The Violin

THE VIOLIN Man by nature is a hoarder. Most of us tend to accumulate odds and ends over the years. Books, shoes, pullovers, furniture, crockery etc. Oddities being such as are never ever likely to be used. A rich couple while getting their house painted, had emptied out the store room that held their accumulations over the years. They decided that they would auction off all the stuff that had been lying unused for years. They would utilize the amount raised for a good cause. So they put an advertisement in the newspaper. Everything was put up for sale on the following Sunday in the community hall. There was furniture, old paintings, porcelain vases, crystal pieces, sculptures, musical instruments, bone-china and many other things. One by one the auctioneer put up the things and started disposing them off. The auctioneer picked up an antique violin and held it up for all to see. "Any takers?" he asked. Apparently there was no one who wanted the old, dusty and dirty looking violin. A man made a bid for Rs.50/-. "My son would like to play with it," he thought to himself. The auctioneer waited. Another man said, "I'll give you Rs.100/-" As the auctioneer was about to strike the hammer to conclude the deal, an authoritative voice from the end of the room said, "Wait!" A well groomed old man came up to the auctioneer, took the violin from his hands and proceeded to wipe the dust off it. Next he tightened the keys. One by one he played the strings. They were totally out of tune. But the man worked his nimble fingers deftly over them, till he was able to tune them to perfection. The man played the violin to a completely enthralled audience. He then handed it back to the auctioneer and said; "Now my friend, you can auction it." The bids started rising. "Rs.10,000!" "I'll take it for Rs.25,000." "Rs.40,000." The stakes were rising higher. Eventually the hammer was struck down at Rupees One lakh. What a hefty sum indeed for an old and forgotten violin! It was now a collector's item! But, wasn't it the same old violin that no one seemed to want? What was it that added value to it? It was the touch of a Master! This makes me think, that if only we would allow the Master to touch us. If only we would allow Him to wipe the dust off us and tighten our keys; play and tune our rusted strings; perhaps we would also be worth a lot more. Perhaps we too could put our lives to the making of music rather than just making noise!