VVS- Victory Versus Sanity

Who was telling the Story ? And whose Story was it anyway ? The words fluttered and flew in the wind.

It was a Sunday afternoon. Everyone had gathered in the central Hall of the Sanctum, or that’s how they called the place. The Sanctum had witnessed the maximum visitors. Thanks to the new initiative of the management of VVS. VVS is a group of young-middle-aged men who in their late forties and early fifties had decided to beat the blues that came by at their age. When most of them had grown tired of chasing a victorious life and in the process almost lost their sanity.

Mid-age crisis isn’t a crisis. It is a stage in life where supply surpasses demand in terms of skills, knowledge and expertise. But the reverse happens in terms of remuneration, rewards and recognition. Sounding to be a leaf out of the management books that are available aplenty now ? not really, it is the direct outcome of numerous interactions that the VVS group had held before concluding on the Sanctum.

Sundays are Big days at the Sanctum. The inmates, presently near three hundred in number, narrate stories in front of a large audience. Audience are from families of inmates, volunteers from schools, colleges and general public who have heard these stories over and over and reproduced in social media, such as facebook, whatsapp and youtube. The stories narrated at the Sanctum have been published in couple of online and print journals too.

Inmates of the Sanctum were people from different walks of life in the middle and old ages, who have settled for a content and Happy life, convinced by the VVS philosophy, Happiness is a Habit. Hence, their stories too never fail to inspire the audience, young and old alike. Inmates, generally addressed as youth are from among both men and women, most of them are married couples, who have walked out of mundane routines, to enjoy the joys of togetherness and collective good.

Daily chores at Sanctum would start with Farming, during the forenoon, creative crafts during the afternoon and recreation in the evenings. They all can cook and do cook their food collectively, look after themselves and live together in pairs. Rooms too are designed so. Farming in forenoon takes care of their food. During creative craft hours, i.e., the afternoons, the youth prepare mind-maps, videos, learning materials for a variety of subjects that they are passionate about. Using visual aids, pictures and drawings along with their story-telling skills, they produce tools to impart learning to the younger generation.

Anyone who has been in the Sanctum, will first master the art of story- telling. The non-nonsense environment, i.e., without television and its sops, and the child-like camaraderie, nourishes nothing but the most positive of vibes. The youth aren’t the holier than thou kind. Just that they have moved on and away from the beaten track, after been-there-seen-all experiences. Their books, paintings, videos, and all their produce, live by their religious following of Happiness.

The VVS Group started off with about 28 members, who, are also the youth, along with their spouses, are inmates of the Sanctum. It is in their desperate state to reach the pyramid of self-actualisation, did they build the Sanctum, with their life-time savings and accumulated wealth. Sunday stories are their efforts to propagate the time tested values and the core being Happiness, be inculcated as a habit.

After some chirping in front of the mic, youth Mouli came smiling at the audience. Like a spell, the chatter disappeared in a second. Youth Mouli, of all the story-telers so far, was the most sought after youth. In his early fifties, Mouli’s stories were the most enchanting ones. His animated way of presenting stories and in the language he chose to express, were so unique and unflinchingly special that anyone will fall for. His comical stories, most of which are real-life-accounts, were always presented with the enthusiasm and zeal of a teenager. Never mind some cuss-words that may slip out sometimes, which were yet contextually justified.

Mouli’s most repeated story is the one with the characters, Siva, Maama, Murthy and self, wherein he had taken lessons on how to wash an underwear without touching it, using a stick. Remember, he talks of the days when there were no washing machines, and more importantly, when the four were part of a large team in the jungles.

Though these stories were being repeated a number of times, the spirit in his stories, never fails to enliven the age – he described. Not one would be able to control a laughter at such naughty depiction, a knack that he has developed over and over. Roaring with laughter, people mostly ended up with cramps around their belly.

Each and every inmate in Sanctum had many enchanting stories. Even the bitter parts of these stories were presented palatably comical and ensured they lived to make the audience Happy. Since almost all of them are in some form, their own life-accounts, the stories were full with conviction and emotions that conveyed Life in every single one of them. As much as the audience get engrossed in the stories, the storyteller too is relieved of his or her agony of retaining the painful accounts within oneself.

When they enter the Sanctum, some might come with a long sordid tale, but within a few fragments of time, they get converted to the Happy kind. Sharing and caring according to VVS, isn’t always about wealth. They do value the power of wealth as a provider. At VVS, the inmates attach more significance to the humane power of choosing Happiness over other emotions, principle ones being sadness, fear and anger. They firmly believe, while experiencing all the emotions with genuineness, and responding to their stimuli appropriately, our fundamental state should be that of Happiness, and return to this state asap.

VVS had made an indelible mark in the social echelons of the State. Everyone lauds their way of frisking the pain – off one’s mind, through impromptu laughter, by sharing stories and real-life-accounts in a very comic style.

If you are still wondering as to where is the story ?.

Who was telling the Story ? And whose Story was it anyway ?

The words fluttered and flew in the wind.