Atam Vishwas

11.SUFFOCATION.

Sunder’s mother got to know that today there was her would-to-be
daughter-in-law’s dance show on TV. So, she came to her neighbour Jhaman-
ma’s house early, to watch the show. When Jhaman saw the show, he caught
Sunder’s mother’s shoulders from the back and said, “Ammi, your Sunder is
so lucky.”

“Keep quiet now.” his mother scolded him, “I would have never got you
married to such a dancer.”

Sunder’s mother turned pale. As long as the program was on, on the TV, she
did not have ant complaints against her daughter-in-law, but Jhaman’s
mother’s announcement, that she would never have allowed her son to get
married to a dancer, spoilt her mood totally.

When she returned home, her daughter-in-law’s dance was playing before
her eyes and Jhaman’s mother’s comment was running in her mind.

Sunder returned home late that night. His mother put a plate of food before
him and went and sat sadly on the chair.

Sunder said, “Tomorrow the mechanic will bring the TV home.”

“Finally, it is repaired…Unnecessarily I had to go to other people’s doors.”

Sunder asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”

“How to eat when I cannot even swallow a morsel?”

“Has something happened?”

“Today I saw your dancer Neelam on the TV. I shall not allow you to get
married to her.”

“But I am not going to get married to anyone else.”

“Then make her give up dancing.”

“Amma, what are you saying? She has spent so much to reach at this
position. Just like an Apsara…You are a devotee of Shiva. Have you not heard
about Shiva’s Tandav?”

“They are Gods. Don’t talk about them. I have to listen to everyone that I
have got a dancer daughter-in-law.”

“No one from the new generation considers dance as anything bad. Do you
know that in Madras every single girl learns dance?”

“Are we Madrasis?”

“What kind of crazy people are these? Our Kamala too is fond of singing.”

“See how I am going to throttle her. She is still young. When she is of
marriageable age, just see how I will burn her throat.”

Sunder fell into deep thought. He visualised Goddess Kali in his mother’s
face. But in the night, he remembered that scene again when Neelam was
going to the TV centre for her program. She had first bowed down before her
Guru and then come and stood before him. Her pure mind had desired to
embrace this god-like idol and then she put her hands on his feet and
touched her fingers to her eyes in a devotional way. Every part of Sunder’s
body was filled with music. Oh. Life! Heaven! Truly heaven! Her red-coloured
hands, soft like rose petals. Neelam looked heavenly in a Bharat Natyam
costume with beautiful clothes and jewellery. He could not forget her
beautiful smiling lips…

Suddenly someone came and pounded Sunder’s chest. His musical dream
was disturbed.

“I am telling you I do not want this daughter-in-law in this house!” saying this
his mother kept beating his chest as well as beating her own head. She was
completely hysterical. Then Sunder just embraced her and said, “Amma, I will
do as you please but now keep quiet and rest.”

Listening to this commotion in the silence of the night, Kamla too woke up
and came into her brother’s room. Listening to her brother’s last sentence,
she said, “When Bhau is saying that he will do as you say then why are you
crying? You have been saying girls are available dime a dozen. Then he will
leave this one.!” Sunder raised his eyes and looking at his sister said, “Kamla
listen to one thing. Please don’t repeat this dialogue again. You don’t talk like
mummy. Just think. You too are a girl…”

Kamla became nervous and she led her mother to the other room.

Sunder was lost in the flow of thoughts for many days. Once again, he tried
to convince his mother. One day he brought Neelam home, dressed in very
simple clothes. His mother behaved very strictly with Neelam. She told her,
“These ways of you boys and girls are not good. I would never allow my

Kamla to go behind any boy like this. I wonder how families trust their
daughters so much nowadays.”

Neelam simply kept smiling. Even though Neelam was in simple clothes,
Kamla could get her eyes off her. After Neelam left the mother pinched
Kamala’s cheeks and said, “You girl, you are still young, and you are singing
film songs the whole day. I have not yet spanked you. Just remember that I
don’t like these styles. Look at the girl’s daring. She has walked into the
house of a stranger-boy. If I ever see you talking to strangers, I will break
your teeth.”

Kamla sulked and went and stood in the balcony. Her mother shouted,
“There is no need to stand in the balcony.”

Kamla came inside and took a book and started reading. Time went on
passing…moments…days…weeks…months. At last, one day Sunder got
married to Neelam in the court, with the help of his friends, and brought her
home, fully dressed up as a bride.

