Pearls of Magic

Long time ago, two kings ruled over India. Two kingdoms, one situated in the Marwar region in the north and another in the Malabar region of the south.  Even though different in locations and cultures both the kingdom were plagued by draught. Farms had gone dry, food supplies had been exhausted, rivers and reservoirs were evaporating.

 The people of both the Empires ran to their kings, to find a way out of this calamity. The king’s consulted their Rajpurohit's who asked the King's to send their eldest sibling  in the search of jaaduuu Ki moti found in the far by mountains. But the kings reject their respective Rajpurohit's advice because they couldn’t let them go alone as it was too dangerous. So ask the Rajpurohit for another solution. But the Rajppurohit’s stay firm on their decisions because they felt it was the only solution to this problem.

But conditions worsened day by day for the people, who become restless and they started questioning the king’s commitment. To save their fathers pride princess of the Marwar and the prince of Malabar leave their kingdoms in the quest of jaaduuu Ki moti. This journey was not a short one it was a journey which could take years to complete. Princess went southwards to find the jaaduuu Ki moti in the Vindhya Parvat and the Prince went northwards to find the jaduuu Ki moti in the Himalayas.

They walked all their way. They felt it was an opportunity to do something for their people. They walked every step with a sense of joy and pride. Days passed by, their enthusiasm shrunk as they were crouched by the scorching heat which made them weaker. Every step they took it felt like a gigantic stride.

On one fateful day, the prince and the princess met at a place called Midland having not met a person for weeks they feel happy to see each other. The day was nearing an end, so they decide to spend the night in Midland. They spoke to each other the whole night. They bonded like they were long lost friends. They slowly realise that they are so much like each other and they had never met anyone so similar. They discuss about their journey and the sacrifice they did for the people. Listening to each other they felt like listening to their inner conscience.

Next day they both wake up but both of them felt they would rest for a day or two in midland and then proceed with their journey. They explore midland and they fall in love with the place.

Soon the prince and the princess feel very close to each other. They feel incomplete without each other but they know their relationships has its own limitations because even if they want they would never be able to meet each other because travelling from Marwar to Malabar took a lifetime even then they wouldn’t reach because they had to go back to their kingdoms to give the jaaduuu Ki moti. So they remain good friends and one day they decide to go their own ways.

Next day the princess leaves the prince while he is asleep and starts walking to the Vindhyas. She doesn’t tell the prince because it would be difficult to face him. She walks faster and faster, to go far away from the prince so that even if there is a change in her decision she can never return. Inside her she discovers a longing for the prince and she knew she loved him. But it could only add up to her woes and she already carried the burden of the expectations of her peoples hope.

She keeps walking in the scorching heat without even bothering to rest, but as time goes by she feels weak and every step becomes a milestone for her. Tears roll down her eyes she realises how big a mistake she is doing. She feels she can’t live without him. She thinks if she continues this path she won’t even be able to get close to the jaduuu Ki moti. She has only two ways to go from here, two walk front towards her death in sorrow or to go back to her life. It was her choice with the weight of right and wrong weighing heavily on her back. She decides to follow her heart and blind herself to her mind.

She turns back and this time every step faster than the other.  Her feeling of being weak vanishes, but the thought of not seeing the prince lingers in her mind because it was months’ time she left him. She feels he too must have left to the Himalayas in the quest of jaaduuu Ki moti. 

Deep down in her heart she feels that he will be there.  As she comes closer to midland, her heart beats faster and louder in anxiety. With every step she feels weak, she wants to meet him. She wishes he hadn’t left. She feels how foolish she was leaving him and not assessing the consequences it followed.

 She reaches midland and everything there looks calm and serene like always. Everything was stationary and she decides to go towards the mango tree as her last attempt to find him.

As she moves closer to the mango tree she could sense somebody sitting under the tree. As she goes nearer she sees him.

 She runs towards him and kisses him. She hugs him tightly the prince tells her “I know you would come back one day”

The princess asks him “Were you not angry when I left without even letting you know. I thought you would have left to the Himalayas”.

He replies” I knew whatever you would do will be right so I tried but I couldn’t go forward I felt I was leaving something incomplete. I realised soon I was incomplete without you.”

  

The prince asks her “Who am I to you?”

 She replies

It’s not a question I have not asked myself,

It’s a question, for which I never got an answer,

Who are you? Who are you to me?

