It was a cold morning; and my train to Delhi was to leave the Jammu Tawi Station at 0630. It was a tremendous effort to pull myself out of my warm bed at the hotel; and an even bigger effort to walk the short distance to the station. I could have taken a Tonga but they always overcharge. The sun hadn’t yet come up when I clambered onto the A4 compartment of the Rajdhani Express, thanking whoever who invented air conditioning. The slight warmth in the cabin was refreshing. I checked my ticket and searched for seat number 9. I walked into the compartment where seat 9 was situated. The first pleasant moment that entire day was the sight of the pretty little thing that sat opposite to my seat. She was gazing out of the window when I came in. She looked at me as I entered with my luggage.
The things that I noticed first were the bright blue eyes she had and the big smile she wore. The fair skin, innocent face, cashmere shawl, and the pale white hands I noticed only later. She was the one who started the conversation. No sooner had I sat down than she started asking my name, my hometown, what I was doing etc etc etc …. I was only happy to oblige. After all how often does a beautiful angel with the sweetest of voices start a conversation with you? I returned the favour, by asking my own questions. She was named after the goddess Lakshmi. To me she was like an apsaras sent from heaven. It turned out that both of us were of the same age; both of us had just finished our first years of college. She was studying in a college in Jammu and was going to her home in Kathua not too far from the railway station at Kathua. Kathua was the first stop of the train, the first of the 3 stops before Delhi. I swiftly calculated that perhaps there was an hour till Kathua. I do not remember what we talked about. She was always smiling; sand I was always distracted by her eyes and smiles. I stopped thinking and listening altogether. It was when the sun came up that she placed her hands on the window, as though she was soaking the warmth from the sunrays. That was when I truly realized the beauty of the moment. In front of me was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen; and to my side out of the window was one of the most beautiful places on earth. Between Jammy and Kathua, there were a few valleys and hills. The sun lightened up the valley; reflecting off the dew on the expanses of flowers and trees. Heaven would have been something like that. The sun also seemed to reflect off of her face as well, making her look even more beautiful.
Lakshmi was the goddess of beauty and prosperity among many other things; it in Sanskrit itself meant a lucky sign or omen…..and it was to be so. Her sweet voice had a calming effect on me. I was worried about a lot of things, many things had troubled me but those moments with her; time stood still. The train appeared to slow down; Laksmi asked me whether we were nearing Kathua station. I checked my watch and told her that the train would be reaching the station shortly. I cheekily asked her for her number and she smiled and gave it to me. A few minutes later, when the train entered the station, she reached under he seat and took an aluminium stick out.
She was blind. I was totally taken aback by it. Not once in the past hour did she show any signs of blindness; yet she was…..I softly cursed the heavens for making her beautiful eyes worthless….cursing the heavens for depriving such a kind soul of the vital sense of sight. “Wait, I’ll lead you out…there will be a big rush…”, I remember myself saying. I held her hand and took her luggage and led her out. Someone was waiting for her outside. She whispered a “Thank You”, as I returned to the railway coach.
By being blind she couldn’t see the bad things in the world. Perhaps her innocence was untainted because she was blind to everything bad….shielded forever….
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
DARK WATERS
Selvan smiled when he woke up that day. For after that day he would no longer be an orphan; he was going to have a family again after 5 long years of hardships. The story was the same for the girl he was going to marry as well. Selvan had met Mary in the orphanage 5 years ago. Selvan winced when he thought of that day, the day that changed his life and his soon to be wife’s.
5 years ago:
Selvan had just turned 16 a few weeks back; he had a loving father, mother and 2 younger sisters. His father was a shopkeeper in the small town of Tiruppundi not too far from the famous church at Velanganni. Christmas was usually the best time of the year for business, with a lot of pilgrims stopping by at Tiruppundi while traveling to Velanganni. He went to a government school not far from his one storeyed house, along with his younger sisters. There was a family tradition of going to Velanganni to offer prays to the Arokia Matha. It was on that trip that Selvan had first seen Mary. She was seated a few meters from him. The family had taken a taxi to Velanganni in the morning and prayed at the Basilica. They then went to Selvan’s uncle’s home where his aunt had prepared a feast of sorts for them. It was a happy time of the year when people forgot all their worries. Selvan slept well that night dreaming of the girl he saw in the church, little knowing how his life was going to change in a few short hours.
The family prepared to leave for home the next morning. They clambered into the ancient Ambassador taxi. It had happened suddenly, Selvan watched in shock as a water wall thrice as high as the taxi approached them from the left. The force of the water blew away the car making it roll several times. Some of the debris hit the windshield and broke it, with the water swallowing up the car. Selvan remembers being thrown out through the windshield while the car was rolling in the water. He somehow managed to break to the surface of the water for a gasp of air and tried to remain at the top frantically kicking with his legs while gasping for air. He could make out the top of a coconut tree in the path of the flood and tried reaching for it. He gripped at the leaves of the tree with all the strength he could muster and tried pulling himself towards the tree. He succeeded and felt a sense of security in the tumult around him. He climbed to the top of the tree to have a better view. The sight before his eyes filled him with a fear and awe. All around him he could see water and the only things that broke the surface were the tallest of trees and a building in the distance. All around him he could see things floating around, moving with the mass of water. He could make out wooden pieces that would have made up the roof of a house, plastic chairs, and whole trees floating as well.
