O-R-I-G-I-N-S

Bang! Here comes a post - actually a brainwave at a place with K's and O's! :P (k's and o's = censored!:PWill be referred to as K&O in the post)This post is about the origins of the nursery rhymes! I remember two of them so vividly that even now I can recite them with the actions and all that, with a combination of "Awe" and "Oh My God" expressions highlighting my face! One is Jack and Jill - Born out of reminiscences at K&O about a Tamil movie - Jillunu Oru Kadhal starring Surya and Jyothika :D The next rhyme is Jhonny Jhonny Yes Papa which came into my mind when I was thinking about Jim Carreys Liar Liar Liar!:)Then I got into thinking about how these rhymes actually originated. Google was my first device. After hitting a few search buttons, I decided to post my findings in the blog...It would be right to rephrase the title to "Believe it or Not!" :)

Jack and Jill

In a small town called Hilla, there lived a boy and a girl...Jack was the boy, Jill was the girl - Can Avril make it any more obvious?!;) They were basically peasants of the upper class, who had workers working for them. In short, they were rich. It was a time when there was great strife between the upper class and the working class.A lot of riots broke out and the working class demanded more freedom and better wages from the upper class. One fine day, a strike came into play and the workers did not turn up for work. So Jack and Jill were left to their own devices to carry out the chores on their own. The first step to managing a farm is to fetch water, precisely, a pail of water. Jack and Jill carried a pail, one pail each or Jack carried one, Jill went along without any. Inorder to make the people understand the importance of water, the only well in the town Hilla was situated atop a Hill called Hillashill. Hence Jack and Jill went up the Hillashill to fetch a pail of water.( Note: Hillashill got redacted in the later versions to normal and plain "Hill" since the children couldn't quite catch the sssh sound, much to the annoyance of the adults who felt that the place was more important than Jack and Jill themselves!)

As they were walking up the hill,the path was full of sticks, stones, debris from the strike. Jill immediately grew apprehensive and suggested going back. Jack was a brave boy.He had come all this way up the hill for a pail of water and he wasn't going to back off now. He convinced Jill that nothing would happen.He had a sudden brainwave. He asked Jill to make holes in her dress. He tore at his shirt and trousers. Now they looked like the working class. Happily they set out to fetch water. They reached the top of the hill. The well was deserted with no trace of existence of a life. Jack put in his pail, and was fetching water when suddenly a mob of men with sticks came into the region threatening them to go back. Jack did not give up. He wanted to do his duty and he carried the pail of water, and ran down the hill, with the pail in hand. Jill ran back after him, making us question the universal theory that "Behind every successful man there is a woman! " Conversely, behind any man running for his life, there is a woman! All pun intended! As Jack was running for his life, with Jill tagging along, the working class mob was chasing them with all force and vigor. The sticks, stones and debris aforementioned now came into play . Jack tripped the water spilled, Jill is caught in a moment of confusion as to attend to which one first - Jack or the water? She decides to give Jack company and goes tumbling after him. In the effort to save some water, Jack broke his crown and blood oozes out. Jill is faking the tumbling just to give Jack company. Hence nothing happens to Jill (Nothing is mentioned in the rhyme anyway about Jill - Chauvinism?!)Then finally Jack reached home and told his Mom about what happened. She wraps his head in vinegar and brown paper. Jill was forgotten. The town came to know of this incident. Immediately, they built a well in the town premises, forgetting all crap about the importance of water! The townfolk were happy and praised Jack and Jill for their courage. Jack and Jill became famous for their tumbling and toppling, while the strike of the working class was forgotten.

