The Snake Inside

Chapter 10

The sun showed its first rays and stroked Amar's sleeping face. The alarm went off and he woke up.

He was in bed at his home in Mumbai. He got up and went to the living room. He may discover something about his mysterious return home!

There his father sat in an armchair and drank tea, reading a newspaper, and his mother worked in the kitchen. The living room was bright, with large windows that reflected the morning sun. It was neat, though not luxuriously decorated. There wasn't too much furniture. One old couch, two or three armchairs that matched the couch and one wardrobe. In the middle was a rather old television set.

"Amar, you woke up early today," his mother greeted him.

"Good morning, son," his father greeted him, not lifting his head from the newspaper.

"Did you miss me?" asked Amar in the hope to start a conversation that would lead to find out from his parents how he got home.

"Sure, honey. I hope you enjoyed Benares very well," said his mother.

"But when did I come back, Mom?"

"Last night, probably. I didn't hear you when you came in! You should have come back three days ago? Why took you so long?"

"Hmmm ... I was fine, Mom! I couldn't come back because I had too much fun" Amar said openly and went back to his room to look for the luggage. He was pleased to find that everything was in place and at home just as if was before he left. He stopped wondering how it happened, as he became aware that he owed it all to the power of Lavantika.

"Sweet goddess!" Amar said to himself and returned to the living room. "I have something to talk to you!" he told his parents and looked at his father.

His father read the paper without even giving a hint that he had heard what Amar said.

"I decided to enroll in Art this year in high school, and then to study Indian classical music."

His father did not respond, but he frowned a little.

"Dad?"

"Amar, we've already talked about this once" his mother said softly "and that conversation is over. You will become an engineer."

"No, I'll become a singer of Indian classical music," Amar said assertively.

His father looked at him sternly.

"It's rude to argue with adults, Amar. Is that a way to talk to your mother?" he asked authoritatively.

"But I'm no longer a kid, Dad. I have turned eighteen. And even if I was a child, I had the right to choose the line I would take in life myself."

"Amar, sit down here. Let me tell you something," said his father and left the newspaper aside. "I don't know if I have ever told you, but while I was young, I had lived in the United States with my father and older brother Devrat. I could not stand life in a foreign land! My roots were calling me. I loved India very much and I came back, got married and started a family in Mumbai. But when my father passed away, he left all his property to his other son, because I did not respect his opinion that I should become a businessman and work in his hotel. Do you want the same to happen to you?

" Amar," said his mother "That road is too difficult for you, son. We want an easier and more beautiful life for you. We want you to be rich."

"You can't choose a path yourself, Amar," his father said "you're not alone in the world. You belong to a wider community, a system, and you have responsibility to that system. We decided that the best thing for you is to become an engineer because that profession suits you best. Engineer is a serious profession, unlike fun singing!"

"Well Dad, don't you enjoy art? I would be surprised if so, because smart people like real art!"

His father finally smiled.

"Hmmm, yes, I do. You want to become an artist, Amar, but how do I tell you? Art is like a rainbow. It is beautiful, but distant and elusive. Value is hard to achieve in that area. What you do best is to be good at something you can accomplish!"

"Do I not sing well, Dad?" asked Amar frankly.

His father raised his shoulders.

"You do sing, yes."

"So, I can be a professional singer?"

"You can be our singer here at home, Amar," his father said amusedly "but to achieve true success as an artist, I'm not sure you can!"

"Dad" Amar said seriously "please understand me. I appreciate you very much because when you were young you listened to your heart and returned to India. Your love is also reflected in that how beautiful a family the three of us are. That's why I know you will understand me. As you love India, so I love music. Can a man fail when he follows his heart? Let me follow my path in life, let me live my dream!"

His father nodded undescisievely.

"How are you going to support yourself from music, son? Do you know how difficult it is to become a professional artist? Only a very small percentage of people succeed!"

"I just know I'll succeed, Dad. I feel it. All I want to do is to sing. Day and night, while doing whatever it is, I only think of singing. All that interests me in life is music. If that's not enough to work hard, I don't know what is! And if I work hard, there is no doubt that God will one day reward me with success. I don't want anyone to give me anything, I want to succeed with hard work like in any other profession! With a lot of work and effort!

His father briefly remained silent, but Amar could be seen persuading him.

"All right, Amar," he said at last."Do as you please. Your life is your responsibility, which you have to bear on your own. Make your own mistakes in life."

"But why mistakes? - said Amar lively "I will prospere!"

"We'll see if you would, Amar," his father said and laughed. "If you don't, you'll always can sing in one of the hotels your uncle left you!"

"All right," Amar said accepting the joke "but let it be a five-star hotel. If I see that I'm not on the right track, I won't err anymore."

And he hugged his father, who returned him his hug.