When Sunny became angry!

(This is a light hearted short story)

As i opened my eyes with intent, all I could see was the flickering light from my mobile playing hide and seek indicating that it was getting charged. Although I heaved a sigh of relief that it was just a dream, i couldn't help peeping out of the small gap through the window which was unobstructed by the curtain. It was dark indeed. My anxiety persisted. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, took a deep breathe and decided to get back to sleep. Sleep, I couldn't - For quite sometime.I'm a fussy sleeper - a helpless one who cant sleep outside the familiar surrounding of my home. Also, all it takes for me to wake up from my sleep is a faint rustle of the leaves outside my home who decide to tag up with the wind to disturb my sleep.

This kind of a nightmare didn't help matters either.

Whilst i was asleep, i dreamed that I was walking down an empty street when the sun flew down from the sky and stood right next to me! He was burning so bright that I had to cover my eyes with my hands for a few seconds. The sun was without a face but was in his familiar round shape. He was as big as a small hillock when he appeared next to me.

As i stood there, dazed by the bright light, i heard a booming voice - "Open your eyes my friend!". I was non plussed and was in no mood to look at him.
What was just three seconds seemed like an eternity to me. I decided to slowly unwrap my palms from around my eyes. As i did, he seemed surprisingly cooler and burned less brightly. Now i was more puzzled. The thundering voice of the Sun reverberated once again - "My friend, I'm the Sun God and have a message for you Earth dwellers". There was deep anger in his voice. I remained mum.
He continued "...The Gods of Earth, Rain, Sky, Forests, Rivers and Oceans visited me the other day. They are very angry with you Earth dwellers for making their lives miserable. You are manipulating the elements, undeterred by the consequences. You have been destroying the trees, burning the sky, impurifying the Earth, contaminating the Earth. I was told that they have given you enough premonitions and indications of what could happen if you make the nature Gods angry. But you earthly creatures don't listen , do you?".

I was in a spot of bother now - asking myself if it was a question which I'm supposed to answer. If the Sun God can be the official speaker of the nature Gods, why can't I be the speaker for my fellow earthlings? Before I could muster enough courage to reply, he spoke again "As a consequence, I have decided to teach you a lesson - A lesson you will not forget". My feelings turned from anxiety to curiosity now. There was a pause. I was thinking , "Well, out with it, what is it?". "You earthly creatures will not see me forever!". His voiced boomed through the peaceful
neighborhood that I live in. The word 'forever' echoed for a while just like in the movies. The sun God continued " Let this be a strong message for you all. It is high time you mended your ways of dealing with the nature Gods. I shall be gone from your lives, however, the other Gods have decided not to be so harsh as I'm. Do try to stop playing havoc with nature - else, it will not be long before my other friends decide to tread on similar paths". Then he disappeared.

I looked around - surprisingly, there was no one on the streets - They roads were deserted. Even the ubiquitous stray Dogs and Cows were not to be seen.
I turned back and began walking gingerly towards my home. It was at this point that I woke up in the middle of the night.

That morning I woke up at 7 a.m. I was desperate to tell people about my dream but at the same time i was hesitant as there was every possibility of me being laughed and scoffed at for having such a weird dream. and went on with my usual routine. As i set out to my office on my bike, I couldn't help but think about the dream that I had the night before.

It was not long before I was at office. The Mondays at work usually starts out by discussing about the events over the weekends in our lives. One of my colleagues was talking about her uneventful weekend where all she did was sit at home and enjoy the stillness of a lazy weekend. After her, I was asked about how my weekend went. I was about to answer when the room turned dark. We had the lights on. But since the glass panes of the windows in the room are not covered, we could clearly see what was happening outside. And what we saw outside was flabbergasting to say the least - It was dark like a night outside.

Except for the lights from the faraway rooms in the business center, the sky was dark. I was hoping against hope that it was a dream again. No, it wasn't a dream . This was real. As i looked at my watch, it was 9 35 a.m. My colleagues started talking about the dark sky and there was palpable panic in the room. Some of my colleagues ran out of the room to check if others in the building were witnessing the same phenomenon.

