RISING MALLANG

The addlepated atmosphere had created havoc among the people traveling, the officials were trying to make an effort so that things get under control, but it took a while until everything got settled on its own. The timely announcements were loud and unclear to the ears, and the display charts of the schedule were the only thing that one could rely on.

The mind has been trained to respond to technology which is taking charge of the routine things to make things easier, but at the same time mind itself is becoming a slave to it as one had stopped coexisting with life and surroundings, an elderly couple who has not been familiar with the technology was totally devastated and was asking for help, as everyone was lost in their digital world until a middle-aged man came ahead to help them out, but he was himself seeking help around.

A big advertising company was showing how one should look; to have a bigger lifestyle, in a way it was trying to put an idea in the minds of the masses about how one should be. Life could have been different if one doesn’t look for the ideals, goals, targets achievements, ambition, and the glorification of power and riches.

The salesman at the store was so good in his words and phrases that he lured the buyers and sold his merchandise with a huge profit within a few minutes. The cab owners had scuffles for the passengers who will go first and where were loud enough to notice from afar. There was a small cracked vessel lying over the corner outside the road which was empty and had been not filled for a very long time looked like it was for the birds and other animals who use to come to a long while back for water and food.

The moon appeared from behind the high mountain peaks, and as one was watching, one could see how gently it was moving. Earth was silent and there was nothing except the outline of the high mountains which were clearly seen in the moonlight, it looked like the entire Earth was inviting its light to its bosom.

It was twilight and the night was approaching, the bright star over the south was already visible, and on the way, there​ was a small temple, where some worshipers were offering flowers and money and a few kids were playing, trying hard and jumping to ring the temple bell at the entrance, the perfume of the incensed​ musk was in the air, on the side of the main shrine there was a middle-aged man who was playing an instrument with many strings on his lap, a young boy sitting next to him was singing some devotional melody which was quite seductive​ to the ears. One just joined in the circle. But in the midst of all, there was beauty and silence which was not forced and put together by the mind.

There was still time, for the day to break, the birds and the earth were completely silent. A beautiful bud of Marigold was opening so gracefully that there was the whole of life happening at that moment. It was indeed a Timeless moment, it was as holy as it could be, and was beyond books and cannot be found in the quotation of the scriptures, slowly the earth and birds and every little thing came alive. While walking on the narrow path which leads to the opening to the huge fields covered with the footmarks of the mules and horses, passing them one came across the huge pile of hay and the abandoned house which looked mysterious and beautiful that one cannot​ pass it without looking. The morning was cool and the sky was clear.

In the midst of the busy street, the small birds were hoping to grasp a chunk of the bread lying on the side path, until the Raven came, and all of them were disappeared in a thin air, it was a big black bird with a shiny beak with dark feathers, it took a the whole piece in it’s claws and flew and there was nothing left for anyone. An old fellow was flacking about the recipe which he claimed to cure a certain ailment, For a few it was just a curiosity and had gathered around him, but for others it was just a another source of entertainment, the air had a smell of the recent rain pour around, and the clouds were gathering over and the mountains were covered with the thick mists of it.

The forest was dense, the thick woods with the wild green bushes with thorns were spread all over, but in them, there were small nests of the birds and sparrows. One could see the small eggs which the mother bird was protecting them and sometimes it would attack if some predator animal passed.

The people around were slowly cutting down the trees, as the new construction was happening they were really working hard every day and night to finish it, there was a lot of noise from the machines and the trucks which would pass and would load and unload the chopped trees and building materials.

The mother with her toddler on her back was picking​ the heavy bricks on her head, the sun was getting behind the tall trees of the small hill, it was a warm day indeed, the music which one could hear from far away from the construction site at night was rather soothing. The smoke was in the air.

‌One by one all the trees of the nearby hill were chopped down, for the name of development and modernization, half-finished concrete buildings and a few empty houses were just there without anyone living there apart from the stray dogs, everything was in a tatterdemalion state.

A small blade of grass was coming out from the cemented floor, it was indeed the beauty and the mystery at the same time, that how a small gentle thing had occurred on such a surface. The huge boulders had strange marks on them and the shape and the size of them were enormous, it was the gentle​ droplets of the water which had been dripping there for centuries that had made those marks.

The whole sky was covered with the thick dark clouds where ever one could see, and the drizzle had made the weather pleasant and cool, The flower on the way back had perished slowly and went where it came from, there was still a beauty in his death. Unlike decaying and wearied out with the rotten disparity, there was decency, a purity and a sense of fullness before it had whither completely.

There were footprints on the sand, the sand which the water had taken from everywhere from the mountains from the streams, and from all the small sources, and it has transformed into a massive river, which came all the way along to the valley, to the vast barren land, and there, it was flowing so gracefully that even one look at it makes one’s mind so peaceful and empty in just a split second. There were a few merry gold flowers floating on, and the family with one of the priests was chanting some phrases. Far away one could see the crane with the long beak trying to catch something from the water, it was still like a statue, The sand was wet and the foot was sinking in it.

The Old hospital was located in a small town on the foothills, all the patients and their companions seems quiet, except there was a cry from the child coming out from the pediatric ward. One of the doctors was expressing the way of healthy living in day-to-day life, to his client patient.

The doctor inside one of his room was calling the patients by the number which were given to them at the time of registration, the huge window facing the mountains had gathered the dust from winds and showers of the past, and the flower pot outside had already gone dry and nothing was growing in it. the clouds were gathering again and one could see the rain approaching the town, the half-constructed building became a rain shelter for a few passers-by, and the weather became pleasant after long days of heat.