Page 174 - Courage Redifined

He then approached Kamlata and inquired, “Sister! Why
are you laughing in spite of the loss of a pot full of curd ?
Kamlata answered, “How can such little sorrow affect a
grieving person like me ?”

The question is that, didn’t they both recognize each other ?
No.

The scholar could not recognize Kamlata because when he
had first seen her she was dressed in fancy silk clothes and
loaded with ornaments. She was now dressed shabbily as a
shepherdess. How could he connect between the attractive
prostitute and the shabby shepherdess ?

The Kamlata also did not recognize her son because it is quite
possible that he would not dress as a scholar when he used
to previously come to the prostitute. Dressing in his scholarly
attire and going to a prostitute would become shameful. People
would ask, “Being a learned man, you are engaging in such
a low act ? Hence, driven by shame, he would have dressed
differently. But now he was dressed in a royal priestly attire
complete with a golden turban, sandalwood applied on his
forehead, a big robe with a silk dupatta and shining mojadis*
on his feet. How would Kamlata recognize him ?

He asked Kamlata, “Sister! What great sorrow do you face
which has nullified the loss of a pot full of curd ?”

Shepherdess Kamlata found him as a compassionate, learned
and mature Brahmin and to lighten her heavy heart, she told
him, “If you really want to know, come to the garden located
nearby. I will narrate my fateful story to you.”
Kamlata’s words created an impact to the scholar, his curiosity
rose and his kind heart felt that, “It is quite possible that she

* Mojadis – an Indian type of shoes
164 Courage Redefined