The noise of the dholis is defeaning.
Dressed in dark orange dresses they are creating a commotion in this crowded locality. The boys who had locked themselves in their rooms, in self-imposed exile, for their exams, have come out and are looking down their balconies with curiosity – “who’s there?”.
This is that time of the year, when you just desire some noise, some happiness, some wild dancing.
But I am not happy. He is dead.
Piloo Sarai is home to one of the largest number of students pouring into Delhi from different parts of India with dreams of making it to the elite IAS, IES and PSUs. Smart, dreamy and prepared for extreme hard work, these boys are inhabitants of a different world. He appeared just like them some day towards the end o f the month of June last year.
What attracted me to him?
His expressionless face.
A tall and fair figure his long curly hair looked like strands of long black chowmeen oozing out of his head. His face was neither happy, nor sad. Neither revengeful, nor resentful. He was simply an existence. I saw him for the first time, while I had gone to check the overhead tank at 4.00 a.m. in the morning, about a week after he had checked into the nearby apartment. He was doing suryanamaskar on the roof.
He looked every bit the celestial Kamadeva, wearing a dhoti and bare-chested. His movements were subtle and fluid, as if he was the one who had invented the ritual. His deep throated chanting of the Om, riveted my feet to the spot I was standing at. And I thought, “Is it real?”
This is June again. There is a notice in the newspaper, informing of an unclaimed body found floating in the Yamuna. The body is all puffed up due to prolonged exposure to water. The eyes are bulging out. The skin behind the elbows, at places, has ruptured releasing blue-black pus.
I have no doubt, it is the same boy.
Why did such a perfect creation of God, at peace with the rest of the world, have to make such a hurried and nasty exit?
What could be the reason behind his expressionless face?
What could explain his unfathomable mesmerism?
These are some of the questions, which would bother me for the rest of my life, though there is little time for it. Talks are on. I would soon be married off to a guy from Faridabad. The boy works for the Delhi Transport Corporation. Husband, in-laws, children and responsibilities. Life is cut out. Would I have the time to ruminate on a relationship, that had no name.
Only God knows.
May his soul rest in peace.
“Om trayambakam, yajamahe sugandhim prushti vardhanam,
urvaa rukamiva vandanat, mrutyurmukhi amamrita”
