SYNOPSIS- Indolent Youth
Satyan is a story of a boy who did everything wrong in life! He cheated people, became a victim of wrong companions and even committed theft with them! It was then that an incident occured which changed his life's perspective completely. A new story begins...
SATYAN
-1. Indolent Youth
Sage Suryananda took his seat beneath a banyan tree and looked at his students who were eagerly awaiting his recital of a new story that evening. All of his stories taught the children to follow good principles and be virtuous in life. One of the students curiously asked the sage about the theme his new story was based on. Suryananda smiled at him benignly and addressed everyone in a crisp voice, “Dear students, always be honest in your life. You may achieve temporary success by deceiving others and speaking lies but in the long run it is by being honest which always pays. This forms the base of my story, which I am going to narrate to you today. Listen!”
————– Two men were walking along a small street and were speaking with each other.
“What a callous King we have, Shailendra! He is absolutely not bothered about his subjects and is only confined to the four walls of his palace.” one of them said shaking his head in disgust.
“You are right, Manu. If this continues, our kingdom would be ruined. The King’s father was such a good ruler! Then how come Bharadwaj – the King- is like this?” Shailendra wondered.
“It is really surprising! There is such a vast difference between father and son!” Shailendra exclaimed.
Just then they passed by a provision store. Shailendra looked at the shop and conversed with his friend, “There was a big vegetable-fruit selling shop here before! Isn’t it?”
“Yes! The owner of that shop was a very honest man. He did excellent business and possessed goodwill among his customers. But after him, his son made a mess of everything. He adopted deceptive practices selling cheap quality goods for a high price. Finally, when customers deserted him, he sold off his shop to this man who now owns this provision store. Yet another instance which shows the vast difference between father and son!”
So saying, both of them walked along the street chatting with each other.
The former owner of that shop the two men were referring to in their conversation was Shankar, whose son, Vasudev, had spoilt both his father’s name and business and was now leading a hopeless life. His mother, Vasanthi, had died when he was a child and his father, despite the best of his efforts could not instill in him the generous qualities, which he possessed.
The young lad had well-set soft hairs, a round face with a prominent forehead, high-arching brows, large eyes, up-turned nose, big ears, full lips and a deep chin. He also had an impressive height and was of a medium complexion. But alas! If only his elegant looks matched his character! Mainly due to bad companions, Vasudev had become a spoilt brat, who always cheated others. Now at his father’s death, he was free to do as per his liking as there was no one to provide him with proper guidance. He, still had some money left with him which he had earned after selling off his father’s shop and had no plans of doing anything atleast till he had spent all of those wealth! He spent the entire day at home doing nothing except eating and sleeping. In the evenings he used to be with his friends (who, too, were orphans) whose only source of income was by means of stealing! Vasudev was a good cook but it served no purpose, as it did not yield in any income for him. As his money began to dwindle, Vasudev grew worried. What would he do to get some money? An idea struck him! He knew some people who were regular customers at his father’s shop. He paid a visit to their homes and implored them to help him financially. He falsely told them that he planned to open a small sweet shop for which he was in dire need for money. While many of those whom he approached slammed the door at his face, a few took pity on him and gave him some money. Vasudev wasted all this money without utilizing it for the purpose he had borrowed them for. But soon, he realised that he had nearly spent all that he had borrowed! Now what would he do?
When his friends came to know of this, one of them had a prompt solution, “Vasudev, if you take my advice, you would be rich!”
“Tell me, Hari!”
“Join us in robbery! That’s the best solution for you!” Hari opined.
This friend of Vasudev had an innocent face with dark hairs, straight eyebrows, expressive eyes, long nose and thin lips. He was a little shorter than Vasudev and had a medium complexion.
“What!” Vasudev exclaimed.
“No! I dare not do that!”
“That’s what you have been telling us all along whenever we give you this idea of stealing. Why are you afraid of this?” Hari asked.
“What if I am caught! No, Hari. I won’t be a part to this.”
“Come on, Vasudev.” chipped in Shiva, one of his three friends, “I say that stealing is an art! That fear of you getting caught is the fun in this whole affair! If you are careful and know the proper technique you will get rich dividends. You are afraid because you have never tried your hand in this.”
Shiva was the shortest of them all with a dark complexion. He had a wide forehead with thinly layered eyebrows, small eyes, thin well-shaped lips and a pointed chin.
Finally, though reluctantly, Vasudev acceded to join his friends in robbery!
“So far we have been only petty thieves but this time we have planned to catch the big fish!” another friend, Sridhar disclosed.
This friend of Vasudev was the fairest of all of them in complexion. He had curly hairs, a prominent forehead, big eyes, narrow nose and lips. Apart from their characters, the other common factor in all the friends was that they appeared lean and quite elegant in their looks. They also wore similar attire which comprised of white kurtas and dhotis.
“Yes! You must have heard of Dyanchand, the rich merchant selling pickles. He’s our target!” Hari said almost in a whisper and continued, “It seems that there are only three members in his family. The smaller a family the more easier our task! Listen, Vasudev. At the moment, more than any of us it is you who are in dire need of money. Thus, if you make a greater effort in our gameplan of committing a theft in Dyanchand’s house, you shall get a major share of the loot!”
“Will I?” asked Vasudev excited.
