Book 4: The Dusk to a Glorious EraEpistle 61: My Lucky CharmA/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D Here is the next update! :D :D
Note: I've used a few excerpts from The Kite Runner for the descriptions of the kite flying. :) :)
Happy Reading! :D :D
14th January, 2007:
Finally Makar Sankranti is here! Yay!
Mota Babuji and I have been waiting for this day for so long that it felt as though it was never going to come! Flying kites... learning how to fly! God, I'm giddy with excitement! Like every year, Mota Babuji and I will be competing against each other as to who can fly the kite better. Normally, we'd have Sharman and Devarsh joining us too, but since they cannot take a leave, we'll have to manage with Prateik. The only issue is that his interest is biased for food rather than actually flying the kites.
Baa, like every year, remains officially scandalized at the fact that a servant will compete against his master to win, but well... she's been on and on about this for ten years now and still Mota Babuji doesn't play her heed. Take it from one ear and let it go from the other, he always says. What did I ever do in my previous life to have a mentor like him?
And then there's my Maharani Ishaani. Honestly, that girl comes up with the most epic excuses of not flying kites, it's funny. She's think I'm really gullible that I'll believe everything that she sells to me. I've known from years now that she doesn't like flying kites because she's afraid of the manja. But she's too proud to tell me that, because Ishaani Parekh is "technically" afraid of nothing.
So today, I come to take her with me to the terrace to atleast catch the spooll of the manja, but no... She wants to put up an argument for that also. And if there was anything more to do, she actually gave me a national awareness campaign advertisement as well about how dangerous spools are. God, this girl is a total drama queen! She should have joined telecommunications rather than marketing and finance. If she keeps going like this, she'll go places with her marketing skills.
I'll have to think of some other way to get her up on the terrace. Don't tell her this, but she's my lucky charm. Whenever she's been on the terrace watching me and Mota Babuji compete, I've always flown my best, even though till this date I haven't managed to defeat him. The stats are 10-0 in Mota Babuji's favour, but for the expert he is on this, it's nothing short of an achievement that I've even managed to stay alive long enough in the sky for half the time that our kites have sailed together.
He, like always, is proud of all the efforts that I put into the game. He's the undefeated champion in kite flying for the last twenty-three years, and he says that the day someone cuts his kite, he'll give up on that crown and quit flying, knowing that it was time to pass on the beacon. But he always says that my spirit and sportsmanship is going to take me places in life. If only he'd taught Ishaani to be a better sport... She's so bad at losing, she always asks for a rematch.
Like it was just the other day when we were playing tennis. Three sets. I won fair and square with a 6-4, 6-7 (4-6) and a 6-3, but no! She wants a rematch because she was "sure" that my ace was a fault. Oh, we argued upon it for over half an hour before I angrily did a rematch for the third set. I won again - 6-1. She didn't even let me take her for a drive that night, she was that bad a sport. She's never learnt to take defeat in her stride - she wants what she wants, and she isn't going to rest until she achieves it. That's why we have another tennis match this weekend.
But back to the point (I've become like Ishaani in this context, always going off from the point). I'm definitely going to have to convince her to come on the terrace. She's no support though. She's changes sides between myself and Mota Babuji even faster than a ping pong - whoever's winning, obviously. But still, she's my lucky charm. How can I not have her beside me? Mota Babuji always tells me that every challenge in life becomes easier to face when you have the right person standing beside you, shoulder to shoulder. She's my strength, so she has to be there.
Looks like I'll have to take a leaf out from her book and use it on her now!
And emotional blackmail, it is.
-x-
Didn't I tell you that she is my lucky charm?
See, I won! I WON! Can you believe it? And oh my God, it was the most intense competition that we've had in these eleven years! My hands are still shivering! I don't even know how I'm gripping the pen after all the band-aids on my fingers, but I had to tell you. The impossible has happened. I managed to cut Mota Babuji's kite today, breaking his 23-year old record.
I think I might cry again.
Before I get all incoherent with emotion, I'll quickly tell you what happened, because I need to rush down in another half an hour. Leaving you back here, I ran up to Ishaani's room again, knowing that she'd put up another set of tantrums if I asked her to come give me company on the terrace. So I used my best option at hand - the innocent puppy dog eyes. She says that it's impossible to refuse me for anything when I had those eyes on, and I knew that this was my only shot.
Everything's fair in love and war.