You are not the most important priority in my life,

You are a season of never ending joy in my life

When you aren’t there it feels empty,

You are like the rains for me,

When I am dried and I can’t sustain any more life in me,

You arrive fill me with life,

I in turn give life to the whole world,

Still you are not everything in my life,

I have more important priorities in life,

Cause it can’t rain always,

Rains also floods.

You have to go and come back soon,

When I am all dried and evaporated

Only you can make me feel this way because

I love the rains

I love you

I love being with you

I want to be with you.

He replied “Can’t you stay here and live together? Is it necessary to go? I know will never meet somebody so perfect for each other. It’s our life. We have every right to live it our way. I know there are people waiting for you. But if they were your only priority ,why did you come back to meet me.”

“I don’t know. I even don’t want to know. I felt like coming to you ,to see you.”

He said “That’s it? “

“Ok then let’s go tomorrow”

Even though she wanted to go away, she dint think the prince will let her go so soon. She felt terribly bad, tears rolled down her eyes but she tried controlling them. She was confused she dint know what she wanted but all she wanted now was the happiness of our people.

Next day, the prince went towards the north and the princess travelled towards the south. After many days both reached their destinations.

The princess went inside the cave of jaaduuu Ki moti and got the jaaduuu Ki moti. The jaaduuu Ki moti is only visible to the heiress of Marwar dynasty who travelled all the way all alone. That was the tradition and belief.

She goes back with the jaaduuu Ki moti to her kingdom. On the way she keeps looking for him. When she reaches midland she waits two days for him because that was the meeting point for both of them but he didn't turn up. Third day she leaves because she dint want to delay it more. In few months she reaches her kingdom and she hands the jaaduuu Ki moti to the Rajpurohit and after lot of prayers.  The northern kingdom gets rain and people begin celebrating. All the people in the kingdom start dancing but the rains hid the tears in the princess eyes. She knew she had paid a big price for the happiness of her people. She felt she had realised everything she set to achieve but it felt so incomplete without him.

Days pass by and the people in the northern kingdom regain their past glory, rivers get filled and farms all fertile but they find their princess was gloomy all the time. They couldn’t see the princess sad so they wanted to know the secret of her silence. Through some close friends of the princess, the people come to know about the prince of Malabar and they come to know about the sacrifice the princess did for them. They think it’s their duty to make their princess happy and make her meet her prince. They think of ways to reach Malabar but they knew it will take a lot of time and most probably never reach there. Therefore they think about alternatives and they come up with a plan to make a boat and travel through the newly formed river. Villagers came together and made a huge boat to take their princess to her prince. They set sail and they start travelling. But success was not assured but still they travelled after many days of travelling they think of stop at a river bank and coincidently they stop that place was Midland. The princess realises midland had become more green because of the rains

 One villager comes running and alerts there is another boat on the end of the bank.

The villagers of Malabar were travelling to the kingdom of Marwar. They were travelling for their hero, their prince who saved them from drought and who sacrificed his love for the people. To show their gratitude the villagers built a boat to take their prince to his princess.

When the villagers realise that the prince of their princess was in Midland. They carry their princess in palanquin to the prince. The princess steps out and sees the prince. The prince kneels down and shows his respect and announces if he had ever done something good in life it was all because of her inspiration. It was because of her, he learnt to live for others dreams and became a hero of his people.

He thanks the people of both the lands for helping him to meet his princess and announces he and his princess will stay in Midland for a lifetime because it was the place they discovered love and it was the place which made them meet.


They build a beautiful house together and live rest of their life happily ever after

Please drop in your valuable comments

You can also read my other story titled " An evening to remember" @ http://amarcinekatha.blogspot.in/2012/07/an-evening-to-remember.html

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An Evening to Remember

I was looking at the sapphire coloured skies of March, she resting her head on my shoulders. It felt perfect, for the first time I felt it was there to last forever. I am standing with the girl of my dreams. I couldn’t believe why luck bestowed upon me all of a sudden, it was not a path less easy but traversing it was great joy, sometimes accompanied by her and sometimes left all alone trying to figure the disfigured life I lived. We had come a long way since we met for the first time last year in the week of valentines. Every morning since that day it was only her thoughts which woke me up. It was with her I saw my dreams, even though I knew very well it rests upon air which holds nothing. I wanted those dreams to stand tall someday. I was lost in thoughts looking up at the sky.
I felt it was time for me to do something in life. This new feeling of responsibility and urge made me feel really good about the way my life was shaping up. It felt like the most romantic moment of my life. I looked at her; she really looked like an angel that day . It felt my life was on track. I can’t explain how good it felt. But I also felt scared, I dint want this to end. I knew this moment would end but I dint want this magic between us to ever end. I would do anything to be with her. I wanted to stop being lazy and try hard for the placements next month, Till this moment my engineering life was aimless. I really dint know what to do. I dint even care to think about it. This moment I felt it was not only my life I was living, my actions was attached to so many lives. If I dint pull up my socks now then I would lose her. She was my life. It’s a cliché I know, but so is love. I never felt this way for anyone first time cliché, first time love. I felt I had fallen many times in love but she defined love for me.

