He says that he is a hero, and he can do wonders and adventures. The irony is that he has many sentiments, doubts, and blind beliefs. Whatever others say are real and they are existing or taking place for him. If anybody says that there are devils, he will see devils in his presence. If anybody says that heavens are going to fall on him that following morning, he will be ready to welcome them for him alone to his threshold. He has his own fears and horrors; poses and build-ups and he often talks of strengths and weaknesses to others. There is no change in his life as he continues to have more and more sentiments, more and more doubts, and blind beliefs than before. All were sure of his not being free from sentiments, doubts, and blind beliefs. He is a cent percent skeptic and superstitious. He influences the people who make friendship with him by mistake. He goes to all and tells them whatever is on his mind.
All the people started to call him Sanshay. He has idiosyncrasies to be peculiar in many aspects. As far as his sentiments are concerned, he marks a lot of difference from others. Once he wore a red dress and participated in the tennis game. He won the game. He thought that the red color dress was harbinger of good fortune. He participated in the game for the second time in the same dress and won it.
Samshay has strong sentiments of his own. He wears the white dress for cricket and the green dress for shuttle. He wants to have a fancy number for his vehicles to have good luck every time. The number he selects for anything must be divisible by nine to have success in all fields. He starts anything when it is an auspicious day fixed by the most famous astrologer A to Z Shasthri. He does not start anything on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Are Tuesdays and Saturdays not days for him to count? The day is a day when the sun rises, and the night is a night after the sun sets. Every day is a day and it is an auspicious day too.
Samshay is completely different from others for he has innumerable doubts. He doubts that he fails in the examination if he takes it. He therefore does not appear for the examination. He surmises that he will be defeated in every duel if he participates in it by mistake. He does not even try to take the examination even by wearing a different colored dress. It is the doubt that haunts him undoubtedly making him to undertake inaction.
Bad beliefs are the main to rise very often in his mind like bubbles in the flowing water. His mind is a devil’s workshop. People can never guess what he tells them. They cannot tell what he guesses. He has many sentiments, doubts, and blind beliefs. He now and then tries to overcome them. Still, he refers to almanac, astrology, numerology, palm history, etc. As a result, he makes himself have many more sentiments, doubts and blind beliefs after he has consulted the astrologer. In his boyhood days on some auspicious day, he went to the astrologer to know his fate and horoscope after offering prayers to his favorite deity. The astrologer put forth before him when he had made an appeal:
‘Sir, my esteemed sir, you are next to God. You can predict future as Potuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy predicted and narrated in his philosophical songs. I am a man with full of expectations and aspirations. I must mark a lot of differences from others in status and stature. If I touch soil, it must be turned into gold...by my mere touch...but not by toil,’ said Samshay sincerely.
‘It’s nothing wrong for you to dream high. You should not feel sorry when fall into a ditch. You feel shocked when gold becomes soil when you touch it. You should get anything as per your efforts and endeavors. Whatever comes to your hands without efforts will go back to God without your notice.’ said the astrologer.
‘Okay, I get efforts done by my workers for the fruits in my hands. I can employ many workers to work for me and my welfare alone,’ said Samshay.
‘Somebody asked, “Who built the Taj?” There was an answer to say that Shajahan built it. You are for that answer. It was the coolies, who built it. It however got the name. You must have the answer...the second answer... That is a good concept. When you do anything on your own, you’ll have real satisfaction,’ said the astrologer.
‘As per my fate, I may be like Shajahan to have fruits in my hands when others work hard for me in the scorching sun and searing heat,’ said Samshay.
‘Of course, let me see your horoscope. You have a very good horoscope. There are some small size demons to spoil your very good horoscope. When you take some steps, you can get rid of them in the light of my instructions,’ said the astrologer.
‘I definitely follow your instructions scrupulously,’ said Samshay.
‘You should be away from the demons to have victory in games and sports all through your life. For that, you are to wear a red dress and play the tennis game, white dress for the cricket game and green dress for the shuttle game. For other games what you should wear I shall tell you next time,’ said the astrologer.
‘Tennis, cricket and shuttle are the games I like most. I see that a dozen pairs in each color are bought today only,’ said Samshay.
‘You go in different paths and ways. Nowadays, there are full of thorns and nails everywhere in the middle of the path. Be careful when you walk. Though you wear footwear, they prick you somewhere. There are failures in the examinations on your part. There’re defeats in the games and the sports you participate in,’ said the astrologer.
‘How can I overcome those hazards and hurdles?’ said Samshay to the astrologer inquisitively.
'You can overcome all if you follow my instructions,' said the astrologer.
'That is what I want...,' said Samshay.
‘When there is an idea to aim at a solution, we definitely discover a way for the solution of any problem,’ said the astrologer.
'The idea I want...' said Samshay.
‘If you walk, counting the number of steps that you take from start to end, you will be successful. After taking a hundred and one steps, you must stop awhile and start your walk, counting the steps again from one to a hundred and one. Then you should stop doing the same. Suppose you count the steps in the wrong way, there will be big thorns and nails to prick you and accidents and incidents to happen to you without fail. You are to count without any doubt. You should have confidence in counting. Do you know the numbers: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, like that they go on?’ said the astrologer.