I knelt beside her and took her hand in mine as I widened my eyes just enough to accommodate her gaze, never once over-doing it. I told her how much it would mean if she would come with me to the terrace and would be my moral support, like always. I meant every word of what I said, honestly. Maybe that's why she agreed hesitantly. That's what we both love about each other - honesty. I promised her that she could sit far away from all the manja and support me from there...
But just to be there.
And so with a hesitant Ishaani in tow, I made my way up to the terrace. But the moment I swung open the door, it was a whole different world. Music blasted as the smell of samosas, steamed dhoklas and fried pakoras drifted from rooftops and open doors, our own rooftop being the provider of the same. All the family members sat together, excited and talking in happy whispers. Mota Babuji was selecting a kite for his flight when he saw me.
I quickly ran up to him as he called me towards the stand, looking excited.
"Take your pick."
I fiddled around with the kites just as all the other elders selected one for their own. Baba never flew kites, but he was an excellent aid for the spool. After tinkering for a good five minutes, testing the strength and quality of the wooden spars that made the backbone of the kite, I finally selected a red kite with black borders. It looked chic and it was certainly amongst the best of the lot. Mota Babuji selected a green one with purple borders, his signature kite that was warning enough to everyone that Harshad Parekh had taken his flight.
That kite had been the envy of all the neighbourhood who tried to futilely cut the green vulture out from the air. Nobody could touch it once it was airborne.
Picking up my kite and a spool, I walked back to Baba, who now looked palpably excited. My eyes scanned the terrace for Ishaani, who was sitting away from all the others in the shade, her eyes searching for me as well. The moment she found me, her face relaxed into a small smile as she lifted her thumb up as a good luck wish. I nodded my head nervously, suddenly seized by an urge to run back to my room and hide myself underneath all the blankets I could have access to.
I never had problem with nerves, but today was different.
Baba's face brightened as I handed over the kite to him, and he evaluated the kite the same way that I'd done so just minutes ago. Baba taught me all the tricks of the trade with flying kites back when we lived in our village, and like all of life's ironies, I got better than him. Now all I had to do was beat the best. In my dreams... nobody got to beat Harshad Parekh.
"Good," Baba said, satisfied with my choice.
Smiling at me happily, he lifted our kite after licking his finger and holding it up to test the wind. The spool rolled in my hands as Baba walked away about an indefinite number of feet away until he came to a stop. He held the kite high over his head, like an athlete showing his gold medal. I jerked the string thrice like always, something that Baba and I used as a sort of signal and he tossed the kite.
I took a deep breath, exhaled, and pulled on the string. Within a minute, my kite was rocketing to the sky, the sound like a paper bird flapping its wings. Baba whistled and ran back to me as I handed him the spool, holding on to the string. He spun it quickly to roll the loose string back on.
At least two and a half dozen kites already hung in the sky like paper vultures roaming for prey. Within an hour, the number doubled, and practically kites of every colour imaginable glided and spun in the sky, each flying like they were meant to rule. A cold breeze wafted through my hair and it definitely made me shiver, even though I was perspiring with fright. I was definitely twitchy and on high-end anxiety. I knew that I wanted to do the impossible, but I felt too afraid to hope so. Yet there was something about today that was different than the previous years... Was it my guts instinct that things would change forever today?
That's the thing about kite flying - your mind drifted just like the kite.
Getting my mind back to my kite as another wave of winds passed by, I let myself become cool. The wind was perfect for kite flying, blowing just hard enough to give some lift, make the sweeps easier. Next to me, Baba held the spool, his hands already slightly bloodied by the string. Soon, the cutting started and the first of the defeated kites whirled out of control. They fell from the sky like shooting stars with brilliant, rippling tails, showering the neighborhoods below with prizes for the children to collect as souvenirs.
A couple fell upon our terrace and upon the adjacent trees as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ishaani, Disha and Prateik collect the ones that were within reach. By another fifteen minutes, only Mota Babuji and I had our kites intact in the air, waging a courageous battles against the sharks floating around us. So far so good.
But try as I might, I couldn't help stealing glances at Ishaani, who now sat happily with the three colourful kites that she'd collected, looking fairly comfortable now that she was away from the "supposed" danger of the manja. She was engrossed with the battle of kites in the air to notice that I was staring at her. I wondered what she was thinking. Was she cheering for me? Or did a part of her think that I'd fail to cut her father's kite, like always?
