THE BLESSED BROTHER

Oh hi readers! How are you? I've really got to say that the bliss you give me measures more than an ocean. OMG! It's totally unbelievable that it's been a dog's age since we have met. Well I am sorry for I am returning to you after more than a year, but hey! Don't you worry; this post has something special in it. So, read it and find out.

It was a sunny day. The sun was blazing in the sky and the temperature was extremely high, so high that no one could have dared to brave the elements. Every man jack was secluded from the heat and seeking the shelter of their lodgings. Even the birds were snuggled in their nests. Not even a single puddle could be seen on the deserted avenue.

Even then, there was one place which had multiple cars crowding its parking. It was the building of a magnificent school named 'The Nurturers of Mankind and Knowledge'. The reason which had attracted a tremendous crowd was a grand state level speech competition. In the interior of the prestigious institution, an auditorium stood which wasn't far away from the reception.

The walls of the auditorium, which had the capacity of seating a tumult of people at once, were covered with banners and posters advertising the grand oratory fest. The stage stood in the middle in the first row and was made of sleek mahogany wood. To the left-hand side, there stood a round table holding accolades and trophies. Towards the right side was a beautiful lamp which had been used for the lamp lighting ceremony while a podium stood in the middle. The jury was seated in the first row.

As names were called out one by one, young gentlemen and gentlewomen got on their hind legs and began with their narratives after cordial greetings were given to the crowd by them. Everyone seemed to be the best thing since the sliced bread and extremely well prepared. The reason behind this preparedness being that each one of the orators knew that the contest won't be a walk in the park and that no one could emerge victorious like a hot knife through butter. Finally, another name was called out and a slender but good-looking gentleman appearing younger than seventeen ascended the stage.

He looked like a cat on a hot tin roof, but probably this was just because of the presence of butterflies in his stomach. After all, nothing less than perfection satisfied him. In his mind he thought that he had to win and even the option of being the runner hadn't been bestowed upon him. After all, he had spent days and nights in preparing his speech and moreover, his speech had something special in it. At long last, giving up his nervousness, he cleared his throat and displayed an expression of confidence on his erstwhile anxious face.

In one corner of the stage, a young student was seated who had a bell on the table in front of him. The bell rang, beckoning the boy to begin. The theme of the contest was 'Futuristic Goals of Mine'.

Standing under the golden spotlight emitted by the lights fastened to the wall, he began as follows:

'When I was born on 24th April 2005, my parents weren't the only one who had been impatiently waiting for me but there was a seven year old little boy as well. He was my brother, Ravi who went on to become the best person in my life and a big inspiration for me. Back then, he was shy and somewhat reserved to himself.'

'As we both grew, we developed a very strong bond and the threads of love which connected our hearts became the one of surpassing strength. But even then, differences weren't kept from emerging between us. He became a studious being who was facing uncontrollable addiction to work. Even letting a picosecond go in vain pinched his heart while I was of a relatively easy going and fun loving type. For me, living a happy life came before living a successful but work packed life. As an elder brother, he could ask me to hit the books at any moment and anywhere which was much to my exasperation. Even when I used to take extremely brief breaks for fun, he won't forget reminding me of studies. Added to this problem was that of his love for healthy food which was a little too much.'

'Whatever he used to do, he expected me to take a leaf out of his book in that particular matter. Of course it was annoying and I put up a certain magnitude of resistance against it, but my efforts always managed to fall through.'

Even though the boy's narrative had an excellent style, it seemed as if he was deviating from the topic or he was wasting his precious time by simply beating about the bush. After all, how was the story of the brethren even related to the topic? Anyways, overlooking the expressions of those around him, he continued-

'By the time I was 14 and was studying in grade IX, he had passed his school and was in his fourth year at the National Law University of Delhi. Indeed this aspiring Chief Justice of India had bagged a great percentile in the All India Law Entrance Test. All thanks to his impressive achievements, pressure kept on mounting on my head. Our parents used to frequently have long sojourns abroad, leaving both of us alone in our house with Ravi as the in charge. The case was somewhat similar back then.'

'As I have mentioned earlier, he always wished to see me working hard while I wished to have fun only. Once he found me playing jigsaw and not touching any book. In a fit of trifling anger, he rebuked me and I replied somewhat rudely. I even ended up saying that I was unfortunate to have a brother like him all because of my hot hotheadedness.'

'Disturbed but apparently more angrily, he stormed outside the house and left the door behind him shut. And then, much to my surprise and even more to my dread, it started raining cats and dogs. It shouldn't have rained when he was outside. Due to some of his mental disorder called Ombrophobia, even a light shower was enough to leave him terror struck. Of course, such a rainstorm would have easily given him a heart attack.'

'Suddenly and without warning, the phone lying on the telephone table rang. The caller was a stranger having some horrifying news. Oh no! Ravi had met a nasty car accident and was unconscious. It looked as if he had sustained some head injury for there was swelling near his forehead.'

