A Dreadful Determination! Part-6

[Urmila and Sharmila are sisters. The elder one Sharmila was in love with Vinod, her neighbour, even when they passed through the school-age. Father had brought proposals which she resisted tooth and nail, though she knew not the result. She recalled her baby-hood memories in which Vinod always sided with her in all the activities.  A squad of six used to engage themselves in kiddies’ amusements a lot. They played in and with water and sand, dawdled time in group games and fun during their babe-stage. And they reached their education-conclusive classes now. Whenever Urmila tried to retrieve her mind from the memories, it did not obey her. Again it went on a tour to the backyard of mind.]

Now pl. read.

 On a Sunday Urmila and Sharmila went to light the holy stone-lamp in their mini forest(sacred woods). After lighting the lamp in a hallowed way, closing the eyes both of them prayed to the snake-deity and turned to go back. At the expanse of the land in front at a corner stood a physique holding the open hands upside down in a blessing posture. “May you be first in the class, mole,”  Vinod as if a sage. All the three burst into laughter.

“Why here?” Urmila.

“To pray to God,” Vinod.

“Did you pray for good results in Exams?” innocently  Sharmila.

“Yea, I did! I prayed for many things.”

Waffling some mumbo jumbo just for fun sake, they reached home. And at the gate Vinod bade goodbye.

Academics as well as games stole their time and days one after another and they reached the door-sill of the last Exams for the year. All brooded on the books in the nest of studies. The exams of tenth and the smaller classes came to the conclusive days somewhat alike, as the schedule of the latter was sporadic. Eventually all heaved a sigh of relief and literally all of them together celebrated that day by running and jumping in the vacant land close to the girl’s safe haven.

The vacation had brought in frequency of their meeting again. Late dawns drew them out of bed and placed them on routines like brushing, bathing, breakfast etc. However play area regularly embraced them. The days rolled rather flew away with their amusing games, chat and talk about movie heroes, arguments and discussions about a little bit politics and the such, though the girls were many a time mere spectators in this course.

Climbing trees, eating mangoes, sucking cashew apples, biting Artocarp fruit etc were on full swing. Their hands spared not the small and big fruits of wild plants, hedge herbs etc. Kites also had their roll in their enchantment and entertainment.

One day when Achchan came home from office he saw both his daughters standing on the guava tree. Urmila was advancing to pluck a fruit from a top twig. As soon as did the girls see their father, both bustled to climb down and  Sharmila got her skin peeled off on the hand.

Both the girls earned their reproof in a sizable quantity from Achchan with the fall of a stick on the thigh. As every starting has an end the vacation also ended throwing three, the girls and Akhil Chacko back to the school and the other boys on the look-out of their admissions in the nearby college. They had all accomplished their tenth grade without a wide difference in their scores. Still Anand had to undergo slightly a bitter time of rebuke from parents, as they weighed him against the other two.

Days performed their duty well and grew to months and years without fail. Urmila is in eleventh grade (by then the pre-degree course had been detached from the colleges and linked with the schools gifting it a new cloak named higher secondary) and Vinod in first year degree course. Their affection had attained density more and hence they had discovered means and spots for meeting more.  

                                                                                                                     [To be contd.]

In Twilight at the Traffic Signal !

I couldn't link it with Roadside Beggar, though I had written it earlier. Since it goes with Dusk I link it here.

 Twilight reddens road.

Stops the vehicles traffic

 Signal, long wait, cars.

Stretches, an arm for

 Alms; a figure in odd rags

 An old beggar, poor.

 That live skeleton,

 Impels the chap fat in car;

Disdain on his face.

The empty-bellied

  With flesh nil on body, moves

 To others in hope.

                      

Draws a cyclist the

 Beggar nearer. Tenders he

 Some cash; dusk exults.

Grins the dusk with glee,

When the beggar in wonder

Caresses the cash.

For http://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.in/2014/11/carpe-diem-608-dusk.







sarala

                            

A Dreadful Determination! Part-5

 [Urmila and Sharmila are sisters. The elder one Sharmila was in love with Vinod, her neighbour, even when they passed through the school-age. Father had brought proposals which she resisted tooth and nail, though she knew not the result. She recalled her baby-hood memories in which Vinod always sided with her in all the activities. Once she lost her ear-drops, the gang saved her from the reproach of parents. A squad of six used to engage themselves in kiddies’ amusements a lot. They played in and with water and sand, dawdled time in group games and funs during their babe-stage. And they reached their education-conclusive classes now.]

Now please read.

Time and again Urmila’s mind jumped into the curious experiences of the time gone. Adolescence  had driven away the childhood from the children. Some sort of incomprehensible strangeness loomed in the stance of theirs. A tow-like pull towards each other occupied the minds of the duo, Urmila and Vinod. A special genus of delicacy in passing freely her feelings to Vinod developed in Urmila. At the same time she coveted for his occurrence within her approach. And so was the case somewhat with Vinod also. She dug in her memory to locate the time when it started.

