big misunderstanding for those who are educated but dumb like a child in a huge toy store. Who think they can get the best toy by crying aloud and using their “I am a child” phrase. Get the hell out from that imbecile behavior of yours.
And this is a big trick from those who think they can get anything by pretending themselves as the caretaker of the miserable and posing as one of them in order to gain their personal interest.
Today I am here to enlighten you that whenever you classify yourself as a common man you are actually making a fool of yourself and your pity existence get fooled by this every time whenever you want it to be.
You say that god has made us a common man because we are the grittiest human beings, we can endure anything in this world. To tell you the truth this is also a foolish excuse to run away from the reality. The reality is that we are not brave or gritty but rather we are timorous and cowards of life.
We always whine about the lack of money, power, status and individuality of our own and often compared them to the high classers and we damn them with our selfish maledictions. We don’t want to embrace the truth that we are using this irresolute idiom to escape the self-confession about our scabby quitter self.
We use it because it is easy to say and get away with it. You don’t have to do anything alien, out of your comfort zone but only have to say that ‘I am a common man, what could I do?’
Bullshit! You are afraid from fighting a good fight which is not with anybody else but with the common man creeping inside you. The same common man who is telling you to relinquish what is yours to the tyrant oppressors for the love of your pathetic life.
By hypnotically following ‘common man’ not only you are making yourself vulnerable but fortifying and encouraging the treacherous to suck you up till death.
So cut the fucking victim act and use your wisdom to gather the strength to pulverize the enemy, the common man and evolve yourselves from this pathetic life.
We all are not UNIQUE but we aren't common like DUST for god sake! Don’t waste yourself in fake humility of the plebian culture.
We do not use that word again, abandon that utterance which reflects you as a weak and coward.
We do not deny the fight for the eternity of our soul just because somebody said ‘you are a common man’. We Fight it with the sword of our distinction and defend it with the shield of our idiosyncrasy.
To Metamorphosis of us from a commoner to a unique. Make us evolve from the dread. To find the unique from the common.”
I don’t know what happened to that boy who had fell in love with ‘the common man’ neither do I know what happen to that fiery article writer who had learnt the truth about the mythical word. But what I do know is that he had taught the world the lesson of courage by shattering the rusted scaffolding of their coward excuses.
The world is not a place for dead people or for those who accept thier fate like a person dying with cancer accepts his death.