His mother wailed and cried, “An empty-handed bride. No music, no
celebration. My son has simply got married.”

The mother continued being indifferent to the daughter-in-law. The
daughter-in-law worked in office and performed on TV programs and hence
she would return home late, with Sunder. The mother’s rejection was such
that she never ever allowed her daughter Kamla to accompany her brother
and sister-in-law.

Kamla had now begun going to college. She did not like her friends ‘jokes,
laughter and gossip about boys and girls. Only Tuljha, her mother’s friend’s
son would come home at times with books and notes.

Kamla said, “I am going to return my friend’s book.” But as Kamla left, her
mother went to the balcony and was shocked to see that Tuljha appeared
from somewhere and they both walked away together, speaking to each
other. In the evening when the watchman switched on the staircase lights,
Kamla asked from below, “Neelu, has mummy come back from Satsang.?”

Neelu answered, “Today mummy has not gone to Satsang.”

Frightened of her mother, as Kamla appeared, she was showered with slaps
from her mother.

In the night she shouted at her son saying, “You have ruined my house by
bringing in a characterless girl.”

Sunder looked at his sister in surprise. Kamla lowered her tearful eyes. “I
have…nothing…nothing…” she was simply sobbing.

Sunder was confused as to what had happened, “Nothing. Nothing girl if I see
you again with that Tuljha, I will break your feet and make you lame …Don’t
have any hopes.”

Sunder took a sigh of relief, “Oh, she had gone with Tuljha. He is a nice boy.
He is your friend’s son.”

His mother burst out like a fire to which more kerosene had been added. And
Sunder simply caught both his ears and began squatting and standing.

Kamla could not control her laughter. Her tears on her cheeks shone like the
morning dew drops. Then the mother laughed, and endearingly slapped the
laughing Sunder. But Sunder was smart. He embraced his mother and made
her sit on the bed…

Sunder’s mother went for a few days with her Satsang-friends to Shirdi.
When she returned, she was shocked to see that her daughter and daughter-
in-law were happy and close to each other. She took her daughter aside and
scolded her so much that Neelam felt it a crime to talk to her sister-in-law.
Neelam then joined her hands.

There was a silence in the house. Suddenly, the mother realised that every
evening Kamla would dress up leave the house on some or the other pretext.
Keeping a watch from the balcony she realised that Tuljha too left his home
around the same time.

One night Sunder’s mother started sobbing. Sunder was shocked. His mother
said, “Now either your wife stays in this house or me.”

Sunder could not understand what was Neelam’s fault after all. He asked his
mother the reason and she hit her knees with both her hands, saying, “I am
beginning to doubt that your wife’s shadow has fallen on my daughter in
such a way that my daughter too…Tuljha…” she started sobbing while saying
this.

Sunder said, “Why don’t you realise that Kamla has grown up now and she is
not even allowed to talk to Neelam at home. So, she is searching for love

somewhere else. You get her married quickly to a boy of her choice.’
The mother said, “But first get your wife out of this house.”

After listening quite a while Sunder said, “Okay. But she will not leave alone.
Obviously, I too will have to leave with her.”

His mother hit her head with her hands and said, “You will leave your mother
who has the burden of a daughter on her shoulders for a bad charactered
girl?”

Sunder said, “You are only making me helpless.”

A week passed by. Mother, son, daughter and daughter-in-law did not have
the courage to talk to each other.

Kamla was prevented from singing songs. There was a restriction of standing
in the balcony. The whole house was filled with some sort of suffocation.

One night, the mother entered her son’s room, shouting. She was excited and
catching hold of his arms, brought him to her room. Sunder found Kamla
lying unconscious, on the mat. Her mouth was frothing. There was a letter
kept under the inkpot. Sunder read it.

It read-

Mummy! This suffocation is not good. Not talking to Bhabhi. There are two
houses in one house. No singing. No standing in the balcony. No laughing
with friends. No talking to Tuljha…You say that girls are available dime a
dozen. So Tuljha will not lose anything…He will get another rich girl. But for
me…there are no dime a dozen boys. It so sad…So sad…Mummy you have
said, -A dead child is better than a disobedient child…I am disobedient
too…Be happy if I die!

