It was a dark night. The clouds covered the sky. There weren’t any twinkling stars, nor the beautiful moon visible. Raju sat in a corner of his thatched hut, amidst the broken pieces of the vases. The snoring of his mother Vaishali and brother Ram reminded him of their presence. But that night the sleep was a distant star for Raju. “Useless”, “lazy”, “mischievous”, “good for nothing” were reverberating in his ears. A tiny drop of tear had just left his eyes and reached a piece of the broken vase.
Vaishali was widowed at a young age. The only inheritance from her husband left behind were their two children Ram and Raju, the small hut they lived in and the potter’s wheel. Vaishali made major earnings by making the mudden pots and selling them in the nearby villages. She sometimes also worked in the fields of sarpanch of the village to add more to her earnings. She and her husband had always dreamt of educating their children well, so they need not struggle for livelihood in future. All the responsibility was on Vaishali alone, but she bravely took up the responsibility. Ram, the elder one had always lived up to her hope. He studied well and was the topper of school. But Raju always just managed to pass with the minimum marks, which she assumed was due to those words which were reverberating in Raju’s ear.
Raju had mistakenly slipped and fallen on a set of vases, Vaishali had specially made for Sarpanchji, which she was supposed to deliver the next day. Due to which Raju had got an earful that evening. As Raju sat awake, he wondered, “why am I useless if I can’t study? Even Ram cannot draw. Then why isn’t he useless?” As he sat alone thinking how he can clear his mess and prove his worth to his mother, his artistic brain had come up with an amazing idea.
As the sunlight slowly entered the hut, Vaishali woke up. She stood stunned for a minute. Raju who was crying amidst the broken pieces, now slept peacefully among a colourfully painted mosaic vases. He had joined the pieces and covered the patches with beautiful drawings and paintings. It was hardly believable that they were actually mud vases. They were beautiful, but Vaishali was hesitant to sell them to the sarpanchji, as they were not the same he had ordered for. But Ram, who loved his brother dearly, pursued his mother to at least try selling them. Ram was really mesmerized by those. Finally Vaishali left with the vases to try to sell them. It was evening when Vaishali finally returned home. Ram and Raju were waiting for her. When Vaishali entered the house they feared that they had failed to sell the vases, as her eyes were filled with tears. Little did they know they were the tears of happiness, proud and revert that she failed to understand the talent of Raju. Sarpanchji was mesmerized by the beautiful vases and when she blurted out about the incidents of the previous day, he finally said his decision, “I will buy these beautiful vases to thrice the amount I had promised and also I will take up the responsibility of your children’s education and also make sure Raju get educated in which he is talented. You have got really talented children. One is the topper while the other can top the world with is art.” When Ram and Raju heard about sarpanchji’s decision their joy knew no bounds. Raju had finally proved his worth.
Those broken pieces might sometimes be our dreams, passion, life or ourselves. If we believe in ourselves without listening to what others say one can easily put back the pieces in the most beautiful way. Believe in your worth.
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