It was during the time of our half yearly examination in school when the days used to close their shutter too early and the nights stretched like a warm blanket, covering us completely from head to toe. During morning, I would sit on a cot in the veranda with my back to the sun and read black ink lines on white pages under the shadow of my face. I was occupied with solving the greatest common factor between three big numbers while the marigold flowers shed white drops of dew collected on its pores from previous night. The numbers were too large for my head and I had written down all possible prime numbers to be a factor of those huge numbers and was thinking that one of the big number might itself be a prime number making the answer to be 1 and none other than the one as the greatest common factor of these large numbers.
At that moment, a distinct voice came from the street
"rupa rekha nahin hey sunya dehi
accha ude hoi"
(can be loosely translated as Oh empty one, you have neither shape nor size
but you are present here like the sun).
I raised my chin and looked outside our compound through the thorns of babool tree placed to restrict the visits of unwanted street dogs and animals. As the song amplified, I was drawn towards the door and I saw him entering our house. He stopped singing and kept the palm leaf umbrella on the ground and sat against the wall. A saffron dhoti wrapped around his body bore the color of his excessive travelling. But he didn't look tired, rather he had a serene and gentle aura which emanated peace and well being. He had a kind of mongolian beard, a rough triangular face, a long but flat nose and knots in his hair. His left eye was closed and the right one was so small and the effort he made to look at me made me think for a moment that he could be completely blind. But he proved me wrong. "You are the smallest one in this house ?"He asked. At that instance, my grand mother came rushing in. "So what ?What to you, if he is the smallest ?Here take this and you go on your way." She was furious looking at the strange behavior of the ascetic who had started a conversation with me. She wanted to end it all and she offered him a leaf plate full of uncooked rice. The one-eyed ascetic smiled and closed the lid of a peculiar sack which was protruding from his shoulder. "No mother, I am not here to beg. I am here to stay. So that you can feed me with whatever you cook. I will walk around the village and sleep on the floor and stay just for a day. The next day, I will go to some other village. I don't take butter or spices. I only eat simple food on an earthen pot that I already have. I eat once, or at some kind devotee's twice. I don't eat in the dark and don't sleep in the light. Mother, feed me before the sun sets." My grand mother was not prepared for this self appointed guest. She was about to say something, but she paused. Nobody could deny food and shelter to an ascetic, who takes the name of the supreme being and preaches his glory in bhajans (spiritual songs). So she went again inside the house and brought a plate of puffed rice (murmura), a jug of water and a glass of tea. The ascetic smiled and put his hands inside the sack he was carrying on the shoulder. He could have placed the sack on the floor but he didn't. I felt that he was very protective about the sack, however it seemed quite empty from the exterior looks. Then he brought the earthen pot out and poured water on it. He looked at the sun and said something in whispers. Then he mixed puffed rice and tea and started eating. I was intrigued by his presence.
I was getting late for the school and I needed to hurry. When I went passing him, I saw a few grains of murmura sticking on his beard and he was uncoiling the lid of the sack to get a bow like musical instrument. After school, when I came back, the ascetic was gone. I asked my mother. "Has he left ?". She said, "He who ?" I said, "one-eyed one". She said, "Oh, the boy thief". I was angry now. "He is no boy-thief. He is a sadhu (saint/ascetic)." She said,"listen boy, don't go near him. Didn't you see his sack and how big it is ? He can very well put a 11 years old and carry him away to his land. If you don't believe me, ask your grand maa." I went to grand maa. She asked me to sit down. "That man has gone to the village. He will come any time soon. He carries away boys like you and make a sage out of him. Sometimes, he transports them to his planet." I stopped her."Wait, are you saying, he is not from our area ? or you are saying he is not from this earth?" She said, "I know, god created this world for us to live. but there are other worlds too. Worlds of demons, pisachas, gandharvas, kinnaras; even world of small nameless creatures. That man knows their route. He has communication with them through his bow. He can send one from another world. None in the village know from where he came". I laughed at the vulnerability of grand mother. I said, "that bow is a musical instrument he carries to sing bhajans. He is not from anywhere else, he is a human being like us. You don't worry. I will eat a lot tonight and be heavy like a bull so that he won't be able to carry me in his sack and run away."
