The Boy Who Did Not Know Sadness

This is the story of Sumit. A five year old who did not know sadness. He had never eaten, tasted, smelt, heard, seen or felt sadness. He had never even in all his life heard of sadness. Sumit went to school with many other five year olds who also did not know sadness. But one day something happened...

Shyam, Sumit's classmate said. 'I was sad last evening.' He simply announced it to whoever would listen. Sumit a very inquisitive boy who was in the lookout for novelty, asked Shyam, "What is sadness?" to that Shyam answered quite flatly, "you won't understand." and would have walked away from Sumit before it was too late... but it was too late because, Sumit sensing Shyam's intention, grabbed his hand and asked... "But you are Shyam.' and you say 'You were sad' how can you be two people at the same time, you can either be Shyam or you can be Sad! Did you change your name to Sad and then change it back to Shyam?"

"No no" Shyam replied quite relieved. He had decided to take this volley of questions one at a time. For he had no idea what sadness was either… but he would not admit it to Sumit. "You feel sadness," he answered.

"So you can touch it." concluded Sumit triumphantly. "Where is it. Do you have it in your bag? Can I touch it too?"

"No Sumit... you can’t touch it... you feel it in your heart." Shyam said, based on his minimum knowledge that he had gathered from overhearing his Parents conversation last evening.

"So you have put it in your heart. Where is your heart show me… Okay did you cut the body and then place it there and stitch it back like the doctors in TV do? Where is the stitch show me!" Sumit was yelling with excitement now. This was turning out to be a jackpot for him, first to find sadness and then to see stitched heart, all stuffed up with sadness.

"No Sumit, you can't see it, you can’t touch it, but you can feel it." Explained Shyam, getting better and better at this game.

"But shyam, can you atleast hear it? Can you play it for me?" Sumit asked hopefully, losing all hope of a visual display of sadness, he succumbed to accepting, it was something as subtle as music.

"No shyam you don't hear it either... you just feel it," Shyam offered, now getting more and more relieved as he sensed that this investigation was coming to an end.

"No but did you eat it? Can you at-least eat it. How does it taste?" Sumit asked, wondering why he did not think of this earlier.

"No... You feel it, you do not eat it either." Shyam said, realising that there was more coming.

"How do you feel it, what do you feel?" Asked Sumit in one last attempt to get this thing straight.

"I cannot explain, this is something you have to feel to know." Said Shyam, realising for the first time that he knew all that was needed to know about sadness, to be able to act like an authority among his friends, but also made a quick mental note never to repeat his parent's statement at earshot of his friends again. He was wise enough to realise he may not get that lucky every-time. 

Sumit was profoundly confused by now and literally could think of nothing more than this new unknown word, that had hit his silent ebullient life like lightening hits a tree. He went home in thought of it. Sitting impatiently at the corner of the chair, he hardly could nibble few bites of his lunch that mom served with great excitement. "Your favourite Sumit, pasta with white-sauce" only to find Sumit forlorn and preoccupied. Mom never bothered Sumit's thoughtful mood. He even had a 'Sumit's Thotful Spot'. Just like Poo Bear. 

After lunch, Sumit went straight to his room and sat at his Thotful Spot for quite some-time, but to no avail. Soon the phone rang, his friend was calling to play... "I don't want to play Mom," Cried Sumit, Instead of running anxiously to the phone to talk to his friend.

Mom realised something was not alright. She came to his room and saw Sumit in his most pensive, passive, unhappy mood ever. "Why are you so sad Sumit?" she asked.

"Sad?" Sumit cried, "Am I sad Mamma?" and he was now hopping with joy. "I am sad, yes I am sad, I am sad, I am sad." He kept singing.

Mom hated to break the news but it was required, "Not anymore Sumit, not anymore... Now you are jumping with joy, little darling." Mom hugged Sumit and cuddled him some more. Pooh bear would have loved the cuddle too!