Page 172 - Musings 2020

21
Satya’s Dream

Hrishikesh Chandrayan 2017A1PS0665P

"I wish everything goes right," thinks Satya, an agricultural worker of seventeen as he scales
the unending road to Odanthurai with his blistered feet. It was pitch dark with barely some
occasional twinkling light of air-crackers casting their significance on his sweating head and
implying that the ‘Emergency Period’ is finally over.

Vasudha, Satya’s younger sister was married to Sainath, a farmer in Odanthurai, was
expecting delivery in two Pahars according to the Vaidya. In order to help Sainath, Satya had
to rush all the way, 26 kilometers to Odanthurai in just one Pahar. Smiling, Satya recons the
way his sister once said, “Someday my husband will make you run faster than how appa does
by listening to the mill siren.”

He always carried a lantern in his hand while walking in the dark as it helped him figure out
the size of the next pebble to poke his feet and kill him again. Gazing at the dark sky, he
noticed that it’s Amawas and he should not be out tonight. Amma always told, “Stay at home
on Amawas else the Rakshas will destroy their fate”. Frightened with this thought, his feet
came in sync with his heartbeats in order to reach the safe-zone at the earliest. To calm his
nerves, Satya looked for tobacco in the pocket of his khadi kurta but instead, found a letter
from Sainathji dated - Sixteenth April 1976. It was the first time Sainath wrote to his father. It
contained a thanksgiving for organizing such a good wedding. Satya’s father used to work in
the sugar mill situated near his village. He died after a prolonged illness leaving the family’s
economic responsibility on Satya. The letter also mentioned how cultured Vasudha was and
how it made his entire family love her in just a few days.

He had a special admiration for Sainathji. Even being a simple peasant, he was able to write
English alphabets. He also became a star in his village, by escaping from the action of
Nasbandi by the central government. Satya always wanted to learn from him the art of being
modest despite opposite instincts. The first time he saw Sainath, he confused him with
Sarpanch's son, whom he met years ago. Satya loved admiring people around. He always had
been willing to look and behave like an English officer.

Engrossed in all these thoughts, Satya didn’t realize he had already reached the outskirts of
the town Odanthurai. There was something different about the towns. They not only had a
different aura but also attracted people towards their beauty but sadly trapped them forever!
Some of them even didn’t turn back to their villages and families. The only villager happy
with this was the postman who happily hovered around the village on his bicycle carrying a
bag of money orders in his hand.

When he finally reached Vasudha’s gate, his already sweaty face noticed some different kind
of wetness. His eyes marked the even-ness of contours of his smiling face with tears rolling
down symmetrically as he saw his petite young sister glow with a bulge over her tummy. He
could never have visualized his juvenile and playful sister to have such a serene and sincere
look over her face. Sainath kept watching the beautiful pair of Subhadra and Krishna with

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