Silence - The Life Teacher

Rishi sat on top of a boulder at the backdrop of a mountain peak, kissing the sky. He seemed to be lost in his solitary musings despite the scenic beauty churned around. The occasional clouds hovered over the sky, drawing a pattern of a dinosaur which the visitors beheld in awe. Some of them took the pictures in a stiff competition to post first in social media so that they could garner a million likes. Rishi just gazed at the horizon with his eyes, speaking volumes about his inner upheaval. He looked immune to the outside noise. Some visitors went on a photo clicking spree, which reflected their abundant excitement. Some were just drinking in the elixir of joy offered by nature. Rishi's father, Somanna, had been a hotel worker while his mother, Ganga, worked as a maid. He had been pursuing a bachelor of commerce, but wasn't interested in studies. Since he held abundant emotions within herself, he was good at depicting them through his acting skills. But he was doing it only within the four walls of his house. So, people rarely recognized his acting talent. Nobody accorded respect to their family since they were materially poor and were living in a small house in a slum area. Their relatives hardly visited them. Some of his classmates happened to see him perched on a boulder.
"Look at that silent guy. He neither speaks nor does well in studies. He will bring shame to his family."
"Looks like he is planning to run away to hide his shame."
"What will he even do in life? At least poverty should have taught him a lesson to do something big in life. Ironically, poverty has made his personality even poor and insipid."
They indulged in insulting him. Rishi had been accustomed to hearing such harsh words. He dropped from the boulder and traced his way back home.

Rishi's parents had prepared chapatis for their son. They gave him three chapatis while they consumed only one chapati. Rishi could see a drop of tear peeking through his mother's eyes. Poverty had struck them hard, and it was difficult even to have full meals. He asked his parents to eat one extra chapati each so that he could eat only one. But his parents denied citing that he is a growing man while they are old ones who could die at any moment. As soon as his parents went to sleep, pain gripped him hard, making him spill out tears. He was not doing well in studies, which would make it hard to get a job to eke out a living. Even though he was good at acting, he knew there would be stiff completion and making it to the top would be a distant dream. Sometimes he wondered why was he even alive to endure this pain. His parents worked hard day and night while he performed poorly in exams. A feeling of shame brushed past him as he retired to sleep.

Rishi and his parents had been invited to one of their relative's reception ceremony. Even though Rishi wasn't interested in being part of it, his parents cajoled him to go. Most of the guests in the function shimmered in opulent attires while they had wore poor clothes. Rishi felt like being incongruous inside the hall. Some of them treated his parents like beggars. To add insult to injury, one of his relatives called his father.
"Please go and bring Sumana's shoes. Do not forget to polish it."
His poor father complied with his request without a second thought. If this was not enough, there came another order.
"Hey! A child has vomited and dirtied the place. Please go and clean it."
This time his it was his mother's turn to respect the order. Anger courses through Rishi's veins, but he was helpless. Ironically, the same relatives who had invited them did not respect them. Seemed like they had invited them to do maid's duty. All three of them went on the stage to wish the newlywed couple. But both of them refused to shake their hands. Their facial expression depicted disgust feeling. After going through yet another humiliation, they went to the banquet hall to have meals. The painful story did not end here but resumed. All three of them sat on a chair and banana leaves were placed against them. All three looked hungry, since they barely had anything to eat in the morning. Rishi stole a glance at his parents, who had a smile on their visage despite going through misery from inside. He looked at the photo of God and wondered why God does nothing to subside their pain. One of their relatives, who had a beaming smile on his face, got pissed off the moment he saw all three of them sitting with others. He approached them by taking authoritative steps.
"Hello! When you get food for free, you are ready to eat like kings? Do you even know your status in the society? If beggars are allowed to sit here, then tomorrow even dogs and monkeys will demand food from us. Go and sit down in the corner. As per your status, you can consume spoiled food and go. And also don't forget to remove all the banana leaves once I our guests are done having food."
Rishi closed his eyes as everyone gazed at them. Some of them had a big grin on their face. This was an insult of the highest order.
"Do you want to suffer even more, or are you ready to walk off?" Rishi asked his parents.
His parents had tears welled in their eyes and they had no words to oppose their son. All three of them walked out of the banquet hall, unable to bear the shame.
"Where are you running? They made three idiots movie after seeing you three monkeys," one of them laughed.
Rishi couldn't sleep that night as the incidents of the day kept on replaying in his mind until the point of exhaustion. He couldn't see his parents being mistreated by the society for being poor.

