CROWN FLOWER
On seeing the gardener water the roses, lilies, and jasmine flower plants arranged neatly in the planting beds in the political leader’s beautiful house, a crown flower that came up in the empty land opposite the house asked another crown flower “No one ever waters us with love like that!”
“This is called will power. We are alive due to our will power. They survive due to other’s grace”, the second flower said.
The flower-like landlady would have her bath and in wet hair would pluck these beautiful flowers from the plant beds, decorate them on a plate and take to the temple daily. These flowers would look at the crown flowers growing outside with pity. The crown flowers would get irritated at the behavior of those flowers.
Election day was close-by and so was Mahashivratri festival. The politician got out of his centrally air-conditioned house to visit far-off villages and was hugging every common man out there. Dressed in a Kurta with foreign perfume, he would thank his fortune whenever he would hug a hard-working person used to the bad odour of their own sweat.
Even the landlady avoided the beautiful flowers in the garden and walked, in her wet hair, towards the crown flowers growing outside. Happiness spread over the crown flowers, with their small red mouth and five petals. The flowers were exulting at their luck. The landlady plucked the flowers and decorated them on a plate. Today was the day for the crown flowers to be proud. They smiled and looked at the flowers in the plant-beds but were surprised to see them smiling suspiciously instead of getting irritated.
The election campaigning had come to an end. The politician was resting his tired legs, dipping them in warm water. The landlady was trying to wash away the milk of the crown flowers using distilled water.
The election results were out. By Lord Shiva’s grace, the leader had won and became a minister. He called the people from the city corporation. Pointing towards the empty land opposite his house, the minister said “Clean them and plant some beautiful plants. These crown flowers don’t look good opposite my house”.
WHY NOW ?
Grandmother’s body was getting colder and she was only looking at the door with empty eyes. I have never seen you both talk for the last 40 years. You probably never expressed it to the outside world but every member in this family knew your anger for each other. You lived in the same house but were always away from each other. You talked to each other through your kids.
“These are her last moments, now say something.” Ramjeevan’s sons, daughters-in-law, daughter, grandsons and daughters sitting in the veranda were now begging him who sitting quite in the veranda.
Ramjeevan just started at the sky for some time and then got up with great difficulty using his walking cane for support. He put on his thick glass spectacles and walked with a bent pose to the room at the back. He told his wife who lay motionless on the bed “Manorama, Look at me Manorama. Please talk to me once Manorama!”
It was as if her lifeless body suddenly got lots of strength. Manorama turned her eyes towards Ramjeevan. It looked as if her eyes were asking a lot of questions. Her lips were trembling. Her breathing had become heavy and her chest was rapidly moving up and down. Tears started trickling down her eyes. Her tired body tried getting up but she couldn’t do it.
Suddenly, her facial expressions began to convey anger. Manorama’s face turned red. “You did not find any reason except my death to talk to me for the last 40 years?”. Saying this, Manorama just turned her face to the other side. Ramjeevan kept on calling Manorama’s name again and again.
Manorama’s body was beginning to go cold.
