Silence hits louder than slap
Piyush is from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. He joined VidyaGyan, an institution of Shiv Nadar Foundation, in 2011.
I grew up with a father who was very strict about studies, and I in turn was always scared of his anger. It’s not that I was bad at studies, but I was just not very focused on the subjects at school. Being a teacher, my father knew the importance of being serious about your studies. One day, I missed school to watch a cricket match with my friend at his house. While we were enjoying the match, my friend’s mother came into the room and informed me that my father was waiting outside their house! I just froze in my spot. How could I face him knowing that I had missed school to watch a cricket match? When I walked outside and met him, he had a thunderous expression on his face and one hand behind his back. At that moment I was sure I was going to get slapped- but he just kept silent. This silence hit me harder than any slap could have. I felt ashamed and made up my mind to work hard at school and since that day, my interest in books has only increased. Fortunately, I got the opportunity to study at VidyaGyan and that has really opened up a whole new world for me. I hope that my father will be proud of me!
*VidyaGyan is a Leadership Academy, designed for the economically underprivileged, meritorious students of rural India. Established in 2009, VidyaGyan envisions bridging the urban-rural divide by creating leaders from India’s rural hinterland who can act as catalysts of change for their communities, villages, and the nation. To know more, visit www.VidyaGyan.in
