The Child's World

Once upon a time, long, long ago…

“Let’s build a restaurant! A restaurant that serves the best sea-food in the world!”

“Great idea! Just one problem; from where do we get the best fish in the world?”

“We will catch it ourselves! Cook it, and serve it fresh!”

“The fish will stink by the time it reaches our restaurant…”

“Not if we build the restaurant – Under the ocean…”

Alan’s eyes gleamed as he heard the suggestion. Amir quickly pulled out a sheet of paper and started sketching the plans for his dream restaurant, as his accomplice popped new ideas for the under-water restaurant one after another, some penned down right away, some thrown out the window and others kept aside for further deliberation. Jyoti joined the conversation shortly, “How deep under water are you talking about?” and by the end of the day the three of them had built a simple clay model of the building that would one day become a fascinating restaurant. The model was kept under the aquarium in Jyoti’s house and the visual aid provided another flood of ideas that would feed their conversation for the rest of the night.

And such conversations were not rare in the world where buildings grew out of the ground in all strange colours and shapes, where every corner of the street was a treat to the eyes, where even the honking of horns complimented the music of birds and ideas electrified the very air you breathe. Literature, music, art & architecture, drama, poetry, love & romance, politics & philosophy – nobody thought out of the box… Because there never even existed a box! Some spoke of reaching for the stars while others silently contemplated of bringing them down to Earth. In the Child’s World, there were no rules or standards, no protocols or stigma and no benchmark was set to deem anything as “weird”! Everyone, from the child learning to speak, to the grand old people who struggled to speak – They lived to their heart’s content – Free!

Within a month the design was finalised and the three met a contractor, a middle aged man with balding grays, clean shaven face, lean body and a perpetually polite smile on his face, whose excitement knew no bounds on seeing the plans! “I just need a couple of weeks time to assign some of my ongoing work to the sub-contractors. By the end of the month, we will have the work for your restaurant started”, he said, with his smile growing wider than ever.

“In the meantime”, the contractor added, “I will also talk to the banks for financing the project. I don’t think that should be a problem”, and he went on for a short while, explaining the practical side of their dream. The three listened with rapt attention… The line between practice and theory was almost non-existential.

Faces red and brimming with joy, “Well, if the contractor likes our design”, Jyoti turned to the boys and said, “I believe we have reason to celebrate. Oh!” with her arm stretched out she added, “I am Jyoti by the way.”

Amir responded first, with an embarrassed laugh, “I am Amir”, and he then turned to Amir to shake his hand too. “Alan”, the third responded and shook both their hands.

Amir was a twenty-two year old architect with blue eyes and fair skin, who often wore a loose T-shirt with shorts. He had long hair, trimmed beard, eccentric mannerism, an intense love for art and uncompromising love for sea-food. It is was during one of his quests to find the food that would hopefully satisfy his appetite, that he saw Alan sitting across the table. Both ordered the same food and gave the exact same reaction of utter disgust after the first bite. “How does someone manage to ruin food like this!” Amir exclaimed, with little concern for etiquette.

“Well, this is supposed to be the best sea-food in town. It’s not easy to cook, considering the dismal quality of our supplies.” Alan was more calm and a bit shy, didn’t smile much, and preferred to be by himself. He wore a pair of frameless glasses, had head full of slick black hair and dressed quite neatly.

“So what if the fish isn’t great? At least, it can be cooked well”, Amir retorted.

“No, it cannot. Believe me, I have been cooking fish for the past twenty years”, Alan was thirty years old.

“Let’s build a restaurant! A restaurant that serves the best sea-food in the world!”

**********

There is little debate about the fact that what drives people in the Child’s World this way, is love. Love isn’t unidirectional or selective in any respect; it is omnipresent… it is omnipotent; everybody loves everybody, everything loves everything. Love isn’t superficial or fickle, it is deep and well rooted, it won’t succumb to challenges or waver in time. Inside every person’s heart there is selfless love towards the fellow human being and an undying passion towards what one does. The thought of, “how can things be better”, constantly occupies every mind, the thought, which is a product of care for the people and dedication to work. And that drives creativity! The will to make things better, that desire to move forward, it gives the courage to free your mind. When the mind is free to wander, and wander it does with fierce abundance of creative energy – The Child’s World becomes a magical place.

And if someone could be named as an exponent of such love, it had to be Jyoti. The 24 year old artist, actress, singer, dancer and designer was a role model for many, a sister, mother, daughter and friend to anyone who sought her and a creative genius like none other. If she didn’t touch your heart in person, her art was sure to do so. The piercing peacock eyes, dove like face and golden dark skin – everybody admired her. And Alan - he was madly in love with her the second he heard her musical voice, “How deep under water are you talking about?”

That evening, after their meeting with the contractor, the three of them went to the beach to have a whiff of the breeze and take in the sight of their ‘site’. Their minds had finally been relieved of the intricacies of their venture, which was nothing short of a miracle even for the Child’s World.

“Why is it that neither of us have seen you perform anywhere before?” Alan enquired.

“Perhaps because both of you tend to be so deeply engrossed in work that it took you one month to ask my name.”

“It would have taken me longer if you hadn’t said it yourself”, Amir laughed. Jyoti laughed too. Alan meekly smiled. And simply looked at her laughter.

“So, what is it that you do?” Amir asked Jyoti.

“Well, my father is a singer and my mother is a dancer. I started off as an actress… I want to be an arts teacher!” She let her long hair fly with the wind. “What about you?”

“But then why did you join our project?” Amir did not respond to her question, but she didn’t mind that.

“Well, I thought the project was really interesting! And I have done some interior designing, so I thought I could contribute. The lighting and colours under water, it’s going to be amazing!” There was a blaze in her eyes, like the one across the ocean  - Fierce to the eye, cool to the skin. “I believe in soaking in every experience possible. That’s what makes you a real artist”, she then turned to Alan who sat to her left and asked, “And what about you?”

“I am a chef”, Alan responded in a nonchalant way, “Yearning to cook some good fish for years!”

“Yearning?” Jyoti enquired, genuinely perplexed.

“Well, I have worked at several restaurants across the city and nowhere have I been able to find good fish. I have been trying, for twenty years now, to get my hands on the fresh stuff, but it is nearly impossible. The fish that is caught in the middle of the sea, starts to rot by the time it reaches the restaurant, no matter how close the restaurant is to the ocean. I even tried catching the fish myself, but it is no use. I mean, a lot of chefs do manage with what they get, but the recipes I have won’t work. And, Oh my God!” Nostalgia smeared on his face, eyes wet with wonder and hands shivering in anticipation, he said, ‘The recipes I have are going to blow your mind!” Three mouths started drooling.

“Oh! I would love to have some fish now!” Amir exclaimed, got off the rock he was sitting on, and ran towards the waves.

“You can’t catch them from the beach!” Jyoti shouted and started laughing!

“Well, let them catch me then!” And he dived into the sea. Jyoti took off her shoes and ran behind Amir, laughing all the way. Alan meekly smiled. And simply looked at her laughter.

That night he confessed his love to her. “I don’t know why it took me so long? Maybe because with every passing day, my love for you grew so much that I took wanted to know how it would feel the next day. Because I knew that the next day when I see your face and hear your voice, I will love you even more! I wanted to know how that would feel - until today. I can no longer hold it within me Jyoti – I Love you! And I wish to marry you.”

Jyoti looked at his face, as a caring friend would, smiled at him understandingly and said, “I am deeply flattered by your words Alan. And I love you too, but not in the way you do. I hope you understand…” He smiled back at her, understandingly.

