Naive Raju And His Fortune

Eleven year old Raju was quite different from other boys in his class. He was short, stocky and fair with a pointed nose and black twinkling eyes that spoke volumes of his genius character. He was a very bright student and most of the teachers adored him. He had a great flair for language. He could speak, read and write more than five languages. In spite of his immense talent, he was ignored by most of his classmates. They made fun of his physical appearance. He was so naïve that he trusted everyone. He was very helpful and generous by nature. People who were aware of his character, used him to serve their selfish needs.

He had an older brother, Arjun, who was 14 and a sister Nita, who was 9. They, unlike him, were very popular and the children in the neighbourhood, always invited them to play, deliberately ignoring Raju, who tried his level best to capture their attention and win over their friendship. Though they loved him and in their spare time, played with him, they avoided being seen with him, as far as possible. Once, Arjun’s friend Ravi came home to invite him to his birthday party and spotted Raju sitting on a chair, reading a novel. Ravi asked Arjun, “ Who is he?” Arjun called Raju and introduced him to Ravi as his cousin. Raju was stumped and said “ Hi, Glad to see you. Sorry, I have some work to do. I'd better go now.” He went away with tears in his eyes. His own brother was ashamed of him! He had to be content with his fate. Raju' s mother Latha often fell sick and spent most of her time in hospital. His father, Mohan worked for a private company, which required him to be on tour for most of the days. Raju always felt neglected. 

One fine evening, he stood before the picture of Lord Ram in the prayer room and wept bitterly, saying, “ O, Lord! Why did you create me? No one loves me. People mock at my appearance. They treat me like a doormat. Though I get good marks , my classmates think I am a snob. My very own mother can’t even take care of herself, how can I expect her to support me? My father is always on a tour. Arjun and Nita play with me sometimes, but they prefer being with other friends and are embarrassed to be seen with me. What shall I do? To whom shall I pour out my woes? You are my only hope. If you abandon me, I have no other way but end my miserable life.” His father who had just entered the house, happened to overhear this monologue. He was dumbfounded. He called out , “ Raju! Please come here. I want to have a word with you.” Raju came at once and his father motioned him to sit near him on the couch. “Ahem…ahem….” his father cleared his throat and spoke, “ My dear boy, I couldn’t help but overhear your prayer. I am very shocked. May I know the reason behind such a conversation with God?.” “ Well, to be honest Dad, I hate myself. No one wants to be my friend. Even Arjun introduced me as his cousin to his friend. Students in my class avoid me because I am short, stout and walk with a funny gait. They call me a coward, who cuddles up to the teachers, though I am a class topper and teachers find me disciplined and well mannered. Please tell me how to win friends. Though I try to please people, I end up annoying them,” said Raju waiting for his father to reply. “ Hmm….. First of all, I am really sorry that I am not able to spend much time with you. You are a very brilliant boy who is quite exceptional in studies. As far as your classmates are concerned, they avoid you because they are very jealous of your intelligence and talent. You may go to any extent to satisfy them but they still won’t be happy to include you in their group. You have to realise that you can’t satisfy every one in this world. There are people to encourage and admire you but you also have detractors. Don’t let them demoralise you because that is what they really intend. You should be proud of yourself and not feel sorry for your appearance. If you still feel you are unfortunate and a miserable wretch, I will show you some harsh realities of life. I say, why don’t we go for a walk and visit my friend, Vinod ?” Raju cheered up immediately on hearing his father’s advice and got ready to go. Both father and son walked together holding hands. After a short while, they reached an independent villa that comprised of a lush green lawn and a gravel path that led to the two storey villa. It was magnificent. Raju was quite impressed with the grandeur of the place. He thought that the people who lived here were very lucky and blessed with abundance of happiness.