“We want you to keep a watch on his house without raising anybody’s suspicions. Make a note of who is coming or going out of his house and also when they put off the lights in the night for retiring to bed. All this piece of information would be useful to us in deciding the time of when we should put our plan in action.” Hari reasoned.
Vasudev agreed and returned home. He had an idol of Lord Krishna on whom he reposed utmost faith and trust. He prostrated before the idol and prayed to the lord to help him accomplish his mission.
“What a callous King we have, Shailendra! He is absolutely not bothered about his subjects and is only confined to the four walls of his palace.” one of them said shaking his head in disgust.
“You are right, Manu. If this continues, our kingdom would be ruined. The King’s father was such a good ruler! Then how come Bharadwaj – the King- is like this?” Shailendra wondered.
“It is really surprising! There is such a vast difference between father and son!” Shailendra exclaimed.
Just then they passed by a provision store. Shailendra looked at the shop and conversed with his friend, “There was a big vegetable-fruit selling shop here before! Isn’t it?”
“Yes! The owner of that shop was a very honest man. He did excellent business and possessed goodwill among his customers. But after him, his son made a mess of everything. He adopted deceptive practices selling cheap quality goods for a high price. Finally, when customers deserted him, he sold off his shop to this man who now owns this provision store. Yet another instance which shows the vast difference between father and son!”
So saying, both of them walked along the street chatting with each other.
The former owner of that shop the two men were referring to in their conversation was Shankar, whose son, Vasudev, had spoilt both his father’s name and business and was now leading a hopeless life. His mother, Vasanthi, had died when he was a child and his father, despite the best of his efforts could not instill in him the generous qualities, which he possessed.
The young lad had well-set soft hairs, a round face with a prominent forehead, high-arching brows, large eyes, up-turned nose, big ears, full lips and a deep chin. He also had an impressive height and was of a medium complexion. But alas! If only his elegant looks matched his character! Mainly due to bad companions, Vasudev had become a spoilt brat, who always cheated others. Now at his father’s death, he was free to do as per his liking as there was no one to provide him with proper guidance. He, still had some money left with him which he had earned after selling off his father’s shop and had no plans of doing anything atleast till he had spent all of those wealth! He spent the entire day at home doing nothing except eating and sleeping. In the evenings he used to be with his friends (who, too, were orphans) whose only source of income was by means of stealing! Vasudev was a good cook but it served no purpose, as it did not yield in any income for him. As his money began to dwindle, Vasudev grew worried. What would he do to get some money? An idea struck him! He knew some people who were regular customers at his father’s shop. He paid a visit to their homes and implored them to help him financially. He falsely told them that he planned to open a small sweet shop for which he was in dire need for money. While many of those whom he approached slammed the door at his face, a few took pity on him and gave him some money. Vasudev wasted all this money without utilizing it for the purpose he had borrowed them for. But soon, he realised that he had nearly spent all that he had borrowed! Now what would he do?
When his friends came to know of this, one of them had a prompt solution, “Vasudev, if you take my advice, you would be rich!”
“Tell me, Hari!”
“Join us in robbery! That’s the best solution for you!” Hari opined.
This friend of Vasudev had an innocent face with dark hairs, straight eyebrows, expressive eyes, long nose and thin lips. He was a little shorter than Vasudev and had a medium complexion.
“What!” Vasudev exclaimed.
“No! I dare not do that!”
“That’s what you have been telling us all along whenever we give you this idea of stealing. Why are you afraid of this?” Hari asked.
“What if I am caught! No, Hari. I won’t be a part to this.”
“Come on, Vasudev.” chipped in Shiva, one of his three friends, “I say that stealing is an art! That fear of you getting caught is the fun in this whole affair! If you are careful and know the proper technique you will get rich dividends. You are afraid because you have never tried your hand in this.”
Shiva was the shortest of them all with a dark complexion. He had a wide forehead with thinly layered eyebrows, small eyes, thin well-shaped lips and a pointed chin.
Finally, though reluctantly, Vasudev acceded to join his friends in robbery!
“So far we have been only petty thieves but this time we have planned to catch the big fish!” another friend, Sridhar disclosed.
This friend of Vasudev was the fairest of all of them in complexion. He had curly hairs, a prominent forehead, big eyes, narrow nose and lips. Apart from their characters, the other common factor in all the friends was that they appeared lean and quite elegant in their looks. They also wore similar attire which comprised of white kurtas and dhotis.
“Yes! You must have heard of Dyanchand, the rich merchant selling pickles. He’s our target!” Hari said almost in a whisper and continued, “It seems that there are only three members in his family. The smaller a family the more easier our task! Listen, Vasudev. At the moment, more than any of us it is you who are in dire need of money. Thus, if you make a greater effort in our gameplan of committing a theft in Dyanchand’s house, you shall get a major share of the loot!”
“Will I?” asked Vasudev excited.
“We want you to keep a watch on his house without raising anybody’s suspicions. Make a note of who is coming or going out of his house and also when they put off the lights in the night for retiring to bed. All this piece of information would be useful to us in deciding the time of when we should put our plan in action.” Hari reasoned.
Vasudev agreed and returned home. He had an idol of Lord Krishna on whom he reposed utmost faith and trust. He prostrated before the idol and prayed to the lord to help him accomplish his mission.
(To Continue)
