Moral Short Story – Differently Talented
Photo credit: ecerroni from morguefile.com
“How much does this cost?”
“Rs.600” sir..
“Give me an economical, best quality bouquet of deserved price”
“Rs.350 Sir, General bouquet”
“Okay.pack that then” said to the shopkeeper and answered my phone “Hello, Hmm I’ve bought bouquet by the way and on my way to marriage hall.”
“Come soon” my friend Shabeer replied.
After a long time, I am attending a marriage function. Last one I attended was nearly 1 year ago, Was one of my college mates. Even though I was invited for many marriages in between the period, I wasn’t able to attend one as my job was keeping me hectic all the time. But somehow I decided I have to attend Rahul’s marriage on any account because he was there for me during my worse situations. That was nearly a grand wedding by the way.Why I am saying this because it was a love marriage and normally families doesn’t accept for inter caste marriages and it was one exceptional case and the lights were spread all along the street where marriage hall was situated.
It seemed like even if beggar followed the lights he would have ended up in the marriage hall. Design outside the marriage hall read “Rahul B.E weds Pranitha B.Sc”. I smiled seeing Rahul’s name.The person I want to see happy all the time for his good deeds and good attitude among everyone. But his only bad behavior was he used to make signs at girls at times. And I asked him to leave this behavior after marriage. However he denied initially but accepted my suggestion as he would become a family man and responsible person for a family.
Then myself entered the marriage hall and was searching “Shabeer” as he has arrived for the marriage a long way from GULF where he was working for 4 years. I saw him and hid myself from his sight and slowly reached to the back of him and closed his eyes. He understood it was me by the way as we used to play from our childhood like the same.
Then we were having some great moments which even money can’t buy!!We shared our present interests and talked about our families, Rahul,His Love for Pranitha and so on..
Rahul waved hands at us and asked us to join for a photograph. Immediately Rahul parents recognized us and called us for joining him. We along with the bride and groom and their parents stood for a photograph. Me and Shabeer standing beside groom and bride respectively asked the cameraman to take some snaps in our phones as well. While he was taking snaps, Rahul whispered in my ears that a beautiful girl was sitting in the middle of the hall and showed her to me not being noticed by anyone else. I too saw her.
He was constantly waving hands in that direction and even that girl somehow got that he was making signs for her and she constantly avoided his actions. Even though Shabeer went down the dias I was still there saying “Rahul please stop this. Its your marriage.You must not do like this and stop your behavior. Have you forgotten your word?”
He gave me silly excuses that the marriage is yet to get over and he will stop doing this after that. While we turned towards her as she occupied the stage, we were shocked.
She was a cripple. One of her hands was really short and it was shocking for us.
“This is Priya,Working in ISRO” Pranitha introduced her to both of us. And Rahul couldn’t even acknowledge her with a smile and bent his head down and so do me.
We all posed for a photograph and we both tried our maximum to be natural but couldn’t. However the cameraman asked both of us to stand straight. It was like someone burnt us alive.
Then as she moved from the dias,we apologized to her just by pulling our ears and she acknowledged us with a smile. He said me “I will never make signs at girls in my lifetime here after”. He shed some tears too and before anyone could notice it he wiped his face with his hand-kerchief.
Even though Rahul didnt say me completely how he did he feel?I understood him because I also use to make signs at girls and that incident changed our thoughts. Priya’s look while she entered the stage was something like “Will you make signs at me now?”
That look changed us and our thoughts and from that moment our respect for the physically challenged persons grew multifold. Even though we didn’t understand her thoughts, the way she understood us really reformed us.
They are not physically challenged. They are differently able personalities. They are differently talented and birth doesn’t decide our life.The way we live is gonna decide our life.
Hats off to her and all the differently able persons and also the women who are tolerating the men making signs towards them in day to day life.
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