Ramu Kaka loved traveling, but his biggest problem was his pace. The villagers often joked that if Ramu Kaka set out on a journey, the destination might come looking for him—but he would still take his time getting there.
One day, Ramu Kaka decided to walk to the nearby town. The villagers asked, “Kaka, how far is the town?”
He replied confidently, “Oh, just a couple of miles.”
Early the next morning, Ramu Kaka set off with great enthusiasm. A walking stick in his hand and a serious traveler’s expression on his face, he began his journey. However, by the end of the first day, he had covered barely half a mile.
That night, resting under a tree, he thought to himself, “Walking too fast isn’t good for health.”
On the second day, he resumed his journey. A passerby said, “Kaka, the town is still far away.”
Ramu Kaka smiled and replied, “No problem. The journey itself is the joy of life.”
On the third day, he stopped at a tea stall. “Let me rest a bit,” he thought. “The road isn’t going anywhere.”
On the fourth day, a village boy saw him and asked, “Kaka, haven’t you reached the town yet?”
Ramu Kaka chuckled and said, “What’s the hurry? I’m taking it nice and slow.”
By the fifth day, Ramu Kaka felt the road seemed longer than expected. Instead of speeding up, he slowed down even more.
By the eighth day, he hadn’t even crossed half the distance. He comforted himself by saying, “Rushing only leads to exhaustion.”
Finally, on the ninth day, Ramu Kaka reached the edge of the town. Looking up proudly, he declared, “See? The journey is complete.”
The villagers often say that although Ramu Kaka’s journey was slow, he proved that with patience, even a short distance can take nine days—especially if there are too many tea stalls along the way.
RAJEEV VERMA 