She looked at me breaking the silence in the otherwise pin drop silent terrace where the only noise was children playing in her society.
She said “seems like something is cooking in your mind?"
I looked at her and shook my head and said “nothing”.
She kept on asking and I just smiled back and shook my head.
"Aakash please…” She was like a small kid, her expressions changed so fast from happy to a question mark on her face.
I have every right to know what you thinking about. You are in my favourite adda. I am the boss here.
You better say or else?
"Or else what? “ I laughed again it was fun seeing her like this.

Her face becomes serious and she removes her head from my shoulder and goes away. I try holding her back but she escapes. She goes to the corner of the terrace as I follow to her there. I hold her hands and look at her but she removes her hand  from the knot of hands and looks away from me. It was time for me to do damage control, I had to change the topic, that was a safe bet."
"Hey . I like your city. I am already planning to stay here for the rest of my life. Really never seen a city so perfect. Just awesome. “I look at her and she was still like a sad smiley.
I couldn’t control my laughter she reminded me of my one year old cousin .Even though Sia is 21 sometimes I really feel she is like a small ignorant kid . And sometimes she made me feel she was a very matured person with all the wisdom in her words of life well lived for generations together.
I had to do something to lighten up her mood.
"Ok i give up. But before that Mmmuuah... (I kissed her cheeks)"
"Aakash you are mad.What if somebody sees".
I look at her eyes and I say
"I will miss you when I go Bangalore. I will really miss u. I don’t know how these two days passed. The best days of my life.”
“Even I will miss you alot.”
Ok now .Tell me what you were thinking that time?"
I don’t know how to say it to her. I was feeling shy to tell her.
I disseminated all my thoughts to her.
SIA-"oh my god!!You were thinking about all these stuff I thought you were
thinking about something romantic"
AAKASH- "romantic?"
SIA- "Ya something light. Let’s live this moment to the fullest.
Tommorow will see tommrow.What happened to you Aakash? I really miss my old ultra-romantic Aakash."
Aakash-"Sia.i felt it was the most romantic thought of my life.”
Sia smiles and pulls my cheeks.
Sia-"My baby don’t take too much tension. Chill yaar. You like my city right will stay here only forever and yup my father my father is rich so u can become ghar jamaai. (She laughs out loud and starts running).
I run behind her.
SIA-"ok Aakash its late will go down or else mom will be angry."

 As I climb down the stairs. I think for myself I used to tell all those beautiful lies ,things which would never happen in real life and she loved that but today I told her the most beautiful truth of my life and she felt it was boring. Today I realised, Girls loved to live in their fantasy land and they hated the real world that was the reason she loved my unreal world I created for us, but I knew life was different and no fairy tale. For the first time, I liked this burden on my shoulders even though it’s pushing me far away from myself.

Please drop in your valuable comments

You can also read my other story titled " Pearls of Magic" A fairy tale of romantic feelings.
http://amarcinekatha.blogspot.in/2012/07/pearls-of-magic.html

A letter to my Grandfather

dear ajja,

how are you ajja?Three years have passed by and i have one year more to be called a civil engineer.If you were here today I think you would have been very excited and very proud of me just like you were when i got selected to do civil engineering.I dont know from where to start this letter.The great times i had with you or the days i missed your presence in this earth.I think the latter it happened very less i still think you are watching me play around.I think you might be slightly disappointed by the ways I am dealing with my life.Yes i have dealt very badly.Trying to improve each and everyday.Making up for my mistakes.I am sure one day i will be successful the way you wanted me to be.But the way i am traversing now is slightly blurry and sometimes i too dont know what i am doing.But i know you are not angry with me YOU are an optimist and yes just like i am trying to mend my ways you too are guiding me somewhere even though i cant see you.The memories i share with you is so fresh.Everything seems like it happened yesterday even though three years have passed by.