12.FROM DIVORCE TO DIVORCE

“Dhanu. Dhanu. What is this? What is this…” Saying this, Girdhari caught hold
of Dhanu’s plait and turned her face towards where is hand was pointing.

Dhanu said, “Leave me you rascal. Why are you pulling my plait?”

“I am asking you why have you sent Ratni and Shivam up to the attic?”

“Ratni told me that she wanted to talk something to Shivam alone.”

“So, if an Apsara/Fairy will tell you that she wishes to talk to a ghost, will you
open the attic for them?”

“Are you realising what you are talking? First of all, have you realised what
have you done? Shivam is your friend, isn’t it?”

“If he was my true friend then why did he agree to talk to Ratni?”

“You mean to say that he should have gone around with a ‘No- Vacancy’
board around him?”

“Leave me alone Girdhari. I am already quite upset.”

“After destroying the house, you are now upset? You are really too much, my
mother, you are too much!”

“I will hit you, you rascal if once more you call me ‘mother’. I will hit you
thirty times with slippers on your bald head.”

“Dhanu you did something good, but what is ‘grace’ you did not learn.”

Dhanu pulled at her own hair and said, “Rascal, what should I do, beat
myself? What grace of mine will work? Shivam has told me that I am four
years older than him, even after that what can I do? Should I tie him to
myself?”

“Arey, don’t listen to that scoundrel. Why are you sacrificing that delicate
doll, wrapped in velvet, on him?”

“Let it be, you crazy fellow. The doll, on her own, has found a male-doll for
herself. What can I do then?”

“Don’t say ‘male-doll’. Say she has found an idiot.”

“Girdhari, you are too much. On one hand you are asking me not to leave
him and on the other hand you consider Shivam an idiot for Ratni.”

“Arey, Dhanu, you are crazy. Ratni is Ratni. She is not Dhanu.”
“Yes, I know. Ratni is a doll for you and Dhanu is an idiot of a girl, after all, I
am your sister.”

“Oh God! How do I make you understand?”

After a week Girdhari noticed that Ratni was crying in his sister Dhanu’s lap.
He did not say anything then, but on returning from college, he went straight
into Dhanu’s room. He said, “Tell me, why was Ratni crying today?”

Dhanu said wide-eyed, “Oh, this is a strange Mahabharat Baba.Before even
the bells have started ringing, the war has already started.”

“What do you mean?”

“Shivam has told her that they will have a civil marriage so that, if they do
not get along then they can divorce each other too.”

‘Yes. That is a good thing.”

“Girdhari, you are crazy. Just think what kind of a girl she is. She is very
traditional, from a totally old-fashioned family.”

“What are you saying Dhanu? A girl who has chosen her own husband…”

“Arey, you will not understand. The girl did not go out searching for a
husband. She has read some article of his in which Shivam had written that
boys from the new generation should consider the girls as equal to them and
not put any restrictions on their progress, like older generation men.”

“Oh. It is because of this that this fair lady has gone to Shivam’s door? I am
surprised at this. What opportunity does this velvet doll require to
progress?”

“Arey Baba, she is fond of singing.”

“Okay. But in Shivam’s temple she will have to swing, not sing.”

“Girdhari you only have to detest somebody! Then you just laugh at
everything about him. You yourself have seen Shivam singing on the streets.”

‘Leave it Dhanu. You call that singing? Call it shouting, blasting. Call it slogan-
shouting. But please don’t label it as singing.”

“Enough. Enough. You will obviously say that. Shall I tell you something
interesting?

“Hmm”

“When I told Ratni that Shivam sings in the bazaars and streets, she said it is
very good. If Tansen goes and sings in the poor colonies, then one cannot
help but appreciate his large-heartedness.”

“What does it mean? Has the water risen so high?

“I have already told you that Ratni’s nature is such that she can see only
positive things in another. She doesn’t have any talent to see vices in
someone.”

Girdhari began thinking that either Ratni is stupid or Dhanu has deliberately
painted her like this out of envy. Looking at Ratni’s present condition, he felt
that his first thought about her is more appropriate because civil marriage is
truly liberating for a woman, and a girl who doesn’t understand that is really
stupid.

“Anyway, whatever happened is good.” Saying this Girdhari got up, dusting
his hands.

“What is good? She has only been crying since yesterday. She is saying that
she is like a fish that has a bait stuck in its throat. How can she think of
divorcing a person whom she loves?”