 After the tests and all, the Onam vacation was on its round. Sharmila and Urmila with their flower-basket rummaged around to gather flowers. Vinod and Akhil joined them though gathering flowers was a feminine duty. Urmila tried to pick flowers from plants on the slant of the mud-wall, but couldn’t she reach there. Vinod held her hand and helped her. And that touch passed an electric current through their mind. This was the first instance that painted their acquaintance with the colour of craze. Urmila looked down and hurried to return home.

 Onam vacation, ‘Pookkalam’ decoration and Onam celebration etc. went on providing the children with ample amusement and entertainment. Relishing feast with ‘Payasam’(rice pudding) and Pappad along with next of kin from far enthused them  all with joy and delight.

As days passed the hurdles of monthly tests, commencement began blinking. Urmila was in eighth and Vinod in tenth. Academics showed no mercy as they levied the children with home work, project, monthly-tests, term-tests and so on. 

“ Amma(mother), I have to study a lot. I’ll sit under the tree by the paddy field. I can focus more there,” Urmila carrying a book in hand headed for the tree- shade on the Sunday preceding the test.

“Have your breakfast and go.”

“No, Amma I am not hungry.”

“Holidays make the children lazy. You get up late. Eat nothing. Come, have something.”

Reluctantly Urmila came back to have a small quantity of rice noodles (idiyappam) in a rapid way. Something tempted her to prepare for the next day’s test in the land outside home. Though it was their land it existed slightly away from home. She opted for the shade of an Artocarpus (Anjili) tree to befriend with her studies. She opened the book and concentrated on the lesson aiming to cover a certain portions.

“O! Very studious, preparing for IAS?” the very recognizable voice astonished her, since she had a yen for that there.

“Why are you here?”

“I came to show you my new pen,” Vinod created a reason to visit her.

A chit-chat for the sake of being together took place before they left for home.

 The onset of adulthood had reduced the rate of scuffles and wrestles, prevailed among the comrades earlier. Their petty clashes they lessened giving room for a matured attitude. Of course they kept their gatherings live though not frequent. They had earmarked time for that.

 Slowly-slowly an infatuating inclination crawled towards the mindset of the children, Vinod and Urmila. A glowing spark visited their eyes at the sight itself and an infatuation was the upshot. The infatuation in fact was growing and metamorphosing gradually into affection. And the affection infused in them a longing for each other’s presence.

Urmila and Vinod somehow discovered time and reasons for meeting each other. They sometimes warily avoided the companies of their kith and kin like Anand, Akhil, George and Sharmila. Academic burden was given the blame of being away from friends. Gradually the fissure of frequencies widened in accordance with the academic pressure of classes growing higher. And that slit paved more ways for those two teenagers to be more than together whenever they desired so. 

When they were little children the girls used to go to Vinod’s house rather they had the liberty to visit it repetitively. But at the attainment of puberty the eldres chained their legs and laid restrictions. However the lure between Urmila and Vinod helped them choose areas away from the view of elders. The venue of most of their get-together was the propinquity of the mini forest of Urmila’s family which was near her reside. It had copious number of plants growing profusely.

More and more water of their alliance flowed through the burn of their love. As more and more years joined their age, the burn went on widening. And finally it fell into the ocean of inseparability. 

sarala                                                                                          [to be contd.]

A Dreadful Determination! Part 3&4

  The story so far:-

[Urmila and Sharmila are sisters. The elder one Sharmila was in love with Vinod, her neighbour, even when they passed through the school-age. Father had brought proposals which she resisted tooth and nail, though she knew not the result. She recalled her baby-hood memories in which Vinod always sided with her in all the activities. Once she lost her ear-drops, the gang saved her from the reproach of parents. A squad of six used to engage themselves in kiddies’ amusements a lot.]

Now please read

 Part-4                                                                                                                                 

 The exam preparations scheduled by the school as well as the parents provided togetherness seldom to them. Since the time schedule was dissimilar for the members of the diminutives’ squad, the journey onward to and backward from the school didn't find them in collection. On the last day of the final exam of the year all the little ones threw their bags in a corner of their study and sprang to the free environs. All the six flocked together under the mango tree near Urmila’s house.

“Let us pick some tender mangoes and eat,” Vinod started jumping up to catch hold of a branch full of tender mangoes.  And he succeeded in his attempt. Anand assisted him in holding it so that it would not slip and go up.

All the little limbs, all of a sudden crowded, as crows at food-waste and plucked mangoes as much they wanted. The mangoes they picked joyfully entered their mouths to be munched. They rejoiced at its sourness expressing shrivels and inflammations on facial muscles.

By then the babe of the group, Sharmila noticed a dragon-fly buzzing and fluttering around the ground. Leaving aside the mango her hands tried in vain to seize the fly. George slowly moved to the spot and grabbed it from the foliage. Delightfully she stretched her hands to hold it, but withdrew in fright. She with pleasure watched him make the fly pick stones. Amidst the struggle to get away from the tots, the poor fly got its tail broken. It hurt Urmila and her kind heart ached. She as if an elderly member reprimanded the children both, her friend and sibling.

