Short Story
(Hindus believe in multi-godly
powers. Lord Ganesha is one of the powerful gods.)
The night opened its eyes to
a Thursday. The chill of rains covered
everyone like a sopping blanket. The sun was playing hide and seek behind the
mighty clouds. At daybreak Manjusha woke up and her hands engaged in her households.
After finishing her work somewhat, she had a dip in water and strode to the temple nearby.
She trod lightly on the environs
of the temple as the sactum-sactorum was closed for *1.ushappooja. Heavy
downpours had let the feet of only a few devotees to fall on the ground. She
lurked outside the temple. Since the priest opened the sacred door, Manjusha stepped
in and placed herself beside the *2. namaskaarta-mantapa. After concluding the
remaining domestics she had to proceed to the office. Urgency had conquered her
mind though, she lay in wait placidly closing the eyes.
When the priest, Vishal Potti
sprinkled holy water on devotees, he eyed a pretty lotus like countenance. Two
endearing attractive optic organs had adorned
that cute visage. His sense of sight sent her figure to the inner screen
of his mind.
“Oh! No, such feelings shouldn’t triumph over me. It is temple, only piety should be there in my mind.” He found no
intricacy in retracting his mind to the sacred procedures.
But
when he reached home his mind turned disobedient and loitered around
that beautiful face of Manjusha like a beetle around a flower. However that
face vanished from his thoughts after a few days. He had to immerse in the
groundwork for higher studies also. He had hankered for higher studies abroad
and hence was he occupied much. In the meantime the holy rituals of the temple
he had mastered. His father entrusted him with the morning rituals.
“ Holy priest, can you carry
out a *3.Ganapatihomam in our domicile?”
When Vishal raised his head
to locate the voice, that very person with an affluent-looking middle aged
female fell into his sense of sight. The voice
had emerged from the latter.
She was Majusha’s mother,Sunita.
“O! Sure. I shall come, I
shall come,” replied he with a covert excitement.
“Tell me the date and I shall
bring the requirements. You need not buy anything.”
“The 16th of next month is
apposite.” Manjusha.
The astrologer had opined so.
“Oho! Let it be. Early
morning at crack of dawn itself all have to be all set.”
They quit the vicinity of the
divine area. Had a new vigor and verve crept into him? He started observing
things more fondly. Flowers looked lovelier. The sun shone brighter. The woods seemed
shadier. The aves sang sweeter. The breeze fondled him softer. The night
illuminated the sky more and celebrated *
4.Deepavali. The outstanding large light in the middle emitted inexplicable
glow. Altogether an exquisiteness was felt everywhere. Some old love melodies
cat-walked into his mind and they came out as humming-tunes at times.
Is spite of his busy
engagements in sanctification of the idol and preparation for higher admission,
Vishal Potti experienced a sort of tardiness in passing the time. Hours seemed
to contain more than sixty minutes and days more than twenty four hours before
the day of Ganapatihomam.
“Why am I after that girl. If
she is not a Brahmin my parents won’t favour me. And more over me is only twenty
two.” He whispered to himself.
Again his mind deserted him
and decided to follow that girl. He solved that enigma thus, “There isn’t any
harm in fixing the marriage, which can be solemnized later. Amma(mother),who
will not stand against my will, will bring Achchan(father) to my favour.”
Vishal spun dreamy threads
and wove them into future plans. He didn’t judge any fertility or futility in his dream. His
decision was imperative for him.
Oh! Eventually the very
coveted dream day arrived. He was on his steps from bed much earlier than
usual. Brushing, bathing etc. were not allotted much of his time. Within
minutes he was ready on his heels. His father
was already informed about it.
The vehicle carried him to
Manjusha’s residence and her mother received him, as if she was in wait for
him. His mind travelled all over the large portico of the house in search of
Manjusha. She was not there.
But all the members including
Manjusha made their presence in the hall in devotion within minutes. At the
conclusive ebb Manjusha’s father handed over *5.Dakshina to the priest.
“She may be your youngest
issue, I suppose,” Vishal by seeing a five year old beside Sunita.
“O! No. She is my grand
child. And that is her mother, Manjusha. Her husband was not sanctioned leave,”
Sunita.
Vishal felt as if a bullet or bomb had passed through his mind.
He thought he was sinking in the fissure of the earth. Somehow he managed to
drive back home with a heavy weight inside his head.
He sat on the bed for a while
and replayed the whole story on the picture- tube of his mind. “What a fool am
I ? I was in the Utopian world these days. She might not have even seen me.” His
reason began to play its role.
“I have learned a lesson. I will never jump
into a dream world like this. I have to put in all my efforts for higher
studies.A smile visited his lips.”
The weight was off his head.
* 1.Morning rituals of worship.
2.Pavillion
for the priest to prostrate before the deity.
3.
Exaltation to Lord Ganesha!
4.A festival of Light.
5.The
gift in effusiveness.
Sarala.
For http://writetribe.com/ultimate-blog-challenge-day-24/