“Your friend is crazy. Really crazy! Why just Shivam? Any man in the world
would love a fish like Ratni.”

Next day when Ratni came to Dhanu with swollen eyes, Dhanu immediately
told her what her brother had said, especially the last sentence-Why Shivam?
Any man would love a girl like Ratni.Ratni was comforted by that sentence
but still she said, “Dhanu Didi, you please convince Shivam that the divorce-
marriage…” and she started sobbing.

Many years passed after Shivam and Ratni’s marriage. Dhanu too had
married a man living abroad. One day Dhanu was giving away awards to
drama artists at a prestigious function when her gaze fell on an elderly
widow. She was the director of the drama. Dhanu gave a jolt. She said,
“Ratni,You!”

Ratni looked up and she just wrapped her arms around Dhanu. People could
not understand anything. The scene was over in a few moments and just as

Dhanu was free from the program was over, she went straight into the Green
room.

“Arey, Ratni.”

Ratni now embraced her friend with both arms.

“What happened to Shivam. How did he die so early?” Dhanu whispered
something in Ratni’s ear. Ratni simply nodded her head in the negative and
there were tears in her eyes.

Next day, Dhanu invited her director- friend to her posh hotel. When Ratni
arrived at the hotel, her dress was totally changed. While eating, Dhanu
asked Ratni several questions. Hearing that Shivam was not dead but was
alive, Dhanu pursed her lips.

“Then, why are you dressed as a widow?”

“Just.” There were tears shining in Ratni’s eyes and it was very difficult to say
whether they were tears of joy r sorrow.

“I was never liked by Shivam. He never liked anything about me. He even
restricted me from singing.”

“But one doesn’t spend one’s entire life in singing talent.”

Ratni’s eyes were on Dhanu’s face and Dhanu felt that there was a storm
behind Ratni’s eyes in where the dried leaves of her life were scattered
around.

“I understood that you had married Shivam because you had read his article
and you felt that he would not put any restrictions on your progress and
talent.”

“But the pride of living with somebody and allowing that person to progress
troubled him. He became suspicious of all those who came in touch with me
in connection with my singing. He felt that they had a liking for me.”

“But Ratni you are a very likeable person. Even at this age your dimple in the
chin and in your cheeks are so likeable.”

“Shivam’s upbringing was such that he never ever saw my beauty and he was
jealous of other people’s gazes.”

“But Ratni, these small things keep occurring in every woman’s life. I am
feeling sad that for this you have separated from Shivam and living as a
widow. My husband has left me a lot of wealth, but after his death I cannot
explain to you how lonely I have become.”

“Arey Didi.” Ratni had tears in her eyes and wiped Dhanu’s tears.

“Don’t you think that my loneliness can explain to me your loneliness?”

Catching Ratni firmly by her two arms Dhanu asked, “Then why did you leave
Shivam?”

“Oh. How I wish somebody could understand me! My delicate health, my
loving relationship with everybody, my peace of mind, far away from any
discrimination, all those became thorns for him. When friends and relatives
and well-wishers came close to me, Shivam could not bear it.”

“I cannot understand how Shivam’s thinking changed so much.? My brother
Girdhari was against this marriage from the very beginning. He had gauged
the situation very well. About you he had said- ‘Have east and west ever
met? ‘And I would always say that if there is true love and devotion to a
husband, in a woman then the couple would adjust and live like Shiv-
Parvati.”

“But where is Girdhari now?”

“Girdhari?” Dhanu pointed upwards, “He is in heaven. He got such a useless
wife who made life miserable for him. She was a carefree girl from a rich
family. She only smoked the whole day, took loans from different sources,
went on foreign trips from where she would get plenty of goods. Girdhari
was in charge, keeping an eye on the smugglers. Then one day his wife was
caught.Girdhari could not bear that humiliation and right at that time, he
simply went and jumped from the airport building, ending his life.”
“Oh.”Ratni held her breath, “I wish he would have divorced such a wife.”

“Divorce?” Dhanu said laughingly “You were the one who had cried in my
lap, isn’t it Ratni? You told me to convince Shivam that he should not marry
you in court but according to Hindu tradition because you hated the word
‘divorce’...”

Today Ratni’s head was bent down and she softly said, “Even I have taken a
divorce to save myself from suicide.”



