The Stars shine down

The dark sky looked magnificently beautiful and the stars seemed like smiling with cheer. There were candles, kerosene lamps, torches in every house to keep them moving.

Most of the people in that town were out chit chatting and having a gala time. The power cuts brought people closer. While the ladies talked  sarees, children, recipes; Men spoke on politics, local panchayat, business and the children were busy discussing  movies, cricket, school, food and what not…?

This had been a routine in summers due to the  frequent power cuts. There was a scheduled load shed twice everyday. The mornings weren’t that lively as everybody seemed busy with routine work. Everyone looked forward for that evening hour.

During that hour, the children were allowed to play despite of exams approaching. Women were allowed to chat with neighbours despite of late evening; Men gathered despite the News hour. It was indeed the most precious time of the day. Everybody looked happy and smiling despite of the small light around.

Meanwhile, Karthik enjoyed sky gazing with his grandmother. They both sat on a one foot raised platform in their front yard. Although they lived on a busy street, the load shedding made that hour peaceful.

The fresh air gushed through making them refreshed.

The dim light from the shop opposite making things visible for the passersby. Munnavar, owned  that petty shop and  the children loved to hire cycles on an hourly basis. There were songs heard from the Medium wave battery radio from the adjacent vegetable shop. It was a big deal to hear songs on the batteries those days.The busier street at once came to a halt with people relaxing.

Karthik enjoyed seeing the stars in the dark sky. Many things ran around his mind which he wasn’t sure any one would happen then. The small brain was only limited to school, friends, home, studies and movies of course. He used to wonder how this universe would be, how many miles..? Who stayed far across..? Can anyone travel across the globe??  Many questions.. none was answered????

He loved chatting with his grandmother about all these this was their favourite past time in the evenings. Puffed rice would make their conversations even more interesting. His grand mom would tell him stories of their times. He nodded  and loved hearing stories.

As he saw the stars sparking in the clear sky, he felt a sigh of motivation. As he concentrated on a cluster of stars, he could draw a fairy with a star. He said wow, his grand mom asked him what happen and he told he could see a fairy out in the sky.. With gloomy eyes, his grand mom said huh! I wish I could have had better eyes to see what your’re saying. He looked at her with anticipation and said he will get her better eyes once he’s old enough to get a job.

She smiled with tears of joy and hugged him tight. She told him she’s too old to live long. She held his hand tight and told him, look for that fairy and he could see her.

He couldn’t understand what she meant at that young age. As he grew up, things changed,  higher studies, friends, hostel, city life, job, family, kid. He missed his grand mom and the old days.

Few decades later, he was sitting on the same platform sky gazing, but nothing looked as before. The candle lights were replaced by emergency lights and UPS all around. No women were interested in chit chatting rather busy with their touch screen mobiles. The men no longer discussed politics, the children hardly spoke to each other.

He looked around for his grand mom in despair. As he recalled how he enjoyed those days with her. While he was in deep thought, his daughter sat their  and shouted “Naaana”… he looked at her and hugged her tight with tears in his eyes..

No matter what happens, some memories can’t be replaced;

Sometimes you will never know a value of a moment until it becomes a memory.