Meaning: It is better to actually do something than just talk about it.
Once upon a time there lived a very rich old lady, Sita, in a village. She was a very well known and respectable lady. 60 years ago she came to the village by marrying the rich landlord who after a decade passed away in an accident.
She was not very educated and a very simple lady. Her son also passed away fighting cholera, and totally heartbroken she devoted herself in the feet of God. Almost half a dozen of servants served at her residence. She had a very loyal servant who was always addressed as Kaka. He was totally devoted in service of the lady and often told his son too to stay loyal to Sita even after his death.
Years passed, Sita was living a quiet life and Kaka’s son Manoj was looked upon as her own child. One day, the postman came with a telegram which was from a distance relative of Sita. As per the telegram Sita’s cousin’s son was coming to live with her, along with his family.
Sita was too excited about their coming as it had been years since she was living a lonely life. Other than Kaka and Manoj there was hardly any companion that she had, though some village women often visited her for consulting her for their own problems but that was not something that gave her the pleasure of having a family.
Soon the day of their arrival came and Manoj was sent to railway station to pick up Ravi and his wife Meena. On the way they talked about various things and about the working of Sita’s place. As they reached the house Sita welcomed them with great warmth and affection.
Time passed and the couple very minutely observed each and every detail of the house and its working. Soon they realized that Manoj was given importance like a child in each and every affair related to the house and business. This was not acceptable to the couple and soon they started to convince Sita that Manoj was taking undue advantage of her and extracting money out her.
Though initially Sita did not pay heed to them but soon she got convinced by their false talks. She started to maintain distance with him and now no longer entertained him. Manoj was little hurt with this behaviour and soon he avoided visiting Sita. The couple always said that Sita was their responsibility and they would take care of her and he was a mere servant who should not forget his place.
After a couple of months, Sita fell seriously ill and was admitted in the hospital. Doctors said that a blood donor was required for her to recover as her matching blood group was not available in the hospital. Ravi at once got ready but his wife did not let him donate blood with her hue and cries. Ravi also thought that it was not his responsibility and started to search for some other donor.
In the mean time Sita’s condition got critical, and when Manoj learned about the situation he came at once and saved her life. After recovering Sita learned from doctor that how Meena created a big issue for blood donation and Manoj came to save.
Sita’s eyes filled with tears as she realized that ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS all the while Ravi and Meena shouted at top of their voices that they were her children but when it came to save her they shrugged off their responsibility whereas Manoj on other hand never said a word from his mouth but like a true son came and saved her life.
© Ritanjali Hastir
