A drop of water...
posted under
by Sudarshan J
I looked to my right, and then to my left. Seeing no one in the station, except an old man in tatters driving away flies from a basket of stale cucumbers, I felt I landed up in the wrong place. Just then, I heard a feeble voice shout out my name, a voice so feeble that it shouldn't have been a voice at all. I gathered up my things and went to greet this ill-looking human, if I may call him that. He was sweating profusely, and every now and then, he used the towel on his shoulder to mop his face. The heat had creased his face into many wrinkles, and his face was almost lost in those wrinkles as he made an effort to smile. The sun blinded me as soon as I walked out of the station. In a moment, I realized that I couldn't even look down, as the reflected light pained me even more. The man lead the way and I followed him blindly, literally. I had just arrived at the town of Chiknoor.
If the weather was any sign of how hot it was going to be, the people were an antithesis. The cold, glaring looks they gave me blinded me even more. I tried being amicable, smiling at people randomly, but I think I looked so foolish that they glared even more. I gave up, and followed my guide to the lodge. Maybe I shouldn't call it a lodge. But the name proclaimed it to be one, so I accepted it as one. I was taken directly to my room, which had windows facing both the West and the East, and I had the first taste of how my days were going to be. There was a small pitcher of water at the far end of the room, and a wooden cot somewhere near the Eastern window. I adapted to the whole fact, that the people had some personal vendetta against me and I wanted to get away as soon as possible.
The problem with the town was water. They just didn't have enough of it. While such a simple thing such as walking produced buckets and buckets of sweat, the poor dehydrated souls didn't have water to drink. They forgot how it tasted. The sound of water gurgling through their throat was the sound of music to them. The dry, parched lips could not smile anymore. The town, that had once been an good example to others, now was a not even an example. The townspeople had to walk a long distance to get water, and it wasn't even worth it. All these problems were due to one single person, named Seth. He had a large well in his bungalow and he just refused to part with it, even if people were dying. He allowed only one pitcher of water everyday, to every household.
And I was called upon to solve this problem. I was supremely confident that the Seth wouldn't agree to whatever I said, and I wanted to leave the town as soon as possible. But I wanted to try. And try I did. Everyday, I went to the Seth's house and negotiated with him in a different number of ways, came up with new proposals everyday, but to no avail. I decided to give him one last try. My patience was ebbing away and the people weren't being helpful at all. This time, I took along a child with me.
The child had tired drooping eyes, which were unnatural for that age. The eyelashes were almost gone. There was little or no hair on it's head. There were minuscule boils on it's head, which the child kept scratching away with it's tiny hands. The hands had broken skin here and there, which was filled with black dust. The lips were parched, and brittle. The child couldn't even open it's mouth to cry. It pained. The tiny, sharp nose was breathing out hot air, being the only organ which was functional, to an extent. The baby's mother had died two weeks back, with the baby at her bosom. It was so thin, sickly and frail. The hands didn't move, except for the continual scratching of the head. The legs didn't have enough strength to carry the baby's weight. It was one godforsaken, skeletal being.
The Seth was agitated on seeing me, again. He was even more agitated, if not aghast, on seeing me bring a rag doll into his mansion. Only when he saw the scratching he realized that it was another life form he was seeing. He offered me the daily quarter glass of water. I shone with happiness, that the steel tumbler glistened. I gleefully took it, and gulped it all down, in a single movement, when I realized that it was about four days since the baby had even seen a drop of pure water.
I went to put the tumbler back on the table, next to the babe, when a droplet of water sneaked out of my mouth. It hung there for a second, just a second. The light from the window shone upon it and the room filled up with some unnatural beauty. There were many colors and shades. The droplet then continued it's way down, and fell on the baby's lips. Then I saw, for the first time, a dark tongue roll out and lick away that single droplet of water with great relish. The child's eyes brightened, and a cool, soothing and unnatural cry came out of her lips. The baby started crying, which seemed so beautiful. The child gurgled, and I could see the water droplet moving down her throat. And then came the smile. The room filled up with an aura, that I never experienced before. The child's lips widened, painlessly and effortlessly. The eyes smiled, the hands and the legs danced in a movement of joy. It was there for an eternity. I felt so relaxed in the atmosphere, and was relishing every moment of it. I turned to look at the Seth and he was as amazed as myself. Then, the light faded out as quickly as it had come. I thought the moment of truth was over and turned to look at the child. The smile was still there.
