Sathya was looking at the Full Moon that night and wished that She could hear all the contradictions that was going on in his mind. He had had 5 rounds of large and was smoking on the top of a hill. His 4 friends were still drinking. He just came for a small walk and his mind was full of agitations. He was standing on the top of a boulder inhaling the smoke while hearing the rhythmic flow of water in the middle of the valley down. While exhaling the smoke he was seeing the Full Moon shining with all her brightness. He was not sure whether the moon was just shining or smiling at him.
At the same point of time, in the countryside below the hill, his parents were worrying about him. It was not that he didn't know about that, the problem was that he could not do anything about it. Though he had had all the problems of a normal guy of his age at that time, from the monetary issues to the heart wrenching breakups, he had been happy. But the mania came with the word Marriage.
He belonged to one of the lands of Arranged Marriages. He was not a non believer in arranged marriages but he didn't like it. In the first place, he was a sceptic at the institution of marriage itself. He was thinking over all these things when a gentle breeze was putting off the fire in the match sticks while he was trying to light a cigarette. Then he saw the moon as if to complain to her. She winked at him and the small rendezvous with him and the moon started.
The smiling moon asked, 'Why do you hate marriage? Would you have done the same thing if your love didn't break up?' Sathya thought that the moon knew everything about him and he was on the spot. He coolly replied, 'Maybe or may not be. I don't know. But I would have married that girl because I wouldn't have to loose anything. Sometimes you have to compromise your principles for the larger good and it is that one of those principles which I don't give a big credit. All I think is, of the consequences of following or not following it.Now if I marry a girl whom I don't know, I am not worrying about being my principle is getting compromised, I am just making my life harder by living with an unknown girl.'
The moon slightly moving with the clouds asked, 'What made you to think like that?' Sathya now lighting a cigarette and had a deep puff replied, 'First, I don't know the girl. I have to adjust to her mentality and she to mine. I am not sure of my physical and mental conditions and I don't want any girl to suffer because of me. I don't want to be responsible for an unknown girl just that she is married to me and I don't want to take decisions for anyone let alone the girl, whom I marry. I don't want to love her just for the sake of obligation. Responsibilities should come after the love but not the other way around.'
Now the clouds were under the moon but Sathya could figure out that she was studiously listening to him. The words from the moon pierced the covering clouds and hit the ear drums of Sathya. She was asking, 'Will you accept the same girl whom you loved before with your present physical and mental conditions?' Sathya immediately replied, 'I don't know. I have to think of many things and have to discuss about everything with her.' The stillness of the night is disturbed by the shouting from Sathya's friends looking for him. He told to the moon, 'I have to go. My friends are searching for me. I will come to you after having 2 more rounds. Don't go anywhere.' The moon as if accepting his words emerged from the clouds and smiled.
'Machan, where are you? Come. Sit. We have poured the next round. Lets have it and dance for the latest kuthu song.' They were having the drinks and dancing in the middle of the forest. But Sathya's thoughts were with the moon and he wanted to go back as soon as possible. After having 2 more rounds, he started walking towards the spot while his friends were dancing wildly. He could not see the moon from that spot now. He had to find a new vantage point so that they could continue their conversation. 'May be it is the way of nature. Ever changing.' Sathya thought to himself.
He found a little rock in the clearings where he could see the moon clearly. He took a cigarette from a new pack and lighted it. He rested his back on the rock and saw the moon. The moon was more beautiful and more shining than the last time he had seen her. He was not sure whether it was alcohol that made him to think like that or otherwise. There were no clouds surrounding the moon now. She started without any preludes from where they left. She asked him softly, 'why can't you just do it for your parents?' He quickly started replying as if he was expecting that question, 'I don't want to jeopardise anyone's life even for the sake of making my parents happy. It's just, I don't like it. I hate all the build ups leading to an arranged marriage. The matching of horoscopes, the clandestine background checks of the families by both sides, the process of going to each other's family to see the boy/girl, the expectations from both sides in terms of money and other obligations and the uneasiness in asking/telling them directly, the obligatory start of the phone calls between the boy and the girl and the idiotic long conversations between them for the sake of understanding each other before marriage.' The moon was astonished to see Sathya speaking so furiously with his eyes seething in anger and disgust. She lovingly asked him, 'why don't you light another cigarette?' Maybe she knew, by burning his lungs with cigarette could reduce the burning of his brain.