I still remember the last few minutes I got to spend with you on that evening on that k.s.r.t.c bus I dint know it was the last time I would be seeing  you.I have seen you after that but it was only your body,for us  you were a symbol of life and an inspiration to live.We couldn’t imagine you not speaking to us and just sleeping even though we were crying around you. If I ever knew it was the last day I would be spending with you I would have never let time fly by so fast on that day, 3 years behind.

I woke up late about 10:30 a.m that morning. I saw you entering the house returning from of  students weddings.You explained us the problems you had parking the car and about the watchman who dint let you park the car properly.As you finished you told me when I go to my new college in belgaum I should cultivate the habit of reading newspapers daily.YOU explained to me what i had to do when in hostel and you told me you would call me often when i was in hostel.But you never called me ajja.I tried calling you to our kasargod landline number whenever i remembered,But you never picked the call.I wish you picked the call once and spoke  to me .I had so much to tell you but you left early. i wanted to tell you, i loved you so much ajja.Whenever i had a bad day i wished i could hear your voice.The love you spoke to us, that healed every wound in us made us feel we were not alone in this world.

But that day 3 years behind i was lost,I wanted to be on my own.I think that feeling of restlessness had something to do with  he turn of events later that day.

As I returned after taking bath that day we were set to leave for kasargod to a relatives reception before that we had to drop in at  another relatives funeral.As we left for jeppu,I remember office amma,kumbla amma joining us to go to the funeral house.As we reached there i remember You,mummy and the ammas going for the funeral and i sitting in the car with my mobile.I remember You walking back briskly to reach before others so that you could speak to me for that small while.I dont know if anybody had such a loving grandfather.I dont think so. You were the biggest gift i ever got from god.Whatever good i am.Whatever qualities everyone love me for is all because of the love you gave me I could never give you back that lovewish you had stayed longer.Its not that i loved you less.I though you were there with us for much longer time,You never let us feel that you had plans to leave early.

As we travelled and reached manjeshwar, you were speaking about vinnu mamas death.About how it happened?I dont know why we were speaking that thing on that particular day may be because you had to meet him later that day.Something i realised later connecting the dots.

As we reached kasargod,we went to the reception hall.I remember being lost in the crowd.I dont know what was happening to me.I dint want to meet people I wanted to be all alone that day.

On the other side I saw you meeting relatives with great zeal and enthusiasm I think you were bidding good-bye to the people gathered there in your own style never letting others know the journey you were taking that night.I think you hated people showing sympathy on you so you never let anyone do that to you even on your worst days.You were always the same.You held your head high, yes not always you looked down at times so that you missed the sight of the people you dint like to see.It was not a bad thing to do ajja.It was the way you were.We loved you that way.

Whatever mistakes we did you have always forgiven us and never even made us feel we made a mistake.

I still remember the day we went driving few months before this day, 3 years behind.I was learning driving then and I was not perfect,only you had the courage to take me to the highway.When the car stopped cause of  my bad driving(something to do with the shifting of gears and acceleration which I had no clue about when I encountered a series of potholes in kasargod-mangalore highway).

One can imagine  the traffic i would have encountered if u have been to that part of the world. The rush at 7 a.m in the morning.The commotion of students of various colleges,schools,the daily office going crowd and numerous other people going to do various business in mangalore.

Reading this description might have given you ideas about  the honking of horns and the traffic block I had caused in the national highway 48.I dint know what to do but You told me to stay calm and start the car with no hurry.I tried to start the car,with less success.the honking and traffic increased even more.You seemed to be more relaxed then before I think you were trying to be like that you were to slightly irritated but you had done this earlier you had taught students like me various lessons of life But I dont think anybody had put you in such a road block.You repeated the words again start the vehicle normally take the vehicle forward.I tried, yes with some divine intervention the car moved through the pot holes and yes the traffic block was cleared off.The thing I liked most about you was that you dint get angry on me and you dint even show me that I had commited a mistake.

Even if daddy was in your pl ace he would have scolded me and would have never let  me drive again but you built confidence in me  never made me feel I had done something wrong.I think only you could be so cool in that situation.It was because you dint want me to lose confidence.Today think i drive good better than before atleast.When i take your car out sometimes when i am driving alone i wish you could see me drive confidently and be proud of me.I missed that ajja.

