Satat Mishra, April 3, 2013

On Tuesday evening, when Mr. Giridhar Sharma was stuck with his son in a lift, he encountered an event he had never imagined before. His son Aditya, just 10 years of age, rescued both of them without the slightest bit of fear. Moreover, the two got to talk to each other for the first time, given that Mr. Sharma has a busy life in a top IT company.

As Aditya returned from his third tuition class for the evening and his dad returned from office, they took the lift to reach their sixth floor flat. But there was a power cut and the lift got stuck between the fifth and sixth floors. Mr. Sharma, not used to listening to his son, tried calling the building operator to help them out, but it was of no use due to poor signals. To avoid his son getting a panic attack, Mr. Sharma tried talking to Aditya, and was in for a surprise.

Aditya, as Mr. Sharma found out, is considered the best classical singer of his batch by his school’s music teacher. A hobby he enjoys and the dream of entertaining a fully-filled hall of music lovers in his heart, Aditya hardly gets any time to practise due to his numerous tuitions. Mr. Sharma was disappointed as he had spent countless hours hunting, lining up and donating money, to make sure his son gets into the best school in the city. He had dreamt of his son obtaining 99% marks and getting into the prestigious IITs.

Mr. Sharma was annoyed on learning that his son teaches and plays with poor kids of their neighbourhood. He came to know Aditya’s exam results that were announced two months ago, and told Aditya he shouldn’t waste any time on TV and comics. He told his son that in a world where success is judged by salaries, happiness from hobbies is of no significance.

Aditya was also hearing all these instructions for the first time from his dad. But unperturbed by his father’s advice, Aditya thought of ways to help himself and his father get out of the lift.

The entire town is used to frequent power cuts and with entrance exams coming close, parents are likely to sit beside their children under candlelights to make sure they study. Aditya, born a creative genius, couldn’t think of a way to reach out for help except for one. Aditya cleared his throat and started singing in his beautiful voice his favourite classical song which he had learnt recently from his teacher. On hearing the voice coming from the corridor, curious neighbours rushed in to see what was going on. They were thus able to help Aditya and his father come out of the stuck lift.

In an interview with us, Mr. Sharma told us about his experience, “Well, his song might have helped us from the lift, but daily bread cannot be earned from music. He has to prepare for his exams and he has already wasted 40 minutes today. Kindly excuse us so that he can go back to his studies.”

(concept: Apoorva Tapas)