Indeed they were - they couldn't believe that it was getting so dark at the start of the day. The immediate question that was doing the rounds was - Is it a solar eclipse? Almost immediately came the reply from people around that there was no mention of such a thing in the media So it really can't be an eclipse. So what else could it be?

Only I knew the answer to that question. Sensing the panic around, I was very tempted to tell someone that I dreamt (if you can call it that) about the angry sun disappearing. I was very hesitant in talking about this since i did not want to be thought of as a retard by my colleagues.

With great difficulty i kept chewing the secret. Calls went around to family and friends all around to check on this 'dark day'. Yes, everyone replied in the affirmative: The sun had indeed disappeared.

Tension mounted. people gathered in huddles all around. My team gathered around as well. "Whats happening?" was the first salvo fired by a teammate. My manager replied that they are trying to check with the met department on this. "But this is strange, there was no inkling about this in the media right?" asked another. "Yes, that's right...".

"OK guys...you would think I have gone bonkers, but i had a dream about this last night..." Yes, i couldn't hold on to such an important piece of information any longer. I had to tell them about my 'dream', not my 'premonition'.
I could see couple of smiles and chuckles around me when i had finished. "What???" was the high pitched question that came along. "Yes, i dreamt about this last night". The Sun God accosted me in my walk and told me how angry the other Gods were on humans and this is his way of teaching us a hard lesson". The smiles got bigger and the chuckles turned into guffaws. I had a straight face, still. "Believe me guys, its true" I went on. "Yeah, we believe you". Now the smiles were not there.

Their mind was already figuring out about the next courses of action - call up their acquaintances, will the rest of the day be called off?

I decided not to dig my own grave anymore. But I had to do something about it. But what?
Whilst I kept pondering about it, we were told to continue work. I couldn't believe, just like majority of employees that we were asked to continue working when tragedy befell us. Some started working again, some went out to meet petrified family members.

Although we went ahead and started working, it was becoming apparent that none of us was in a desirable frame of mind to work. Some were grudgingly typing away on their computers, some were on calls, but work continued, albeit intermittently.

Then came a notification - like manna from heaven, that we could all leave couple of hours early. There was joy all around. I could see smiled on faces whose lips i guess have been straight pretty much from the time i have met them. On the way back, at 4 in the evening, it was as dark as night.All I could think of while riding my back was a way to save the Earth from the angry Gods. I couldn't think of anything for a long time. "Think Jeevs, think...the future of the world depends on you...make a decision, now!!". This kind of responsibility heavy statements rang in my mind.

It was half way to my house en route when my Grey cells woke up - I know what to do now. If only I could figure out a way of doing it.
My idea was to somehow meet the Sun God again and plead with him to spare us from his wrath. Where do I meet him, When do I meet him? If only.

After i reached home, I went through the normal course of activities.
I ate, but not like i would normally eat. I'm sure that the situation much have been the same all around - people too worried about the prevailing situation to be able to eat in peace.

My mind was getting too heavy for me to think any longer. I decided to give my brain a break and take a quick nap. I lied down on my bed at about 9 in the evening. When I woke up, I was desperate to see the situation outside - Is it morning or is the Sun God still angry with us? Since the curtains that drape the windows of my bedroom are thick, I couldn't really make out if there was light outside. As i hurriedly removed my blanket and ventured towards the window to have a look, i slipped.

I was too pressed to stop. I ran towards the window.

I hurriedly slid the curtain and what do i see? I saw something which i was not hoping to see - It was dark outside. As i looked at the watch, i sighed in relief since it was just 4 30 in the morning. As i was sliding the blinds, something extra-ordinary happened. A bright ball of flame appeared out of nowhere on the street overlooking the window. I was wide eyed. I thought it was a fire accident. I immediately ran out of my house and was about to enter the street bare footed when the ball of flame suddenly leapt out of the street and headed straight towards me. I was petrified - I stood there looking at the flame approaching me. I covered my face with my hands and shouted when it was close to me .