In exactly ten days, the materials for construction began to arrive at the beach. The sense of excitement was palpable, as throngs of people came that morning to witness the start of another world wonder. Nobody questioned its feasibility, nobody worried whether it would work, everybody was just looking forward to a having dinner under water and eat the best quality fish in the world! And in the epicenter of all that energy were the three innovators! Amir couldn’t wait to achieve the greatest feat in architecture, Alan died to get his hands on the fish, and Jyoti stood in the middle with childish wonder and amazement. The magic she witnessed flowed from the air into her veins and swirled inside her head. A crane made its way through the crowd along with another fleet of lorries and with the contractor’s thumbs up, the construction began.

In the evening, the three were ferried to the point in the sea were the ‘foundation’ was being laid. The contractor explained the technical aspects to Amir, while Jyoti and Alan listened intently. The construction was to be completed in seven to nine months. “And regarding the expenses”, the contractor spoke ti their blank faces, “The bank has agreed to bear the majority portion, but as proprietors, you too will have to contribute a part.”

For the first time, the smile on Amir’s face faded a shade, “I don’t have any money with me at the moment.”

Jyoti’s face also turned grave, “The works of my dance school are about to start”, she paused for a second and added, “But that’s alright, I will hold that for the moment, we will use the money over here…”

“That won’t be required”, Alan stepped up. “I have been saving for quite some time now, I think I will be able to raise all the money we need.”

“But -”

“And I don’t think the money you set aside for your school”, Alan interjected Jyoti, “Will be such a significant amount, compared to what we need over here. It won’t make much of a difference, you don’t worry.” He smiled at her affectionately.

As they ferried back to the beach, the sky turned black, and as they stepped off their boat, a blast of lightning flashed over their heads followed quickly by the roar of thunder. The clouds burst open with a storm so loud that Amir had to scream, “The design is so strong; nothing less than a Tsunami can touch our restaurant.”

The work progressed much quicker than thought and was expected to be completed in less than six months. But four months into the construction, the entire structure was ripped apart by the only force of nature that could do so!

Gigantic waves lashed into the store and the water walked into the cities - a dirty, uninvited guest, wrecking havoc like a lone elephant in the forest. Several buildings fell, property was ruined and precious lives were lost. Grief struck the Child’s World… It did take a while before the resilient lot got back to their feet. But soon the smiles popped back and work resumed for most people. Most people…

The tragedy that struck Alan was however, much too severe. All the money that he had saved over the past twenty years was lost, but the real loss was beyond wealth or even life… It was hope!

“I am really sorry…” Jyoti struggled to look him in the face. A sob ringing in her voice, and tears washing down her face, she spoke with a lot of embarrassment, “I am so sorry – you put in all the money by yourself and all of it is lost, I am so terribly sorry.”

“But don’t worry man, I have been taking up some designing work for a few buildings in the city now, I promise to make good your loss!” Amir didn’t complete speaking before Jyoti shot back at him a glance to “Shut UP!” but then he couldn’t stop himself. After all the words had been spelt out Alan turned his blood red face towards the speaker, “You think it is about the Money!?”

“Alan…”

“You have been working have you? You have been designing buildings in the city and making money have you? I have been waiting to do the work I wanted to FOR THE PAST TWENTY YEARS! For the past twenty years, this had been my dream! For twenty years I yearned to make good fish, with no avail. And now finally there is this ray of hope… a ray of hope on which I pinned EVERYTHING! I sat in this room of mine, waiting for the past sixteen weeks, for our restaurant to be completed. Waiting for the moment I would finally be able achieve my dream, and now it’s all ruined!”

“Alan… I didn’t know… Don’t worry man, we will restart work. I will meet the contractor”, Amir blabbered on until Jyoti hushed him to silence.

“The bank won’t invest money into this project once again. Anyway they are short of money, reconstructing all the buildings on land now! And the contractor does not have the courage – what if a cyclone struck next and your stupid design got blown away like straw!”

“Alan, it wasn’t the design’s fault –“

“Then whose fault was it? Nothing short of a Tsunami will touch our restaurant, huh? It was more than just a TOUCH Amir!”

“It wasn’t –“

“And what did you think? We were building in the middle of the ocean, but you didn’t think a Tsunami would come so soon did you? Is that what you learnt in Architecture!?”

“Alan calm down”, Jyoti kneeled in front of Alan and clasped both his hands tightly. Alan stared at her with his bloodshot eyes and quickly snatched a glimpse of the hands that held his. On one of the fingers, he noticed an unusually brilliant shine. “An engagement ring?” Jyoti looked up in shock and turned around to look at her long haired, blue eyed, creative genius and socially stupid fiancé, staring at her, dumbfounded.

“You two are engaged?” He asked again in a cracking voice.

And when neither of them could respond, Alan dropped her hands from his, stood up and shouted, “Get out! Both of you, get out Now!”  

Jyoti didn’t have the heart to leave her friend alone, but eventually succumbed to Alan’s blast of anger. She lingered along with Amir to her art studio a couple of hundred meters away from Alan’s single roomed house. The art studio, which also provided classes for over a dozen students and temporarily housed Amir’s office was empty that evening, dimply lit by the setting sun.

“Why did he shout? The design was perfect and he knows that”, Amir asked. Jyoti didn’t bother to explain the situation, but simply pulled him close to her and sobbed on his shoulder.

“Ma’am, is everything alright?” As the sun set completely and darkness began to creep in, a petite girl with shrill voice entered her classroom, turned on the lights, and asked her teacher who lay frailly on her fiance’s shoulder.

Jyoti quickly stoop up, wiped her face trying to plaster a smile onto it and said, “Nothing dear. We were just thinking about the restaurant. Alan seems to have taken it pretty hard. No worries, he will come around soon.” She stretched he arms, getting ready for the class as a couple of more students walked in.

“Yeah, but I didn’t realise he was so terribly upset. I was shocked to see him walking towards the station…” Jyoti and Amir froze as they heard the last words from the first student’s mouth. The Station!

“THE STATION!? ALAN IS GOING TO THE STATION!?” Amir roared and stood up to run when Jyoti suddenly held his hand. Both hands frozen in fear! “Leave me Jyoti, I have to stop him!” Amir shouted.

“You please stay right here. I will go and stop him”, Jyoti tried to compose herself.

But Amir was overwhelmed with emotion, “You can’t stop him alone! You cannot let him go! No way!”

“And I will not let him go. Let me handle this, please!”

Jyoti literally ran all the way to the Railway station situated at the end of the city, taking every foot with a firm resolve, “Alan will not leave this world. I will not let him!” She entered the station, climbed a flight of stairs to cross the over-bridge and reach the desolate platform. The station was hidden from the rest of the city because it was truly an eye-sore. It was a  platform of misery and hopelessness that people dreaded having to ever step into its premises. Jyoti stepped down from the stairs and saw, standing all alone in the dark, amidst the dust and gloom, her dear friend.

“Alan, please, come back! We can fix things.” Jyoti pleaded.

“Maybe we can Jyoti… And that is what I am afraid of. To build hope once again and have it all come down crashing again. I can’t take any more of that. The anticipation, excitement, all that hope of finally being able to do what you love… I cannot put the effort to build all that one more time. And I will not bear the pain if all that is destroyed one more time. I am sorry Jyoti!” His words melted her resolve. How could she argue with him and convince him that he still had a chance? How could she promise him that he won’t have to suffer any more? She of all people.

“I know I have no right to ask this of you but –“

“You don’t have the right to ask me anything Jyoti! There is nothing for me here in this world now”, he looked at her eyes and then her fingers that bore an engagement ring.

A train entered the station, spewing black smoke along the way, and stopped at the platform for its numbered passengers to enter. Alan didn’t stand by ceremony, he just gave her a smile and entered the train. And Jyoti could do nothing against his weak, soulless smile. She just stood there trembling, unable to say goodbye.

