06/08/0043
The criteria for celebrity-hood has been different for different ages; sometimes they were warriors, sometimes they were musicians, sometimes storytellers, scientists, film stars, etc. Similarly in the 1st century Guramala city those in demand were the philosophers.
People of that city, especially the women, found wisdom to be very sexy. Still for many decades since the advent of philosophical thought, the philosophers didn’t gain that kind of attention. That’s because there was one key ingredient missing, good looks. Initially these philosophers were mostly men in their 50’s and 60’s. Reaching that age, they didn’t really cared about personal grooming.
Things changed after the arrival of a philosopher named Berksonn. A wise traveler from the northern mountain sought shelter for some time in the Guramala city. He was a handsome muscular man with thick black beard. Despite having the body of a warrior he spoke of beauty, love and peace. This was a lethal combination as all women of the city fell for him, even the married ones.
“…the difference between the living and the dead is that the dead feel no love…” Spoke Berksonn during the philosophical meet. “…True pursuit of happiness is to seek love, give love. Let this be a common practice among people that the magical words he or she utters are ‘I love you’.”
Hearing him say this entire crowd erupted in a thunderous applause one morning during the weekly philosophy meet. No other philosopher got this kind of attention. Had the other philosophers of the time craved for attention, they would be very much jealous of Berksonn. An outsider who overstayed his welcome and suddenly became the most sought out philosopher of the city.
After his session was over all the people there stood in a queue to greet Berksonn in the weirdest way. The men and women who adore him greet with a handshake and stroking his thick black beard. This was equivalent to taking an autograph or a selfie with a popular person.
Berksonn was okay with that as no other man had this beautiful beard as his. He took great pride in his handsomely maintained beard which was at least a decade long work.
That afternoon, Berksonn was walking along the Malla river while having some interesting conversation with a young attractive woman. That’s when a bunch of clean shaven guys approached him. Seeing them, the woman parted ways with Berksonn as he continued along his path.
“Hello Berksonn. I admire you wisdom a lot.” said a guy, shaking hand with him. “All of us do…” add the other three.
“We have a small request if you don’t mind…” said the first guy. Agreeing to it, Berksonn let him continue. “My girlfriend loves you and your wisdom. Say, can you share some of your unspoken wisdom so that I can impress my woman with it?”
Berksonn took a pause hearing this request. It was not like he maintained a book with all his wisdom to share it at will. “This is not how it works…” he tried to justify, “… usually these wise thoughts come to me during conversations. I can’t really tell you just like that.”
This annoyed the other guys. They felt that Berksonn was deliberately not sharing his wisdom. “Okay tell us this…” said a guy, “Why do women love to stroke your beard? What’s so special in that?”
“A well groomed man who takes good care of his fitness and hygiene is always very appealing.” Berksonn replied. It was a valid answer and yet the guys weren’t convinced. Their eyes were locked on to his thick black beard out of jealousy while they stroke their bald chins to think.
This led to an argument as they desperately wanted to know his secret. Eventually Berksonn lost his patience and spoke, “I guess you guys are just not worthy of that kind of attention. Women love to stroke my beard. That’s a fact, so deal with it!”
Annoyed Berksonn walked away as he reunited with that female friend. This made them very angry and drove them to conspire against Berksonn.
The next morning began with a loud scream from Berksonn’s house. Something terrible had happened during the night. When Berksonn woke up in his bed, suddenly he realizes that his beard is gone.
His face that once held thick black beard is now clean and smooth. He looks around but can’t find his hair. This is a traumatic incident but soon Berksonn is able to calm himself down saying, “Don’t worry. With or without beard, you are still you.”
Having said that he steps out of his house. Little does he know how serious this issue is. The people on the street refuse to recognize him. Even when Berksonn himself calls them, they refuse to respond as if he is some creepy stranger. Even when he introduces himself saying, “I am Berksonn.” nobody believes him.
All of a sudden the once chick-magnet now is repelling women. This should not have be much of a problem to a wise philosopher like him. But by this point he is accustomed to a certain level of attention. So when people walk past without recognizing him it hits him hard.
In the following days Berksonn loses his confidence. Even when he stands to speak during the philosophy meet he doesn’t get the kind of response he used to. Losing his beard was equivalent to losing his identity.
This makes him go crazy. Berksonn is last spotted sprinting out of the city in torn clothes while laughing. Since then nobody sees him ever again. The once popular celebrity of Guramala city meets with a very tragic end.
Perhaps the wisdom Berksonn lacked is to understand a simple thought that ‘beauty is a curse’.
RELATED POST
Beard theory of Sciences
The story of Berksonn somehow led to this crazy theory.
back to STORIES
First of all thank you for reading this post. What you read here is not my absolute belief set in stone. I am always open for discussion and future alterations to the post. Actually I consider these posts as a conversation starter. So if you have an opinion to share, please do comment down below.