A thought during the Gulf War

When another Kurukshetra Clouds piled up


It was a period when tension rose to its peak. People around the region were scared. People around the world were closely watched the scenes. Curiosity prevailed all over. Their attention was focussed at one point. A strategic point!

The immigrants were rather in a perplexing situation. They anxiously waited for the morning newspaper each day. Once they finished reading the news their faces themselves told that they were not satisfied with the news. They often looked at their wristwatches and at certain times ran in front of radios. They tuned stations after station. Their anxiety only increased. They rushed towards television sets. They were not in a mood to watch and enjoy the TV programmes. They seemed to be in search of something. Something precise. They knew that no others were in a position to console them except the unreachable sources that were, in fact, moving to the opposite direction.

Once the news bulletins were finished they fell in their own world. Life which till then pulled on with imaginative additions and deliberate subtractions ahead seemed rather miserable. Many were not optimistic. They felt the scared Dooms day was fastly approaching. “Oh God!” they breathed out heavily!

Vishwam was more worried. What to do, what not to do? He was confused. Friends and colleagues warned him. There were no encouraging words from anywhere, no rays of hope.

“See, he and his family have left yesterday. See, they and their families are leaving tomorrow. See, there were reports that … hundreds of families left from … and.. See, it is learnt that no seat is vacant in any airline until …” Friends said.

He was scared to open letters from his relatives. He was scared to attend telephone calls.

What else could he do other than worrying in such a grave situation? His wife was nearing to advanced stage of pregnancy. They hardly made a set up to live together. They just began a life. It was only a few months that she joined with him. In any way, an immediate going and coming could not be easy and bearable. Besides, what many problems did not involve in coming and going?

“Didn’t you go home?” Asked nears.
“Why are so concerned about me?” he wished to say but the words did not come out.
When he kept quiet, they continued with an advising tone. “If you’re not going, send her with he and she who are going the next week. You phone and inform her parents so that they will receive her at the airport there.”

When he was still mute, they said him in a warning tone. “Definitely there will be problems. If you are alone you may some how able to overcome them. Here she is nearing to advanced stage. It is the first one and she’s the only daughter of her parents. Aren’t you hearing? Don’t you understand what we say?” Friends asked.
“If you’re not going, stock maximum food stuff. There may be a scarcity of essential commodities and price hike of them if the situation continued for a long time and the present indications give to believe only such chances,” interrupted one.

Days passed one by one. The summer was in its climax. Intermittently, dark clouds often piled up in certain pockets of the sky. The sky turned to the playground of different coloured, thick and thin clouds. The temperature shot up. Humidity was rather high. Desert winds made sand dunes.

“Had it rained!” Wished very few people sitting on a corner.
“Had the wind taken off the clouds!” Wished many in the midst.

Fighter planes flew in. Tanks were lined up. Navy ships set off to sail. Soldiers were flooded. Flags were tied together. Leaders appeared on mini screens. Peace brokers flew in and flew out. Words sharpened. Warnings and threatenings. Tranquility before the storm prevailed all over the region.

He scared to watch such scenes. He scared to read such news. He scared to hear such talks.

He looked at his wife. She was pale. He pretended that he was not at all worried.
“If you are there, I will not be at peace here. So, let us face anything together. I don’t think there may be grave crises. Even if something happened, that will be for a very short time, and we may not be immediately affected. In the meantime, big big parties are involved in the peace mission and they may be able to avert a real war” he consoled her.

When he shriveled to himself he was not much courageous and optimistic. How could he be so courageous when there was a talk in the town that they do fall in the rains of both the patriot and scud missiles? Some people said that reports were false. Superstitions in him hooted up.

He took out his an extract of his horoscope. He counted the dates. He noticed that he was passing through the influence of Jupiter. Jupiter was okay but there was seven and half Saturn. That would definitely create problems. He looked at the horoscope extract of his wife as well. Hers was the Mercury dasa but she too was passing through the seven and half Saturn.

“Oh, God!” did you join us to suffer together in a death-like situation? He whispered.
Again he turned to his horoscope. “For a brief period in life you may have to face a series of unfortunate and unavoidable events” he remembered the warning of his astrologer.

“Aren’t these the events that said? Or are there anything more?” he asked himself.
When he turned to the chart he found that his coming dasa was the real Saturn. He threw the extract of his horoscope aside.

