In Konkan, it is very necessary for every person to know how to swim. During the monsoon, it rains heavily and the streams overflow. At such times, men and women often have to cross these streams. Therefore, everyone must know how to swim. Shyam did not know how to swim, but his father and uncle both did. In fact, his uncle was an expert swimmer. In the courtyard, the little children would gather and learn to swim together... But Shyam always kept away. He was timid. When people would go to the stream to swim, he would run away and hide. If anyone even mentioned swimming, he would become frightened and dash into the house.

Mother would always urge Shyam to learn to swim and would encourage him to be brave. “All the children here are your friends—what are you afraid of?” she would ask. But Shyam simply could not bring himself to go. One day, Mother said to him, “Shyam, there is a boy named Falya. Why don’t you go with him to learn to swim? He is your dear friend Balu. If he teaches you, then you can go with your uncle. He will teach you...”

I learned. It is necessary to thresh paddy, but how would you understand that? The women go to thresh the paddy singing songs. You are still a child. Truly, you would feel shy to go. Once you tie the ends of your sari at your waist, you need not fear slipping. If you do go, make sure to tie your dhotar (loincloth) tightly. But first, learn how to thresh properly.”

Hearing this, Shyam quietly stayed back. He did not say anything to his mother or anyone else. But he understood one thing — that unless his mother sent him to thresh, he should not go. So, without telling anyone, he hid himself away. Early in the morning, when his mother went to the threshing floor, Shyam slipped out of the house and hid somewhere nearby. The women from the neighboring houses came to thresh the paddy. As they came, they brought their bundles of sticks. They asked Shyam’s mother where Shyam was. She realized that Shyam must be with the other boys. But when she looked, he was nowhere to be seen, so everyone started searching for him. Some women went upstairs to look for him in the attic. But he was nowhere to be found. At last, one of the women noticed that behind a stack of bricks, in a narrow corner, someone was hiding. They realized it was Shyam, hiding there with the other boys. His mother told them to bring him out. But even when they tried, he was not willing to come. His mother then told them to drag him out by force. Some of the women caught hold of him and tried to pull him out. But he would not budge at all. Seeing this, his mother got angry. She said, “Let me see how he doesn’t