Alan was firm in his decision. He did not even take one final glance at the world he was born into, or at the woman he once loved. Dreadfully, he sat into the train that would take him, in just a couple of hours, to the Adult World.

**********

By the time the train reached its destination, it was almost half full. The passengers had to deboard into a platform to form a queue in front a registration centre. Every person who reached the Adult World had to be registered and given an Identity Card so that all of their movements, work, earnings, marriage and health could be recorded in an organised manner. Even the platform they had entered, which looked plain and colourless, was spotlessly neat and organised. The walls were white and so were the tiles on the floor, there were shiny metal rods that separated various queues and people dressed uniformly, so that it was easy to differentiate between the passengers and those who worked at the station. Alan joined a short queue where he waited for almost fifteen minutes before he reached the counter where an old lady with an indifferent face asked, “Name?”, “Age?”, “Profession?”, “Marital status?” and finally “Place of stay”, for which Alan did not have an answer.

“You don’t have a job over here either do you?” The lady asked without looking at him.

“No”

“In that case”, she tore a slip of paper on which she wrote a name and passed it to Alan, “Give this slip in counter number 8. You will be assigned to a handler who will help you get settled”, she said and pointed to the last counter to her left, where the queue was a tad longer.

Alan finally gave the slip at counter number 8 and the man behind the counter passed it on without saying a word. But shortly he felt a tap on his shoulder and when Alan looked around, he saw a short man with a thick moustache, bushy eye brows and curly hair look up to him and ask, “Mr. Alan?”

“Yes?”

“I am your handler. My name is Vijay, come with me.” Alan followed the man out of the station, crossed the road and walked straight for ten minutes to enter a dingy building on the right side of the road. They walked up a couple of flights of stairs before Vijay opened a glass door to reveal a little office with a messy table a lot of locked metal cupboards.

Vijay took his place on the other side of the table and gestured Alan to sit on a chair placed in front of him. “This is my office. I am a member of the ruling political party, which means I have considerable influence in how things are run around here and that keeps me quite busy. In addition I also try to help people who come to this city as a handler. Just as a hobby, but I must confess, it has helped me build my political influence in a considerable manner”, Vijay introduced himself elaborately, but noticed that Alan did not follow a word of what he had just said. 

So he picked up a sheet of paper and started again, “Well, Mr. Alan, as I told you I am your handler in the Adult World. Which means I will be the one to help you get started with your life over here, which, trust me, is a wonderful life. It is safe, secure, not risky in any manner, and absolutely stress free. So first of all, Congratulation in coming here.”

Alan did not know how to react, so Vijay went on, “So, shall we get started? For you to set a life here, you will have to follow certain rules and procedures. That’s the way it is around here, that is what keeps us secure and happy. The first thing will be to find you a job. I see that you are a chef and you have been in the business for the past twenty years, but right now, this city is not in need of chefs.” Alan stared at the speaker nervously.

“What we need right now”, Vijay continued, “Is accountants. As a matter of fact, we are looking to hire somebody at this office itself, for the party –“

“An Accountant!? But I don’t even know what that is, I am a chef”, Alan spoke finally.

“I know that”, Vijay was calm in his response, “And it doesn’t matter that you are a chef, because right now, this city doesn’t need a chef. No restaurant is going to hire you. I also understand that you are not familiar with accounts, so to get started I will be enrolling you at an Accountancy Training Institute for six months program, where you will learn the basics of Accountancy, after which you will be prepared to take a job.

“So after six months you will be placed in a job, provided you do well in your classes that is. And within one year you have to get married –“

“Married!?”

“Yes, Mr. Alan, Married! You are thirty years old and it is highly inappropriate for someone your age to remain a bachelor –“

“But whom will I marry?” Alan asked, utterly confused.

“You please don’t worry about that Mr. Alan, we have one year’s time. I am your handler and I will find a suitable girl for you and within eighteen months I will get you married. Please understand Mr. Alan, it is very important in the Adult World, to protect our social fabric, that every individual is married at the right age and have children at the right time. How many children you wish to have is completely up to you, but we generally insist on two children, with an age gap of four to five years. The first child has to, of course, be born within eighteen months of marriage.

“So, within the next three years, you will have a great job, a wife and a kid. So easy! And that’s how it works in the Adult World. We ensure that you are Happy!” Vijay’s chest swelled as he said the last words.

The next day itself, Alan started his classes, learning to be an Accountant. And the process pained him to the core! He did not even appreciate the purpose of accounting, couldn’t understand the basic concepts, he couldn’t grasp its application in a real scenario and did not care for the intricacies of the subject that make it special. Every day he sat in the class for almost six hours which pained him physically and after a couple of weeks time he ceased to care about classroom etiquette, to simply slump in class and eventually sleep in class. His mind strained to accommodate the unfamiliar words that blared in the classroom and his eyes could not digest what he read in the books. Every cell in his body rejected the job and when he talked about it to his handler, Vijay said, “You have to put some effort man. Nothing in life is free. Everybody works hard to earn a living and in comparison, you have one of the easiest jobs. So just suck it, and get back to work.”

After six months he completed his studies without learning a thing. And Vijay appointed him as the Accountant for his political party because the teacher said, “Alan is one of the best students I have taught in this batch!” The teacher wasn’t lying. The job was mostly mechanical, where Alan had to pass entries for all the expenses the party incurred for its operations and at the end of the month he had to give a summary statement of expenses, so that Vijay could have an idea of how much money would be needed in the next month and make arrangements for the same. As frustrating as the process was for the sea-food chef, it did give him an opportunity to bond with his handler, whom he soon realised was a really powerful person in the Adult World. The world obviously needed order from falling into “Chaos” and the ‘Government’ was in charge of implementing order. A ‘Political Party’ controlled the Government and Vijay was one of the persons who controlled the Political Party. Which meant he made the rules and made sure that the rules were followed.

“Is there anything you can do to make the process of learning a little bit easier?” Alan asked him one day. Like most politicians, Vijay too took no questions or suggestions from anyone, so Alan had to continue without any response, “I look around and see a lot of people, just like me, who have come to the Adult World from the Child’s World after facing defeat. Some quite frivolous, and others devastating, but somehow they ended up in the Adult World, and all of them suffer. Especially the older people – they cannot learn anything new. And over here, barely anyone does what they like to do.” Vijay just smirked at the last comment.

“I too wish that people who come here are younger. It’s easier for those in the twenties to prosper.”

“I never thought I would come here”, Alan said somberly.

“That’s the real problem with the Child’s World. It offers you an illusion that you can stay there forever. But you cannot. Eventually you have to come to the Adult World, the sooner the better!”

“But nobody knows that… It makes me worry about those yet to come. If only there was some way they could be prepared to face the Adult World right from the Child’s World itself. Just in case you know, so that if at all they end up in the Adult World, you wouldn’t have to struggle”, that caught Vijay’s attention.

“You know what I was thinking”, Alan said, “When they are still young, maybe around fifteen or seventeen, they should be given a chance to learn everything. Everything! Even the things that they don’t like, so that in case someone like me, a chef, ends up over here, will know a little about Accounts and Mathematics and all that!

“And the education must be good. Not like the one you have over here. You must take one or two full years to teach them not just what they want to learn, but Everything! And at the end of the year, just to make sure that they have learnt, you must test them. You know, an examination of their knowledge.”

“An Examination?” Vijay now listened with rapt attention.

