Arjunsangini - An Ardi Novel

The Dangling Foot and the Bed of Hay

The brook was shallow allowing the top of the rocks to be visible. Besides the water colliding with the shore, the brook was calm, lightening the forest around it by reflecting the light the sun was providing. The dense foliage seemed to have forgotten that it had to look terrifying with a surge of fog and the sound of the leaves swaying in the chilly breeze because today the forest looked anew. The vapours had cleared and the leaves looking waxed because of the rain last night were dancing in the fresh flurry. The mud and grime had wiped off from the coffee-coloured barks. The branches were damp, not wet. Mother Earth was nourished and the ever staying acrid smell the forest had turned to a delightful one.

It was going to be a good day, thought Parth who was sitting on the branch of a tree nine feet from the ground. He had braided his hair and rolled it atop his head in a bun kept in place with some rudraksha beads. He had grown around six inches in the last four years. His angavastram was discarded for the sheer pleasure of feeling the warmth of the sun god. His white dhoti was fluttering in the breeze, his eyes closed and his mind at ease. He was sitting in a lotus position as the head of the curly-haired Madhav was placed on his thighs. The 10-year-old had suffocated his curly locks in an excuse of a bun which had to be covered the whole with a red cloth, nevertheless, some stubborn strands were jutting out. But he was smart enough not to move his head too much as to knock off the fabric. One of his hand was supporting his head and the other was kept nonchalantly at his naked dark torso. A hint of a smile played on his lips and his eyes though were closed any passerby could see playfulness dancing in them. The branch being three feet wide was enough to accommodate the girth of both, but for the fun of it, Madhav had kept a foot dangling.

"Parth..." trailed Madhav not opening his eyes.

"Yes, Madhav." Parth said looking at him.

"Do you ever feel like you need someone to function?"

"Of course Madhav! We need so many people around us to be who we are and do what we are and-"

"No, no! I meant to breathe, to just live, do you feel like you need someone?"

"What? Why would I need anyone so that I can live?" Parth said scoffing at the idea.

"Hmm... I intend to find such a person." Madhav said finally opening his eyes but still not looking at Parth.

"Why would you base your existence on any other person Madhav, and that too willingly?" asked Parth perplexed.

"So, that I can find purpose and peace." Madhav said looking at him smiling.

Parth was about to say something but was interrupted by a shrill call of his name. He looked around and saw Prishati running towards them. She was about the same height as Parth and a trifle taller than Madhav. Her hair was tied in a braid which Parth had made in the morning. Prishati was a girl of many talents but how the hair was to be kept in place and why you cannot wear a saffron dhoti with a brown angavastram made her clueless. Thankfully she had Parth. Today she was wearing a white dhoti paired with a brown blouse and cream angavastram. Only a handful of flowers were still in her hair which Parth had adorned in the morning. He said he did it so that the hot-headed Prishati would smell their beautiful fragrance and her anger would vanish. But his brothers knew that he did so because he missed his mother. Parth had always been close with her, staying with Prishati made him forget the pain of the distances. Her forehead was beading with sweat and her left cheek and her right forearm had specks of dirt signifying she had just returned from warfare.

"Hey Parth!" she called again, now almost under the tree.

"What is it Prishati?" Parth said looking at her, hoping he could reach out and do her hair again, strands of her black locks were already protruding.