The next day their fun was at the edge of a muddy wall with hedge-rows. They picked wild edible fruits of herbs and shrubs, shared and gobbled them enough. In the attempt of plucking more fruit from an herb, Akhil slithered down and got his leg injured. Vinod picked some common-floss leaves (communist chedi) and applied their sap on the wound as if he was an authority in such a vicinity. Though it was small scratches, the reproaches they bagged from home were stomach-full.

 And thus they occupied busily themselves in various types of fun and joy and made full use of their vacation very long. They swayed with twigs, chatted with squirrels, chirped with birds, played with cat and dog and swam with fish in company and sometimes in solitude. They allowed leaves, flowers and paper boat, prepared by themselves flow in pond. They altered their bath towels to fishing-net and gaily fished in it. They got the towel dyed in brown mud. They soaked soil in water, moulded shapes and returned home, bathed in water and sand. They swung choosing various postures in swing, tied on a bough.  Rebukes and praises had no dearth at dwelling to welcome them all.

The days and nights were accomplishing their duties with no fail. The Earth was performing rotations and revolutions regularly around her care-taker, the Sun. Several such rounds were over. The children all moulted their babyhood and wore the coat of adulthood. They all flew and migrated to the arenas of their welfare. Now Urmila was in her P.G class, Sharmila was in the initial year of her professional course and Vinod in the look-out of an employment after his P.G.

sarala.                                                                                             [to be contd.]

Dawn!

With ardour the dark

Tries to clasp Sun; strides away

He to his love dawn.

Hides he from dark

In scorn and awaits his love;

Shyly looms Dawn there .

Sun in passion hugs

His Dawn;gladly celebrate all

Beings  their meeting.

  

Farewell, bids Dawn, as

Her lover's day's load ,aware is
 She; next day meet they.

For http://haikuhorizons.wordpress.com/

A Dreadful Determination! Part-3

The story so far:

[Urmila and Sharmila were sisters. The elder one Sharmila was in love with Vinod, her neighbour  even when she passed through the school-age. Father brought proposals which she resisted tooth and nail, though she knew not the result. She recalled her baby-hood memories in which Vinod always sided with her in all the activities.]

“Sharmi, eat this piece too, eat fast, it is time you finished eating,” Amma was scurrying for the scuttling Sharmila to make her eat a piece of idly lying in her hand. Sharmila reversed her mouth at 180⁰   from the direction of the victual.

“This child does not eat anything properly, ho! How can I give her food?”Amma walked away in make-believe frowns. Suddenly Sharmila tried to win Amma’s heart by opening her mouth for the ‘idly’ piece and she gobbled all the ‘idlies’. By the time Urmila landed in sit-out ready with her school-bag.  

 The escorting gang was edgily lurking on the road-side for the sisters, for they were being late. The venue for the tryst was under a tree-branch hanging to the roadside. The sisters somehow joined them.

Their village and the ones in the immediacy were remote, more remote for about twenty five years than the distant ones.  But the town in the proximity of it had an English medium school. Its buses plied to various villages for benefiting the future citizens of India. Anand, Akhil, George, Vinod Urmila and Sharmila assembled under that particular branch and proceeded to the bus stop somewhat half a kilometer far from there.

“I have a special thing with me, come I’ll show you,” Anand while walking to their havens after alighting from the bus after the school.

All the friends loped to Anand, when he opened one of his textbooks and showed a pretty peacock feather. He handled it carefully in a sacred manner.

“Mini chechchi(elder sister)gave me this. She says I have to keep it in my book secretly and also sacredly. Then the plumules(strands) will give birth to young ones. So I have kept it in my book. Chechi’s friend, Neena gave her a few feathers. Neena has a lot. Her uncle brought her a bunch.”

Mini was Anand’s eighth grade sister whose high school wing was a bit distant from the primary one. And hence she had her own company.

All glanced at the feather pryingly and stretched gleefully their right hand in demand of a strand each from the feather. Anand wrenched off a few ones from the quill and distributed among the friends, who with utmost care and devotion placed them in their books. Every day after the school they unfurled their books nosily to watch the young ones coming out. Many a day nothing rolled out in their favour. But one day the books of  Urmila and Akhil had little ones in them. All the visages expanded in thrill and bliss.

“Show me, show me,” all gathering  around the two. “O! How lucky you are. My plumules didn't deliver little ones,” forlornly George.  

“Hey, listen, listen,I saw Vinod chettan  taking their books. He cut the strands and kept the pieces in the book itself. Yesterday we kept the bags on the ground, no, to pick ‘Kalampotti’ fruit? Then he did it” Sharmila.

The petite girl Sharmila had height nix to attain the fruit from the hedge row. The bush stood proudly at a level high on the muddy wall. She didn't try to pick fruit.So she saw Vinod execute all that impishness.

 “Eda Kuttappa!(expletives) You played mockery with us,” all of them together. And soon a loud mirth took its birth among the companions.

Still they expectantly went on watching for young ones with the feather-plumules. One of them eventually got it clarified from the teacher.

[to be contd.]