Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Its THE LITTLE PRINCE

Hi Folks !


Life changes along with the seasons, have you noticed?!

Sometimes, subtly.

At other times, hugely.

Nature, or the birds and animals and trees don't seem to complain, though!

They quickly shake their leaves or wings, as the case may be and continue to enjoy the change.

That's their secret.

Enjoying the change.

Without missing a beat.



Let's come to today's topic - one of my faaaaaaaavourite books!

The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery.

Have you read it?!

It's hardly over a hundred pages, with many illustrations, so it's short and sweet and packs a wealth of wisdom.

I first read it about 10-12 years ago and since then, every time I revisited it, I discovered new meaning in it, based on my own understanding of life and its muddles.(or more like my muddled understanding of life!)

Let me tell you the bare bones of the story!

Saint-Exupery has to land in the Sahara 'a 1000 miles from any human habitation' because something breaks in the engine of his plane.

He is completely isolated in the vast desert but then, in the morning, suddenly there is this golden-haired 6 year old boy waking him up, asking him to draw sheep for him!

Where had he come from?!

The Little Prince has come from a tiny planet which has 3 volcanoes, two of them dormant, one active! He has to clean his planet every day. There are huge baobab trees which keep sprouting and have to be uprooted otherwise they will overwhelm his tiny planet and turn it into dust.

Then there is the lovely Rose which one day takes root on his planet and he falls in love with her.
She, however,is self-centered, and irritated, the Little Prince sets off on his journey to Earth.

He visits a few planets along the way and finds the adult there to be most uninspiring !

On the earth, he meets a fox who is very wise and a snake which does not bite him because he is so pure.

Then he meets the author - and on the 7th day, with the help of the snake, he goes back to his planet.

That's it?!

Yes.

And of course a big Noooooooooooooooooo !

Such small little books are very clever!

You can keep peeling layers as you yourself grow and evolve.


At one level, it is all about the adults - they are narrow-minded and singularly dull and uninspiring who mostly don't know what they are doing or why.

They give importance to dry numbers and rush from here to there saving a few minutes - which they don't know what to do with!

All through the story, right from the first chapter, children have been depicted as being innocent and pure and the grown-ups as those who 'never understand anything by themselves.They always need explanations'.


It is the wise fox which teaches him the most valuable lessons.

Seeing a whole lot of rose-bushes,the Prince is upset that his Rose is not really unique, but the fox tells him that whatever one loves, becomes unique to that person.
He goes on to explain that creating bonds of trust and friendship is taming and one becomes responsible for that which one has tamed.

The fox says to him - One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.

Even when we think we understand something, there is always more to learn.


The Little Prince learns some valuable lessons and teaches many along the way- that relationships are the most important things in life and one needs a wider experience for true understanding.

The author too learns to view life differently and hopes to meet The Little Prince again.

Though it may seem like a small child's story, it is not so.

Each one of you who has read it or will, will resonate with different aspects and learn valuable insights.

Happy reading!

There is an excellent comment by James on the post about Energy Stealers.

Do read it, all of you!

Those who are new to this topic should definitely become aware of energy stealing which goes on and ensure they do not do it!

(This goes for everyone!)

So long for now,

Have a great fortnight.

4 comments:

Light said...

I have that book for a long time now and for some reason I have never completed it. I do not know why. I always leave it halfway. This happened a few time and then I said to my self that every book has a time.
Whatever I read was so amazing and simple.

I think the time has come to pick it up again. It is now next in queue.

Thanks Shubha Aunty for sharing.

Unknown said...

I AGREE THAT CHILDREN ARE THE MOST INNOCENT AND PURE AND TEACH THE ADULTS MANY THINGS...RATHER RE- TEACH THEM WHAT THEY LOST ON GROWING UP. BUT, I FEEL THAT IN THE MATERIAL WORLD AN ADULT CANNOT REMAIN INNOCENT AND PURE UNLESS HE RENOUNCES THE MATERIAL WORLD... HE NEEDS TO BECOME A RAT AND COMPETIE FOR THE LIMITED RESOURCES...AND OFCOURSE TRY TO GET THE BEST FOR HIS FAMILY... HERE INNOCENCE DOESN'T HELP.

mitali said...

simply the point that it is not a hat but a boa constrictor that has swallowed an elephant. (the sheep came later) a question of seeing things differently. Ultimately the pricne realises that he cannot remain on earth because it cannot function in a permanent state of imagination and innocence, and he needs the help of metaphoric evil to get home - the snake bites him

Random Thoughts said...

Turns out I too have that book in my house but never read it. Now I think its about time :)