Sathya realised that he was in anger and he tried to cool himself by lighting the pleasure stick. He thought that if he were in his room, he would have cooled himself by doing Onanism, but at the middle of a forest and under the watching eyes of moon, he dropped the idea. Maybe, he was missing his privacy then. The daily obligation of doing onanism was a real stress buster for him.
The moon broke his chain of thoughts by asking coyly, 'If you are so against all these, why can't you love a girl and live with her by marrying her or without marrying? So you don't have to be under the spell of onan anymore.' Sathya stood straight and was blushing at the moon for she knew everything what he was thinking. He thought to himself, 'One could not think freely with her eagle eyes watching.' He thought over the question again and replied in a brusque manner, 'I would love to.What to do? I think I don't have the skills to woo a girl and I am old and my shyness is not allowing me to do anything.' The moon consoled him by saying that he was not that much old and advised him to get over his shyness.
The temperature was dipping and Sathya thought that it was going to rain shortly. He had to leave. His friends would be searching for him. The moon with a sense of urgency asked him, 'Please don't go as yet. I have a question for you. Would you worry if you don't get married even after passed the marriageable age or if you will be considered as an social outcast or when every pair of eyes in the society see you with pity?' Sathya laughed out loud and shouted, 'Fuck the society.' The moon also laughed with him and started to recite a small parable to him.
'One day I asked the Sun, "why don't you give me my full beauty for all the days in a month? Why should I be in my prime beauty only for one day during a month?" The Sun smiled and replied, "If I make you beautiful for ever, then no one will see you and everyone will get used to you. You will get lost in the constancy. Since you are most beautiful in one day only during a month, everyone loves you. And it is not only that, you yourself would not value your importance if anything like that happens. That is the evil of being a constant. It will create complacency and 'taking for granted' behaviour. The longing to become more beautiful and shining makes yourself self conscious about your importance." Then I asked, 'I can understand the waxing part. Why should I take the same time as that of waxing to get waned. The waning period is the period of my depression every month. Why can't I start waxing, the day after I become the Full Moon?" The Sun replied, "You would not understand the reason if I tell you now. But I will tell with a small analogy for it. Think of your complete waxing and waning as the love making between the lovers. The process starts with the shedding of the clothes, foreplays, the build ups to the climax, the real climax. But reaching climax is not the end of the process. The best part is still to come. The lovers are so much passionate about each other when their energy levels are high and their pumped up nerves are making them to devour each other. When they are deprived of energy and their nerves are limped after the climax, they should look each other in the same passion and the same love in their eyes. That is how you should see your waning period. It tells the system of constant change but with equilibrium. If equilibrium is not maintained at any point of time, everything is just a chaos." '
The moon finally said to Sathya 'I know, you will have many questions about that short story. We will speak about those later. But always keep in mind that "This time too shall pass." I don't want to give a false assurance that you will live a happy life since you are suffering now. But whatever happens, don't get too depressed. Enjoy your life as it comes. Do come to me anytime. We will talk. Good bye for now. Go to your home safely and sleep.' In the meantime, Sathya's friends came searching for him and all the 5 of them started leaving. When they were half through, rain started with a little drizzle and Sathya saw that the moon was surrounded by dark clouds.
The sound of the alarm clock makes Sathya to get up but he can't open his eyes. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw the time, it's 9' o clock in the morning. 'Oh! Shit. 10 o' clock. Status call.' While he is pouringng water over his head while bathing, he started to recollect all the conversation with the moon. He don't know whether all those were really happened or just his delusions. He started to feel his pulse and he is shivering as if he is in a state of delirium. He thought that he is getting fever. But he is not sure. Anyways, he has to go to office that day. He opened the main door and saw that the street is drenched with water. When he put his feet on the water laden street, he heard the news from the Radio in his living room, ' A major accident happened in the hill last night. 5 people died. 3 bodies were recovered from the valley so far. A case of drunken driving has been booked.'