“Yes. Everybody must be forced to write this Examination to make sure that they know a little of everything, at an age where they can still learn a lot! And after they clear the Examination, life can go on as usual. But if they fail, they should be forced to study once again – Study Everything! Study, until they clear the Examination. Because otherwise, if they end up in the Adult World, it is going to be Hell for them. It is going to be torture!” Alan stretched his hands to look at his calloused fingers, cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck. His eyes burnt and his back hurt, but worst of all, he was frustrated. And he hated the job.

“That is Great!” Vijay exclaimed. “Yes, that is indeed wonderful! Yes, yes, yes… I will pay a visit to the Child’s World right away!”

“What?” Alan was confused.

“This is really Amazing Alan, what you just said. An Examination! To ensure that if at all people have to come to the Adult World, they will have their way easy. And nobody in the Child’s World will mind, it just more knowledge! And a simple challenge they have to overcome. This is brilliant. Tell me Alan, how did you think of this?”

“It was just an idea”, Alan still did not comprehend the brilliance of his idea.

“An “idea” huh? We could seriously use more of that around here.”

The next day itself Vijay convened a meeting with the senior Party member where he placed the idea of an Examination. “I will lead a delegation to the Child’s World at the earliest and talk to them.”

The Chairman of the meeting, a stout, bald man with not a strand of hair on his face or head, giant belly and intense eyes, asked Vijay, with not an ounce of interest in his voice, “I am really curious as to how you are going to convince the people of the Child’s World to participate in this circus called you can an Examination. Learning everything, that is just stupid! But what I want you to tell me first is why the Hell did you bother to even call a meeting and explain all this to us. Are you trying to waste our time”, anger rose in his voice, “Give me one person who this meeting would give you the permission to go ahead with your plan. What purpose will it serve us, what profit will it bring to the part!?”

Vijay slowly rose from his seat. He was barely moved by the backlash he faced from the leader of the party, but instead, it only excited him further. With a cool and confident smile on his face, Vijay began to explain, “You have asked me two questions sir: How I will convince them to take the Examination? And what profit will it bring us? I will tell you sir.

“Our world is weak, has always been weak. There is little work, little development, little wealth and very little power. As a Government, we claim to exercise power, but over whom? A bunch of grand old people lying on their death beds? If we wish to yield power, there must be progress in the Adult World and for that we need young and energetic people working over here. But there are so few youngsters working here and even the ones who do are extremely inefficient.

“We need to bring people from the Child’s World to work for us. And that is the aim that an Examination will achieve. If implemented, people in hoards will flock to our land!

“Sir, as a handler I have learnt that there are very few people who are flexible with work and almost no one is capable to doing every work. The human potential is limited in that respect. Humans can do miracles but only with work that they love. Only with work that they are meant to do. If you force somebody to do a work that they have never loved – that person will eventually crumble!

“This is what an Examination will do sir! We are going to ask fifteen year olds from the Child’s World to write an Examination that will test their knowledge in Every Subject. Each and every single person is bound to fail in at least any one subject, if not all the subjects. We will convince them that they will achieve Nothing in life if they do not pass this Examination and force them to study Everything. Trust me sir, they will break! They will all break, and when they do, they will come to the Adult World.

“Fifteen to twenty years old, hundreds of perhaps thousands of them coming to this city every year; just imagine the kind of work we will be able to do with such a workforce. A workforce which has been already trained to do Everything. Flexible, moldable, young and energetic workforce sir! All under our control.”

“And how are you going to make this plan work?”

It didn’t take much time for Vijay make travel arrangements to the Child’s World. Unlike the trip from there, a trip to the Child’s World was cumbersome as a lot of formalities and paperwork had to be cleared at the offices of the station. For that very reason, Vijay decided to travel alone, but on further contemplation he realised that travelling alone would in fact be more effective in achieving his goal.

“Excuse me, Miss Jyoti?” Vijay did not have much difficulty in reaching Jyoti’s art studio, which by then had expanded to a three storey building. On top of the art studio, she also conducted dance classes above which a Drama club was in operation and the entire building was abuzz with activity. Amir had moved to a building nearby, where he employed a handful of young (younger) architects. Both had made a name for themselves through their work and everybody knew where to find them.

“Hi!” Jyoti emerged from behind one of the canvases she was working on and greeted the short man with her charming smile.

“Hello Ma’am, my name is Vijay.”

“Hi Vijay, please call me Jyoti”, she shook his hands and said, “I am not used to such formalities. Please have a seat” She guided him to one of the empty seats behind a canvass and herself pulled a chair and sat opposite to him, “How may I help you Vijay? Are you here to learn art?”

“Actually Jyoti, I am from the Adult World.” A queer silence quickly fell upon the room. Tension replaced excitement in the air. “I was Alan’s handler and now he is my employee. Alan told me that you run a school and that’s why I came to meet you.”

“How is Alan?” Jyoti asked eagerly.

“He is doing fine. Struggling a bit, like most people over there do. And that is what I came here to talk to about Jyoti…”

Vijay went on to explain about how people struggle to do unfamiliar jobs in the Adult World and how it creates misery; and that if an Examination was conducted in the Child’s World, they would be well equipped to meet the challenges once they move on…

“First of all, this idea of an Examination sounds ridiculous! How do you expect a fifteen year old to learn Everything? There is no way I am going to force my arts students to learn Maths, Science and History to write a meaningless Examination. And secondly, why would we ever want to come to the Adult World?” Amir had just dropped by to meet Jyoti when he heard the conversation.

“But it is not really your choice is it? Can you make sure that there won’t be any suffering at all? Can you ensure that nobody will fail?”

“What is he talking about?” Amir asked loudly. Jyoti hushed him and replied to Vijay in a manner as calm as she could, “No Vijay, I cannot ensure that everybody will succeed. But over here, we will try until our last breath, and no matter how much we fail, we will only do the work we love. You wouldn’t understand that.”

“And you will not understand that not everybody is as fortunate or as strong as you are. People are weak; there are faint hearted people in this world too, who will sooner or later come to our world. Don’t you care about them? They have suffered enough in this world, do you want their suffering to never have an end?

“And moreover”, Vijay continued, “What do you have to lose? This Examination is just going to be another challenge. Is it not good for you too? It will build their character, teach them to face stress -”

“We don’t have ‘stress’”, Jyoti put her foot down. “This is one challenge we do not want Vijay. You may leave!”

“Alright! I will leave”, Vijay stood up, but before he turned around he reached into his purse to pull out a letter, “But before I go, I wanted to give this to you. It’s from Alan…” He handed her the letter and walked off.

Amir entered Jyoti’s room later in the day to find her, as expected, crying over the letter she received from Alan. He went to sit next to her and hugged her with one arm by the shoulder. “I read the letter too. Jyoti, you cannot take it upon yourself to mourn for the suffering of every single human being. We tried our best to stop, but he wouldn’t listen… Now we must just ignore it. And focus on our work here. Focus on your students.”

Jyoti stopped crying to look up to her husband and say, “That is exactly what I am thinking about Amir. Alan was, and still, is a dear friend of mine. And it pains me terribly to hear what he is going through right now, his dreams crushed, living like a machine… But I can take your advice and try to look past it. But what about my students? What will I do if one of them goes to the Adult World?”

“Jyoti –“

“Amir, we have to prepare our students for the worst”, Amir’s face turned aghast as he sensed the thoughts going through his wife’s mind. “They have nothing to lose and even a little knowledge to gain. Vijay was right, what harm could come out of learning a little bit of other things.”

“Jyoti, this is absolutely ridiculous. It is torture, nothing less than what Alan is going through right now! I will not allow it!”