“Astrology may not be correct. It may be a superstition. But, where there is faith, there comes superstition, one or the other kind” he suggested to his mind to believe so.

“There are millions of people the world over who never cared of astrology. Still it may be there. Even if it is a science, predictions can be turned wrong if the time calculation was wrong.” His sub-conscious mind murmured questions and answers.

He tried to remember the words of his palmist. “Obstructions are there. But, in the future you will achieve success.”

He spread out his own palms and looked at them. He carefully went through his own right palm. The mounts of Jupiter, Saturn, Sun and Mercury were protruded. Fate line, headline, heart line, sun line and health lines were clear and faultless. But, the lifeline is broken near the Dragon’s tail.

He looked at his wrist. The second ring on the wrist was also broken. “What’s the use of all others when the life line itself is broken?” he asked himself. “But, how is this contradiction? Horoscope says you have full life if you take care of your health, but the palmistry says if the life line is broken then there may be danger on life.”

“Astrology says it is correct. Palmistry says it is correct. Which is to believe? Which is not to believe?” He was confused. “Well, if the life line is broken how did I sustain? Oh, it may be with the help of this additional lifeline at the Venus. Perhaps, it may at that time when I suffered a death-like situation in the childhood.” His thought turned wild. Little knowledge in astrology and palmistry confused him.

“Hi, fool, who’re you to say all these? What to do you know all about astrology and palmistry?” his mind warned him.

He opened the newspapers and magazines and looked at the starry columns and noted what did his star say for the day, the week and the month. No predictions were there beyond a month. He threw them away.

He remembered the words of his Tarot teller, finger print analyst and body marks analyst who predicted success in the end. “That end may be the end. The end of all ends. Perhaps, they may be correct. It may be that end knocking at the door” his restless, monkey-like mind chirped.

Another dawn blossomed out. He went to the terrace. He fed his pet rabbits. He watered his plants. Hardly a few days left out. After that everything might be ended.”

He looked around him. He saw more beauty in the dark blue sea a few metres away and in the saffron smeared sky in the eastern horizon.

“What message do the small and big clouds carry with them?” If there aren’t any why did they set off a marathon? Did that party agree to end occupation and resume dialogue? Who’s patted me? Oh, it’s the cool breeze. Hi, breeze, do you where does the nature keep its compressor to cool you? Oh God, how to throw over the life in this world? How beauty this world is! Wasn’t this beauty there yesterday and all these days? How couldn’t I see and enjoy them? Why did you open my eyes now?”

In the midst of the shriek of his mind, everything moved as usual. People were dashing from one place to another. He felt speed everywhere. A speed before the end.

When the day turned to evening he went to the market. There were rushes everywhere.
“Why’re you standing in front of this super market, beside this pick up?” a friend asked him.
“Let me stock at least some rice, daal, milk powder, sugar and tea!” his voice trembled out.
“Oh, you funny idiot, you’re really the successor of that humourist Nampoodiri who stood on the river bank looking at the dog on the other side of the river bank. Did you decide of your Last Supper? Oh, this seems to be a kind of phobia. Cheer up man. Nothing is going to happen as you feared.”

* * *
It rained heavily for a few days accompanied by thunder, lightning and storm. Still it was not a downpour as was expected by many. The sun was covered with thick clouds. The rays penetrated in to the clouds. Through the holes in the clouds the sunrays entered on the earth. The rays broke the clouds in to pieces and dispersed them. Small, small clouds withdrawn to different directions and many of them disappeared in the race of survival.

A few days had passed after the heavy rains. Paths were damaged. Small and big puddles were there in certain places. But, there was a pleasure of relief reflected on all faces. The sky was almost clear. Dirt on the earth flowed in to the sea and the sea was engaged in the process of sedimentation.

* * *
The taxi was about to move to the airport. Its carrier was holding luggages. He was sitting in the taxi beside his wife. She was in advanced stage of her second pregnancy. His three-year old son was sitting on his lap and chatting with his standing outside. The little boy was told that they were going to fly to see his grand parents and others.

He bid bye to his friends who gathered there and the taxi moved.
“Aren’t you going to buy at least some rice, daal, milk powder sugar and tea?” he heard one among the gathering asked another.

“What’s the dasa of the child,” asked another.
Seven and half Saturn plus seven and half Saturn is equal to “Kandakasasi”? Reply from another came sarcastically and in a question tone making others for a big laugh.


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