Zara's Witness

by Shubhrangshu Roy

  That’s another next great lesson of life.

  Today, you have become both my fear and hope. It’s so much in your nature, O Rivah!

  In teaching me, you have also revealed to me that arrogance comes with dignity and humility.

  Froggy has been pushing me hard to accept you as my master and benefactor and plunge into the depths of your wisdom. I wasn’t convinced. But today, in all my arrogance, I accept you as the gatekeeper to the ultimate wisdom out of my own accord and free will. I do so not to please Froggy, but because I have learnt whatever you had to teach. All I need to do now is practise what you preach.

  And, in all my humility, I accept you as my teacher. Dignity demands that I take one last plunge in your water before I call it a day by your bank and move on. But I’ll wait for you to grant me that dignity.

  As for Froggy, I’ll always be grateful to him for being my first gatekeeper and mentor, who showed me the way to your bank when I was a toddler in real danger of getting drowned in the sudden gush of your water. He has been a wonderful gatekeeper to your wisdom.

  Now, it is time for me to join my world and the routine of daily life in the great metro beyond the Peacock Ridge, under the neon lights for my chance encounter with the flashbulbs.

  So long!

  And Zara broke into a song:

  Come, lemme hold your hand

  And lead you to a distant land

  Where there’s no sorrow, no tear,

  But lots of love around . . .

  Zara waited. The river was silent. It flowed on.

  Zara sat by the bank for the next couple of days and nights, hoping to hear the river invite her for a swim.

  She had told the river: ‘Dignity demands that I take one last plunge in your water before I call it a day. But I’ll wait for you to grant me that dignity.’ And so, Zara waited. Thinking! Expecting! Those words ringing in her ears. Yet, her opportunity never came.

  ‘Do not demand dignity, dear Zara. Deserve dignity,’ the frog croaked on her last night by the bank.

  CHAPTER 13

  It was daybreak on the promenade. Zara looked to the Peacock Ridge to face the rising sun. Then, she closed her eyes. It would be a while before she moved on towards the distant city. She was at the far end of the promenade away from the river, even as the rest of the creatures of her mind made their way to the waterfront. The bells chimed in the far distance to the accompaniment of the blow of conch shells. Soon, the steps were packed with the creatures, but Zara.

  The river flowed as usual.

  There was a nip in the air that carried the scent of intoxicating wild flowers.

  Zara, her face to the sun, kept thinking. Thinking deep!

  Presently, her eyes rested midstream on the still surface of the river, when, for a moment, she was taken aback by a blue lotus bud rising above the water.

  ‘Wow! I never saw that before!’ Zara exclaimed, peering into the midstream for a clearer view. And she rubbed her eyes, wondering if it were for real. And as Zara watched, the lotus unfolded its petals, one by one, a thousand times. And with it, Zara’s mind peeled open, layer after layer of thought, her imagination in full bloom.

  ‘The lotus has blossomed!’ Zara told herself, her eyes sparkling, an enigmatic smile spreading across her face.

  ‘I got it, I got it, I got it all,’ Zara cried out, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.

  ‘I have discovered the cycle of life!’

  ‘Hope gives way to fear, fear to hope!’ she chanted.

  ‘Joy gives way to sorrow, sorrow to joy.

  Appear, disappear, reappear just as you connect, disconnect, reconnect.

  Engage, disengage, re-engage just as you construct, deconstruct, reconstruct.

  Begin. End. Begin all over again.

  It’s the one-nine-one circle of life.

  Round and round and round.

  It’s all the same.

  The I in you, the you in I.

  We all go around in circles.

  It’s virtual. It’s real.’

  And then, Zara cried out for Froggy.

  Down on the steps below, the creatures heard Zara break the morning silence. The frog, surprised, turned around at the voice of Zara calling out for him. Stamping on the crawlies all around, he jumped up the steps. And hop, hop, hop, he went.

  Panting, he reached Zara and jumped high to land on her shoulder.

  ‘There’s two in one, just as there is one in two,’ said Zara.

  ‘Jo tu hai, so main hoon; jo main hoon, so tu hai,’ she chanted.

  The frog prodded Zara to run down to the river.

  ‘Come, it’s time you made a splash.’

