*
The already pied panorama began to change hues even
more rapidly. There was a sudden influx of zephyr in the languorous
surroundings*
It seemed she was waiting for someone.
Her undeviating gaze was cemented on the path of his arrival. The
unbearable heat of separation had debilitated her; she had become bony
and had developed wrinkles all over her body. After two scorching months
of separation, she finally saw him arriving. His arrival was pompous as
usual. Though her exhilaration was beyond measure and every fibre of
her body rejoiced on his arrival, she wasn't hospitable. Her yearning
had accreted into angst and anger.
*
Thick and dark clouds cover the sky and start roaring*
Dharini:Oh!
Look who has arrived. How should I welcome you? More importantly what
brings you here now? Is it your curiosity to find out whether I am alive yet? To your dismay, I am.
But how would I ever repay for your magnanimity? You had to travel such long distances to come here only to find me alive.
*
There's thunder in the sky.*
Dharini:
You can choose to go back. I have reached a stage where neither your
presence nor your absence bothers me. What's the worst that could
happen? I might remain unconsummated. But if that's my destiny then so
be it. After all, I am not the only one who would have met such fate. I
will just be one among the many. I will also shed silent tears in the
night and still manage to smile throughout the day. I will also swallow
harsh nuggets of reality with an unfazed face, just like them. If
those mortals can, then why can't I? They call me the epitome of
tolerance. I promise I won't ever let my anxieties escape the bleak
abyss of my heart. You can trust it to be deep enough to withhold all
that befalls upon it. I don't have the luxury to feel or act feeble as
there are people who depend upon me. I symbolize strength and resilience
for them.
*
The thunder grows louder and deeper this time*
Dharini:
Go away! You are not obliged to be here. You are infamous for your
free-will and vagrancy, while I am the paragon of stability. It was
foolish of me to think that I could bind a rover like you. Yes, I have
no one else to blame but my puerility. I should have known better than
expecting from you. This is not the first time you have failed me. How
could I forget that expectations have always paved way for misery and
nothing else.
*
The sky sprinkles a handful of
transparent pearls that produce an ethereal fragrance as soon as they
hit the ground. There are crazy flashes of lightning in the ashen
sky.The thunder only grows deeper and deeper.*
Dharini: Don't you dare to utter my name,
Ghanshyam.
You have no business to scare me with that thunderous voice of yours.
These ventose gambits of yours fail to have any impact on me. Better
save them for someone else.
*
The mild showers turn into a gushy downpour*
Dharini:
Do not touch me! I said, stay away from me. Do not impinge on my
pristine premises. I don’t need you. You were not here when I needed you
the most. I endured those two blistering months of
Vaishakh and Jeth
all by myself, while you were cavorting with others elsewhere. I don’t
want your consolation, for I know it’s but a sham. Don’t doubt my
resilience and strength. Move away. Step back!
*
The momentum and the rhythm of the downpour refuses to abate and escalates by each passing second*
She
gets completely drenched; not even an inch of her body is left dry. She
gets sated to the core. The gushing rains pelting down washed away the
tears of melancholy from her face. She was instantly rejuvenated. Unlike
degeneration, the instauration was quick. She was left quenched and
drenched albeit by force. It’s hard to say whether she liked it or not.
But one could see her wearing a mild abashed smile.
**********************************************************************************
Today
while coming back from the examination-center, I was fortunate to
witness one of the most ethereal moments that one can witness in a life
time- the sight of first showers of monsoon kissing the parched ground.
It's strange how despite of our plastic-fostered and shielded life
styles, our bodies unwittingly vibrate in sync with the frequency of
nature and respond to it. In that moment of osmic ecstasy, everything
around me went silent; I could hear nothing else save for the sound of
the nascent raindrops descending from the sky splattering the expectant
ground, and the bassy thunder. For those couple of seconds a vision
flashed in my mind. This piece is an attempt to document whatever little
I could remember of that surreal moment.
I felt as
though the earth has taken the form of a gopi(Dharini) waiting for the
arrival of her paramour-Ghanshyam(one who’s as dark as a rain-filled
cloud). A gopi whose longing has accreted into anger. The hulking
cluster of dark rain-filled clouds hovering above the earth appeared as
if it were Krishna who had come to meet the gopi after ruthlessly making
her wait for a very long time.
तुम घन से घनश्याम मनोहर, गरज गरज अनत जाय बरसे हो |
उमढ-घुमढ़ के नेह जनावत, कहूँ लावत सरसे हो ||
झूठी-साँची हमही मिलावत, औरन के जाय पग परसे हो |
'धौंधी' के प्रभु तुम बहुनायक , सब बातन सरसे हो ||
(राग- सूहा , ताल-तेवडा)