The audience were still listening with rapt attention. Some stirred uneasily in their benches; some sighed and impatiently waited to hear what would follow, while the rest had left their jaw dropped as an expression of surprise. Young audience, who weren't even thirteen, were seated in the hall to witness their senior's speak and learn something from them. They were somewhat melancholic and thought if and whether the unfortunate accident victim would kick the bucket. Luckily, the speaker didn't have an intention of saying anything of such kind. So, he continued:

'Regret took over me. How could I have been so inhumane and how could I have crunched his sentiments so brutally? Anyways, as I reached the hospital, I found out that he was in a room on the first floor. He had been brought there by the driver who had hit him, it had been such a violent hit that his bicycle had toppled over and his head banged with the metaled road. Even the driver, who was a Good Samaritan, could not be blamed as the downpour must have had blinded him and apparently, the windshield wipers of his car had got malfunctioned.'

'As I entered the room, I discovered him lying stretched on a bed with excruciating pain clearly evident on his face. He was still in a faint. The apothecary was occupied and busy bandaging his wounds. As I sat beside his bedside, I felt how my pernicious hot hotheadedness had thrown that innocent to the lions. I paid him regular visits for three days and finally, he snapped out of his stupor on the fourth day. He had been advised complete bed rest for at least six weeks because of having fractured his skull, arm and leg all at once. Indeed such a bed rest was enough to make him feel as if he had been trapped in the very hell. Anyways, he had been discharged and was free to stay at home.'

'He was in considerable pain for the first three or four sennights. Sometimes, his vision used to be so blurred that he would not be able to make out a single thing, sometimes his head ached so much that it felt like being torn apart, and sometimes he had nosebleeds. All this had been as a result of the skull fracture. Despite all of his injuries, he was fighting off his pain with immense hardihood. Most probably, the reason behind his hardihood had been that he wanted me to remain away from the clutches and didn't want my school life and education to suffer. Astonishingly, he had completely forgotten about our quarrel and had moved on.'

The bell rang again. This time it meant that half of his time had passed away and that he was advised to wrap up. Even then, people still wanted to hear till the very end. Probably, they had shown this eagerness due to the fact that he had still not touched the topic.

'Soon, the fifth week came and was followed by the sixth. It was around late night and by then, Ravi had hit the hay. Since his vision had improved and his confusion had nullified, he was capable of hitting the books for long hours. Studying had exhausted his head and made him snooze off. Not long after this, the apothecary showed up. She had some great new in store which was surely enough to make him float on a cloud of happiness. The closed skull fracture had healed, putting an end to the toughest time of his life.'

'Excitement filled me from inside. It was super unbelievable, for the first time in history; I had a chance of surprising him. But indeed, the desire of destiny was completely different. When the sun rose high in the horizon and the healing sunlight drifted into the bedroom through the uncurtained windows, I discovered that something of immense value was missing. Ravi wasn't even there. Had he been kidnapped by a professional lock breaker? Well, this couldn't have happened.'

'Without letting much hay grow under feet, I instigated a massive search operation. I had been planning to surprise him but he had made me jump out of my skin instead. Locating him turned out to be like finding a needle in a haystack. Following a dog's age, I gave up and fell into a nap on the sofa.'

'"Hey! Wake up buddy, what're you up to? Snap out of this slumber lest the meal will get cold and become a dog's dinner.” were the words which I heard. I was too shocked to see Ravi out of bed. Was he some sort of paranormal homo sapien that he managed to get out of his bed, cook breakfast, make the whole house spic and span, and water the garden plants with broken limbs? Another big and unanswered question which loitered in my mind was that was my dear brother a seer, for he had managed to predict the future of his skull without having even the most trifling clue about it. By the way, his robust urge of springing up from his bed prison was enough to take my breath. Seriously, doing the unnatural was an ancient habit of his.'

'Finally, the sixth sennight met its end. Following this, two more sennights came to an end. Both of us had got into the groove and at long last, no one was to be left caged in a secluded room. The day the last of his plasters came off, implying the completion of this long drawn struggle, will always remain in the treasury of my mind. It was late night; delight filled him from head to toe. But somehow, tears filled my eyes and I broke out crying. All the regret and guilt which I had caged inside myself, sprayed out in a gush.'

 '"Oh! Is everything alright? Why is your tear gland so active? Has your vitreous humor started leaking? What happened, why are you crying? Remember the fact that all your sentiments and all your worries will remain in-concealable from your elder brother, no matter how much you grow up.", were the words which were spoken by him. Finding a great degree of consolation in these words, I poured out my heart. It was a pain for me to see him in such excruciating anguish but doing whatever was possible for him to help me out. I had never really valued my brother but instead, I had taken him as an all-time bossy workaholic until the tragedy struck. "Oh dear! I was oblivious to the fact that you were such an introvert. Instead of incessantly punishing yourself for no good reason, you should have spoken to me. Of course, what happened was out of human control, neither you nor I can be blamed for it"'.

