NO MYTH, OUR SISYPHUS

Our man Sisyphus, one day, found himself rolling a stone up some hill. Now, he did not know why he was there or why he was doing it. It was strange because he could just not stop doing it and he did not remember anything, neither where he came from nor what he was going to do, all he knew was that he was rolling a stone up a hill. Anyways, he thought, maybe this is what I am born to do, destined to do, so let me just do it nicely. And while he was thinking of all this he realized he had come to the top of the hill, he felt happy: One, the task had ended (so it seemed) and two, now there would be something else to be done, something new. Well, what do you think happened? The silly stone dropped off the hill. Sisyphus was so disappointed, how idiotic is this, he thought, only when I had come to the end of it. He walked back to the foot of the hill, sad and listless.

He sat on the boulder and thought what was to be done now. Then he realized that the job was not complete yet, maybe he needed to complete this task before he could move ahead. It had been so easy last time he hadn’t even realised when he reached the top, he could do it again no doubt. He decided he was going to take the boulder up and finish what was at hand. So with one heave the boulder was climbing the hill again. Sisyphus was happy somehow, that he had taken this decision. At least he was not a coward; he had not turned his back on his job. He liked to think of himself as persistent and determined, and indeed he was. But it happened again on the top and again and again and again, till Sisyphus was completely tired and broken. He rested for some time and decided he was not going to do it anymore. No, not me, he thought, not anymore. But he soon got bored of sitting like that so he thought he might as well take a walk up the hill without the rock, a leisure walk. Up he went humming, taking his time pulling fruits from this tree and that till he saw something that made him jump. Why hadn’t he seen it before? Far away in the horizon, he could see, another peak like his own and something like a man rolling up a boulder. Sisyphus ran. He ran without a break till he had reached the mountain. There he saw the boulder running down, just like his own and a man running after it. The moment the man saw Sisyphus, he halted. Both could not believe the other was for real. They were so happy. They ate together and joked about the boulder. And when the night came they slept under the same tree but after a few days this also began to seem tiresome to both; as tiresome as rolling the stone. So they decided to find others like them for adventure’s sake. After they had travelled some distance they found another one rolling a stone up a hill and he told them that some days ago he had found another one like them. This sounded exciting, they were not alone. Infact everyone they found was just like them. Stone-cursed, they joked. The third guy also called the fourth and they all sat and conferred. What was to be done? Someone came up with an idea which others found brilliant. They could all roll their stones together! Why not? It would be fun.

So four stones went rolling down the hill together and the four men stood on the top of the peak laughing themselves crazy. And they created such a ruckus that from far and wide others also came from their hills to join them. By now there was quite a crown rolling their stones on the peak. So far so good. But soon they found the peak was too small for so many people to do the rolling business together. One is left with no peace and privacy, everyone thought. People kept stepping on each other and running into each other. So once again a conference was called. Many ideas came up. Some suggested ways to discipline rolling , others said some should roll while others should rest but nothing fitted well. At last they decided. Everyone would return to their peaks like in old days.

So back they went, everyone of them. And back on his peak, now, Sisyphus once again rolled his rock alone. Waving now and then to the guy on the nearest peak. The guy would also wave back and holler something that always got lost by the time it reached him. But Sisyphus always hollered back something, anything, though he knew it would never reach the other.

The boulder kept going up and down, up and down.