Of Short-comings And Finding Humor In The Same!

Thatha sat at the porch of the house, reading the newspaper and listening to the kids playing around the complex. It was getting rarer and rarer, the kids all playing together. Most of the times, complete silence reigned in the premises of the complex, except for the occasional hum of conversation between people. 

Thatha liked it when the complex resonated with the sounds of children playing. It often made him smile and filled his heart with hope.

A world where children played happily could not be a bad world, after all.

Thatha straightened his newspaper and resumed reading. Suddenly the children all burst out laughing and started chanting, 'Duck! Duck! Quack! Quack!'. He looked around and saw Ved approaching him, his head hung and his posture stooped. The children, on the other hand were still laughing. Some of them called him, asked him to play but Ved simply shook his head and walked towards his home.

He looked at Thatha sullenly and stepped inside the house. Thatha followed him.

Few minutes later, he entered Ved's room and saw him sprawled over the bed, looking morose.

"Here. I have made some lemonade for you." Thatha said, offering Ved a glass of cool lemonade. The kid got up and took the glass. He gazed out of the window looking visibly upset.

"What happened?" Thatha sat beside him.

Ved sighed. "As you saw, we were playing cricket. I got bowled over in my first ball itself. This has never happened before."

"I am sure we all have not-so-good days when it comes to sports." Thatha said gently.

"That's not all!" Ved said, getting slightly agitated. "They all made fun of me! You heard what they were chanting! 'Duck' and 'Quack'! It was embarrassing for me. I am never going to play with them again!"

Thatha smiled at the mutinous look on the boy's face. He sat silent for some time, watching him finish the lemonade. When Ved looked at him expectantly, he cleared his throat. 

"You have a quote for everything." Ved said, sighing in defeat.

Thatha smiled. "He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at."

Ved nodded. "Epictetus. You were reading his work to me two days ago."

"Correct." Thatha said with a hint of pride. "If you take yourself very seriously, life will feel difficult. You need to be humble enough to accept your flaws and find humor in the same."

"I know I have flaws, Thatha. But my friends... they made fun of me!"

"If you develop the ability to laugh at yourself, it will surprise your friends. Why, it may shock them too!" Thatha said with a shrewd look in his eyes.

Ved pondered over this. "You mean to say, I will have the upper hand if I laugh at myself and at my shortcomings?"

"It's not about upper-hand or lower-hand, Ved." Thatha said gently yet firmly. "It's about being humble enough to know and acknowledge your shortcomings and have enough light-heartedness to find humor in the same."

Ved nodded thoughtfully. The sounds of the kids drafted around them. It seemed they were having a great time.

"I do want to play with them." Ved said in a low voice.

"Well. then off you go!"

"But what if they tease me again?"

Thatha pretended to think seriously over this. He looked at Ved and raised an eyebrow. "You probably know what to do."

Ved grinned and ran out of the room. Thatha followed him at a leisure pace and sat at the front porch watching the kids. 

Sure, when Ved approached them, some kids again started chanting 'Duck!' and 'Quack!'. But Ved only grinned and pretended to walk like a duck, all the while muttering 'Quack! Quack!'. All the kids started laughing, and just like that, everything was all right in their little world. 

From the porch, Thatha watched them with a smile. Now that the kids were laughing and playing again, all felt right in his little world too.