My favourite story

Satan, yes, the one whose empire I am destined to rule one day once told me an interesting story .... it was a story that I had heard many times and it never failed to move me - but these were the days after my first major defeat - it was after my first brush with life - after my first 'coming to terms' with the 'loss of my innocence' and so it assumed a very different significance in my life......

Strangely, the story that was narrated to me itself was different - it had to be - it was narrated by the greatest and the most miunderstood of all lovers of all times - the story could not have been any less painful than it was......

The Beast was a beast, there was nothing human about him - all he had was power and arrogance, the flush of love and feelings had missed him completely - there was no feeling, no love, no emotions - all he had was hatred for being made a beast, the frustration that comes for being a beast, the fear that rules the instincts of a beast, the anger that governs the tumultous pain of a beastly heart and the arrogance that comes from the power of life and death that's a given to this creature.....

But despite all this, he still had a heart - a heart that still beat somewhere, a heart that pained somewhere, a heart that cried at times - a loneliness that gnawed at him till it became a part of him, a silence that was natural to his eyes, a grimace of pain that was his hidden emotion in laughter...... he longed for those light moments that could be anyone's destiny except his... he looked at people and their happiness and failed to understand it until.....

Until that one fateful day, when that most lowly of adversaries - that one emotion that creates havoc with perfectly normal lives introduced himself - in the form of a trader who had lost everything. The Beast cared for him and took care of him but man, the most ungrateful and most cunning and parasitic of all forms of life did what is symptomatic of what men do - he despite strict rules to the contrary and plucked a flower from the garden - a garden that the Beast valued a lot and loved a lot and there were strict instructions that no living being, man or animal, human or devil was supposed to pluck any weed or tree from that garden.

The Beast was naturally non-plussed and soon his amazement grew into anger as he understood that Man had yet again betrayed him. He would have killed the man in cold rage but again Mercy surfaced and that most slimy of emotions ensured that the Man was saved. However, Man promised the Beast that he would send one of his daughters as prisoner in exchange of his saved life. The Beast told him that if that did not happen, he would die in 3 days and so would his family and none would be able to save him.

Man sent his youngest daughter, the most lovable of all, the most innocent of all, the most trueful of all, the most faithful of all - one whose innocence was still not lost while that of her elder sisters was lost and they would not trade their happiness for a prison - but mindful of her duties as a daughter, the youngest moved in with the Beast for a life in the prison.

The Beast was glad to get a companion like that Beauty. He had never seen innocence in Mankind and her innocence reminded him of his days when his heart was true. Slowly and steadily they fell in love and the Beast became more humane as time went on. The Beauty taught him humane values of compassion, love, mercy and peace - things the Beast's heart ringed with pain and betrayal had forgotten.

Time passed by and then one day the Beast saw the Beauty crying for her parents. She had not met them in years and although the Beast took care of them and kept them happy, he would not allow her to meet them. But that day, th Beauty railed against th Beast and accused her of keeping her with him on the strength of force and force only.

The Beast was pained and let her go. Before leaving, he gave her a ring and told her that if she did not return within 15 days, the Beast would die. The Beauty went away, assuring him of her truth

She met her family and they, who had thrown her to the gallows, for their own safety suddenly were more courteous this time around. They loved her more, they cared for her more and they cuddeld her more. They would use cunning, the great art that only a human can master to subtely drive home the point that the Beauty possessed in her hands the key to the family's happiness and that they should kill the Beast and that she should never return to the Beast. Suddenly, the family that that sacrificed her to the Bast remembered their social obligations and talks were on for her marriage.

Time passed. 15 days passed, 1 month paid... Beauty forgot all about the Beast and then suddenly one day as she looked at the hypocrisy of the world around her, she remembered the only creature that had loved her truely. She was filled with remorse and she hastened back to meet him.

But she was too late. The Beast was dying and she reached him only quick enough to see him die. Thus ended the story.

I looked at Satan and told him this was shocking. Why did the Beast have to do this?

Satan put him hands around me and said,"That's love"

And then he told me:

Khuda Tujhko Kisi Toofan Se Aashna Kar De;
Teri Bahar Ki Maujon Mein Iztiraab Nahin Hai

This is my favourite story - whenever I performed this role - I always played the Beast and I always managed to win an award

Maybe the Beast could relate to it in a more perfect manner than any other......

Remember Beauty and the Beast ..... I am the Beast!