Rishi and his parents visited a nearby temple to seek blessings from Lord Ganapati. Rishi had not forgotten the incidents that materialized the previous day, which had broken his heart. He prostrated before the God's idol and sought courage and confidence to sail through this turbulent period. His parents, as usual, had a smile on their face, perfectly masking their inner upheaval. Rishi had understood that he could go nowhere in studies, but the acting skills he is equipped with could change his life. Despite being aware of the strong competition to crack the acting success, he made up his mind to channelize all his energy into the craft. He had a conviction that God would help him in his endeavours. As they were about to come out of the temple, they stumbled upon their relatives.
"Hey, Somappa! Have you come to the temple to ask for a miracle to happen in your life?" one of them said.
"You were born poor and will also die poor. That is your karma. To make matters worse, you are cursed with a son who barely speaks. He is not even good at studying. He, being a failure, is inevitable. Your failure family is fit only to fail and wallow in misery. Useless morons."
"Your son is a biggest disaster you contributed in this society. When two poor people reproduce, they are bound to come up with a dud product."
Rishi's parents just had an awkward smile that adorned their face. They never retorted, even when they were subjected to ignominy. Rishi closed his eyes again, surrendering to his silence. He knew a poor man's words had no significance. He just walked away from the spot.
"Even though your son is fit for nothing type, he has a big inflated ego."
Rishi's parents looked at each other as a wave of embarrassing feeling brushed past them.

Rishi promised his parents that he would never become a failure, even at the expense of his studies. He kept on honing his acting skills day and night. He even wrote his own script and dialogues and emoted in front of the mirror. He resorted to silence over speaking since the former not only infused in him the spark to grow, but also made him understand the complexities of life. His parents were happy to see the fire burning in his eyes, which promised to warm their hearts. His parents were joyous to see the flower blooming in his heart, which promised to bring copious satisfaction.
Rishi had become so good at acting thanks to his relentless hard work. He had stopped going to functions and meeting people. Watching movies helped him to touch upon the nuances of acting. Spending time with nature made him more mature. He gave a few auditions and failed, but did not budge. Even during auditions, people did not stop taunting him. His relatives, who learned about it, laughed off, wondering how a silent man can even act. But he chose to remain silent instead of reacting. Life had taught him a beautiful lesson in silence.

Finally, the day came when Rishi cracked the acting code and won a chance to be a contestant in an acting show that was telecasted live on television. Some of his relatives envied and cursed him for failing. His performance in the audition had blown the judge's mind. His parents were reduced to tears, having seen their son navigate through a myriad of hurdles to reach this stage. He never cribbed or whined about his past. Neither did he blame his relatives for their mistreatment. Silence had engraved him into a beautiful personality bereft of all bad qualities. He only believed in his karma and did not expect any fruits for his actions. He kept on doing his duty diligently, raising no hue and cry. Soon he became the judge's favourite, not only for his incredible acting skills but also for his maturity level, which shone like a bright star. When the other contestants were crying and blaming about their past, Rishi chose silence. He never jumped in joy or showed too much emotions even when he received a buzzer for golden performance. He just took everything with a smile, allowing silence to reign supreme.

After four months of the show, finally the grand finale arrived wherein five contestants were vying for that coveted title. Rishi, through his incredible acting prowess, had cast a magical spell on everyone, thereby grabbing one of the spot out of five. His parents too had come to witness the grand finale magic. They had visited Lord Ganapati temple to not only bless their son but to bless all of them who had reached the finals. Even though they were uneducated, his son's matured silence had rubbed off on them. Even they did not talk about the pain of the past, but only blessed everyone to do well in the finals. Rishi's relatives had heard his name doing rounds everywhere. Now, they realized they could not taunt him anywhere. So, they decided to be in good books with him as if they cared for him. But inside the facade, they envied his success. Four contestants gave a brilliant performance, adding flavour to the grand finale. Now it was time for Rishi to take over the stage. All memories of the past flash past him. Everyone goes mute to witness his spectacle on the grand stage. Rishi does not hide his emotions. He puts on an iconic performance that brings tears into the eyes of people. Even the judges could not hold back but give a standing ovation for the magic conjured up on the stage. The round of applause did not subside. Subsequently, everyone started shouting his name, which reverberated through the sky. He always used to be silent and expressionless after his act. This time he got overwhelmed and broke into tears, which touched everyone. Even judges had tears in their eyes as they had witnessed a spectacle unfold in front of them. God has listened to his silent prayers and, deservingly, he won the title. His relatives tried to hog the limelight. He just smiled and understood how fame and money can pull people into your life. He handed his trophy to his parents and thanked his silence from the bottom of his heart for being his life teacher.
"Silence is the reason why I won the trophy.
Silence taught me the significance of life.
Silence is what ended the hegemony of an evil named ego.
Silence is what kept me grounded.
Silence is what made me understand the conduct of people.
Silence is what made me mature.
I am nothing without silence. I owe my life to silence."