Monday, October 16, 2006 ||
12:06 AM ||
The Bharathapuzha is in no mad hurry unlike the haughty crimson sun that looks all set to drop rapidly down the scarlet sky. She seductively slithers across the vast expanses of soggy land, her sedate ripples retelling a multitude of legends that the sandy shores have witnessed across the times.
On a wooden canoe that swings from left to right, with the oarsmen poised precariously at either ends, the land suddenly seems to me, a tiresome place to live in. The rock and roll of the ferryboat reverberates an old lullaby that rushes in, unsettling an array of memories in the process. The journey across the raging river, all of a sudden turns out to be a passionate exploration into the self, when haphazard thoughts splatter across the worn-out mind, as vigorously as the water droplets that splash across my face. As the canoe hits against the muddy banks, he gently asks if I would let him hold my hand as I wade through the water and move on to the shore. And then I take note of the elderly man, and a half of a leg that he had lost somewhere along the voyage, long back. The crutches could deceive you, he suggests, as the shallow sand might give in unpredictably to the swindling waves. He latches on to my shoulders and trots on a limb across the shallow waters, and speaks of how the gigantic river was fast drying up and a zillion other things. A lilting malady is unraveled as I soon watch him disappear beyond a dry pathway, far beyond the screaming siren of a hurrying train along the gleaming sleek rail lines. Yet another half-scribbled tale struggles to gain a contour somewhere deep within me, and resignedly surrenders a little later, with a sigh.
Lying on my back on the wet sand, the waves lapping against my feet, I gaze at the alluring moon that has sprinkled a golden hue all over the serene waters. The dark silhouette of the fading canoe paints an exquisite portrait, and the radiant silence resonates with the most mesmerizing melody ever. Wholly awash in the moonlight, I realize that time stands still on moments as these.