'"And don't you forget the fact that you are the best kind of brother anyone can have. Another point which you must consider is that even I wasn't without loopholes. I never behaved like a brother but like a boss, after all fourteen long years hadn't been sufficient for me to develop the skills of a good brother. But now since you have taught me that it is impossible to enhance others or make them learn by simply pressurizing them, I know now that developing an understanding with them and hitting it off is the only way of achieving the target. I will certainly shape up. Don't worry and cherish the alluring smile on your face.” were his concluding words.'

'At last, I felt that I had learnt major lessons of life in that long but seemingly brief period of two months.'

Now, the spectators seated in the hall were eager to see the way the speech would be concluded. The orator had already exhausted most of his time, there was hardly a minute left. It didn't look like as if he had even come near the topic. They were even more disturbed as they had been captivated by the boy's fantabulous command over language and his lively anecdote; but somehow they felt that he was destined for the last position because of having deviated sharply from the theme. Evidently, this New York minute was either now or never for him.

But still, he had another minute, so he continued as follows-

'Apparently, I have beat around the bush and squandered my precious minutes, but this is not the reality. There is a concrete reason behind the narration of this anecdote, it has emphasized and visually illustrated the futuristic goals of mine. It has stated that more than professional goals, I am concerned about life goals. I want to be like Ravi, my elder brother. I aspire to be determined, dedicated, sincere, generous, understanding, selfless and open minded. My goal is of remaining strong and committed even during the darkest times of my life. These are the qualities which I would like to adopt; they are my futuristic goals, which I have painted through this anecdote. With this, I would like to conclude. Heartfelt thanks to the jury and the audience for vouchsafing their precious time and recognition. I would like to express my gratefulness to all of you for lending me your ears.'

The boy finished right on time as the moment he stopped, the bell rang which marked the end of his time.

A tumultuous applause broke out in the hall. Cheers echoed from each corner and spectators sighed in satisfaction. The end was unexpected and the story was mesmerizing. Since the seventeen year old boy was the last speaker, the red curtain hanging from the roof fell down, as he descended from the stage.

But soon, it was lifted up to reveal the award table in the center and the jury standing on the stage. The event had been a long one; more than five hundred people had participated. Surely, the duration lasted for a few weeks with each speaker being allotted the day for their speech. Just that, everyone had to establish their presence on the closing day.

One by one the names of the top speakers were called out. As the names were announced, winners ascended the stage even before one could say 'Jack Robinson'. All were eager to receive their prizes. Finally, the top three contestants were left. The young boy's name hadn't been called out yet. Out of anxiety, he began sweating from head to toe. His fingers got crossed.

 'And the third position goes to Ms. Chandrika Shekhawat, who has beautifully illustrated her urge of bestowing justice upon the sufferers of injustice by being a truthful practitioner of law.', a judge said.

'The second position goes to Ms. Catherine Hargan who has represented the salt of the Earth by illustrating her desire by being a kind philanthropist and helping the less privileged.'

'And finally, now it's the time for the most awaited declaration. The first position goes to someone who has surprised all of us. It goes to someone who has shown great innovation, it goes to someone who has taken big risks and chosen the road less traveled by; it goes to someone who has fantastically displayed their linguistic skills. By not taking much time, let's announce the last and the final name. So, the first position goes to............................................................ Mr. Rajat Singhania. An enormous congratulation to all the participants, there is no need of being disheartened for anyone because everyone has achieved one thing in common, i.e. tremendous amount of learning. Best wishes to everyone, may all of you succeed and make the macrocosm proud of your deeds.'

The fact that the event had gone in full swing and had been a big success energized the masses. All the balls of fire were delighted and were shrieking with laughter in such a way, that even a syllable couldn't be heard.

But even then, the biggest smile was on Rajat and his parents' face. After all, he had penned his speech from the bottom of his heart. Undoubtedly, both the brothers were sharply different from each other. One wished to reach the pinnacle of the Judiciary, while the other wished to serve his nation by becoming a daring fighter pilot in the Air Force. However, both of them were blessed with one common virtue i.e. the desire of being a good human being and serving the humanity.

Yet unfortunately, the subject of the speech wasn't even present. Ravi had left the state even before the dates of the competition were announced for pursuing higher studies. As a result, both tears and joy glinted at the same time in Rajat's deep and black eyes.

Well, the real life is much similar. As siblings, both of us indulge in frequent quarrels, and are often referred to as north and South Pole due to our starkly contrasting personalities. But what matters the most is that we love each other beyond any limits, that we can do anything for the other's welfare. Indeed, the greatest gift that our parents gave us was each other. After all, all the siblings have been gracefully designed as such by the Almighty.

This post is dedicated to you dear sis!

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"Siblings: children of the same parents, each of whom is perfectly normal until they get together. For their togetherness is what makes them extraordinary."
"To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time."