‘Yes, I learnt the numbers in my boyhood days,’ said Samshay.
‘One more important thing is there in your life. You are going to marry a woman who is ten times stronger than you are in all respects. Whenever she is angry with you, you should cultivate patience. Or else you can witness before you the football match with the referee in it to ask her to proceed without stop,’ said the astrologer.
‘I see. Though she is an innocent woman, does she play the game with me as her ball?’ said Samshay.
‘She’s transformed into a brave woman. You are mild and so she will become wild whenever she loses her temper. See that she doesn’t lose her temper,’ said the astrologer.
‘How is it? How come...? Is it the fate for me alone?’ said Samshay.
‘It’s as per your time, date, day, week, month, and year of birth. I am not creating nor am I fabricating anything in the horoscope meant for you. Who am I to create false horoscope? You were born under the stars, weren’t you?' said the astrologer.
'I was born under the star...This horoscope has been wrought for me. What man am I on earth?’ said Samshay.
‘You needn’t worry. I’ll show you the way as everything and anything is possible in the world,’ said the astrologer.
'Okay...,' said Samshay.
‘Whatever your wife says, you’ve to accept without saying “no”. At all costs, you should say “yes”. Or else you remember the game of football,’ said the astrologer.
‘Give an example to be away from her anger on losing her temper,' said Samshay with fear.
'It’s nothing. If she says, "two plus two is equal to twenty-two", say “yes”, “exactly”, “correct”. At any cost, you should not use any word to mean “no”. If you say “no” by mistake, I needn’t tell you what happens...,’ said the astrologer.
‘I don’t take any dowry in the marriage to tame her. I’ll give her all I must make her cool and calm as not to let her lose her temper,’ said Samshay.
‘You’re wrong. It is not that you take from her, or you offer to her to have her to be near and dear to you. The woman to enter your life is a cantankerous woman. It is certain that you cannot refrain from living with her. One more is there for you to listen,’ said the astrologer.
‘Is one more there for me alone?’ said Samshay.
‘A snake may enter your house. It may be poisonous or nonpoisonous. It may bite you. Though it bites you, nothing will happen to you. This is there for you, for you did sins in your previous birth or you’ll be free from the misfortunes in your next birth,' said the astrologer.
‘Is it clear to say that it is poisonous or nonpoisonous?’ said Samshay.
‘I told you that nothing will happen to you at any cost. It is real. There’s a lucky star to save you from all danger.’ said the astrologer.
‘Very good... I suppose... very safe... I wish myself safety,’ said Samshay.
‘Sure, a hundred percent guarantee is there in your horoscope,’ said the astrologer.
‘Are there some other demons in my horoscope?’ said Samshay.
‘Some powerful stars with all powers keep you untouched by sins,’ said the astrologer.
***
Samshay went home mindful of sentiments, doubts, and beliefs as per the astrologer’s studious report. He made up his mind not to appear for the examinations and fail, not to participate in games and sports to taste defeat, and not to go out and count steps at any rate. He firmly decided and took an oath to remain a bachelor not to allow his life partner to play football with him at any cost in his life though his parents forced him to marry a girl from their close quarters. He declined it so vehemently that they kept quiet. He constructed a house for himself. He took all precautionary measures to make his house snake-proof ... all proof. He was living in the house with food, water, and air to enter it whenever needed. He was living all alone in a well-furnished house.
He was just eating, watching TV and sleeping in the house. He did not come out to walk. Once he came out and counted the steps he had taken. He was not sure of his counting. He came back to the house. No partner came to play football with him. He felt that he was safe and free from any snakebite. One night he was in his sound sleep.
***
‘Hello! My dear friend..., who I’m, you can witness and guess,’ said a snake, appearing in his dream.
‘You... are... a snake. The astrologer... told me... about you and you approaching... me,’ said Samshay in his dream.
‘I come to you. Do not fear.... You are braver than others. I come... I come. You have to suffer for your sins in the past. You’re fated to become a victim to me,’ said the snake.
‘Don’t come to me... I pray to you forever.... Tell me what I should do?’ said Samshay.
‘No, I come to you to bite. I come into your bed. I am coming. I’ve come.’ said the snake, hissing.
‘Don’t come… Don’t bite me,’ said Samshay.
‘I bite you soon. I raise my hood to bite,’ said the snake.
‘O… O… O…No… No… No… Never… Never… Never…’ cried Samshay helplessly in his sleep.
His mother sleeping in the adjoining room suddenly woke up, hearing her son’s nightmarish cries. She called her son so loudly that he woke up suddenly. He immediately woke up to say he had a bad dream. A snake came to bite him in the dream.
His mother wept for the bad fate of her son, sharing with her husband all happened. On the advice of some well-wisher, she took him for the consultation of a psychiatrist for treatment to him. After getting him counseled and the treatment given for a fortnight, he was able to overcome all sentiments, doubts and superstitions and crossed the obstacles of his life as a skeptic.
To everybody’s surprise one day, Samshay married a woman of his choice in the presence of all who called him ‘Sentimental Hero,’ and wished him a happy married life without the problem of counting the numbers and that of his wife’s playing foot-ball with him. The darkness spread in his life of all superstitions and doubts was shattered in the light of logical and rational outlook.