Gettin back to that day 3 years behind us today.I then remember going to cochin bakery and having a chikku juice. Ajja dint have anything there.Mummy drove to the k.s.r.t.c bus stand so that we could return to mangalore in bus.As we reached bus stop,we got down told bye to ajja,ajja wished i could  stay back in kasargod.But having very few days left to go to Belgaum,It was not possible for me to stay back.Wished i could cause when ajja had got the heart attack i could take drive him to the nearby hospital.If wish that could have helped to save him.That would  have really been meaningful.Atleast i could drive him to the hospital.It would have been like a guru dakshina to my guru who taught me driving.  to be continued soon……

Rise of the son

In the Malayalam film industry the son never rises. There are various instances from the very existence of Malayalam movie fraternity proving this. There have been of late the rise of Prithviraj and Indrajit but they were sons of a popular antagonist. The scene in other parts of our country had been different; the acceptance of star sons was quite easy. While the Malayalam audience always stood by talent. Malayalam audience have never shied from lapping talents like Mohan Lal and Mammootty making them the torch bearers of Malayalam cinema for years. As the actors aged the question raised who next? Popped in all the minds but never could find a suitable inheritor to these legends The M & M of Malayalam cinema.

At this juncture Mammooty's son Dulquer's decision to enter Malayalam movies excited me because this was an interesting scenario. Yes the audience in Kerala had changed but were they actually ready to lap up their favourite actor's son. The signs of acceptance outweighed this time cause Malayalam movie standards had gone to an all-time low. An industry which used to inspire other industries to churn out movies had forgotten the importance of the story and went behind the money churning Formulaic masala movies. It worked, yesteryear successful movies were rehashed nth number of times and were modified into Money making ventures devoid of any story or creativity just like the neighbouring film industries run by powerful families.

In between all of the Mass masala reign there mushroomed talented film makers like Lal Jose, Ranjith, and Blessy who tried to make different movies stepping aside from the regular larger than life hero subjects. These makers kept alive the real essence of Malayalam movies by churning out movies of the ordinary Malayalee with a golden heart or nanma neryana movies like Arabikatha,Kazcha,Pranchiyettan and the saint to name a few. Malayalam movies were always about ordinary people and their goodness in them for e.g. movies like Chitram, His highness Abdullah, Dasharatham,Gandhinagar second street etc. The movies made by these makers were always accepted and turned out to be small profit earners stating the Malayalam audience still had taste but they were devoid of new story ideas which made them lean to the entertaining masala movies but when given a good film they were always ready to lap it up in a big way.

"Traffic”, the first Malayalam movie to bring a everlasting change. The success of this movie called a multi-starrer, actually had no big stars and even then turned out to be a very profitable venture and gave courage to new film makers to come up with new stories. The rest was history Salt n pepper, Chaapa kurish, Ee adutha kaluth, 22female Kottayam, Diamond necklace becoming very successful ventures and encouraging producers to make good cinema and all the so called mega budget superstar ventures bankrupted the distributors.

In this pendulum of tastes of Malayalam audience Dulquer made his entry. Ideally one would have expected him to make a mass movie showing his dancing skills beating around gundas with big budgets and glamorous north Indian heroines to complement him. The easiest path to traverse his father’s road of superstaedom.On the contrary Dulquer made his entry with a very new type of movie which had a story told many times but a presentation which was very raw and very close to reality. This was a risky move, Dulquer was playing with his first impression which always means the best impression and he went with a completely new director and cast. This was a sign Dulquer was. no ordinary star kid who wanted to become a star but he wanted to be part of the Malayalam industry which makes good cinemas.

Second show releases and we realise Dulquer took the right step forward by travelling his own path not aping his father on the contrary Dulquer's role more on the lines of Mohan lal. Second show was accepted by the audience not because a son had risen because a good movie was made. That’s the secret and Dulquer showed his skills (everything except dancing, waiting for him to dance on screen with baited breath)

Dulquer turned out to be a fresh lease of life to the Malayalam industry and he proved that he had lot of variety in his first movie itself. I don’t remember such a confident debut by any actor recently.

Second show was not universally acclaimed but then came Usthad Hotel which reinforced my belief in this son.

Five days after the release of Usthad hotel has turned out to be a blockbuster in every sense but again this was not a commercial movie. It was completely a risky choice and a clever choice because Dulquer has won our hearts and reinforced Second show was no fluke and it was time for a SON to rise. But then again not as the son of a superstar but the inheritor to the hearts of audience who love good cinema

My review on Usthad hotel would like to have some comments @ http://amarcinekatha.blogspot.in/2012/06/review-of-usthad-hotel.html