It is a story about Manku, a blind man who was lost in a maze of wealth. It is a story about each of us. Read and interpret carefully.

Manku was a poor blind man. He worked very hard to feed his family and himself. After days toil everyday he could barely manage to survive. He was a talented man but the man he worked for did not pay him well. Manku never complained but always got sad when he received his monthly wages.

He wanted a good house. Good clothes for his children, a lot of jewelry for his wife and all possible comforts of life that money can bring. But everything seemed just a dream. He worked hard everyday on the same wages as the time passed by.

One day he considered going to maze of wealth. He had heard about this earlier too but people were speaking loudly now. He had always laughed at this earlier as he never believed in rumors. But now he had a reason to ponder. Sonkulat, his friend who went there had returned richer now and was all ga ga about this maze.

Manku decided to visit Sonkulat.

It was a maze located in a jungle in southwest and was full of wealth. There was an entrance door which led inside the maze. The maze was dead dark inside. Nothing visible inside. One has to grope inside that dark to find anything.

It would not make much difference to me, I already do that, Manku thought.

There is only one door inside in that maze full of pitfalls that will lead to wealth house. But careful! You need to avoid pitfalls. Use my tip. Stay along the wall and feel for the door.

Manku did that. He stayed along the wall. But he could not avoid the falls. Sometimes it took days to come out of the pit. He struggled and struggled. A year passed and Manku came back, empty handed...

You liar! You made a fool of me. There is no door there. It is a wall all around. No wealth there.. Manku yelled at Sonkulat while he listened.

I will have to go back to job and spend my life in poverty Manku sighed and went for his old master.

But Manku was wrong. There was a door indeed. It did lead to store house of wealth. Only he could not find it. Only if he knew why did he fail!

Manku had a strange uncontrollable itch that would appear suddenly and last for minutes. He would never know how he missed the door. But every time he was close to the door he would feel like itching. He would leave the wall to satisfy his itch. After his severe itch got controlled he would restart in opposite direction. He would complete the whole circle again to reach the door from the other side and his itch would strike again.

He missed the door many a times. Finally he decided to come back. He stopped pursuing his dreams.

Manku is back to his job now. He works everyday with a conviction that he is destined to be poor. He is no way content but he shows that he is.

Manku will never attempt to be rich again.

Every time you have failed and have an urge to quit, think. You might be about to succeed. Do not let your dreams be prey of that urge.

Beware of that urge. It is worse than the itch Manku had.

People become successful because they do not quit.

Wish you success.

Copyright 2005 Arun Pal Singh