The talented harmonicist

One afternoon, two people slowly walked down the street under the scorching sun. It was a pitiful scene. One was a blind man, and beside him was a small girl who was his daughter. The blind man was a musician. He carried a harmonica in one hand and held a walking stick in the other. The daughter held one end of the walking stick while her father held the other end. She was taking her father around the streets. The girl was carrying a bag, and in it were some coins. Those were their earnings for the day.

It was their daily ritual. Both father and daughter left home early in the morning and went around the streets, finding a place to sit if they were lucky, a shady one if they were very fortunate. The blind man could also sing. He played his harmonica and also sang ghazals and melodies. His voice was so clear and loud that he could make even the busiest people stop right in their tracks to listen to him sing.

Too bad he’s blind. He could have had a great career otherwise, they whispered, from the crowds.

The blind man knew that he had a superpower; he knew he could affect people with his music and voice. It was a gift he had somehow from the start. A lot of villagers had been jealous of him when he was a young and energetic singer. However, now he has come to realize that not all talented people are successful. There was something called luck, something he had never had. He never got the right opportunity to prove his talent and make a career out of it. He was tired of getting no recognition for his talents and had given up trying.

His music and crafts only made him sad every day. He reflected on the times when he didn't need to wear his glasses or use a walking stick to walk down the street. And how, in spite of having a great voice, a great gift for playing the harmonica, and a cheerful and promising spirit, people never saw his talent and he struggled to make ends meet. After facing so many rejections in life, he decided to stop chasing fame and settle for providing his family with daily bread to eat.

He realized people appreciated the talent of a handicapped man more than that of a normal person, and he knew this as he had been on both sides. It was mostly a pity that people felt for the blind man and his little girl. They were just thankful to not have had his life. He didn't care if it was true appreciation or pity, all that mattered to him was if it made him enough money for that day’s dinner.

As the girl and her father were nearing a crossroad, a young man who had been following them both for some time suddenly paced at the blind man, pushed him down, and then tried to snatch the money bag from the little girl.

The blind man fell to the ground and broke his glasses. A little further away lay his harmonica and walking stick. But then at once he rose from the ground, picked up the stick, and began hitting the thief using the stick. He used all his might and with one mighty blow on the thief’s head, the stick broke into two pieces and fell to the ground. Crying out of pain from the heavy blow, the thief let go of the bag and ran as fast as he could to save his life.

The man then picked up his crying daughter and lifted her into his arms, strapped the money bag onto his shoulder, picked up his harmonica from the ground, and looked at both sides of the road before crossing it.

The two pieces of broken wooden stick lay forgotten on the ground.

-Shruthi Rajaram

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading my work. If you liked it and would love to read more, support my writing by hearting it and subscribing to my writing. Ciao!!