The one-eyed one came in the evening. I paid no attention as I was busy preparing for next day's examination. I decided to go early to bed and wake up at dawn to revise for the last time. When I got up from bed, it was very dark and cold. The crickets and frogs were making noises outside in a moonless night. To bring myself out of sleep completely, I went towards veranda and I noticed some movement. When I went near, my eyes got accustomed to the light and I saw the ascetic getting ready to move. He had made a bed out of haystacks of paddy (which was used as food for the cattle and we had a huge stock of it at home). He was cleaning the area and he sensed my presence and asked me, "Oh, someone in this house gets up this early. Can you show me the way to the pond so that I will freshen up and leave your village ?" I said, "Yes. It is this way (pointing my index finger towards north)." He kept silent for a second and then he asked again, "so I will take right once I leave your house." I said, "Yes and then you have to take a small road near the big banyan tree." He was perplexed and when he started to move, I saw him heading towards the thorns of babool. I realized his eyesight was poor and offered myself to go along with him to the pond. He didn't want to trouble me but I insisted saying that a brisk walk at dawn would help me concentrate for the study. When we hit the road, he told me about his childhood and how he became an ascetic and how much he loved to travel. Soon, we reached the big banyan tree and he needed to take a small trail towards the pond. A cloud of mist had formed over the water. Day was about to start and eastern sky had a tinge of red and orange. The stars were shining. I could faintly make out the saptarishis (seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major) and clearly locate the Dhruva tara (north pole star). "Aren't they beautiful ? There are billions like them. You need to close your eyes to see them or you need to get closer", he remarked. He noticed my enthusiasm and smiled and started searching for something in his sack. Suddenly, I remembered my grand mother's word and panicked. "No, no. I don't take anything from strangers", I said. His hands stopped inside and I could see a diamond shaped object, more like a star, glittering in white light, lying inside that enigmatic sack. For a moment, I felt the north pole star was no longer in the sky and it had come to rest a while inside. Bigger in size, brighter in appearance. I was baffled and started to retreat.
I thought that was an illusion, might be because of my restlessness or lack of sleep. But one part of me felt it was real. The pole star was inside the sack or the sack led to a smaller route to the star. The ascetic was descending towards the water body.
"Rupa rekha nahin hey sunya dehi
accha ude hoi...
Barasuchi jala na thai pabana
anachasa bayu bahe ghana ghana...
Badhuachhi jala nahi nadi kula
ulaka pata dhara bahi he sunya dehi
achha ude hoi...
Chaka chaka oda sukhila hoichhi
Kabata na phitun netra re disuchhi..
Sethare ashrama agadhi ta brahma
ude asta nahi tahin hai sunya dehi
achha ude hoi...
X X X X X X X X
(Oh empty one, you have neither shape nor size
but you are present here like the sun...
Water is pouring in without a breeze
the forty nine winds flow intermittently..
Water level is rising whereas there is no river or a shore
Oh empty one, you are carrying a shower of meteors
but you are present here like the sun...
Clear wet surface has been dried
it is visible though the door is locked...
There lies the hermitage even though we know that the spirit is unfathomable
Oh empty one, there is neither sunrise nor sunset
but you are present here like the sun...)
X X X X X X X X X X X X
(Image of a model of folded space-time resulting in a wormhole. Taken from www.space.com)
At that moment, a distinct voice came from the street
"rupa rekha nahin hey sunya dehi
accha ude hoi"
(can be loosely translated as Oh empty one, you have neither shape nor size
but you are present here like the sun).
I raised my chin and looked outside our compound through the thorns of babool tree placed to restrict the visits of unwanted street dogs and animals. As the song amplified, I was drawn towards the door and I saw him entering our house. He stopped singing and kept the palm leaf umbrella on the ground and sat against the wall. A saffron dhoti wrapped around his body bore the color of his excessive travelling. But he didn't look tired, rather he had a serene and gentle aura which emanated peace and well being. He had a kind of mongolian beard, a rough triangular face, a long but flat nose and knots in his hair. His left eye was closed and the right one was so small and the effort he made to look at me made me think for a moment that he could be completely blind. But he proved me wrong. "You are the smallest one in this house ?"He asked. At that instance, my grand mother came rushing in. "So what ?What to you, if he is the smallest ?Here take this and you go on your way." She was furious looking at the strange behavior of the ascetic who had started a conversation with me. She wanted to end it all and she offered him a leaf plate full of uncooked rice. The one-eyed ascetic smiled and closed the lid of a peculiar sack which was protruding from his shoulder. "No mother, I am not here to beg. I am here to stay. So that you can feed me with whatever you cook. I will walk around the village and sleep on the floor and stay just for a day. The next day, I will go to some other village. I don't take butter or spices. I only eat simple food on an earthen pot that I already have. I eat once, or at some kind devotee's twice. I don't eat in the dark and don't sleep in the light. Mother, feed me before the sun sets." My grand mother was not prepared for this self appointed guest. She was about to say something, but she paused. Nobody could deny food and shelter to an ascetic, who takes the name of the supreme being and preaches his glory in bhajans (spiritual songs). So she went again inside the house and brought a plate of puffed rice (murmura), a jug of water and a glass of tea. The ascetic smiled and put his hands inside the sack he was carrying on the shoulder. He could have placed the sack on the floor but he didn't. I felt that he was very protective about the sack, however it seemed quite empty from the exterior looks. Then he brought the earthen pot out and poured water on it. He looked at the sun and said something in whispers. Then he mixed puffed rice and tea and started eating. I was intrigued by his presence.