I moved forward to pick up the child, only to find out that it went limp in my hands. The Seth fell on his knees and started to cry. And the baby, the baby was so serene, so beautiful to look at, that I believe God couldn't part with it and He took her away. I moved ever so slowly, and walked out of the house.
The next time I visited the village, it was lush and green.
I smiled...
If the weather was any sign of how hot it was going to be, the people were an antithesis. The cold, glaring looks they gave me blinded me even more. I tried being amicable, smiling at people randomly, but I think I looked so foolish that they glared even more. I gave up, and followed my guide to the lodge. Maybe I shouldn't call it a lodge. But the name proclaimed it to be one, so I accepted it as one. I was taken directly to my room, which had windows facing both the West and the East, and I had the first taste of how my days were going to be. There was a small pitcher of water at the far end of the room, and a wooden cot somewhere near the Eastern window. I adapted to the whole fact, that the people had some personal vendetta against me and I wanted to get away as soon as possible.
The problem with the town was water. They just didn't have enough of it. While such a simple thing such as walking produced buckets and buckets of sweat, the poor dehydrated souls didn't have water to drink. They forgot how it tasted. The sound of water gurgling through their throat was the sound of music to them. The dry, parched lips could not smile anymore. The town, that had once been an good example to others, now was a not even an example. The townspeople had to walk a long distance to get water, and it wasn't even worth it. All these problems were due to one single person, named Seth. He had a large well in his bungalow and he just refused to part with it, even if people were dying. He allowed only one pitcher of water everyday, to every household.
And I was called upon to solve this problem. I was supremely confident that the Seth wouldn't agree to whatever I said, and I wanted to leave the town as soon as possible. But I wanted to try. And try I did. Everyday, I went to the Seth's house and negotiated with him in a different number of ways, came up with new proposals everyday, but to no avail. I decided to give him one last try. My patience was ebbing away and the people weren't being helpful at all. This time, I took along a child with me.
The child had tired drooping eyes, which were unnatural for that age. The eyelashes were almost gone. There was little or no hair on it's head. There were minuscule boils on it's head, which the child kept scratching away with it's tiny hands. The hands had broken skin here and there, which was filled with black dust. The lips were parched, and brittle. The child couldn't even open it's mouth to cry. It pained. The tiny, sharp nose was breathing out hot air, being the only organ which was functional, to an extent. The baby's mother had died two weeks back, with the baby at her bosom. It was so thin, sickly and frail. The hands didn't move, except for the continual scratching of the head. The legs didn't have enough strength to carry the baby's weight. It was one godforsaken, skeletal being.
The Seth was agitated on seeing me, again. He was even more agitated, if not aghast, on seeing me bring a rag doll into his mansion. Only when he saw the scratching he realized that it was another life form he was seeing. He offered me the daily quarter glass of water. I shone with happiness, that the steel tumbler glistened. I gleefully took it, and gulped it all down, in a single movement, when I realized that it was about four days since the baby had even seen a drop of pure water.
I went to put the tumbler back on the table, next to the babe, when a droplet of water sneaked out of my mouth. It hung there for a second, just a second. The light from the window shone upon it and the room filled up with some unnatural beauty. There were many colors and shades. The droplet then continued it's way down, and fell on the baby's lips. Then I saw, for the first time, a dark tongue roll out and lick away that single droplet of water with great relish. The child's eyes brightened, and a cool, soothing and unnatural cry came out of her lips. The baby started crying, which seemed so beautiful. The child gurgled, and I could see the water droplet moving down her throat. And then came the smile. The room filled up with an aura, that I never experienced before. The child's lips widened, painlessly and effortlessly. The eyes smiled, the hands and the legs danced in a movement of joy. It was there for an eternity. I felt so relaxed in the atmosphere, and was relishing every moment of it. I turned to look at the Seth and he was as amazed as myself. Then, the light faded out as quickly as it had come. I thought the moment of truth was over and turned to look at the child. The smile was still there.
I moved forward to pick up the child, only to find out that it went limp in my hands. The Seth fell on his knees and started to cry. And the baby, the baby was so serene, so beautiful to look at, that I believe God couldn't part with it and He took her away. I moved ever so slowly, and walked out of the house.
The next time I visited the village, it was lush and green.
I smiled...