  The elephant, silently watching Zara’s antics on the promenade all along, blew his trumpet loud and clear.

  But by now, Zara was ready to leave.

  ‘Please give me a lift, dear Elly,’ she shouted. ‘I have a life . . .’

  And then, turning to the frog, she said, ‘Just gimme a break!’

  In the distance, at the bend right below the Peacock Ridge, Zara prodded the elephant to halt for a last glimpse of the river where she had spent so many years, soaking the wisdom of life. The elephant paused, then turned around in his languid pace—swaying gently from side to side—to face the river, its turquoise water shimmering in the morning sun.

  Zara shaded her eyes with her palm and looked into the distance from the rise where she sat atop the elephant. The green-blue water snaked across a vast plain, kissing the mountains goodbye at the feet of the Ah!nandita Hills, now dwarfed in view from where Zara was stationed.

  The black solid granite of the Moonshine Mount loomed majestically tall beyond the Ah!nandita Hills, towering into the sky. The steps on the riverbank at the near end, where Zara sat all day, were deserted; the creatures were all gone.

  Level III

  THE ESSENCE OF BEING

  CHAPTER 1

  ‘Uff! It’s going to be such a long journey,’ Zara looked at the horizon. It was dawn. The elephant had trudged all night long going around the bend of the Peacock Ridge as she lay on his back. And now, she woke up to the early rays of the sun, her legs dangling behind the elephant’s giant ears; Zara sat erect on his shoulders.

  From the elevation where they stood, a vast forest canopy unfolded before their eyes, far, far beyond which lay miles upon miles of a vast mustard field splashed in a sea of yellow and green, enclosed by the sweeping arc of the river, now a gigantic flow of mud, flanked by the metro, a distant shimmering blotch on its far bank.

  ‘I could take the shortcut, but that’s a dangerous downhill climb, Zara. I have to watch my weight. When I was a kid, my mama told me to take the well-trodden path. It’s best that way,’ the elephant said, trudging down the slope.

  ‘You are too cautious, Elly,’ Zara chided him. A cool breeze wafted in, caressing her face.

  ‘How exhilarating,’ Zara exclaimed, her face moistened by the mist brought along by the breeze.

  ‘Hi Zaru!’ the breeze wished her. ‘I am the west wind that rose from the ocean. And now, I am on my way to the mountain where the river is born.’

  ‘Oh! I see. So, you carry the river in you? Why, you sure are Rivah! How I have been missing you since I left your bank.’

  The west wind laughed, ‘Call me whateva you will, Jo tu hai, so main hoon . . .’

  ‘Jo main hoon, so tu hai,’ giggled Zara.

  And the west wind wrapped herself around Zara.

  ‘I can see you are headed to where the sun sets each day. Way to go,’ she said.

  ‘I know. My future beckons me there. But isn’t it too far, Windy dear?’ asked Zara, almost complaining.

  ‘The mind is there to weaken you, young lady. It’s important to confirm your beliefs before you embark on such a long journey. You have to motivate yourself, Zaru. Just be,’ the west wind said.

  ‘And how do I do that?’ Zara asked, worry furrowing a deep groove on her forehead.

  ‘The traveller lives in the mo
ment,’ the west wind went on.

  ‘There is no past, no future. Live here and now. That’s how you motivate yourself on such an arduous journey through life, Zaru.’

  ‘Sounds cool,’ replied Zara, perking up. ‘You’re lotsa fun, dear Windy.’

  The west wind laughed, ‘We all need fun, Zaru.’

  ‘What’s the point withdrawing into the unknown? Even the invisible needs visibility for the sake of fun. That’s how I become the river,’ she continued.

  ‘Yes, that’s how I, too, am leaving my unknown world by the river and heading for the known Universe instead, under the glare of city lights,’ said Zara, matter-of-factly.

  ‘That’s great. The foothills were only an escape from the mundane,’ the west wind came back.

  ‘All the creatures you met by the riverbank have since returned to the city to participate in their daily grind and find their bearings. Go, give it a try. Who knows what you will come up with once you reach your station.’

  Zara smiled, thanked the west wind, and invited her to join her on the journey beyond.