At the same point of time, in the countryside below the hill, his parents were worrying about him. It was not that he didn't know about that, the problem was that he could not do anything about it. Though he had had all the problems of a normal guy of his age at that time, from the monetary issues to the heart wrenching breakups, he had been happy. But the mania came with the word Marriage.
He belonged to one of the lands of Arranged Marriages. He was not a non believer in arranged marriages but he didn't like it. In the first place, he was a sceptic at the institution of marriage itself. He was thinking over all these things when a gentle breeze was putting off the fire in the match sticks while he was trying to light a cigarette. Then he saw the moon as if to complain to her. She winked at him and the small rendezvous with him and the moon started.
The smiling moon asked, 'Why do you hate marriage? Would you have done the same thing if your love didn't break up?' Sathya thought that the moon knew everything about him and he was on the spot. He coolly replied, 'Maybe or may not be. I don't know. But I would have married that girl because I wouldn't have to loose anything. Sometimes you have to compromise your principles for the larger good and it is that one of those principles which I don't give a big credit. All I think is, of the consequences of following or not following it.Now if I marry a girl whom I don't know, I am not worrying about being my principle is getting compromised, I am just making my life harder by living with an unknown girl.'
The moon slightly moving with the clouds asked, 'What made you to think like that?' Sathya now lighting a cigarette and had a deep puff replied, 'First, I don't know the girl. I have to adjust to her mentality and she to mine. I am not sure of my physical and mental conditions and I don't want any girl to suffer because of me. I don't want to be responsible for an unknown girl just that she is married to me and I don't want to take decisions for anyone let alone the girl, whom I marry. I don't want to love her just for the sake of obligation. Responsibilities should come after the love but not the other way around.'
Now the clouds were under the moon but Sathya could figure out that she was studiously listening to him. The words from the moon pierced the covering clouds and hit the ear drums of Sathya. She was asking, 'Will you accept the same girl whom you loved before with your present physical and mental conditions?' Sathya immediately replied, 'I don't know. I have to think of many things and have to discuss about everything with her.' The stillness of the night is disturbed by the shouting from Sathya's friends looking for him. He told to the moon, 'I have to go. My friends are searching for me. I will come to you after having 2 more rounds. Don't go anywhere.' The moon as if accepting his words emerged from the clouds and smiled.
'Machan, where are you? Come. Sit. We have poured the next round. Lets have it and dance for the latest kuthu song.' They were having the drinks and dancing in the middle of the forest. But Sathya's thoughts were with the moon and he wanted to go back as soon as possible. After having 2 more rounds, he started walking towards the spot while his friends were dancing wildly. He could not see the moon from that spot now. He had to find a new vantage point so that they could continue their conversation. 'May be it is the way of nature. Ever changing.' Sathya thought to himself.
He found a little rock in the clearings where he could see the moon clearly. He took a cigarette from a new pack and lighted it. He rested his back on the rock and saw the moon. The moon was more beautiful and more shining than the last time he had seen her. He was not sure whether it was alcohol that made him to think like that or otherwise. There were no clouds surrounding the moon now. She started without any preludes from where they left. She asked him softly, 'why can't you just do it for your parents?' He quickly started replying as if he was expecting that question, 'I don't want to jeopardise anyone's life even for the sake of making my parents happy. It's just, I don't like it. I hate all the build ups leading to an arranged marriage. The matching of horoscopes, the clandestine background checks of the families by both sides, the process of going to each other's family to see the boy/girl, the expectations from both sides in terms of money and other obligations and the uneasiness in asking/telling them directly, the obligatory start of the phone calls between the boy and the girl and the idiotic long conversations between them for the sake of understanding each other before marriage.' The moon was astonished to see Sathya speaking so furiously with his eyes seething in anger and disgust. She lovingly asked him, 'why don't you light another cigarette?' Maybe she knew, by burning his lungs with cigarette could reduce the burning of his brain.
