Written by Urvi Shah

Samara loves to paint, hoping to become a painter when she grows up. Azure ocean, deep green mountains, vast magenta skies and silvery nights fill her dreams, her hopes and her life for a while, till one day, without warning, a visitor knocks at her innocent door. A formless, invisble visitor who only has a voice. A shrill and sharp voice that rebukes and criticises, judges and mocks, making her destory all her paintings.

Samara, unable to fight the voice, gives up painting, her one true joy. Time flies. She begins working at an office. Growing forlorn with every passing day, she finds herself wondering, “How can I be happy?”. Grace answers her call. One evening, witnessing a beautiful sight in the skies, her almost forgotten love for painting is reawakened. Rushing home to paint, the sharp voice as if waiting around the corner, comes back with a greater strength. However, this time Samara finds a way to defeat the voice.

Like Samara, many of us are confronted with such voices in our head. Often, these voices take away from us our most precious gifts, our unique and creative expressions. However, the inner being persists. And sometimes spontaneously, miraculously, like a burst of light, it comes forth, defeating the voices. And, with that victory, the dance of the Spirit on Earth begins, a true manifestation of our dreams and hopes.

HOW TO USE THIS STORY?
Teachers, parents and adults may read aloud this story to children. Alternatively, it may be given to the children to read themselves depending on their abilities.

Please feel free to use the story creatively along with art, music, puppets etc., as you are inspired, albeit, without changing or distorting the purity of intent.

HOW THIS STORY CAME TO BE?
This story came to me, in images. I remember sitting at the laptop, and typing it out very quickly, trying to get the images into words as accurately as I could.

I named the main character in the story after Samara, a child I taught. She was for me, strong, determined and bold, with a clarity much beyond her tender age of 9.

May the children of today who know exactly why they are here and who they are have the strength to defeat the voices of the ravens, just like Samara does in the story, charting their way into a wonderful future.

FOR WHOM?
The story is for children (age 9+) and adults.

A SNIPPET (Audio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WprFiosQJmE