13. SEPARATED FROM FLOCK (ROOTS)

Baba said, “We have to leave for Bombay immediately.”
I asked in a meek voice, “Then Shall I start packing my bag?”

Though Vijay was looking at the carpet, his inner eye was seeing something
else altogether. I said, “Baba has told you to phone and book three tickets for
Bombay on the first available flight.”

Even then Vijay looked with that false gaze and said, “Yes”

I again came out into the hall from my room and I saw that the old servant
was standing like a statue, wide-eyed, at the same spot, near the TV, where I
had left him five minutes back.

When My father-in-law had heard the news from Bombay over the phone,
he very calmly told us, “Listen, Vijay, Sarla, Meenu has been murdered by the
servant in Bombay.”

“Why? How? For what? “I had screamed many questions at my father-in-law,
but there was a bloody silence on Baba’s face and a stony look on Vijay’s face
on top of that. I was trembling inside. What should I do? Where do I go? I
know how much I had loved Meenu. When I got married and came, she was
the only chirping bird in this house. What kind of people are these father and
son? Why aren’t they telling me anything more? In any case besides the
sound of TV, plates, cup-saucers and fork-spoons, hardly any other sound is
heard in this house. Suddenly the servant shouted, “Arey, I had brought up
Meenu with my own hands. Nobody can kill Meenu.”

Now Vijay too came into senses. He asked his father, “Has Thangam really
killed Meenu? He was a couple of years younger to Meenu. He must be
hardly nineteen years of age.”

Baba had tears in his eyes, and the tears lit up a storm in those red eyes. He
said, “Shankar himself said that he had gone downstairs with a friend and the
maid had gone to buy vegetables.”

I shouted, “Who told the maid to buy vegetables? I strictly told them that
Meenu should not be left alone even for a moment. It was Thangam who
always went to buy vegetables. “But Baba did not have any answer to this
question. Drops of sweat kept flowing down his face and neck. I took a

napkin and handed it to him and increased the air conditioning. Then taking
Vijay aside I said, “You atleast control yourself. You can see Baba’s
condition.”

“Yes” Vijay’s voice was like somebody talking from a deep cave………” Yes,
Baba had become like a stone like this when migrating from Sindh.”

Now Vijay stood up. He booked three plane tickets from Dubai to Bombay
over the phone. There were two and a half hours left. We reached airport in
one hour. When we reached Bombay, there was still a crowd there. The
police had surrounded the house. An officer came forward and spoke to
Baba. “The young servant tried to kill himself after killing Meenu. At first, he
tried to escape because there are blood stains on the balcony door. Later he
consumed acid and locked himself in the storeroom. The police have
admitted him to the hospital in an unconscious state. We need to do a post-
mortem of Meenu Didi” The officer could not say anything more. Baba
started walking silently with the officer. Many people from the balconies
above kept looking at us below. The maid came down quickly, took the bags
from my hands, sat at Baba’s feet and burst out crying, “My sweet Meenu.
My Meenu.”

Early next morning all the balconies of the building were watching. Now
some tongues too started wagging from which we could recognise some
words like ‘Sindhi’ and ‘Sindhi girl”. We could not stand there any longer. We
came up in the lift, accompanied by the constable. Shankar just caught hold
of his father and burst out crying. His father just embraced him tightly. Vijay
too controlled his tears with his handkerchief and held his brother tightly at
the waist and stood. After a moment, “Why did you leave us brother-sister
alone Bhabhi?” saying this Shankar fell at my feet.

“Oh God! How did I know that such a calamity would occur Shankar?” I hit
my face and started crying. “Why did I go to Dubai Meenu? Why did I?” I
caught hold of Vijay’s arm and said, “You had told me so much that I should
not go. Then why did I leave India? Why did I leave Meenu alone? Now
whom will I call ‘Baby’?”

This noise echoed in the vast grand hall. Meenu’s friends, Shanker’s friends,
our relatives and friends had all gathered in the corner of the hall.

“She did gain anything; she did not do anything” saying this her paternal aunt
began hitting her head in front of Baba. Constable opened the door of

Meenu’s room. Vijay gave a scream. I became mentally crazy. But Baba kept
looking at the knife near the dressing table, without blinking, as if all his
desires had become lifeless. Meenu’s both lifeless arms had slipped on her
either side into the pool of blood.