The bodies he saw floating in the water while on his perch still haunted Selvan in his dreams. He prayed to God above to spare the lives of his family. Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of not seeing his little sisters again. There are truly only a few instances when a person truly prays out his heart and soul. After what seemed like hours the water began to recede, and Selvan slowly climbed down from his perch wary of what the sea was taking with her. He saw many more dead-bodies while moving down with the receding water level. When the water level was just knee high, Selvan started to run away from the direction of the sea, crying out for his family. Deep in his heart he knew that he would be only greeted by silence. He tried not to notice the death around him. He could see for miles land that was ravaged and raped. There was debris all around him, he could make out piles of raised earth, where hours ago there was a house. Selvan ran with tears welling up in his eyes. God had not been kind to his worshippers.
On the 26th of December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami wreaked havoc claiming more than 200,000 lives and Selvan was one among the many hundreds of children that were orphaned by it. The days following the tsunami were the worst ones; he had no place to go to, his frantic search for family and relatives bore no fruit. Fate had cruelly taken away everything from him. The stench of death was everywhere. The first few days there was no shelter or food; slowly some help trickled. The authorities sent him to an orphanage in Nagapattinam not too far from his original home. The inmates of the Mission of Joy orphanage were to become his new family. All the companions he found had gone through the same trauma that he had bore witness to. There he also found Mary, fate had its cruel way. Both of them had lost everything they had, their home, their friends and their family. Their insecurity brought them together and they knew that they had their lives to rebuild. Life at the orphanage was not great, people were caring but there wasn’t a lot of money going around. They were taught at a local school and certain NGO’s had organized empowerment workshops teaching them skills with which they can earn a living.
Present Time:
Selvan looked at his bride and knew that it was a new beginning. Sometimes while he dreams, Selvan can still hear the pleasant chattering of his sisters…….
5 years ago:
Selvan had just turned 16 a few weeks back; he had a loving father, mother and 2 younger sisters. His father was a shopkeeper in the small town of Tiruppundi not too far from the famous church at Velanganni. Christmas was usually the best time of the year for business, with a lot of pilgrims stopping by at Tiruppundi while traveling to Velanganni. He went to a government school not far from his one storeyed house, along with his younger sisters. There was a family tradition of going to Velanganni to offer prays to the Arokia Matha. It was on that trip that Selvan had first seen Mary. She was seated a few meters from him. The family had taken a taxi to Velanganni in the morning and prayed at the Basilica. They then went to Selvan’s uncle’s home where his aunt had prepared a feast of sorts for them. It was a happy time of the year when people forgot all their worries. Selvan slept well that night dreaming of the girl he saw in the church, little knowing how his life was going to change in a few short hours.
The family prepared to leave for home the next morning. They clambered into the ancient Ambassador taxi. It had happened suddenly, Selvan watched in shock as a water wall thrice as high as the taxi approached them from the left. The force of the water blew away the car making it roll several times. Some of the debris hit the windshield and broke it, with the water swallowing up the car. Selvan remembers being thrown out through the windshield while the car was rolling in the water. He somehow managed to break to the surface of the water for a gasp of air and tried to remain at the top frantically kicking with his legs while gasping for air. He could make out the top of a coconut tree in the path of the flood and tried reaching for it. He gripped at the leaves of the tree with all the strength he could muster and tried pulling himself towards the tree. He succeeded and felt a sense of security in the tumult around him. He climbed to the top of the tree to have a better view. The sight before his eyes filled him with a fear and awe. All around him he could see water and the only things that broke the surface were the tallest of trees and a building in the distance. All around him he could see things floating around, moving with the mass of water. He could make out wooden pieces that would have made up the roof of a house, plastic chairs, and whole trees floating as well.
The bodies he saw floating in the water while on his perch still haunted Selvan in his dreams. He prayed to God above to spare the lives of his family. Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of not seeing his little sisters again. There are truly only a few instances when a person truly prays out his heart and soul. After what seemed like hours the water began to recede, and Selvan slowly climbed down from his perch wary of what the sea was taking with her. He saw many more dead-bodies while moving down with the receding water level. When the water level was just knee high, Selvan started to run away from the direction of the sea, crying out for his family. Deep in his heart he knew that he would be only greeted by silence. He tried not to notice the death around him. He could see for miles land that was ravaged and raped. There was debris all around him, he could make out piles of raised earth, where hours ago there was a house. Selvan ran with tears welling up in his eyes. God had not been kind to his worshippers.
On the 26th of December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami wreaked havoc claiming more than 200,000 lives and Selvan was one among the many hundreds of children that were orphaned by it. The days following the tsunami were the worst ones; he had no place to go to, his frantic search for family and relatives bore no fruit. Fate had cruelly taken away everything from him. The stench of death was everywhere. The first few days there was no shelter or food; slowly some help trickled. The authorities sent him to an orphanage in Nagapattinam not too far from his original home. The inmates of the Mission of Joy orphanage were to become his new family. All the companions he found had gone through the same trauma that he had bore witness to. There he also found Mary, fate had its cruel way. Both of them had lost everything they had, their home, their friends and their family. Their insecurity brought them together and they knew that they had their lives to rebuild. Life at the orphanage was not great, people were caring but there wasn’t a lot of money going around. They were taught at a local school and certain NGO’s had organized empowerment workshops teaching them skills with which they can earn a living.
Present Time:
Selvan looked at his bride and knew that it was a new beginning. Sometimes while he dreams, Selvan can still hear the pleasant chattering of his sisters…….
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