They were coming down all over the place now, the kites, and I was still flying. I was still flying. My eyes kept wandering over to Mota Babuji, who'd chosen the same moment to look at me. Was he surprised I had lasted as long as I had? 'You don't keep your eyes to the sky, you won't last much longer,' he'd taught me the first time I'd competed against him.
I snapped my gaze back to the sky. A blue kite was closing in on me I'd caught it just in time. I tangled a bit with it, and ended up besting him when he became impatient and tried to cut me from below. I could hear angry shrieks from the opposite terrace and I knew where that kite came from. Baba yelled 'kai po che!' along with the others, but I didn't let that distract me. I had only one kite to yell that for, if I was lucky.
Within another hour, the number of surviving kites dwindled from maybe fifty to a dozen. I was one of them. I'd made it to the last dozen. The music fell upon deaf ears as the air got tense, knowing that the best was yet to come now that the competition had grown so fierce. The biggest prize of all was still flying. I sliced a bright pink kite with a coiled white tail. It cost me another gash on the index finger and blood trickled down into my palm. I made Baba hold the string and sucked the blood dry, blotting my finger against my jeans.
I knew this part of the competition would take a while, because the guys who had lasted this long were skilled enough to not fall into simple traps like the old lift and dive, Baba's favorite trick. By three o'clock that afternoon, tufts of clouds had drifted in and the sun had slipped behind them. Shadows started to lengthen. The spectators on the roofs grew quieter as the wait became tedious.
We were down to nine kites and I was still flying. My legs ached and my neck was stiff. But with each defeated kite, hope grew in my heart like the breaking of the rays after a storm, one ray at a time. My eyes kept returning to the green kite that had been wreaking havoc like always.
"How many has he cut?" I asked Baba, and he understood who I was referring to.
"I counted fourteen."
"Do you know who do the other four belong to?"
Baba clicked his tongue and shook his head. That was a trademark Baba gesture, meaning he had no idea. The green kite sliced a big purple one and swept twice in big loops. Ten minutes later, he'd cut another two, sending new shrieks of disappointment and 'kai po ches' simultaneously.
After another thirty minutes, only four kites remained. And I was still flying. It seemed I could hardly make a wrong move, as if every gust of wind blew in my favor. I'd never felt so in command, so lucky. It felt intoxicating. I didn't dare look up to the roof. Didn't dare take my eyes off the sky. I had to concentrate, play it smart. Another fifteen minutes and what had seemed like a laughable dream that morning had suddenly become reality: It was just me and Mota Babuji. The green kite.
The tension in the air was as taut as the glass string I was tugging with my bloody hands. People were stomping their feet, clapping, whistling, chanting from all over the other terraces, urging my red kite to do what hadn't been done before. Oh, it was as though they were egging me on it, but I couldn't get distracted. Not when I was this close. This was the first time I'd lasted till the end. And now that I'd come this far, I was only going to walk away by crossing the finish line first.
"Cut him! Cut him!" came the booms from several of the rooftops where the spectators now cheered in waves, sometimes high-pitched and resonant, something quiet with bated breaths.
I suddenly inhaled a familiar scent of vanilla and roses and I realized that Ishaani now stood right beside me. She'd left her fear of manjas just to support me in the last leg. Oh, I was touched, but I couldn't let that distract me now.All I heard, all I willed myself to hear was the thudding of blood in my head. All I saw was the green kite. All I smelled was victory.
If there was truly a God, then He'd let me win. This was my one chance to become someone who was looked at, not upon. If there was a God, He'd guide the winds, let them blow for me so that, with a tug of my string, I'd cut loose my pain, my longing. My fingers had blood dripping from several places and every second was another self-infliction of pain. I'd endured too much... come too far to give up now.
And suddenly, just like that, hope became knowledge. I was going to win. It was just a matter of when.
It turned out to be sooner than later. A gust of wind lifted my kite and I took advantage. Fed the string, pulled up. Looped my kite on top of the green one. I held position. Mota Babuji knew that his kite was in trouble. He tried desperately to maneuver out of the jam, but I didn't let go. I held position. The crowd sensed the end was at hand. The chorus of "Cut him! Cut him!" grew louder, like Romans chanting for the gladiators to kill, kill!
"You're almost there, Ranveer! Almost there!" screamed Ishaani, sounding demented in anticipation.