I was getting late for the school and I needed to hurry. When I went passing him, I saw a few grains of murmura sticking on his beard and he was uncoiling the lid of the sack to get a bow like musical instrument. After school, when I came back, the ascetic was gone. I asked my mother. "Has he left ?". She said, "He who ?" I said, "one-eyed one". She said, "Oh, the boy thief". I was angry now. "He is no boy-thief. He is a sadhu (saint/ascetic)." She said,"listen boy, don't go near him. Didn't you see his sack and how big it is ? He can very well put a 11 years old and carry him away to his land. If you don't believe me, ask your grand maa." I went to grand maa. She asked me to sit down. "That man has gone to the village. He will come any time soon. He carries away boys like you and make a sage out of him. Sometimes, he transports them to his planet." I stopped her."Wait, are you saying, he is not from our area ? or you are saying he is not from this earth?" She said, "I know, god created this world for us to live. but there are other worlds too. Worlds of demons, pisachas, gandharvas, kinnaras; even world of small nameless creatures. That man knows their route. He has communication with them through his bow. He can send one from another world. None in the village know from where he came". I laughed at the vulnerability of grand mother. I said, "that bow is a musical instrument he carries to sing bhajans. He is not from anywhere else, he is a human being like us. You don't worry. I will eat a lot tonight and be heavy like a bull so that he won't be able to carry me in his sack and run away."
The one-eyed one came in the evening. I paid no attention as I was busy preparing for next day's examination. I decided to go early to bed and wake up at dawn to revise for the last time. When I got up from bed, it was very dark and cold. The crickets and frogs were making noises outside in a moonless night. To bring myself out of sleep completely, I went towards veranda and I noticed some movement. When I went near, my eyes got accustomed to the light and I saw the ascetic getting ready to move. He had made a bed out of haystacks of paddy (which was used as food for the cattle and we had a huge stock of it at home). He was cleaning the area and he sensed my presence and asked me, "Oh, someone in this house gets up this early. Can you show me the way to the pond so that I will freshen up and leave your village ?" I said, "Yes. It is this way (pointing my index finger towards north)." He kept silent for a second and then he asked again, "so I will take right once I leave your house." I said, "Yes and then you have to take a small road near the big banyan tree." He was perplexed and when he started to move, I saw him heading towards the thorns of babool. I realized his eyesight was poor and offered myself to go along with him to the pond. He didn't want to trouble me but I insisted saying that a brisk walk at dawn would help me concentrate for the study. When we hit the road, he told me about his childhood and how he became an ascetic and how much he loved to travel. Soon, we reached the big banyan tree and he needed to take a small trail towards the pond. A cloud of mist had formed over the water. Day was about to start and eastern sky had a tinge of red and orange. The stars were shining. I could faintly make out the saptarishis (seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major) and clearly locate the Dhruva tara (north pole star). "Aren't they beautiful ? There are billions like them. You need to close your eyes to see them or you need to get closer", he remarked. He noticed my enthusiasm and smiled and started searching for something in his sack. Suddenly, I remembered my grand mother's word and panicked. "No, no. I don't take anything from strangers", I said. His hands stopped inside and I could see a diamond shaped object, more like a star, glittering in white light, lying inside that enigmatic sack. For a moment, I felt the north pole star was no longer in the sky and it had come to rest a while inside. Bigger in size, brighter in appearance. I was baffled and started to retreat.
I thought that was an illusion, might be because of my restlessness or lack of sleep. But one part of me felt it was real. The pole star was inside the sack or the sack led to a smaller route to the star. The ascetic was descending towards the water body.
"Rupa rekha nahin hey sunya dehi
accha ude hoi...
Barasuchi jala na thai pabana
anachasa bayu bahe ghana ghana...
Badhuachhi jala nahi nadi kula
ulaka pata dhara bahi he sunya dehi
achha ude hoi...
Chaka chaka oda sukhila hoichhi
Kabata na phitun netra re disuchhi..
Sethare ashrama agadhi ta brahma
ude asta nahi tahin hai sunya dehi
achha ude hoi...
X X X X X X X X
(Oh empty one, you have neither shape nor size
but you are present here like the sun...
Water is pouring in without a breeze
the forty nine winds flow intermittently..
Water level is rising whereas there is no river or a shore
Oh empty one, you are carrying a shower of meteors
but you are present here like the sun...
Clear wet surface has been dried
it is visible though the door is locked...
There lies the hermitage even though we know that the spirit is unfathomable
Oh empty one, there is neither sunrise nor sunset
but you are present here like the sun...)
X X X X X X X X X X X X
(Image of a model of folded space-time resulting in a wormhole. Taken from www.space.com)
flows like gushing water....vivid images and metaphor....your work is rising exponentially
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