  ‘There’s nothing up there on the mountaintop. It’s barren,’ she said, prodding the elephant behind its ears to move forward.

  The west wind smiled, then turned about and wrapped herself around Zara once more, whispering softly into her ear, ‘Don’t worry, dear. I’ll always come back. But you must keep moving on,’ and saying so, she disappeared nowhere with a whoosh.

  The elephant trundled towards the plains below. And they rambled till they were swallowed by an ocean of darkness, the shadow of the Peacock Ridge looming large from behind. The city sparkled in the distant horizon in the dazzle of a million neon lights in rows after rows of semi-circular grids laid out one after another.

  ‘Those gemstones . . . they are so beautiful!’ exclaimed Zara, drawing a deep breath at the sight of the city still far, far away.

  ‘Yes, they look great, Zara, to the untrained eye, chasing a dream as you do now,’ said the elephant. ‘But look again. We spend a lifetime propping up concepts that aren’t really true.’

  ‘Really?’ wondered Zara with a hint of sarcasm.

  ‘Truth, Zara,’ said the elephant winking, ‘is that that is invariant in all frames of reference. Just like me.’

  ‘To the creature with limited vision, I might appear, at once, a log; at others, a pillar or two or four; sometimes, a rope or even a barrel. But to the one with complete vision, I am what I really am, an elephant.’

  ‘Hmmm!’ Zara reflected, yawning.

  ‘Those are city lights you see in the distance that switch on as darkness descends upon our world,’ said the elephant.

  And so, he trundled along . . .

  In a moment, all was quiet.

  CHAPTER 2

  When morning came again, the elephant had descended to the plains, the Peacock Ridge towering right behind. At its feet, a shallow stream wound its way into the surrounding wilderness.

  Zara looked up. Tall green grasses grew across the stream beyond which tall dark trees merged into a dense forest. Slowly, one at a time, the elephant dipped his feet in the ankle-deep water to make his way to the opposite bank.

  ‘What you see across is elephant grass. They are taller than me. Luscious. I feed on them whenever I get a chance,’ the elephant said. Soon, they were wading through the grass, sharp blades slicing into Zara’s tender skin.

  ‘Uff!’ screamed Zara.

  ‘Mind yourself,’ the elephant hollered. ‘Don’t fling your arms around. And try to hide your legs behind my ears, as much as you can.’

  Zara crouched over the elephant’s head, shutting her eyes. Soon, they were lost in the dense foliage. An intoxicating sweet smell of rich grass and damp earth filled her nostrils. The koel sang aloud from her nest in the trees:

  How would I know, O Lord!

  What’s good for me?

  The wise one

  Dwelling within

  Please show me the way.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Zara asked.

  ‘That’s the koel with the most beautiful voice in all of creation. Few in the forest can see her around, though everybody is well-tuned into her voice. I’d love to sing one day,’ the elephant said.

  ‘You are what you hear, dear Elly. Rest easy!’ said Zara.

  ‘I like that,’ said the elephant, laughing aloud and blowing his trumpet. ‘I feel soooo happy.’

  And the west wind reappeared from nowhere. ‘I see you bruised all over, Zaru, let me heal them with my kiss.’ And so, she wrapped herself around Zara, caressing her face.

  ‘Ouch! It hurts,’ Zara cried aloud at the touch of the wind. And the wind stepped back.

  ‘Pain and gain belong to the same wheel of life. Don’t get taken in by your words,’ she said, consoling Zara. And then, looking the elephant in his eyes as he stepped on to a small meadow separating the treeline, she said, ‘Surrender yourself to your voice within. That’s the lord of your destiny, dear Elly. That’s what the koel was singing about.’

  ‘Within, without, within, without. Cooh . . . cooh,’ the koel sang in her nest. And the birds in the forest joined in:

  Cooh . . . cooh!

  Hear the sound of

  Joy and happiness

  In the silence

  Of your heart . . .

  ‘Listen carefully, Zaru,’ the west wind came around to the elephant’s shoulder. ‘The birds understand what I mean. You really have to reach nowhere to be truly happy. Be still. Be content with what you have in every situation. And you will feel happy. That’s bliss!’

  And the birds continued singing:

  Cooh . . . cooh!

