Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Rendezvous in Rajputana

Moment 1It was around 4.a.m. in the morning when our train like a tired and lost wanderer entered the Jaipur Station. the weather was chilled, the air have all the bites, the sky a landscape of stars and fog. The train was neatly 3 hrs late and it was enough to turn some calculations down. The most important thing was that will the Hotel be open or we have to go and wait till the morning check in time? however that worry was a later episode. First we have to go out of the station and catch an auto or a cab.
And at that moment I saw her.
Her face.
Her eyes twinkling in excitement.
Her scattered hairs are roaming over her forehead like the first flight of pigeons.
Her eyelids trembling. Her lips with faint brown lipstick colour waiting for some words..
And she asked “ Is there any Coolie?”
Indeed that was the question of all of us.
But alas! There was none.
Instead a big iron cart came and we all as have no alternative gathered our luggage on that and tied up in strings and then walked on.
One of our traveller Mr. Rawat asked her to take stairs and meet us outside the station.
But she shook her head. And she accompanied us.
We started walking.
We walked through the ripe midnight of a sleepy silent Jaipur station..we walked through frequent whistles of a distant train..we walked through loud whistles of an engine steaming in..some undeciphered shouts in local language(which I presume hardcore Jat)..through some sleeping dogs with wagging tails..over the platform..the blinking of the signals in different tracks..once red..once yellow..the fragrance of some unknown bush flower..far across the platform shades of the dark highrises and old houses of Rajput structure looms high..a notion that Jaipur is now a capital and a busy and rich metropolitan..as we slowly came down from one platform with tottering luggages in the iron cart..we crossed in feet the rail tracks and took way of another platform..the dimmy yellowish light of the platform looking foggy..we walked through the deeply slept coolies and the number of homeless who managed shelter with a rugged dirty blanket on the station..we walked as the first ray of dawn slowly kissed the passing night and with the birds flying with their clattering of their wings..and then again at that moment..
I saw her.
She was calm . Composed. But excited.
Her footsteps showed that.
With a hint of jump in them.
Her eyes bright in this foggy whitish night. Her movements sharp in this chilled winter. And her face lit up as if some magic lantern is shining on her.
I looked. And looked.
I laid my every steps along with her every footsteps.
I realized that this was what I always want.
An adventurous life!
To walk like this in some unknown station of an unknown new place in midnight.
And as came near the auto stand she looked at me and said softly, “Thanks.”
And the fresh morning air at that moment brought aroma of her.
The scent of a woman.
I smiled too.
And then once again looked at her.
The most beautiful face of the world whose beauty remains sublime even with all the claws of struggle..
Standing in the gateway of Rajasthan from where history greets you at every steps..where lost glory and existing pride declares itself in fusion..where epics of local allegories and myths flows in air..and where Kings and Queens are still the ultimate feelings of passion and gratitude..
I should have arrive like this only..not in any other way..
But like this..In the right tune of footprints..
Along with Her..My Love.
And this is undoubtedly the first Rendezvous Moments for me in my own tales of
Rendezvous in Rajputana!

1 comment:

SUBHADIP said...

Kate has left a new comment on the post "A Snow Day Post That Somehow Covers Both The Bible...":

Seriously, thank you for this. You are hilarious! This kinda stuff makes my day. Keep it up!