As soon as i did that, the raging fire dimmed out and I heard a voice which said "Open your eyes, my friend". The voice was familiar. I have heard that voice somewhere - It immediately occurred to me that it was the voice of the Sun God. When this fact dawned on me, I eagerly opened my eyes to catch a glimpse of the Sun God. It was him alright - with the now familiar round shape of blazing orange and yellow. Unlike last time, i was only too happy to see him as it was an opportunity to talk him about the sufferings of mankind, thanks to his anger.

Similarly, unlike last time, I was the one who spoke first. I shouted "Sun God...." with a lot of excitement. He replied, "Yes, my friend...how was your yesterday?". His round shape tweaked at the top a bit as though he had a wry smile.

"It was horrible Sun God..." He then replied "You may call me Sunny". "Er, Mr sunny...it was not a good day at all.Our lives on Earth went berserk. We were lost for the better part of the day. We had to rely on the watch all the time to see what time of the day it was. All our friends and families were terrified. We couldn't talk to them for a long time since the mobile networks were jammed. I was about to continue when he interrupted me " Well, it happens in Heaven as well". "Er, you have mobile technology in Heaven Sunny God?". "So you were saying my friend". I did not want to probe any further about the mobile networks in Heaven since my focus was on his initial question. I continued..." To sum it up, the human kind suffered yesterday".

"very well, this is just the beginning my friend. You earth dwellers will see more devastation when the other Gods gets inspired by me and unleash their wrath on you". This time the tweaking of the top was unmistakable and was more pronounced.

"Oh no, Sunny God, please don't do that. You guys may end this Earth at one go, but please do not make us suffer over time. We will not be able to handle it", I replied. "No, No my friend" Sunny thundered. "What you sow is what you reap. In spite of repeated warnings, you earthlings have not transformed yourselves, You continue to meddle with nature and manipulate the land, oceans, the sky and the forests as per your whims and fancies. The ultimatums were many. This is the result of your ignorance".

The way Mr Sunny spoke to me, For a minute I couldn't help but agree with him on the way we humans have been destroying the Earth. As a result, I was unable to think of an appropriate reply to him and i mumbled "Er, its...actually..".

"I know my friend, that there are many like you who are not part of the breed that ravages and plunders the Earth". I felt like interrupting him by saying 'Yes, you are perfectly right Mr Sunny'. In the end wiser counsel prevailed and i remained a listener to Sunny's words. "There are also those who fight to retain nature the way it is - In its pristine form. The lesson of darkness is intended to serve as a grim reminder to those who are killing nature. I do realize that last night, millions of people offered prayers to me and wanted me back on the sky. It is a different matter that they were not aware of the reason for my disappearance. Hence, I have decided to restrict my lesson to one day".

I was elated. I couldn't help but smile at his words.

I was expecting a rider for sure and it did not take long for it to come. "This is only a temporary relief. This is for you Earthlings to stop your destructive activities and work for the betterment of nature. If you get back to your old ways again, I will not think of unleashing my wrath and this time, it will be powerful many times over. For all you know, even the other Gods who have currently chosen to remain silent, may accompany me".

I did not think much about it initially. All I was bothered about was that as of now, we humans are spared and we can get back to leading our routine lives, without destroying nature.

"Thank You Sun God, er, Sunny, we are indebted to this gesture of yours. I will be the flag bearer and spread the word around. I will fight for the cause of nature. I assure you". Thus I spoke. I meant it.

"Ohhhk, so be it" replied sunny and vanished.

When I woke up from my sleep, there was light again, Thank God!

Ancient Military History and Contemporary Leadership

I'm a staunch believer in the power of History. To me, as it would be for like-minded people, History is as much about future as it is about the past.
Some say that the past shapes the future. They wouldn't be too far away from the truth.
Look around you. Every object, every human , every animal has a strain of 'History'.

We owe as much to to the inventors of the humble bullock-cart as we owe to the inventors of the automobile.
We owe as much to the inventors of the 'Abacus' as we owe to the inventors of the computer.

Rome wasn't built in a day for sure.

