Dearest Darling Friend,

Chances are you haven’t heard of Nicolo Paganini. He was a well-known and gifted nineteenth-century violinist. He was also well known as a great showman with a quick sense of humor. He would make the audience laugh and loved to regale them with his antics.

There are many memorable stories about his wit and crafty tongue. However, there is one incident from his life that made him have more admirers than any other incident.

It happened during a concert in Italy. He was performing before a packed house. His technique was incredible. His tone was fantastic; his audience clearly and dearly loved him.

Towards the end of his concert, Paganini was astounding his audience with an unbelievable composition when suddenly one string on his violin snapped and hung limply from his instrument. A few in the front rows gasped. Paganini frowned for a micro second, shook his head, and continued to play, improvising beautifully.

To everyone’s horror, immediately afterward, a second string broke. This time, Paganini did not even take a micro-second. He continued to play as if nothing had happened. Shortly thereafter, the third string too broke.

Oh my god! The audience clearly was devastated by what was happening. But, Paganini was unmoved. When the third string broke, he kind of ‘smiled’. It was as if, he was talking to the creator and saying, “Aha! You are testing me. Go ahead. I am going to hang on. I won’t give up”.

Paganini stood there with three strings dangling from his Stradivarius. But instead of leaving the stage, Paganini stood his ground and calmly completed the difficult number on the one remaining string.

He got a standing ovation. Many in the audience had tears in their eyes. Some said that evening changed their life. A few expressed, they were praying the fourth one should NOT break!

Can you imagine the evening? Can you imagine and feel the goose bumps? Can you imagine the electricity in the air? Can you imagine the mental state of Paganini? Can you imagine what that evening would have done to him?

Can you imagine yourself in the place of Paganini? What would you have done? Having read about this incident from his life, what would you do in life, in future when you face something disastrous?

If I have to face something similar, I pray, I display the same strength and serenity Paganini displayed. I pray the same for you too.

With love, prayers and exceptional wishes,

naren

Imagine, when we wake up, we are given only what we had thanked for.

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