Sunday, January 15, 2017

Lost Glory

The sun was high up in the sky when Ravi walked into the house with purpose and determination. Today, he would convince his grandfather to listen to him, he thought. As he entered the house, Ravi became conscious of a pervasive sense of something lacking. He knew it was the absence of that thing that gave him security and pride - money. 'There's no dearth of possessions though,' he thought with a smirk, looking at the walls and cupboards filled with mementos and trophies of his grandfather. 

'Thatha, what are you doing? Again polishing that same old thing?' His grandfather, bent with old age and ill health looked at him. 

It was a small room with the bare minimum necessities. However, on a table at the end of the room, there was a beautiful veena, shiny and gleaming. His grandfather paused in his work and said, 'It is not a thing. This is a divine instrument.' 

'I know. I know, thatha. The Maharajah's grandson gave this as a gift to you when he visited our house ages ago. I know the story. But what use is it now? Neither your arms have the strength to hold it nor your fingers to play on it. What use is this relic? No one in this house can play it.' 'That's because no one wanted to learn.' 

'Look thatha. Stop being so selfish. You have had your 15 minutes of fame. The Maharajah's grandson came to our house. He gave you this gift. Everyone applauded you and praised you. But what's the use? What have you given your son and his family? A pile of crappy memorabilia and a legacy of hollow adulation and goodwill. Look around...Look at the house. Those mementos are not going to feed us. People's respect will not translate into free food. This veena which you treat like a treasure is really a treasure, which you keep away from us for your selfish pride. Do you know how much this veena will fetch if I sold it at tomorrow's auction? Lakhs of rupees! Enough to feed us and run this house for a long time. But, no, you have to hold on to it for your foolish reasons.' 

'Have I not given all my savings to your father to open his shop? Is it my fault that instead of learning music, he showed interest in starting a business, which never took off? The hollow goodwill that you speak of....hasn't it helped us in times of need? This is the one thing I treasure the most. You can sell all the other mementos if you want.'

'And what will I get for them? A pittance. The only thing of value left in this house is this veena.'

The old man sat down with a sigh, burdened as much by old age as by years of ingratitude. He looked at the veena lovingly. 'I wish you could know the true value of the veena. Never mind. Take it.'

Ravi cautiously spoke, 'OK thatha. Thank you.' He could not believe his luck. He had not thought it would be so easy. He gently lifted the veena and carried it out of the room. The old man looked at the vacant space and thought, 'Glory. Respect. Honour. Family. Nothing is of value in a place where its value is not known.'

An elated Ravi walked out of the house, as the sun began its descent into oblivion.


Day 15 of Blogathon 2017

2 comments:

  1. Oh! Shashi, you broke my heart!!!

    I like your stories, tell more

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your encouragement, Meena akka! :)

    ReplyDelete