Saturday, November 19, 2005 ||
6:42 PM ||
As the night gets quieter, I wonder if someone else is awake at this unearthly hour. I open up my windows to find the rain-drenched Kanikkonna tree gleaming in the Neon lamp light. I decide to call it a day (or night, rather) and put some soft music on that should hopefully help me doze off. Or so I thought. An hour later, as I lie staring at the ceiling for no particular reason, I sense a visitor on the window sill. A firefly doing what he does best – switch the mysterious glimmer on and off!
He glows for a moment, and then buzzes off, only to whiz past me, into the room with an arrogance that amuses me. Not used to men sitting up on their beds to stare at his nocturnal antics, I guess! He lands on my study desk and starts exploring my keyboard; an occasional key glows every now and then. As he begins his journey up my table lamp, I plot to curb his enthusiasm by switching the light on, planning to stun him in the flood. My schemes never take off, as he flies effortlessly upward. I hurriedly get off the bed to switch off the fan, lest he gets caught in the whirlwind. After much dilly-dallying he settles down on a rosary; unsettling it in the process. I decide to count the beads, if he lights them up for me, one at a time.
As I remain engrossed in his antics, I fantasize about his world that’s all dew and honey. Glory be with his diminutive world that’s all sane and rational!! A world that doesn’t take offence to an actor’s casual statement supportive of women’s sexuality, or one that would not attempt to suppress another voice that demands freedom of speech in a supposedly democratic nation. A world that does not remain apathetically blind to young women being tormented under the shameless guise of hazing, by a bunch of callous goons, who claim themselves to be senior students. A world that would not ogle at appalling offenses and brazenly flaunt atrocious double standards. A world that does not turn its worn-out eyes away from a toddler being raped or a teenager being butchered for the weirdest reasons whatsoever. A world that’s fast turning a shade of black, in the blink of an eye.
Often caught up in a quagmire of non-happenings, it had been infinitely long since I watched something as mesmerizing as this. The night had finally earned a purpose for itself; insomnia had ultimately found some sense.