“It is better for them to suffer while they are resilient than later in life. We have to prepare them Amir, we have to give them the strength.” For the first time, she went against her instincts, she succumbed to her fear and another’s logic, she declared, “Next year… For all the fifteen year olds in our world… I am going to conduct an Examination…”

**********

In less than two decades, Examinations accomplished the purpose for which they were unleashed into the Child’s World. Clearing them proved to be no mean feat, which meant that children had to spend an entire year studying unrelated, uninteresting and perhaps utterly useless information. Even then many students failed the Exam, and successive failures, eventually led them to the other world. Even the ones who cleared had spent so much time in their preparation that after the Exam, they turned out to be dysfunctional in the Child’s World, with a rotten creative mind and dire social skills, and eventually ended up in the Adult’s World.

“This has to stop! No more Exams!” Jyoti exclaimed at one point. But by then, fear had crept into the hearts of children. They began to question their abilities and convinced themselves that if they do not clear the Exams, they were not worthy of a dignified life. So Vijay suggested, that instead of stopping exams completely, it would be more useful to have them better prepared for the Exams.

“And how do you intend to do that?” Jyoti asked and heard the most revolting and repulsive suggestion.

“We start conducting Examinations from the age of thirteen itself. So that by the age of fifteen, they will be ready.”

Slowly, the Adult World took completely control over the Child’s World. Logic triumphed over creativity and order overruled freedom, as everyone got convinced that clearing an Exam was the only way to ‘Success’. “Be successful in life. Get a job, make money, be wealthy, get married, have kids and ‘Enjoy’ Life!” Simultaneously, the concepts of success and fear of failure invaded young minds and fear led to a craving for order. Children preferred to write Exams at the age of ten, and nine and eight and even five, if that led them to greater ‘Success’. ‘Success’ they were taught, was the only means to enjoy life!

At one point of time Alan himself stepped up to put a stop to things. “And why do you want to stop the Exams?”

“You are destroying the Child’s World!” Alan shouted angrily.

“And what if you stand to gain from the destruction of the Child’s World?” Vijay asked, looking at his accountant with a menacing gaze. “The destruction of the Child’s World is the sole responsibility of Jyoti. It is her greatest defeat and soon enough, she will succumb to her guilt. Soon enough, she too will get on to a train for the Adult World. Don’t you want her Alan? Don’t you Love her?”

Yes, Alan did love her. But in the Adult World, love was a little different. Love wasn’t so much about care and affection; it was selfish and greedy.

Twenty years later, Alan returned to the Child’s World for a short official visit. The streets were empty, the buildings were dirty and the air was gloomy. Children no longer raised the head trying to reach for the sky, but instead dug themselves into a book they were forced to learn. Anything ‘different’ was swatted off like a fly. Being creative was deemed useless and for a child, the only thought worthy of having was “How to clear the Exam?” The brilliant ones had a greater thought – “How to be successful in life!”

One lone wolf still lived, believing in the glory of the Child’s World. A thin, middle aged man with long black matted hair, thick grey beard and bright blue eyes, still filled with hope. “It has been such a long time my friend!” Alan greeted his long lost friend Amir with a hug.

“How are you?” Amir asked gleefully. It was clear that there wasn’t enough food in his stomach. He lived in the ruins of the good old days, whilst there was no hope for recovery, not even a shade of concern or worry was seen in his face. He was happy as ever.

“I am doing great. My son is fifteen years old, he just cleared his Examinations with very good marks. There is a lot of opportunity for Doctors in the Adult World, so I am sending him off for medical training. My daughter is ten, she is doing great too.”

“Medical training huh? Ever asked him what he wanted to do?”

“I didn’t. And I don’t regret it one bit. The world has changed Amir. This is the right way, everyone knows that.”

Amir laughed at the remark. “Even you are not convinced of that!” He said laughing even louder.

“I am happy now!”

“No! You are trained to not be sad. You are just so busy that you don’t have the time to be sad. That is not Happiness my friend.”

“And are you happy?” Alan asked with a  smirk.

“No… but at least I am honest. I know what I am…”

“And how is that going to feed you? Admit it Amir, you have lost. Your world has lost!”

“Oh No my friend. I may have lost, but the Child’s World will not lose. Your Exams may have built a huge prison, each and every child may be raised in a cage, which is definitely bad for us… But just beware… Just beware, that even if there is a single Child powerful enough to break through your prison… if there is even a single Child strong enough to get through all your exams and rules and still be Child… Creative, innocent and Loving child… Just beware of him my friend… He will take on your world like a Tsunami!” Amir winked his twinkling blue eyes and walked away.

“So you met my ex-husband today huh?” Jyoti was a completely changed woman. She weighed thrice as much as before, her cheeks drooped, her hair had become thin and her eyes lost every trace of the abundant joy it once possessed.

“Yes, he gave me your address”, Alan asked with a smile his face constipated. “So, what do you do now?”

“Well, I am a sea-food chef.” Jyoti took one good look at the disbelief in Alan’s face and laughed. “Just kidding man. I work at a hospital nearby.”

“Oh, are you a nurse?”

“I was… But the hospital decided that it would be better business if they had a really pretty girl for the nursing job, and apparently people with golden dark skin are not pretty, so now I am a janitor. I won’t complain, I guess I deserve it for all that I did. And moreover, it pays alright…” She gulped a glass of rum. Alan too followed suit and ordered for more drinks. He couldn’t bear to see the Love of his life the way she was?

“So, how are your children?” Jyoti asked, and Alan went on to tell him the ‘achievements’ and ‘ambitions’ of two children.

“And what about your children?” Alan asked.

“Just one boy – Howard. He is with Amir now. I thought it would be better that way. The boy has a taste for architecture too…”

“I would strongly advice against that Jyoti”, Alan took the liberty of advising her about her own son, “People like… Amir! They don’t have a future… It isn’t safe for your son.”

“I know Alan. But…” Jyoti didn’t have words. Maybe she had a spark of hope left in Howard. Maybe she believed in the revival of the Child’s World. Maybe she believed that her son would be the one to change the world. But she didn’t dare to voice her opinion, for it would be stomped out by anyone who heard her. She simply downed another glass of rum.

“I didn’t know that you drink”, Alan asked with a tone of shock in his voice.

“Sure I do. Everybody in the Adult World does…”

“Why?” Alan asked naively.

Jyoti looked at him with a crooked smile, as if the answer couldn’t be more obvious. When she realised that Alan had asked a genuine doubt, she replied, “Why? To escape the Adult World of course!”

Love

Care

July 2012

Cooking was never his forte. He fumbled to spot the ingredients lined up above the kitchen cabinet and confused the ones he needed, most of them being the basic stuff like salt and sugar. Hah! He wouldn’t dare try out any of the complicated spices or go anywhere near the heavy machinery that his wife normally used in the kitchen; with elegant ease, one might add. At that point he realized that the culinary skills his “much better” half possessed went far beyond the food she made; it was the way she waltzed through the cubicle some might call a kitchen. Not once was the sound of vessels clanking or ceramic shattering heard, not once was curry spilt, the stove was spotless, the cabinets dry, the sink was cleared then and there, and not a spoon was out of its place. The dishes that came out of that kitchen were often lauded (and occasionally criticized) but only now did he appreciate her grace within the kitchen. “Could you buy me one for table fan? For the kitchen…” Her request was often scoffed by, “But you already complain that there isn’t enough space in the kitchen! How do think you are going to adjust a fan in there?” He came up with a bunch of solutions to that problem as he poured porridge into the bowl… half naked… perspiring… tanned.

The bowl was placed on a tray (Fancy – he might say; unnecessary – she would rebuke!) along with a little cup of pickle and taken across the hall to their bedroom. The door was open, so he could see the petite figure of his beautiful wife under the blanket. The face that was normally flush with energy looked like a deflated balloon, and even in sleep, her eyes cringed and her lips parted to give a soft moan of an aching body. He quickly placed the tray on the side table and felt her forehead.

