-A window ajar is a prelude in building to the joy of being limitless! That uneasiness of being familiar somehow, sometime, somewhere.......

Sunday, June 26, 2005

To Sonali...















mehndi

She must be some ten summers old. When the waves sweep over the shore, a breeze nudges her tresses onto her face. Her ragged old skirt flutters.
Ask her name and she smiles shyly revealing a half-bent tooth that looks like a piano-key held midway by an invisible finger.

On her bare feet, she travels hurriedly across the sands, through this vast maze of shifting humanity asking in her low voice Mehndi lagaon*? Mehndi lagaon”?

After a while someone would oblige.Mostly for their own delight.Sometimes out of sympathy to her plight.

As the mehndi grows and takes shape they would sit there enamoured by the colour and the design that unfolds, unmindful of the tiny hand that colours.

It is beautiful and complete now.

Between the coloured and the colouring hands, a note of currency, is exchanged. And with that a silent social denomination too. After that, the hands withdraw to their respective worlds.


Her world is simple. Through her colours, she is permitted only to touch another world. And to keep on touching as many worlds.

No less. No more.

To the sea with its sinking sun, there exists just one world, a world in which another day in summer has ticked.Just like any other summer wherein a dream melts and flows as shame.

~Juhu Beach , Bombay. (Summer of 05)


Mehndi- N.Hindi.a colouring extract from a plant called Henna ,used as an application to decorate the skin.

*Mehndi lagaon? : Can I apply Mehndi?

Sonali-Hindi Female Proper noun , extensive in northern and western parts of India, means Golden.(ironic in the context).

www.makepovertyhistory.org

9 comments:

El enigma said...

...amazing how innocence breathes from ur words.....innocence of her world .....imparting colours to others, yet remaining aloof, colourless themselves?

"Her world is simple. Through her colours,she is permitted only to touch another world. And to keep on touching as many worlds.
No less. No more.....
To the sea with its sinking sun, there exists just one world...."

u've so beautifully captured the transition..... the continuity of a melting dream and a dying day....

very nice...
enig!

NS said...

A touching tale behind the colorful mehendi... a tale that isn't half as vibrant as the mehendi!!!

its a hard fact that these worlds, each one of them, is almost a line parallel to the others... nothing in common, no meeting anywhere..:(

Very poignant write up, and beautiful mehendi..:) Loved it when I saw the pic before, noe even more in love with it, on knowing its done by a hand thats not even half as old as mine!:-)

Martin said...

I was enraptured by your words :-)

I'm really enjoying looking through these dusty windows into India.

Thank you :-)

Ubermensch said...

Thank you enig! You are dipping me in flattery.Not that I mind:)

Thanks nithya,
For the beautiful feeling you have put across, its saddening isn’t it? The true horror is there are so many of them.

Weetabix,
Thanks for the words.Shall mail you soon.but do clean up the inbox:)

Luna,
Thank you luna very glad you can find life through those dusty windows!
cheers

Ubermensch

Anonymous said...

True, there are so many of them...wish we could do something about it. Lovely use of words here.

Ubermensch said...

Thank u sudhi,
oh yes things are happening..

josh said...

This is evocative writing. Hugs!

Ubermensch said...

Josh,
thanks...:)

small squirrel said...

beautiful.... there are no other words.

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