Law and justice: Not interchangable?

See the haughty lady who is pleased with the judgement of

splitting the baby to appease both parties. Of course, the wise

one used it as a test to look for both mothers' body language.

The turn of events of late reminded me of a story narrated in my early childhood. I was a toddler when puthu atteh was renting a room in our house. It was a routine for us to pester her every evening with yet another story. She had a penchant for telling folk tales in such an exciting manner. I must have seen such a pain, as I remember, asking many smart-alec questions. After all, it was all just fairy and folk tales.

The tale that comes to mind is the one regarding two women fighting over a single baby, and the learned King had to pass judgment. Of course, this story had been told in many traditions. In Tamil mythology, King Pandiyan of the Chola Kingdom was the judge; King Solomon presided in the Biblical version. I am sure there must be similar versions elsewhere in other cultures.

Two ladies (friends) delivered about the same time. One, unfortunately, had a fresh stillbirth. The bereaving mother, either on purpose or upon the effect of postpartum melancholia, stole the other lady’s child to claim as hers. After a session of baby-snatching and quarrelling, the matter was brought to royal courts. With his true wisdom, the King decreed that the baby should be split right down in the middle to appease the mothers. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the snigger of one mother. The other mother voluntarily surrendered the baby to the other in one piece, fearing any injury to the newborn. In one instant, the true mother of the baby was revealed through a single action of sacrifice!

In the same vein, it should be clear who the aggressor is and who the victim is. An aggressor who indulges in winning smiles of his victory without caring for the aggrieving party has only self-interest written all over his face. True love sacrifices for the wellbeing of others without putting personal pride in the equation. Maternal love is that special force that drives a mother to barge into a burning building and jumps into a lake when she herself is no duck to the water when her offspring is caught in either of them. It is that moment in the middle of the night when the world is sound asleep, and the mother is only one who jumps out of her slumber to attend to her newborn, thinking of the worst, when the baby gives a soft grunt in her own sleep!

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