“What was the noise I heard?” she asked, referring to one of the steel plates that had fallen during her husband’s apparent process of cooking. Her voice, as tired as it could be, did not hide its irritability. She struggled to open her eyes and with some support, propped herself up. She couldn’t move her body, her legs ached at every joint, her arms couldn’t bear the lightest weight and her palm was cold as ice.

“Eat this”, picking the bowl up, he brought a spoon of porridge close to her mouth and asked.

“I don’t want it”, her mouth was tasteless and she was certain her stomach didn’t have the strength to digest it. She couldn’t bear the pain of throwing up one more time, and all those thoughts made her dizzy.

“You have to! You need some energy and you cannot have the medicines on an empty stomach”, he insisted gently. He surpassed her reluctance and fed her, slowly, one spoon after another, and in a seemingly never ending process he half emptied the bowl before she slumped with one hand raised, “No more!”

“OK, that’s fine. Let me get your medicine”, he took the tray back to the kitchen, placed it next to the sink, ignoring the inviting calls of a dozen other vessels to be washed, and got back to her with the tablet and a glass of water.

“Better?” A little hope in his voice. “Yeah”, a little truth in hers.

Ajmal and Mehrin had been married for less than a year, but there was no façade of the so-called “honeymoon” period in their relationship. There was no overt expression of love, no flowers, no poems or greeting cards, no extravagant celebrations arranged or gifts purchased and neither was there any expectation for any of that. They fought bitterly when things didn’t go their way; they fought to adjust and fought for their space! And perhaps this naked honesty brought a lot of clarity in their relationship. Without any of the superficial decoration, they both realized what their relationship meant. They acknowledged the budding friendship and the well rooted kinship that bound them, they appreciated their differences and found a way through that. And with every passing day, they cared for each other a little more. As they understood the nuances of each other’s personality, they also developed a liking for the person, an affection that would one day grow to become an inseparable bond. Not a blazing flame, but a serene pasture… That’s love…

“Could you read me the newspaper?” She asked with her eyes closed. He searched for it a while inside his head, thinking of when he had last seen the newspaper, finally realizing that he hasn’t opened the door since morning and the paper is still outside.

“Civil War… Protests… Refugee crisis… Syria burning… They have nothing else in the news”, he ran through the pages.

“Oh! Tell me what’s the situation in Damascus -”

“And why are you bothered about that may I ask?” He cut her short, “We are not going to be affected by whatever in happening in ‘Damascus’ in any manner, are we?”

“I know it will not affected us in any way”, she too would have cut him short, but there was a tad exhaustion in her voice. “I am just worried about the people there. Are they moving out of the countries? Who is taking in the refugees?”

“Well, it seems a lot of them are moving to Jordan and Turkey. Europe has a mixed stand on the issue, some countries are ready to take in the refugees while others have flatly refused.” He spoke without emotion. “Now, please don’t start worrying yourself with those refugees. Worry about yourself!”

“They too are people like us! People with families, people with jobs, children with schools and homes! What would they do now?”

“None of our business!”

“How can you be so cold?”

“Because it honestly doesn’t matter! How does it matter if any of us sitting here care or don’t? How is that going to affect them?”

“Yes, there is NOTHING we can do for those people right now, so least we can do sitting here is to care! To act as if it matters, to act as it is important! And maybe somehow, we might be of some help…”

“How is our care going to be of any help?” He took his eyes off the paper and looked at her.

“I always tell my students, that if you want to live as Human Beings, the least you need is eyes ready to care and a heart filled with prayer. We want to change the world, help those around us, and we ourselves expect help from others – That’s how Human Beings work. That’s society, that’s the world – and unless we purify ourselves, unless we are ready to care for what we see, unless we pray for those who need it… What kind of person does that make us? There is no difference… between someone who is a thousand miles away and someone who lives right next door, we end up showing the same apathy towards both! Replace that with care… the least we can do to make the world a better place!”

“Well… you seem to be in perfectly good health when you want to pick a fight…” she started a fit of coughing before he could complete that sentence. He patted her head, quickly gave her a glass of water and helped her lie down again. Her forehead was burning up, worse than before. Now, it wasn’t the heat that made Ajmal sweat!

As the day passed, Mehrin’s health deteriorated further. Within an hour of having breakfast, she vomited everything and flatly refused to have lunch. The clenching of stomach for every time she vomited, as if squeezing out the last drop of toothpaste, was so unbearable, that even drinking water was difficult. Her mouth was absolutely tasteless and by evening she began shivering as in the middle of winter. A couple of older ladies dropped in from the neighborhood to offer remedies; one of them shared lunch with Ajmal and another helped clean up too, but by seven in the evening, Mehrin’s teeth started to clatter and Ajmal rushed her to the nearest hospital where she was immediately given an injection and connected to the IV for glucose. “Let her be here for one day”, the doctor passed his judgment.

At night she opened her eyes to find her husband dozing by her bedside in the hospital. “What did the doctor say?” she croaked.

“He ran a few tests. Nothing to worry about, just a normal fever. But you will have to stay here for a day. Don’t worry, I have informed the office that I won’t be coming tomorrow.”

“Don’t do that. I think I will be alright after a good night’s sleep. And in the morning there will be people to look after me. You can go to work.” He loved his job – a borderline workaholic, and she knew it.

“Are you sure?” Of course No! But she didn’t respond. And he didn’t push her either.

In the morning he got back home to take a shower and get ready for work. There was never, and there will never be anything like the smell of your own home after a night spent away. The house certainly was in a mess, but walking back into the heart of your comfort zone felt like crawling back into your soft blanket in the middle of the night; there was no greater relief. He quickly put away a few clothes that lay astray, made his bed, took out the garbage and washed dishes to avoid the odour when he returned from work, just in time to take a bath, iron his clothes and get ready for work. Ajmal worked at an Accountant’s office which was a 15 minutes drive from home.

“How was the weekend sir?” He was greeted by his junior, Mohd. Abolla, as soon as he settled into his cabin.

“Well, not so great. My wife caught a terrible fever day before yesterday. She is in the hospital right now.”

“Oh! Hope she is better now?”

“Yeah, she was a little better in the morning. She was able to eat breakfast which I got from the hospital canteen. Let me just check on her anyway.” He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed his wife’s cell-phone. She picked it up in the first ring itself. “Hi…” she said in a croaky voice.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Much better actually. Body pain is down and the nurse said even my temperature has come down. Guess I will be alright by evening.”

A workaholic he was, but at that moment he wanted nothing more than to see his wife with his own eyes, and make sure that she was saying the truth. To keep his own hand on her forehead and ensure that her fever had come down. “Alright, you take care. I will call you.” He hung up half heartedly.

“What did she say?” Abolla enquired from his seat right across Ajmal.

“She says she is better. I hope she really is. Was in a terrible state yesterday!”

“Don’t’ worry sir, she will be alright. Sir, I have completed the statements you had asked me. Could you finalise them?” Abolla stretched his arm from his chair and passed a yellow coloured file to his boss.

“Let me see it”, he stretched his arm to grab the file and put it on the cluttered table. “Hey, do you have the newspaper with you?”

“Ahh, sure sir. There you go”, Abolla pulled the newspaper out of his back, which was intended for his lunch-break read, and passed it across with the outstretched arm. “Just the same news sir, War, protest and refugees. Nothing that concerns us!” He smiled.

“Of course!” He quickly ran through the pages and five minutes later made another phone call to his wife, giving her the latest refugee statistics and his normal speech about how it doesn’t matter. “Will read the whole thing in the afternoon and call you then”, he added, after being shouted at for being cold-hearted and apathetic.

