THE CHALLENGE
-3. A Guru For Singing

Raghu replied, “Maharaj, m…my father was highly t…talented.  He looked after the s…shop, could sing very well and also drew such w…wonderful pictures.  H…However, he had one drawback which was that he did not have a…any confidence in h…his capabilities.  He did not believe that t..these drawings were even w…worth showing you.  Both mother and I tried to r…reason out with him in this regard but to no avail.  I firmly d…decided in my mind that someday I will show y..you these drawings of my father.  As t..they were excellent, I knew that y..you would appreciate and d..duly recognise them.  However, till today I did not come to see you due to my s..stammering problem.  As I feel very bad whenever I stammer, I did not want to expose this drawback of mine before you.  Also, I was worried about how you w..would react seeing me s..speak with such g..great difficulty.  However, today I realised that with such an a…attitude of mine, I will never be able to s..show my father’s work to you.  Thus, I mustered courage and decided to meet you t..today and s..show you these sketches.” 

“You did the right thing by coming here to show me these wonderful work of art.  I have paintings of my father and myself with me in the palace.  However, the artists drew all of them in our presence.   Your father has done them out of his sheer memory and imagination, which is remarkable.   I will give his work the recognition it rightfully deserves.  I will frame them and keep them in the durbar, Raghu.  I will encrypt his name in gold below the drawings.  I am ready to give you any amount you ask for to enable me purchase this work of your father.”  Rajendra offered the youth.  “No, Maharaj!  I am h…happy that you are going to honour my father’s work.  That would s…suffice for me.” 

“No, dear!  I will not take them free of cost.”  The king insisted and gave Raghu some gold coins that he accepted gracefully.  Then, the King asked Raghu, “Are you also interested in drawing and singing like your father, Raghu?” 

“I do n…not have interest in d…drawing but I sing well, Maharaj.  I have not learnt singing but my father has taught me some bhajans which I sing every morning after I wake up.”  Raghu replied. 

“Good!  I am a lover of music and singing.  Can you sing any bhajan of your liking, which you have learnt from your father?  I want to hear!”  said Rajendra.

Raghu sang a bhajan of Lord Vigneshwara without wavering a bit which mesmerised the King.  After he had finished singing, Rajendra complimented the lad, “Aha!  What a great voice you have, dear!  I am thoroughly impressed!” 

Raghu was happy to see that the King had liked his singing.  The King continued, “It is interesting to see that you show no signs of stammering while singing, Raghu. From what I have observed, while speaking you look very tensed.  It is as if there is a fear in your heart that you will stammer.  It is, perhaps, this phycology which is making you stammer.  On the other hand, while singing you appear very confident and the result is before you.  Tell me, did you have this problem right from childhood?”  “N..No, M..Maharaj” Raghu informed the King, “…During my e..earlier days, I did not have this problem.  Y..Years ago, as f..father was busy with some o..other work, I m..managed the shop in h..his absence.  A group of p..people came to purchase some s..sweets from the s…shop. I got nervous seeing so many people around and asked t..them stammering as to w..what they wanted.  It was that day I b..became conscious about this problem of mine.  Thereby, it b..became a regular habit.”

“Raghu, your stammering is a very minor problem, which you can overcome by your determination and confidence.  Try to mix with people and speak without any fear.  Your stammering will be a thing of the past.”  Rajendra advised his guest.

Although Raghu nodded his head in understanding, he had lost hope in his heart that he could ever speak normally. 

“Are you interested in learning singing?”  Rajendra asked his guest. 

“C..Certainly, Maharaj!  If I get the opportunity, I will!”  Raghu replied with enthusiasm in his eyes.  

The King called the palace musician and singer, Balachandra, and asked Raghu to sing the same bhajan he had sung a few moments ago.  As Raghu sung the song of Lord Ganesha, both the King and Balachandra shook their heads in admiration of his mellifluous voice and the prefect tune in which he sang the bhajan.  After Raghu had finished, both of them clapped their hands much to the boy’s glee. 

“Have you learnt singing somewhere?”  Balachandra asked Raghu in awe. 

“No, Bala!” the King spoke on behalf of Raghu, “…He has learnt some bhajans from his late father who, too, used to sing very well.” 

“Wah!  For someone to sing like this without learning the basics is commendable!” Balachandra complimented the lad.

“Bala, I want you to help this boy improve his talent as I feel that he has a great future in this field.  Will you become his guru?”  Rajendra asked Balachandra. 

“I will be only glad, O Maharaj!”  Balachandra accepted the offer.

It was decided that Raghu would start getting education under Balachandra regarding singing from the very next day onwards early in the morning before he opened his shop.  Raghu fell at the feet of the King and his guru and thanked them for all that they were doing for him. Thereby, he took his leave.  Although he was feeling bad that he had stammered before the King, Raghu was also pleased at the outcome of his visit.  Not only had Rajendra honoured his father’s work but had also made arrangements for him to learn singing.  He went to his house showering praises on the King in his mind. 

Meanwhile, Rajendra spoke with Balachandra, “I liked that boy very much, Bala!  He is so innocent and down-to-earth.  He suffers from a stammering problem, which I am confident, can be overcome by him if we instill in him the confidence that he can speak like any other normal person.  Thus, apart from teaching him to sing, also try to get rid of this small obstacle in his speech through proper guidance and advice.”  Balachandra agreed.