Sathya realised that he was in anger and he tried to cool himself by lighting the pleasure stick. He thought that if he were in his room, he would have cooled himself by doing Onanism, but at the middle of a forest and under the watching eyes of moon, he dropped the idea. Maybe, he was missing his privacy then. The daily obligation of doing onanism was a real stress buster for him.
The moon broke his chain of thoughts by asking coyly, 'If you are so against all these, why can't you love a girl and live with her by marrying her or without marrying? So you don't have to be under the spell of onan anymore.' Sathya stood straight and was blushing at the moon for she knew everything what he was thinking. He thought to himself, 'One could not think freely with her eagle eyes watching.' He thought over the question again and replied in a brusque manner, 'I would love to.What to do? I think I don't have the skills to woo a girl and I am old and my shyness is not allowing me to do anything.' The moon consoled him by saying that he was not that much old and advised him to get over his shyness.
The temperature was dipping and Sathya thought that it was going to rain shortly. He had to leave. His friends would be searching for him. The moon with a sense of urgency asked him, 'Please don't go as yet. I have a question for you. Would you worry if you don't get married even after passed the marriageable age or if you will be considered as an social outcast or when every pair of eyes in the society see you with pity?' Sathya laughed out loud and shouted, 'Fuck the society.' The moon also laughed with him and started to recite a small parable to him.
'One day I asked the Sun, "why don't you give me my full beauty for all the days in a month? Why should I be in my prime beauty only for one day during a month?" The Sun smiled and replied, "If I make you beautiful for ever, then no one will see you and everyone will get used to you. You will get lost in the constancy. Since you are most beautiful in one day only during a month, everyone loves you. And it is not only that, you yourself would not value your importance if anything like that happens. That is the evil of being a constant. It will create complacency and 'taking for granted' behaviour. The longing to become more beautiful and shining makes yourself self conscious about your importance." Then I asked, 'I can understand the waxing part. Why should I take the same time as that of waxing to get waned. The waning period is the period of my depression every month. Why can't I start waxing, the day after I become the Full Moon?" The Sun replied, "You would not understand the reason if I tell you now. But I will tell with a small analogy for it. Think of your complete waxing and waning as the love making between the lovers. The process starts with the shedding of the clothes, foreplays, the build ups to the climax, the real climax. But reaching climax is not the end of the process. The best part is still to come. The lovers are so much passionate about each other when their energy levels are high and their pumped up nerves are making them to devour each other. When they are deprived of energy and their nerves are limped after the climax, they should look each other in the same passion and the same love in their eyes. That is how you should see your waning period. It tells the system of constant change but with equilibrium. If equilibrium is not maintained at any point of time, everything is just a chaos." '
The moon finally said to Sathya 'I know, you will have many questions about that short story. We will speak about those later. But always keep in mind that "This time too shall pass." I don't want to give a false assurance that you will live a happy life since you are suffering now. But whatever happens, don't get too depressed. Enjoy your life as it comes. Do come to me anytime. We will talk. Good bye for now. Go to your home safely and sleep.' In the meantime, Sathya's friends came searching for him and all the 5 of them started leaving. When they were half through, rain started with a little drizzle and Sathya saw that the moon was surrounded by dark clouds.
The sound of the alarm clock makes Sathya to get up but he can't open his eyes. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw the time, it's 9' o clock in the morning. 'Oh! Shit. 10 o' clock. Status call.' While he is pouringng water over his head while bathing, he started to recollect all the conversation with the moon. He don't know whether all those were really happened or just his delusions. He started to feel his pulse and he is shivering as if he is in a state of delirium. He thought that he is getting fever. But he is not sure. Anyways, he has to go to office that day. He opened the main door and saw that the street is drenched with water. When he put his feet on the water laden street, he heard the news from the Radio in his living room, ' A major accident happened in the hill last night. 5 people died. 3 bodies were recovered from the valley so far. A case of drunken driving has been booked.'