“Sir, I am going outside to have lunch. Would you care to join me?” Abolla had started to leave for lunch.

“No, it’s alright. I am not feeling hungry.” Obviously!

“Alright! Sir, by the way, do you have change for a hundred?”

“Yeah, sure!” He pulled out his purse from his side pockets to search for change, which he was sure he had the previous night at the hospital. “Oh, sorry man. There was a beggar outside the hospital, so I gave him the change!”

“That’s no problem. And sir, any issues with the statement?”

“I haven’t checked them yet. Will let you know if anything comes up.” Obviously, he couldn’t concentrate. He fidgeted with the stationery on his table, fingers trembling restlessly, he was afraid to make another phone call – He had to see his wife in person. Impulsively, he bounced of his chair, grabbed the car keys and walked out of the office.

“Sir!” came a shout from behind as he was stepping out the door. The sixty year old peon at his office came running to catch up with him. “Sir, could I please have an extra hour of break? My son is not feeling well, and my wife is with him all alone. I just wanted to check on him, I will be back, but it could take some time…” Ajmal was always skeptical of his staff and these kind of well choreographed excuses were not uncommon with him. But the look of desperation on the old man’s face was something he could relate to.

“Sure, take your time”, after a thought he added, “Take your own time, I think we can manage over here for the day even if you don’t come back in the afternoon.”

“Thank you so much sir”, even the look of gratitude on his face was something he could connect to. As he unlocked the car, he turned around and called out to the peon who was about to cross the road, “How are going home?”

“I will walk sir, it’s barely half an hour.”

“Correct”, with sudden realization, “I know your house. It’s on the way, come I will give you a ride.” The old man did not wait to play the “No it’s alright” charade – with a wide mouthed smile, he rushed into the car, “Thank you so much sir”

At the hospital, Mehrin did seem better, but she as far from recovery. She had vomited just once that morning and her temperature was down by two degrees, but her cheeks were still sunken and she wasn’t able to move that much. He could clearly see that her body was still aching and would need another couple of days of proper care. “I’ll just see the doctor and come. Will get some lunch also on the way, did you like the canteen food?” She said it was fine. Outside the room, he changed his mind and decided to grab lunch first and meet the doctor later. He ordered Naan with meat Korma for himself and soup with mashed vegetables for his wife, which the canteen cook recommended would be easily digestible for a patient. They had lunch together, she was able to eat by herself, and discuss the current affairs. The war in Syria had got bloodier and the flux of refugees was deemed to be unmanageable by all of its neighbouring countries. There seemed to be an inflow of refugees into Aleppo too, which was so far the only safe city in Syria. And the citizens of Aleppo blindly believed that the war would never reach them.

After lunch, he met with the doctor, who too started the discussion with current affairs; but his tone was more grave. “How is any of this going to bother us Doctor?” Ajmal asked with the same naivety that almost everyone in Aleppo felt.

“I was sure about that until yesterday. But today I am heard some unsettling news… Let’s hope for the best anyway.”

Aleppo had been the centre of trade and commerce for centuries, the cradle of civilization for millennia. The buildings were beautiful, the people were apolitical and industrious, and culture was peaceful. Nobody would dare bring violence to that amazing city. It was blasphemous to even think of any of those buildings turning to rubble, the mosques, hospitals, schools, shopping centers – everyone was sure that Aleppo was the safest place on earth. Ajmal bred that ego the most!

“Your wife is getting better now. I think you can take her home now, we will discharge her.” That shocked him. His wife was in better health, but absolutely no condition to go back home. “Yes, I realise it would be better for her to stay here for a couple more days; but we are desperately short on facilities. There has been an accident and we are taking in a lot of patients today – Patients who need life support and critical care. We will have to vacate the comparatively better.” Ajmal signed some papers, paid the bills and slowly walked his wife out of the hospital.

Outside, chaos was starting to ensue! Many injured and burnt were being rushed in with gurneys, ambulances were blaring and nurses with the help of security were flying around. Ajmal helped his wife into the car and quickly drove outside the hospital premises – to see the Aleppo of his greatest nightmare. People were on the street, running hither and thither, cars, tied up with luggage and filled with people, seemed to move out of the city. As his car moved closer home, the panic became tangible! Fear was blazing in every eyes, there was confusion, desperation and helplessness. It was as if the fear, that they had dug into the deepest corners of their heart and promised to never let out, was dancing naked in front of them.

As their car reached… what was once their home… horror took their breath away! The building, that was once the temple of their joy, stood before them, crumbled and bare. There was no roof and the walls were on fire. The doors and  windows were shattered and one could see that inside the walls was nothing but dust. The furniture, the kitchen, their bed, their clothes, all of it was turned to dust, lying below a massive tower of black smoke that kissed the sky. In a distance not so far, gunshots could be heard, getting closer, louder and faster.

She placed her cold shivering hands on his, clasped them tightly, and through her gasping breath and pounding heart, she found the voice to say, “We must leave Syria Now!”   

Talks with the Rain: Part 1 - Smitten

I think I noticed it soon enough. There was an addition to the dull silence of my room and the low rumble of the ceiling fan; I could hear an thin drizzle. There could have been a leakage anywhere outside, but my heart leapt in hope; the book fell out of my hand, the chair slipped off my butt and in a flash I was leaning over the railing of my apartment’s balcony. There it was, a light drizzle stretching as far as I could see.

Oh! There was nothing more comforting than this! The splash of those countless droplets on Earth, the smell of moist soil that wafted up to me and the hug of the cool breeze; whom did it not turn into an artist? Whom did it not turn into a lover? Could there be a soul to walk this planet who did not crave the touch of this natural wonder? Could there be a sorrow that wasn’t vanished by the sound of this mystical? Not once did this friend of mine fail to bring a smile upon me. I stretched my arm over the balcony and felt a droplet touch my palm. “Been a while there Comrade”, I asked.

“Heyloooo!” The rain cheered, and I saw that the drizzle suddenly turned into a shower. “I am sorry da, you know I am not in full control of things.” My friend had sensed that I was indeed disappointed with his delay. But I was aware that it wasn’t an easy matter for him to come, the winds had to approve, the time of his arrival, and the duration of his stay. In our town, that wasn’t such a long time.

“Your brilliance has lost no glory my friend!” I commented.

“And your sword of poetry is sharp as ever my brother!” He sang back.

“Poet? Hardly! You know how I struggle to string words together”

“It’s not just about words you know. Every person who sees with his heart is a poet. Every person who feels and cares is a poet. It doesn’t matter what you care for. Just empathise, and that makes you a poet. Your poetry could flow out in the form of words, music, art or what not. It’s not the product, but the source that makes you a poet!”

“And if this outflow can be in the form of water”, I replied, “You, my friend, are the greatest poet!”

  

“How about a cup of tea?” Rain hadn’t completed its sentence before I shouted to my mother, “Amma, I am going outside for a cup of tea!”

“Isn’t it raining outside?” she asked. It was a question I was prepared for. “Just drizzling… I have an umbrella... Be back soon!” I dashed.

“So? What’s new?” He enquired as I started walking up the street. I had adjusted my umbrella for the wind, but my feet still got wet. Meh, who cares!

“Preparing for exams, that’s all. Just a couple of months away you know. And how are things at your end?”

The sound of the rain over my umbrella was music. And out there, the hug of the breeze was even more intimate. “The usual… Hey, did u visit the new place they are developing outside the town?” He was talking about… well, let’s just call the place, “The City”.