“Oh My God! How the rascal sinner has slaughtered such a delicate flower!”
aunt said and embraced Baba. Baba gave out a sob. The entire hall was
weeping silently and even the constable holding the door had tears in his
eyes. He closed the door.

Three days had passed after Meenu’s funeral. Vijay and I kept repeatedly
blaming ourselves for having left Shankar and Meenu alone in India.

Aunt said, “It is not your fault. Children nowadays are studying up to twenty-
one twenty-two years. In our times by this age they would have a few
children”

Baba put his fingers on his forehead saying, “It is destiny! What all I had
planned for her. That I would get her married in great style and I would invite
musicians from Sindh, and nobody would miss the mother.”

Aunt said, “Daulat, let me tell you the truth if you don’t mind. You should not
have hired a servant in the house where there was a young unmarried girl.”

Baba helplessly replied, “But he looked so small when I employed him four
years ago.”

“But he was around seventeen. Isn’t it? And above that the rascal ate non-
vegetarian food and grew big and strong.”

In the night Vijay came and said that the servant had regained consciousness
after three days and he was struggling. The doctor had told him, “The poison
you had consumed was very old, so it did not have much effect on you. We
have now flushed out all the poison from your body. You are out of danger.”
Hearing this he created a ruckus in the hospital, “Why did you save me? You
should have left me to die.”

“The rascal is right. What is the benefit of saving such a murderer?”

“Benefit?” Vijay “I shall rest in peace only after I see this hypocrite hanged to
death.”

Shankar was out of control and there was blood in his eyes. Had the servant
been there before him, he would have perhaps killed him with fists and

blows alone! But inspite of listening to all this Baba kept silent and calm.
Vijay says that after migrating from Sindh Baba’s some part of the mind has
become totally silent. Till the mother was alive there was atleast some
conversation between the father and children, but after her death Baba
spoke only selected counted words. Even Shankar, Meenu and Vijay spoke
less. They would pause after every sentence, but they would converse freely
with friends. Ofcourse they talk and fool with their Paternal aunt quiet often.

One day aunt told them “The whole day you are jabbering in English, then
why don’t you go and settle in London? We left Sindh out of helplessness.
You all have stopped even being Sindhi. Do you have any knowledge of
Shah’s verse, Sachal’s poetry, or Sami’s Shloka on your tongues?”

Shankar laughed and said, “Dadi, just watch, we are going to make Bombay
into London.”

Aunt was angry. She said, “You fellows. Are you crazy? Why will you make
London here. Say you will make Sindh here. Your ancestors were Sindhis, so
you should make a Sindh here.”

I said, “Dadi the Sindhis have always been imitating others. So, they will
neither make a London nor a Sindh. Then they will be like Trishanku (Mystical
mountain/name of Lord Shiva)……stuck between sky and earth.”

Aunt said very sadly, “If the swan forgets its walk, then its value will be less
than a crow.”

Then Vijay taunted his aunt, “Now what is this swan’s walk?”

“Why are you troubling me. As if you don’t know that Sindhis living in
London and America carry poetry and music in tapes to their place and
worship and recite in Sindhi and keep their culture alive? And here in your
house it is all English Tata and Bye- Bye. And what kind of Films are you
watching on TV, even an old woman like me is feeling ashamed”

We had all laughed at this conversation with aunt, but today when Meenu is
not alive, those memories are burning me like some acid. Even a nineteen-
year-old servant must have seen varied types of films in our house.

I still cannot forget Vijay’s talk that the servant is still alive.

I couldn’t sleep till late at night. I came and stood in the balcony. All the eight
rooms of the house were silent today. Till today, it used to be almost day at

this time. All the eight rooms used to be full of life with song and dance,
under the light of bulbs. On top of this Baba had collected some money to
buy the neighbouring flat too. The neighbours considered us as fortunate,
but after Meenu’s murder they was a black cloud spread over everything.
What would the neighbours be thinking about us? God alone knows! But the
relatives had crossed all limits. There were as many stories as number of
tongues. Yet everyone had heard aunt lamenting, “My dear bird chose death,
but she did not lose her respect.”

I had become very disturbed thinking about all these talks. From the balcony
where I was standing, the star-filled sky appeared as far off as the thirteen
floors down on earth. Suddenly a bird passed by, chirping.This bird was
separated from its flock in the middle of the night, just like Meenu. Oh, my
restless mind! In which sky do I search for my little bird?