Raju’s father Mohan, rang the doorbell which was opened by his close friend Vinod himself, who gave him a warm hug and said, “ Hey, pal! How are you? And who is this handsome lad?” Mohan answered, “ I am fine and hope you all are doing well. I have been planning to visit you but due to hectic schedule, could not make it. By the way, meet my son Raju. I have brought him so that he could meet your children, Brinda and Ashok and play with them.” Vinod was delighted and ushered them into their living room. It was very spacious with comfortable sofa , a coffee table, and a plasma TV. Raju didn’t even blink his eyes and stood with mouth open in astonishment. The chandelier hung from the ceiling and expensive paintings covered most of the walls. Vinod smiled at Raju and said, “ Well, young man, first of all , why don’t you sit comfortably and relax?” They sat on the sofa while a maidservant offered them glasses of chilled water. Raju thought he was in the heaven, as he enjoyed the cool atmosphere caused by air-conditioning. Vinod got up and fetched his wife Parvati. She welcomed them personally and went into the kitchen to prepare coffee. They chatted happily over steaming cups of coffee and biscuits. Later, Vinod suggested, “ Why don’t you introduce our children to Raju?” Parvati nodded and asked to follow her. They stopped in front of a playroom which was wide open. There were two children who were playing with their toys. Parvati entered the room and beckoned Raju to come and meet the kids. Parvati said, “ This is my son Ashok. He is 14 years old and she is my daughter, Brinda, aged 9. Dear ones, say hi to Raju. He is your new friend.” They clapped their hands in joy and said, “ Hi” together. Raju was shocked to see them. They had misshaped heads with squinting eyes and saliva drooling from their mouths. They were confined to wheel chairs. Raju was moved to tears. He slowly approached them and shook their hands. He asked them gently, “ Would you be my friends ?” They didn’t understand what he was saying. Their mother used sign language to explain what Raju said. They understood and smiled at him. He gave them toffees from the pocket of his pants. He asked Parvati , “ Are they always inside this room? Do you take them out in the garden? “ She replied with a sigh, ” We carry them all the way down stairs, since they can’t walk . We take them out only if the coast is clear outside, with no prying neighbours to make fun of their disability. Other children are scared to see them and don't bother to play with them. Why, even our relatives have ostracized us because we have abnormal children. They are willing to accept us, provided we abandon our children by getting them admitted to asylum for the special kids.” She wiped away her tears and looked at Raju before continuing, “ You are a well mannered boy with a heart of gold. Nobody spoke to them , the way you did! I am indeed touched.” Raju felt sorry for the lady and said, “ Don’t worry. From now onwards, I will be their friend. I shall come to play with them, in my spare time.” Parvati was too pleased, thanking him for his noble intention. 

It was time to leave . Mohan and Raju said a quick goodbye and left the place. Raju was silent all the way. His father enquired, “ So, what are you thinking about, dear son?” Raju hugged his father and said, “ I am very lucky to have a father like you. I have learnt a lot from my visit to Uncle Vinod. They have immense wealth, but no one wants to have any relationship with them, just because they have special children. They must have gone through a hell, when people greeted them with taunts and jeers about the kids. How painful it must be for the parents who see their children being ignored and ill treated! Yet they managed to live on with a smile on their faces, without grumbling about their fate. That is called true sportsmanship. They have inspired me to lead a normal life without giving much importance to jibes and nasty comments. Thank you so much for being such a wonderful teacher. I have decided to specialise in psychiatry and help people suffering from mental ailments.  You won’t object to my ambition, would you Dad?” His father ruffled his hair lovingly and said, “ Of course not ! I am very proud of you. Mark my words, you are going to outshine your brother and sister.”

Wheels of time turned in Raju’s favour. After 15 years, he achieved resounding success as a psychiatrist. He became Dr. Rajesh from Raju. Most of his patients returned to normalcy. Besides, his counselling was so effective that people got rid of their depression, stress and anxiety. True to his father’s prophecy, he gained critical acclaim and received several awards from the state and central government. His clinic was always crowded. His calmness, and dedication to his profession added to his popularity. He also authored books on psychiatry that became international best sellers. He was indeed doing much better than his siblings and earned more than their salary combined together. Now they began to look at him with great respect and openly acknowledged that they were his siblings. Raju however remained modest and owed his success to his father. Had he not guided him properly, he would have been dead, long ago. 

Raju stood before his deceased father’s portrait and folded his hands as a mark of respect. Then he chuckled, as he thought over his past. Fifteen years ago, he was lonely and longed for company. But now, he was always surrounded by people.