Illustration by the author
~~Mike Jones, The Storyteller
All illustrations by the author
The cover illustration of this story has been done by the author’s four-year-old daughter Keiya Krishnakumar.
Once upon a time, many years ago the kingdom of Jeerpore, was ruled by a king called Raja Bada-Moochee. He was called Raja Bada-Moochee because he had a great, long moustache. Well, Raja Bada-Moustache was not his real name, his real name was Raja Cheetha Singh the 2nd. This is the story of how Raja Cheetha Singh the 2nd came to be known as Raja Bada-Moochee Dildaar.
When humankind attained wisdom and knew all that is good and bad. There was born the teller of tales; a small tribe of people (men and women), who watched and observed what no one saw. Creative, imaginative, highly skilled and having a perfect understanding of the human psyche, these people have the ability to touch the human heart with their words alone. To weave tales, by laying the selective warp and weft of time and space. Piece by piece, word by word, they build up perfect universes out of nothingness. Like a conjuring artist. They transpose the partakers in a time and place removed from the present. This ability gives them immense power, for unknown even to themselves they can mould and shape the thoughts of an entire generation. Call them influencers if you will.