Can Age Wither Passion?

At around 4 every evening, as I settle down with my cup of tea, the sound of mrdngam being played drifts through the window to my left, setting a mellow mood in the golden evening light.

The player - a neighbour aged somewhere between 83 and 87.

He walks diligently every evening, stopping to catch his breath in between. He does not carry a stick for support, and sometimes has a bag of vegetables he has bought from the shop outside. He carefully makes his way between boys playing aggressive football in the complex, random cars and younger children running hither and thither.

Every time I greet him, I have to introduce myself - not because he cannot remember people or things, but because his vision is hazy despite the thick glasses he wears. And every time he will apologise to me for not recognising me instantly - at his age, he needn't care.

So yesterday I stopped by and expressed my appreciation for the pleasant aura his mrdngam creates in the evening and the diligence with which he practices the instrument.

He told me the story of his love for this instrument that made me stop in wonder.

He had initially learnt mrdngam when he was 10 for a few years from a leading guru. Then because of work he had to give it up. At the age of 62, he decided to revive his passion and approached Music Academy. He found a guru, another leading mrdngam vidwan. Then, when he was in his 70s, he started a school so that young boys maybe initiated in this art. But there were many dropouts, because boys nowadays want to learn the drums, the banjo or keyboard. It hurts him even to say this.

It was with great effort I restrained myself to ask him to do something similar in our complex. He is eighty plus, and I need him to initiate my son into an instrument that elevates me always when I am dancing?

He stunned me again when he said, "When I see the meditation hall here, I want to bring a guru for the boys in this building." My jaw dropped. But still I held my tongue - for my son doesn't seem too keen on the gentler arts, preferring sports. Seeing a cricket bat in my hand he asked, "You were playing cricket?"

"No, this is my son's. He is seven years old."

"I shall enlist him also when we start the class."

Does passion wane with age? I bowed to him mentally.

And, oh, he explained to me why he can't recognise me. "Your hairstyle keeps changing, so I tend to get confused. Please don't mistake me."

This time, I was truly speechless.

Down Memory Lane

It was just another boring day. She was feeling frustrated, and yet, there was nothing big that had happened to trigger that frustration. Just a petty quarrel at home in the morning; a small payment pending at work; a new friend  acting funny; an old friend missing on Facebook... and deadlines piling up.

Her cell rang and her eyebrows shot up. The call was brief, unexpected and sent her down memory lane. Anil, her senior from college - a man she could never define her feelings for clearly. Did she love him, or it was the respect and affection you feel for a mentor, or just the joy of hearing a friendly voice? He was always pleasant, cool, encouraging, the wind beneath her wings...

The invitation for the alumni meet that weekend was just the shot in the arm she needed. And yet, she hesitated. The mood she was in, she was not even sure if she wanted to meet Anil with those mixed feelings he managed to arouse in her every time. And just now, she felt very vulnerable, very much in need of assurance.

She stepped out for lunch and the music player in the restaurant blared out an old Lata song - Chand phir nikla, magar tum na aye. It was like a punch in her stomach. Unexpectedly, tears sprang up and her eyes hurt. She blinked quickly and sat in the first available table, ordering a very boring roti and dal tadka. It was a day for memories, she realised, for this song was just how she felt when Akash left for the US for further studies. No letters, no phone calls. So typical. It did not surprise her, but it hurt her very deep. True, they had seen it coming, this parting that could be final. But to so easily distance himself from her? Was she so forgettable, really?

And now, though they were friends on Facebook, it was rare for them to even post anything on each other's timelines. What was the point? He seemed not to care. And she still cared too much.

She quickly finished her lunch and returned to work. Her colleague Tejas was pacing up and down. Handsome and fierce, there was an intensity that roused strong feelings in her, and many women in the office. Sometimes she wondered if he felt the same way about her. But since it stopped with that devouring look, she satisfied herself with sighing about him in private. Face to face, they were professionals.

Today, though, she feared something of her longing for those strong arms to wrap her in their comfort showed. "Anything bothering you?" she asked, throwing the question at him.

"I was waiting for you," he said, his deep voice immediately sending a thrill up her spine. But it was an anti-climax when he asked her to mail him some financial details. That's all? Sigh, of course. That's all. She consoled herself and went to her seat, focusing on getting the task out of her hands.

6! Where did time fly! She sat back, remembering her fight with Varun in the morning. Did she have to face him? She closed her eyes. And suddenly, the distance bothered her. She wanted to fly to him, tell him all was forgotten. Today, of all days, she couldn't bear sulking.

She would surprise him... get him something nice, for being there for her. But where would he be? She decided to take a chance and walk to his office. She hoped he wouldn't snub her.

Just the thought of meeting him rejuvenated her, her blue mood dissipating. She realised that Varun and she could celebrate their three years of togetherness today. Yes, there were others, there would be others. But just the thought of Varun, the familiarity, the comfort, the dependability, made her feel she was home.

The surprise in his eyes when he saw her at the reception, the joy when she dragged him out to the foyer and pressed the beautiful wallet in his hands that she picked up from the wayside shop, the promise of something more in her eyes. 'Avni,' he whispered.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered. Their eyes met,their hearts were united in one thought, of getting home right away.

The Omnipresent

You fill the air
And our hearts with despair
You never get defeated
Rebounding with flair

Nets and sprays
Cannot keep you out
A generation is all it takes
To come back and bout

We talk and try
Our best to find ways
To finish you forever,
Once and for all

And yet you return
Not letting us turn
Walk, sit or sleep
As you suck our very blood

Hail Mosquito
You are more present
Than the almighty
Who is sometimes easy to forget

The Human Touch

Thousands cover the green trees. Pelican, egrets, painted storks, plain storks, black beaked ibis... They come here for the warmth, the wa...

Let it Bloom

The green hides the beauty within
Promise of colours raring to spring
Layer by layer, with time it blooms
Petal by petal unravelled, none too soon

The wayfarer, passing casually by
The promise of colours catches his eye
Stirring up feelings that we dare not pry
For they make us tremble, fear and cry

Oh! What evil lurks under his skin
Why this wish to crumple this thing
That which needs tender, loving care
Rape, plunder and crush, he dare!

Let it bloom, display its colours
Spreading joy, smiles all over
Don't pluck the bud before it's time
Let it too bloom and shine.

Leisure and Literature

What did I do the last two days?

I had FUN and I learnt Literature. What I hadn't learnt in three years of doing BA Lit, I did in a day. To play this card game...

A break from work I could ill afford, but I decided to make the most of it. A train journey is meant for enjoying, even if it means bearing with sudden, startling, rheumatic breaks by the train. And then, what's a journey without entertaining co-passengers? I was most gratified to see our neighbours' ears glued to our conversations and smiling despite themselves. In the onward journey, the man, fearing he will miss his station early next morning, scooted to the top berth at his bedtime seeing the ladies in full form. Gossiping, teasing, laughing - we need large cousin groups, man...

In the return journey my education began. The old hands agreed to initiate two novices into the game - one a young boy fresh in his teens, and the other, yours truly - who had seen teens many summers back. But it is never too late to learn, is it? Breaking for soup and dinner was hard but we got back with rigour and managed 5 sets.

Now I am wondering how to get this group back to have more such rounds... And that too in train... Train, cards, cousins - a combination nonpareil.

PS: The wedding we attended was fun too... Let me catch up with my work now...

One Earth: Milk of Unkindness

One Earth: Milk of Unkindness: A recent visit to some villages was an eye-opener - something I could do without. There was much ado about how many of the women in the grou...