THE CLOUDBURST

I walked out of the rest house. I sat down on a stone opposite the gate. The wind blowing through the mountains was chilling, yet pure. Fog was descending slowly, engulfing the mountain ranges in front of me. The whole thing was mystical. I wondered where the mango tree was, where Corbett killed the notorious man-eating leopard. Suddenly I got nervous. Perhaps there were other leopards or tigers in this area and I should not sit here like this. I was about to get up when suddenly I heard somebody saying, “Isn’t the place wonderful?” I turned around. Raghuveer was standing nearby and looking at the distant mountains. The irritation and command was gone from his voice. He was again calm and quiet. I said, “Yes. It is indeed a very beautiful place.” “Can you listen to the sound of the confluence? It is as if Lord Rudra or Shiva is shaking his damaru (a musical instrument which Lord Shiva keeps in his hand. It produces a rattling sound) and the cosmic sound is warning all evil forces to go away from the universe.” I asked, “But isn’t it frightening?” “No. Not at all.” He was in a trance. “It is making us realize how strong he is. The moment he will feel that the world has become full of corruption and foul things, he will shake his damaru. With the trishul (a weapon which Lord Shiva carries in his hand) in his hand he will destroy the evils. It is not fearful. To me this noise gives me reassurance that one day he will destroy all evil.” I kept quiet. I had never thought along these lines. To me power, money and accomplishment had always been the most important things of life. To achieve success, I had done certain things that were not always selfless or merciful. Tonight, I realized that my accomplishments were insignificant or inconsequential. I felt that I should try to start my life afresh. Maybe it was late, but if I kept company with people like Colonel, Pradeep and Raghuveer Sen, I would be able to do it. I was sure of that. We stayed there for a while in silence. I could hear the waves lashing the rocks and creating echoes. It was as if that was the only sound remaining in the world – the sound of damaru. Or was it the voice of nature as the ultimate truth? Was I happy or sad with my life? I had no answer. My thoughts were as fogged as the mountains. I was frightened, thinking that this might be Lord Rudra, getting ready to punish me for all the wrongdoing I had committed – especially by ignoring Reena throughout her life. I wanted to escape to the comfort of my room, where Colonel was asleep. Surely Lord Rudra was not going to punish him even further? I got up. “I think I will go in,” I said.