Mahagatha

The Agony of A Heart

Arjun hated waiting, no wait he despised it. Was the conclusion the third Pandu putra arrived at as he awaited his (Chhoti) Ma. Just the last hour he was chasing butterflies like every other day and his Ma had come again-like every other day-and asked him to retire for the night. She wa yet to finish her chores and thus Arjun awaited her as she would put him to sleep with her lullaby. Yet what the young royal knew not ( or maybe he did) was that it was now when it would all change.

 Funny, while people say change is the only stable thing in life, change in itself is like an ever indecisive river forever confused on the paths its to go on, thus leaving only chaos and mayhem in its way. And in the life of the little prince change will come knocking like a hurricane leaving a mess of feelings and a family put together by sheer will behind. 

But the young prince knew that not(or maybe hoped not), and, thus he did what kids did best- hope. Hope a treacherous thing it is as the young royal would know today. So treacherous that it denied the young kid awaiting his (Chhoti) Ma to come and sing lullabies like she always did. 

His actual mother ('call me Matashree') did not really think of him as the apple of her eyes (understatement of millennium, mind you beloved readers) and well his father .....he loved him, yes but having five sons competing for your affections with two being mere babes was bound to leave one a little love starved. And with him being who he was......well it isn't anything less than he deserves. And it's perfectly fine! For them not to throw him out of their house was a blessing in itself. Arjun had always been optimistic ('too optimistic ' Keshav would say) but we'll it's fine. Anyways in another hour or so his mother would come with some candies she had procured from who knows where. 

You see my lovely readers our dear prince has always had a sweet tooth. And it was any Ma's Dharma to satisfy it(or she always said ). Suddenly, the door creaked open, a youthful silhouette entered. Arjun felt bitter disappointment as he noted it to be the familiar figure of his eldest brother( jyeshta) Yudhishthir, "a young strapping young lad of 16" (as his father puts it).

With a weary sigh and a deep breadth Yudhishthir steadied himself to tell his sweet anuj(or Aru as they had taken to calling him behind Mata Kunti's back who was insistent upon maintaining formalities) about the tragedy that had just occurred. But pain escaped is simply pain multiplied as the five brothers had learnt early on. And the inevitable is best not delayed. With mother so devastated she'd surely blame Aru and with him being so..........Aru-ish he'd believe her in a heartbeat. All of his energy now had to be concentrated  upon the fact that Aru and Matashree had to as far away from each other as possible.

"Anuj, Chhoti Matashree and Pitashree have decided to take rest and leave, best not wait upon either of them." Informed the eldest Kuru son as he hoped against hope that his instructions would be sufficient in convincing his brother to get rest as he really had no idea how to inform his brother of the only parental figure he had was gone. Heavens knew Yudhishthir himself was yet to accept the fact.

But all his hopes were for naught ad his brother chirped, " Okay, I'll await their return then. When shall they be returning, Jyesht?" Arjun has always adored his eldest brother. While him and his eldest brother weren't as close as eldest brother and second eldest brother they shared a harmonious bond. But it wasn't something new, he'd always been the sore thumb in all of his five siblings. Jyesht and Bhrata Bheem were extremely close while the twins were mere babes of two summers old. That left him the social recluse, shy and painfully introverted child who had no interest in anything other than sweets, games of aiming, and chasing butterflies.

While Arjun's thought were full of childhood naiveté Yudhishthir's were morbid in nature as he weighed the scales and decided that Phalgun getting to know this from him would be a better alternative than some unknown relatives whose only names were known to them.

"They aren't coming back, Phalgun." Yudhishstir uttered those words as their meaning dawned on his little Aru (always too smart for his own good). And thus he uttered those words from which Arjun learnt one of the most important life lessons he'd ever have. Heart break wasn't just in metaphors it existed in reality as well. It was a physical pain. One you felt as your heart broke never to be made whole again. As Arjun broke down into sobs of anguish within the arms of his eldest brother he only kept repeating one name in his mind like a mantra that kept him sane in this gut twisting agony that tormented his very soul. "Keshav, Keshav, Keshav, Keshav, Keshav, Keshav!" his heart cried.

Miles away the young Gopal felt the agony of his soulmate as it twisted his gut, and he prayed for the first time in his eternal existence that he could be with his Parth. But how could his prayers be answered for who is to answer your prayers when you yourself are God.