The son who excelled his father

PERUNTHACHAN WAS A renowned architect. He was famous for his skill in constructing temples, houses and tanks. In olden days, huge temples and palatial houses used to be constructed on a grand scale and the supervision of an efficient architect was considered necessary for planning them and carrying out the work. Every stage of work was done in his presence. There was a difference between the architects of those days and today. They used to work with the labourers, eat with them and live with them. Perunthachan too, whenever he took up a piece of work, lived with the labourers and worked with them. The carpenters, masons and others were happy to work with him.

One day the people of a village approached him to dig a big temple-tank. In the past, every temple had a big tank near it, in which the devotees took a dip before entering the temple to offer prayers. A temple committee had been formed to look after the construction of the tank and the job was entrusted to Perunthachan. He started the work of digging the tank with the help of his assistants, but then arose some difference of

opinion among the members of the committee. Some wanted it in the shape of a square, others in a rectangular form, some in oval shape and some others in the form of a circle. Perunthachan said, “All right, I shall dig a tank which will satisfy you all.”

When the tank was completed, strangely enough it had all the shapes, if seen from different angles, and all were satisfied and they congratulated Perunthachan. But Perunthachan's son, who always worked with him, raised a point. He said, "Father, you've constructed this tank for the use of devotees who want to bathe before going to the temple. Who will come to bathe in this tank when there is a river before they reach the tank? People will always prefer to bathe in the fresh water of a river rather than the stagnant water of a tank."

Perunthachan asked, "Are you mad my boy? The river is far away and those who come to worship in the temple are staying on this bank of the river." The son simply laughed and said, "The river is likely to flow touching the temple tank, father." "That is impossible," answered Perunthachan. "The river is far away." "That does not mean that it will not flow this side. The river can alter its course, or someone can change its course." Perunthachan was furious. He didn't like his son's reply. "Then do it!" he shouted.

The son took up the challenge. He, no doubt, had learnt work from his father. But he had improved upon his knowledge. He started thinking how best he could alter the course of the river without his father ever knowing it. He slipped away in the night and was at it until dawn. He chose a particular place from where he could change the course of the river, and lo! It started flowing, almost touching the temple tank. A person who wanted to come to the temple had to cross the river first. The father was very much impressed by the ingenuity of the son, but at the same time he felt that he had been outsmarted.

After a few days, the villagers again wanted the help of Perunthachan; this time to construct a bridge across the river, so that the people on the other side of the river could easily come to the temple without the aid of a boat. He built a nice bridge for them within record time. But just for the sake of some fun he installed a doll on one side of the bridge. Whenever a person came from the other side of the bridge, this doll would go down, fill its mouth with water, come up to its former position and spit at the passer-by. And sometimes Perunthachan would stand at a distance and enjoy the 'fun'. 

One day his son was coming along the bridge. The doll emptied a mouthful of water on his face. Perunthachan standing at a distance saw it and was very much amused. The son laughed and went away. The very next day another doll was seen at the other end of the bridge. This doll would go in front of anyone who started crossing the bridge. When Perunthachan's doll dipped down to fill its mouth with water and came up ready to spit at anyone, the second doll would give it such a slap on its face that its face would turn and the person walking along the bridge would go unscathed. Perunthachan saw the second doll and he knew that it was a trick played on him by his son. He had to accept defeat at his son's hands but he was happy that his son had excelled him.