“Not yet, but I hear it’s buzzing already”, it sure was in the newspapers. All people had to talk about was about the investments coming in and the buildings popping up. The news made noise over both sides of the scene, about how erratic and unplanned the construction was, and also about how vibrant the city had become, how much jobs it was creating and the whole new life style that was setting. On that page again, there was a lot of noise – Obviously!

“It’s Beautiful”, I saw a flash a lightning up ahead, followed by a slow rumble. Hope Amma didn’t hear that, she would be worried sick! “I have never seen anything like it!” Rain continued, and so did the lightning.

“So did you shower there too? Was that the delay?” Yes, I was jealous.

“No, I didn’t actually. Lingered there for a while, but then decided against it.”

Now, that was a really curious incident. My friend, the Rain, was plain and straightforward, showering upon any land that came it’s path. He didn’t care whether it was a city, a village or a forest, he blessed anything that he passed by. And he loved it. Every time Rain visited me, he would share stories. How he was received, how the children ran about when he came, how people thanked the skies upon his arrivals, how animals and birds sang to greet him. There was an unmatched zest in his voice as he spoke about it, and I could find no reason why he would skip a town. I voiced my concern.

“Well, I was a bit worried actually! The place was so beautiful. Spotless! Really… I didn’t have the heart to shower over there.”

This was a side to Rain, I had never seen before. More than a friend, the Rain was my guide, my mentor, my older brother. He was the mature one. He was the one who dispelled my fears and now… He sounded scared.

“But I didn’t want to leave the place either. I wanted to shower, really! But… I was almost sure they wouldn’t like it!”

“Wait! Are you SMITTEN for that city?” I asked in sheer shock.

“WHAT?”

“Well, I say that any person, or force of nature, who is capable of experiencing joy, is doomed to experience every other emotion.”

“WHAT!?”

“You have a crush on the -” Before I could complete, the Rain interjected.

“I do not have a crush on the city!” I spotted a pinkish hue on the clouds which was definitely not a lighting effect by the sun. “I am just scared! Really scared!”

That’s because you are smitten, I wanted to say, but instead asked, “And why is that?”

“Because it’s a Beautiful city!” Ahha! Gotcha! Even the rain spotted the slip of his tongue and responded with a Blast of thunder above me.

“Beautiful City huh?” I chuckled. But then I added with serious concern, “But tell me, why should you be scared?”

 “Because it is a Beautiful city!” The droplets pounded around me with more force now. I could sense a certain frustration in his voice now. After a moment, he calmed down and started answering, one by one.

“The city is a strange place. I mean, they seem so vibrant and smart, yet they are surprised when they see me. They know I am going to visit them twice a year and yet they seem shocked at every shower. And… They hate that! You have no idea how taken aback I was when it happened the first time.

“The city did not have adequate drainage for my water to flow, and neither was there soil for the water to seep in, so the water rose on the surface and you wouldn’t believe how angry the people were. It is so depressing!

“They are an angry lot, I know. But whenever I visit, they join forces and direct all their anger at me. The current goes off, or when network connection is down, or if a tree falls, or the garbage starts to smell, if the water enters their house or forms a puddle on the road, or even if the road gets damaged, if the mosquitoes start to breed and spread diseases, WHATEVER happens, I am responsible.

“And guess what, if they don’t have sufficient water supply, or if their water is too hard, or if the heat is unbearable, even then I am to be blamed. You have no idea how frustrating the irrationality of these folks is!

“To watch the garden flourish and the grass wet, to appreciate all that beauty, or to let children run about and get wet, Oh my! City people let hell loose if they find children running in the rain. I know, to enjoy my arrival may be much to ask for. But come on, is it that difficult to accommodate me as a guest at least. Or even an ordinary supplier! Oh no, they are all too busy for that. I just see them running, up and about for God knows what.”

The wind was blowing more fiercely as Rain continued to speak, “So I usually detest showering in cities. But this one, I don’t know man, the people looked different over there. They were all smiling. They seemed happy. And that made me all the more scared! Would I be ruining their merriness? Would they be all the more mad at me? I couldn’t bear to see those joyous faces turn bitter…

“But I desperately want to be around them too. I wish they would accept my arrival. I wish I could be the cause for a little more of their happiness. Ughh…!”

By then the Rain had turned into a proper Thunderstorm, swinging up and down in intensity. Grabbing the hold of my Umbrella with full strength, I spoke, “You have got to calm down Bro! Take it easy. I know how you feel. You are smitten by the City, and that is absolutely normal, just listen to me!”

I don’t know whether he actually listen to me or just got tired, but he calmed down for a moment. I didn’t say anything until he gestured me to, quite pleadingly.

“First of all, you can’t assume that this City is going to be like every other one. You cannot typecast it. Yes, I agree, there is a probability that the city could be everything you describe, but there is also a probability that That won’t be true. You have to be positive.”

The wind reduced to a breeze and the Thunderclaps (Ohhh! Bloody Blundaleomite, I hope Amma didn’t hear them!) had stopped. As the shower evened out and the clouds let the sun shine through a thin gap, I smiled up at my friend. “What?” he asked. I just continued smiling, and suddenly he joined in too. “What?” he asked again.

“I know that feeling you are going through. And I think it is beautiful!”

“It is Frustrating!”

“I know, but I love it. And I know somewhere, the greatest poet will love it too!” I spoke on with a smile, a smile that signaled strength you had gained through experience, “What you have going on right now, that is the first step to one of the most glorious things in the world. You are at the doorstep of Love my friend! What awaits you is an ocean of joy!

“And the fear you experience, it is exactly the fear that a sailor would experience before he set sail. You are about to enter something magnificent! Something so beautiful, yet so powerful that it could crush you. But you know what, I love that feeling. The feeling of standing and looking at the ocean, waiting for it to consume you!

“What is the worst that could happen? You could fail. So what! Everybody fails… But what else could happen? You could fall in Love! Think about it, it’s a fair bet. If the City liked you, if the City loved you, Wow, wouldn’t that be worth everything!”

I closed my eyes and listened to the shower around me, and recollected my own memories, a large quantity of which existed. Every time that girl looked at you, or texted you or called you, the quickening of your heartbeat, and the racing of your breath! The excitement, the rush… Oh! That is beautiful!

Rain took a deep sigh and I saw the umbrella fly out of the hands of another person who walked down the street. “Perhaps!” He said, “so strange how one behaves when threatened huh?”

“Even the wisest can be brought to his knees when caught unawares”, I acknowledged.

“You seem to have a LOT of experience.”

“Hey, there are some things at which no force of nature can compare with humans. You might know of beauty and stuff, but when it comes to handling emotions, we, especially myself, am a master!”

The Rain still beat down steadily as I finished my cup of tea and started walking back home, when suddenly I felt a pulse down my thighs. I fished the cell phone from the pocket and my heart stopped beating! Across the screen were written three words, “Devika Rajee… Calling…”

With my shivering thumb I dragged the green button and spoke, “Hello… Hello… Hellooo…?” There was no voice at the other end. Could she have called me by mistake? Was that a pocket call? Or was it a prank!? O God… Wait, there was no signal in my cell. The Rain! The Rain had messed with the cell phone towers, there was no network!

“BLOODY FISH RAIN, YOU’D BETTER CLEAR OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS, IF YOU RUIN IT, TRUST ME YOU ARE GOING TO PAY! ONE MORE DROP AND MIND YOU! RUN!!!”

I could hear a distant laugh as the clouds made way for the bright and shiny Sun, slowly sinking in the west. “Hello…” I spoke again, my heart pounding against my chest.

“Heyy… hi!”

(This blog is a special dedication to two wonderful people who are celebrating their birthday on the 12^th of February. I wish you both, all the luck and happiness in this world, with all my heart, and give this to you as a little birthday present. You are special)

Love