Jhonny Jhonny

Jhonny was a naughty 5 year old kid who had a thing for anything sweet. Jhonny's Papa was a partial psychotic who had Diabetes, a disease which can be a curse to those with a sweet tooth. The basic theme of the rhyme is to spread awareness about Diabetes. On a more philosophical line of thought, it speaks about the virtues of truth, knowledge and wisdom. Back to the story, Jhonny's Papa was a strict person who felt that his family should suffer what he was going through - an ache to touch a sweet while in handcuffs. The household was banned of anything sweet , be it fruits or nuts or chocolates - anything that spelt the word "Diabetes" was banned. Sugar was a staple ingredient - atleast for coffees and tea and hence it was the only sweet commodity permitted in the household. Back then, there were no sexy ads about sugar free tablets. All people had to do was to bring down 2 spoons of sugar servings to one spoon, which itself was a sacrifice on its own. Jhonny had many cravings for the sweetest of things, the only reachable thing was the sugar within premises. Jhonny had a lot of plans to carry out the task of pirating the sugar. He had two plan of actions - Plan A and Plan B. Given his age and innocence, it is surprising that he came up with two plan of actions. Plan A was to happen in the morning, Plan B in the night. Both the plans involved smuggling a jar burried in his shorts and saving some stolen sugar for the future, only difference being the time of action. Even as a kid, Jhonny showed signs of a budding entrepreneur for his foresight into saving for the future, an implicit management strategy.

On the D day, Jhonny wanted to put the plan A into action. He stayed up all night, waiting to hear the rooster give the war cry. He set out to carry out his plan. He emptied the contents of his pebble collection jar into a cardboard box and stuffed the jar into his shorts. He tiptoed towards the kitchen, and slowly tried to reach for the sugar container. It so happens that Papa had heard an old guy on television say that jogging was the best to keep Diabetes under control. Being a disciplinarian, Papa decided to jog every morning. Poor Jhonny was unaware of his father's new found habit. As Jhonny opened the sugar container, his first instinct was to stuff as much as possible into the jar ASAP. But greed overtook and having deprived of his love for so long, Jhonny quickly put a spoon of sugar into his mouth. He was lost in ecstasy for a few seconds before which his father walked into the kitchen for some water, tired after his juvenile jog. His father was alarmed at the sight and called out "Jhonny!"...No reaction. Papa thought he wasn't loud enough and again called out "Jhonny" (thus explaining the reason for two Jhonnys in the rhyme :P). Jhonny replies "Yes Papa". The dimwitted Papa then spots the open container, not looking at the bulging shorts!( Read as Jar in shorts :D) He asks "Eating Sugar?" ( It would've been Stealing sugar - if he had noticed the shorts. Even if it had been "Stealing sugar", according to the censorship, it would've been rephrased to "eating sugar", after going through generations of re-visions and re-editing!:P) Back to "Eating Sugar?" . Jhonny replies " No Papa"... His father is furious "Telling Lies?"...Jhonny says "No Papa". Papa then manages to say "Open your mouth", by which time Jhonny had gone through the entire process of digestion of the spoon of sugar, greeted by the salivary amylases onwards to the intestinal pipeline, safely seated in a pouch- the stomach. Jhonny then opens his mouth and laughs "HAHAHA", making us wonder if "Hehehe" even existed back then. If he had said Hehehe, and the sugar was still in his mouth, he could have escapes! Hehehe afterall does not require one's mouth to be inevitably open. Whatever happened to Jhonny after this, is still a mystery. Did Papa atlast notice the jar in his shorts? Did Jhonny get spankings for his mischief? Did Jhonny grow up and get to know how the sugar dissolved so quickly in his mouth? Somehow, Papa was devastated at his son's attitude. He was narrating the incident to his friend in a park, when a passerby eavesdropped and decided to write a rhyme, to indirectly spread awareness about Diabetes. Afterall it was Diabetes that was the reason for Papa's attitude and Jhonny's craving towards sugar. A few philosophers feel that the rhyme speaks more about the virtues of truth and wisdom. It is okay to lie when you know you're doing the right thing. That is the most valuable lesson one can get from Jhonny Jhonny! :) :)

P.S:The above mentioned origin(s) is pure bull-piled up- shit! Thank you, if you've read till here! :) :)

Now relax with this Madrasi Version of Jhonny Jhonny :P

Jaaani Jaaani - Inaaa Nainaaa?

Chakra Thunriya? -- Illa nainaa!

Peela udraaa neee ......! - Illa nainaa!

Vaya thorada somali -- HAHAHA!

:) :) :p :p