Lesson # 1: To create History, persevere.


I'm especially fascinated by the poignant fabled life stories of emperors. Men of honor, courage, humility, chivalry, and single-willed determination who fought to overcome the hurdles in their path to glory. For these valorous men, failure was not an option. The ignominy of a defeat would sting them harder than a hundred bees.
'Conquer' , not 'Concede'!
'Sent by above', these emperors were seen as saviors and mercenaries by those who were ruled by them. They were the 'Chosen ones'.

Lesson # 2: Be the ruler, or be prepared to be ruled!


From nomadic tribes to the 'Conquestadors', From Genghiz Khan to 'Alexander'; From 'Ottoman' to 'Napolean', History is replete with stories of men and women who have shaped the world as we know it today.
Of course, the crown did not rest on the head of the man whose hands were not stained with blood. To please their own people, they would have to slay and wipe out someone else's. However, that is where our judgment should step in. What is right and what is wrong would be a very individualistic question to answer.

So what makes these men and women stand out in the annals of History? Why does the world remember them today?
This is where History comes to the fore once again. These men knew their History well and hence were better able to challenge the future. The past failures made them stronger.
It would be fool-hardy for one to ignore the mistakes committed by these rulers and to only focus on their right moves. It is imperative to gather and understand their successful plans of action and also their unsuccessful ventures. Failure was a stepping stone to success for these men. They had the ability to convert adversity into strength. Highly volatile as it is, today's business scenario necessitates the use of SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis, in my view, can make or break a firm or an individual. This concept is not new. The methods have evolved, but the concept has not. The successful rulers would make SWOT analysis of their own.

Lesson # 3: Know your SWOT


The key to winning any battle would be an extensive understanding of two types of enemies - The enemy outside, and the enemy within. History would tell us that it is as difficult or more, perhaps, to deal with the enemy within than the enemy outside. The lives of , just to quote a few, Roman emperors, the Moghuls, The Rajas, would bear testimony to my statement.
Some were able to conquer the enemy within and succeeded. Some were unable to douse the flames of jealousy, hatred, conspiracy and treachery, and fell victim to their perpetrators.

Lesson # 4: Be prudent in identifying your allies and more importantly, your foes.


Where ordinary mortals would surrender to 'destiny', these men of courage would not give up. They were the ones to pick up the baton of 'hope' - hope of prosperity, hope of riches,hope of peace, hope of civilian sanity. The Mayan rulers were believed to be the descendants of Mayan Gods. The Pharaohs of Egypt were believed to be descendants of God Horus. However, it would be fair to assume that these men and women 'created' opportunities. Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, was a soldier who did not wait for the Rajas to hand over the reins. He seized the moment.
Wu Hou, china's only female ruler, stepped into the Palace of T'ai Tsung at the age of 13 in the year 638 AD as a minor servant. She rose through the political upheavals to become a global force.
It was clear to these men and women that there would be someone else waiting to take over.

Lesson # 5: Initiate, take ownership. If you don't, someone else will.


The Athenians invested the profits from a newly discovered Silver mine into preparing for war against the Persians. Romans, ravaged by Hannibal's army for over a dozen years, concentrated the army in cutting supplies for Hannibal, trying to make his force weaker.
Tippu Sultan, the erstwhile ruler of Mysore, built his fort at Seringapatam, on an Island surrounded by the flowing water of river Cauvery. Thus, he made the lives of conquering enemies difficult as they had to contend with the river.

Lesson # 6: To win, you need to plan effectively. Brilliant execution cannot make up for faulty planning.


The success of these rulers depended, apart from their self, on the ministers, commanders, soldiers and the ilk. The defense forces invariably grew in sync with their success and became more complex to manage. This necessitated the need for evolving mechanisms that could deal with the changing military environment.
Forces became more streamlined, more specialized.
It was around 3rd millennium BC that military specialization came into being.

Lesson # 7: The right men + right places + right job = amazing formula for success.


History is precious. Clear the sands of time that cover up the books of History - You will find get a better picture of tomorrow!