And then the moment came. I closed my eyes and loosened my grip on the string. It sliced my fingers again as the wind dragged it. And then... I didn't need to hear the crowd's roar to know. I didn't need to see either. Baba was screaming and his arm was wrapped around my neck.
"You did it! YOU DID IT!"
I opened my eyes and saw the green kite spinning wildly like a tire come loose from a speeding car. I blinked, trying to say something but it was as though I'd lost my voice. Nothing came out. Suddenly I was hovering, looking down on myself from above. Pink shirt, faded jeans. A thin boy, normal complexioned, and a proud 6'1 for his twenty years of age. He had narrow shoulders and a hint of dark circles around his pale chocolate eyes. The breeze rustled his dark brown hair. He looked up to me and we smiled at each other.
Then I was screaming, and everything was color and sound, everything was alive and good. I was throwing my free arm around Ishaani and we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping.
"You won, Ranveer! You won!" shrieked Ishaani as we both kept wiping the tears off from each other's face stupidly.
And even though it felt like hours, it wasn't even more than a couple of minutes. But before I could even find my voice, I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned around. Mota Babuji stood in front of me, a very strange fire dancing in his eyes. Oh, I was pounded by a mixture of pride and fright - pride for beating him and breaking a 23-year old record, and fright because I'd done it. I was afraid that he would be angry at me, even though I knew he wouldn't.
I'm stupid that way. He's not only my mentor and a father-figure, but my master as well. That's something I do have to keep reminding myself at times. It's better to remember it this way than when the world decides to remind you of the same. I've got the skin of a frog, but it doesn't mean I don't get hurt.
But as I took the courage to look into his eyes, I could only see the tears of pride and love in them as he pulled me into his arms, an embrace warmer than the most pleasant of summers. Both of our hands were bleeding messily, but everything could wait. The crown had been passed over from the teacher to his student. The bird was learning to fly.
I was learning to fly.
We separated and everyone else came to give me their best wishes (except Baa, ofcourse). It's a surprise she didn't throw me off the terrace. But now that the evening sun had begun its glorious descent, everybody relaxed back considerably. The competition was over. There was anew winner after twenty-three years. Ishaani pulled me and Mota Babuji to the side and cleansed both of out hands of all the blood and wounds. Oh, it stung so hard but the taste of victory was sweet, albeit slightly bloody.
All the three of us had blood marks here and there, but we cherished them as souvenirs of the historic event. Everybody descended back to their respective rooms after having a late lunch, the sun now kissing the horizon in farewell until only Ishaani and I remained seated upon the terrace wall, staring ahead at the dusk with a euphoria that we both hadn't felt in a long, long time.
We were both silent because victory still roared in approval. Both my hands were neatly bandaged, something that I stared at with reverence. This was the first time I felt what it felt like to do the impossible. It was a strangely satiating expression, to know that you've done something that couldn't be done, yet there was something very peaceful about it. The fire to do more grew powerful, but never once consumed me. It was the fire to see the same pride in Mota Babuji's eyes that I saw today, and the same love I saw in Ishaani's eyes for myself. Even the same approval and affection I saw in Falguni Maa's eyes.
Even the amalgamation of all the same emotions that I want to see for myself in Maa and Baba's eyes.
Ishaani gently put her head and nestled it in the crevice of my shoulder as she sighed tiredly. I could feel my body ache now that the adrenaline from earlier had worn off. It was a surprise that I hadn't collapsed still. I let my head fall upon hers tiredly as we both watched the sun set, the distant view of the beach making the sunset even more precious. We knew that we had to head back to our rooms and get ready for the fireworks that would start in some time. The party was still pending, along with a gift that Mota Babuji promised to give me for my feat. Yet the tranquility of the moment was something neither of us could give up. If success tastes like this, then this is what I want in life.
To be at the top with Ishaani by my side as my lucky charm.
Ishaani gently lifted her head and gave me a benign smile that I only returned too eagerly, the joy in my heart identical to the one I felt years ago when I'd broken free of my bonds for the first time with Love back at the cliff. Oh, this was the beginning of a new era... A new set of accomplishments, milestones and legacies to be pursued and achieved. This was the opening at the close. The beginning of the end.
It was the dusk to a glorious era.
Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D
Next chapter:
Epistle 62
Edited by LadyMeringue - 8 years ago