STAINED GLASS WINDOW

When virtue and modesty enlighten her charms,
the lustre of a beautiful woman is brighter than the stars of heaven,
and the influence of her power it is in vain to resist.
– Akhenaton

Raju is working in a national bank. He is very charming and beautiful.  He always cares to look beautiful. He likes beauty, as if he is eating, drinking and sleeping with beauty. His veneration toward beauty is to such an extent. He likes the quote of beauty of English romantic poet John Keats, ‘A thing of beauty is joy forever’.

Raju is unmarried. His parents thought that he should be married now, because they thought that Raju is settled in job and this is the right time for his marriage. So they took initiative in searching girls, but none is liked by him. He finds fault with the damn beauty of every girl he saw. He says, her nose is long or her face is like egg or her color is not bright or she is short. So all his complaints are pertaining to beauty.

They are not as beautiful as he expected. It is not once, every time. So he simply rejected.

His parents are dejected and disappointed at his way of expectations of a girl who should become his wife.

His grandpa looked seriously at him and said some facts.

“See Raju, that girl you have to  marry should be one who can manage the home as a house wife. Why you are very much particular about beauty?  if you are wishing a beautiful girl, may be , she is not fit for a house wife. Raju, do you know what our elders say?  Bharya Roopavati Satru which means if a wife is very beautiful, She will be your enemy…”

Raju cannot think so deeply,  just what he likes is a beautiful girl as wife,

“Grandpa, this is my personal affair. Please don’t try to convince me with your age-old great Quotes of knowledge. Let me wait and see who will come in to my life as my wife.”

Raju’s voice is full of emotion with his bold decision. So his family members left him for his choice and they are waiting to see when he will come with a girl to them and say that I am going to marry this girl.

******

One day Raju stood before a cool bar for a cool drink. He saw a couple coming there and the woman is very beautiful. Raju thought that such a beautiful girl is deserved to be his wife.

The husband looks like very simple. He ordered for ice cream..

Meanwhile, a roughly looking guy came there. He looks like a roadside Romeo. He looked at that beautiful woman and started teasing her. Her husband looks like a calm going person and not a wrangler type. He did not comment and the Romeo did not stop his ugly uncivilized comments.

“You look like a million dollar beauty! I am not rich, but five or ten dollars not a problem” Romeo said.

She looked in to her husband’s face as if she is questioning him, why you stare like a useless fellow.

Her husband is not a useless fellow, he got angry and started fighting with Romeo with words first and then they are on the road like real fighters.

Her husband is not at all a “useless fellow” and he showed his strength and overpowered the roadside Romeo in minutes. Now Romeo turned as a rabbit in the paws of tiger.

“I am sorry sir! I request you to excuse me for my comments. I am really sorry” Romeo started falling on his feet and looking at his wife, requested her to excuse him.

People are silent till then. When Romeo started begging for excuse, they became real rampant and they started scolding Romeo. Mean while police came and the wife and husband along with Romeo went with the  police to police station to give a written complaint against the roadside Romeo..

The scene is over. Raju is very much disturbed with this scene. Why because, he had a simple thought that if he is in the place of HUSBAND, can he fight like him to save his wife? His consciousness said that he is not that type to fight and if he is not a good fighter, what will happen? People are mostly onlookers and when they do not come to help and if he cannot fight like any hero in a film. What will be reality in this scene. He replayed the scene in a different way and he was so much perturbed with this disturbing scene that he is completely against his love towards beauty.

*****

One day Raju saw her suddenly. She is loking at him and smiling. She is Rajani. She is also working in the same bank. He saw her number of times. But he did not see her with that much interest, except this time. She is not very fair, but she is simple and reasonably good looking. She cannot be as striking beauty as Raju  expected previously. He thought, Rajani is nice and good looking.

Rajani is laughing. Raju wanted to know why she is laughing.

“Why are you laughing?” Raju asked.

“It is a secret..” Rajani said.

What is a secret with him? What Rajani is thinking as a secret that is related with him in one way or other? That too, what it will be about him that makes her laugh, looking at him like this.

Raju thought seriously. He could not know what it will be. He wanted to find out. So he started moving around her and asking her to say what is really that secret.

Rajani did not say easily. She made him loiter around her. In this way, Raju is attracted towards Rajani.

Rajani is simple and sweet. She is charming. Her virtue and modesty enlighten her charms. The luster in her simple smile with sweet heart is brighter than the stars in the sky.

Raju understood one thing, the secret…

Real beauty is from within, not from something like outside appearance. He realized first time that Rajani’s beauty or the influence of the power of her beauty is vain to resist.

Raju remained as stained glass window till now losing the real luster which is from within. A stained glass window can not shine by its own luster, but it may shines only when the sun shines. Now, he is seeing the hidden beauty in Rajani which he can see in the darkness also.

Raju is no more a stained glass window now, hidden in the darkness. The inside window in him is open with its great light and it started sparkling like pure gold.

He remembered, what his grandpa once said. He started thinking what it really means.

“Raju, all women are alike, just like huge quantity of coffee prepared in a pot. When it is poured in a beautiful costly cup, it looks very beautiful. If it is poured in an ordinary cup, it will be just like that, just ordinary, but the woman same as coffee, my boy”

Now Raju is not as he was mad after beauty in a girl.

He asked his parents to contact Rajani’s parents.

One day, Rajani entered in to Raju’s life as a real mirror to show him how much beautiful he is.
__END__