Looking
at those heavy dark clouds splattering water on the land reminded her something
sort of “reverse ocean”. Ahana loves rain, and thinks as if an ocean has turned
itself up and pouring the excess water out through a sieve. With a winsome
smile, she was endeared by every drop of deluge rainwater falling against her
face.
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| PC: Google Image |
Ahana Mukherjee,
24 years old lass, had a different philosophy towards life. She welcomes each
day of her life with open arms, which makes her exuberant.
A
violin teacher, who enjoys every second while teaching violin to her students.
She thinks music lies everywhere, in the murmur of talking, in the foot steps
while walking, running vehicles on road, in moving train on tracks, in the
mooing of cow, in the cycle bells, even in the whistle of the pressure cooker. And
what she loves the most is playing her violin in rain. Because for her, music
lies even in the sound of its rain water. She changes her strings according to
the musical note created by the pattering rain.
At
around 5:30 PM, on her way back to home, it came, the Rain. She couldn’t wait
to reach home and playing her instrument of passion.
She
needs to cross the road to board her public transport. She was standing under a
shade, opposite of the road, waiting for the traffic signal to turn green. As
soon as she opened her umbrella and tried to cross the road on green signal,
she was pulled a fast one on by the gusty
wind and heavy rain droplets. They mischiviously snatched the umbrella from her
hand and threw it few steps away.
In
her own thought she first smiled, and went back to get her umbrella. While lifting
the umbrella, she saw fumbled feet, wearing a pair of sporty shoes, approaching
towards her.
It
was a woman in her thirties. She was a stout woman, wearing a long salwar
kameez, and a sunglass, holding a cane, which guides her when no one is around.
Yes! She was a blind lady.
Owing
to a soft heart, Ahana gently replied to her anxious face and feelings, “where
you want to go, aunty?”
“Oh
dear, could you please make me cross the road, I need to get my bus from the
opposite stand”, said the lady with uneasiness in her voice.
“Oh
Sure, why not!” said Ahana and gripped her hand from one hand and tried to hold
the umbrella with another. But, it was such a deluging and loud rain that even
an umbrella couldn’t prove its worth. This made them stepping back to afore
position.
Fretfully,
the blind lady said, “Oh Jesus, it’s raining so hard, I will get drenched. But
I need to catch the bus and reach the church before 7. Else the mass will
start, and I don’t want to miss it dear because it is Easter today.”
Looking
at those wrinkled eyebrows, which was partially covered by the sunglass, Ahana
consoled her and said, “Oh don’t worry. This time you hold the umbrella and I
will hold you” with a smothered laugh. This saying made both of them to grin in
unison.
While
she was explaining the strategy for crossing the road by holding the umbrella
and all, suddenly she was drawn back in her thoughts. She thought, this blind
lady is missing the most beautiful gift of nature happening rite there. The
Rain.
“So
what if she is blind, she can feel it”, thought the lively Ahana.
Ahana
was a gal who loved to sprawl a realm of positivity wherever she is. In the
commotion of her deep thoughts, she decided to introduce the lady to the
awesomeness of the Rain.
It
was a while away and the lady asked, “What happened beta, lets move.”
Laughingly,
Ahana replied, “Oh yes!sure. But tell me one thing Aunty, do u like rain?”
“I
don’t know, Beta. I have never seen it. I think it must be beautiful, but for
me it becomes difficult to reach my destination when it rains.” said the lady
with a heavy heart.
“Aunty,
I might sound stupid to you but just forget it that you cannot see things, its
okay you are blind, not a big deal. Don’t let your ailment come in between this
present moment. Enjoy it Aunty. And you know what, sometimes stupidity fetches
you peace in heart than being in a logical or rational sense.” Somewhere the
words of Ahana spelled a magic in her. She actually forgot that she can’t see,
and started enjoying the very moment.
Ahana
pulled her hand under the rain, all though she was keeping the umbrella open
but even the God has the same plan that day. The umbrella got folded backwards
with the gusty wind, but this time they didn’t step back.
“And
the umbrella is gone again”, said Ahana, which made a loud laugh under the open
sky in unison.
“Let
it be aunty, don’t care about it. Just feel the droplet, let it touch your
heart.”
Hearing
that, the lady looked up and felt the sound of the water droplets pouring
against her face. She felt as if Lord Jesus caressed her face and whispering
“Live it and Love it, my child” like a feather rolling into her ears.
Adrenaline was rushing into her body, she started swaying her face against the
rainwater with a childish smile on her face. She could feel the coldness of the
drop; indeed she was very much into that moment.
While
being in that moment, suddenly the watch caught Ahana’s attention and reminded
her that the lady is supposed to reach the church by 7. She said in scurry,
“Come aunty, the light has turned green now, lets cross the road.” She then
pulled her hand gently and made her cross the road without any shield from
rain.
Finally,
both of them reached the stop. Ahana in her own thoughts, waiting eagerly to
reach home and play the Violin, but then as soon as she looked at the Aunty,
she felt really bad as the lady was totally drenched. With a low voice, she
uttered, “Aunty I am really sorry, but you are drenched, take my hanky if you
need but I just wanted you to have a smile and live the moment. Sorry but it
was intended to have fun.” And her voice went in gravity.
The
lady didn’t utter a word, she just caressed on her face and said, “you must be
the most beautiful creation of god my dear. Be as you are.” Her voice was
shivering, not because of cold but coz of heaviness in her heart. She was
crying, but it was hard for Ahana to discern the rain water from tears, which
were rolling on her cheek.
She
just left for her destination with the cane. But Ahana was just awestruck, she
did not want her to cry, but with her innocence, she had gifted the most
precious gift to a lady who has never seen her face. A smile, a zeal to live
every moment without letting any ailment come in between.
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Touching! This story reminds me of a famous quote by Italo Calvino which says " It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear".
"sometimes stupidity fetches you peace in heart than being in a logical or rational sense.” would be my catch phrase.
Wow! Maumita! Ahana Mukherjee seems to be an extension of your inner self. Excellent piece of writing which is as effective as it is moving. Keep it up!
Good job! I see how beautifully you have captured the details..the nature..the charachters..the beauty of the unseen.. fab!
W0W...very nice article Maumi
Thank you all for your time and encouraging words. They mean a lot to me :)
The short story is surreal and quite moving. But i have few questions rather comments, starting with,
Why would a 24 years lady refers to a lady in 30s as aunty?
The Blind lady was in a hurry still she spend almost 15 minutes (as per your storyline), and if i`m not wrong bus do have fixed timing so why would she let a stranger teach her the meaning of rain?
I did`nt like the point that you stereotyped a blind person as unhappy,
and we do not cross road, when the light turns green rather when it turns red (Excerpts: She said in scurry, “Come aunty, the light has turned green now, lets cross the road.”).