  Hear the sound of

  Joy and happiness

  In the silence

  Of your heart . . .

  And the sun peered into the forest in a thousand rays streaming between the trees.

  And Zara smiled.

  ‘Bliss? I’ve heard that one before . . . on the riverbank. Who was it who told me so?’ she tried to recall. And she thought and thought and thought.

  ‘Ah yes! Now I remember. It was Anty. He lectured me on motion one day.’

  ‘Motion? Movement creates tension, tension creates anxiety, anxiety causes pain. Remember!’ said the west wind. ‘There’s true bliss when there is stability within. When everything inside is quiet.’

  ‘That’s funny. And it’s quite impossible for me not to move, just as it is with you, O Windy! How do I get that?’ asked Zara.

  ‘I’ll tell you how. The trick is to live in cheer,’ the wind laughed aloud.

  ‘Cheer? But, I am always smiling, am I not?’ Zara asked.

  ‘Sure, you are. But you need to paste a permanent smile on that face.’

  ‘Emojis, you mean?’ winked Zara.

  ‘Yes, you get three of a kind,’ the west wind laughed back.

  ‘Whew! Three cheers to that,’ yelled Zara.

  ‘Hurrah!’ came a voice from the forest across the meadow. Zara looked up, surprised.

  It was the monkey, hanging by its tail from the tree. And shortly, all the other monkeys joined in, hanging from nearby branches.

  ‘Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!’ they screamed, jumping from branch to branch.

  ‘Great to see you guys around. Now listen to what I say . . .’

  ‘Carry on Windy, we are all ears,’ the monkeys responded in one loud chatter.

  ‘First is the cheer of the body. Elly knows that well.’ And the elephant nodded in agreement. ‘A full smiley comes with wholesome food,’ the wind carried on.

  ‘Yeah, yeah!’ nodded the elephant. ‘I feed on rich green grass. But if you eat like the pig . . .’ he said, pointing his trunk to the wild hog sitting by a pile of waste in the slush to the far left of the meadow, feeding on rot, ‘. . . you will stink like a sack full of garbage and always remain disgruntled.’

  ‘So, don’t be in a hurry to hog,’ the west wind turned around. ‘Don’t go against your bodily nature. To know how and what suits you best, first
sniff like a dog.’

  ‘Bow-wow!’ Pleased by the praise, the wild cur barked from behind the woods to the elephant’s right, where he had been lazing in the morning sun.

  ‘But he barks unnecessarily,’ complained Zara.

  ‘Right? If you really look at it that way, nobody’s quite perfect. It’s actually quite difficult to keep your mouth shut. Try it out yourself,’ the monkey shouted, still hanging by his tail.

  ‘And that’s because the mouth has two deformities,’ said the west wind. ‘It keeps eating, and it keeps talking.’

  ‘Eating, talking . . . talking, eating . . . yes! But how do you really shut your mouth?’ the monkey asked. ‘After all, eating and talking makes us what we really are.’

  ‘Ha!’ exclaimed the west wind. ‘A healthy body is born of a healthy mind.’

  ‘Come again?’ said the hog, irritated midway through his gorging, raising his head in a slant, looking through the corner of his eyes.

  ‘Come again!’ he grunted, spoiling for a fight.

  ‘Your mind controls your lusts. Don’t sniff around for rubbish. Control your urge instead. That’s what I said. For our mind to be in control, we must strictly stick to form,’ the west wind went on. ‘But if you keep hogging all the while, as is your wont, you miss out on the small funs of life.’

  ‘I’ll do as I please,’ grunted the hog, detesting the jibe.

  ‘There’s no such thing as “I’ll do as I wish”. To nourish a healthy body, you need a healthy mind,’ smiled the west wind.

  ‘So, that’s cheer No. 2 for you,’ the elephant said. ‘Sounds good! I always try to keep my mind in cheer. That’s exactly what makes me gentle despite my frame.’

  ‘Yes, that’s exactly what does. And that brings us to cheer No. 3: gentleness of speech. Express your gratitude with every step you take, such that the other person has tears in their eyes.’

  ‘Well said, and three cheers to that!’ exclaimed Zara.

  ‘Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!’ the monkeys jumped about.