Urvasi

A dancer

Chapter 12 Urvasi

“My people trace our ancestry to the age of the Vedas,” said Krishna Nambiar. “Our source is in the Atharva Veda, one of the books that recorded the experiences of the early Indic experience.”

He paused to look at Charles, his dark, dewy eyes reflected a vision he held within that seemed both troubled and seductive of the physical environment that it engaged.

“In recent years our lives have been as varied as male prostitutes, who have tried to bring comfort to man and as Kings, who have tried to guide and rule man in his own quest for self knowledge. The art of the Atharva is to bring comfort to the mind of man while he is learning.”

Charles motioned to speak. He took a slight breath, turned his eyes to the man and drew on his attention to what he wanted to say.

“It appears like a process in which you are both teaching and learning,” he commented, then stopped.

Nambiar viewed with prospect what Charles had said. He knew Charles's background as an academic. But he found Charles's manner forthright and it puzzled him. Here was a man, he thought, who brought the play of life to a point of great excitation, an excitation so great that he was capable of whisking away his innamorata on the horse of pursuit and yet did not respond to the love represented in the experience of the innamorata.

Such a man, he figured is a former lover of the innamorata, who now wishes to substitute for the love experience with rationality. Charles's comment was therefore without clear meaning to him. He answered it another way.

“Knowledge consists in knowing and not knowing. You cannot learn something new without at the same time, bringing yourself to the acceptance of the proposition that you, in some way, don't know.”

The sound of a motorcycle pulled up nearby and disturbed their reverie of thought. His two sons came over to the compound of the house where Charles was sitting on a bench with Krishna watching the students practice stick fighting in the field beyond.

It was in some ways typical Malayalam hospitality in this part of Kerala. When Charles had dropped by to inquire whether they had taken on Gangothri as student, the master, Krishna, inquired into Charles's business and then had sent out his sons to check with the other schools in the area.

It was as if some center in our societal relationships took responsibility for the actions of everyone and responded with whatever help it could. It is the way of the Mahimorata-Innamorata relations in the world. Shelley would have called it the heart of the Almeg.

They spoke in Malayalam to the father. He turned to Charles.

 

“Someone fitting the description of your friend made inquiries at the Parameswaran School. But he did not enroll. Said he'll come back later.”

Krishna instructed one of the boys to give a ride to Charles to the Parameswaran school area. Charles thanked Krishna and left on the motor bike.

They were two small hotels in the Parameswaran school area. When Gangothri opened the door to his room, in one of the hotels, he appeared to Charles like a ghost of a man. He had lost weight, his eyes were downcast but he smiled gently.

“How are you,” he greeted Charles.

“I'm fine,” Charles replied, “how are you?”

“Not so good,” he said as he invited Charles into his room.

They sat on rattan chairs. Gangothri poured some water in a glass and offered it to Charles.

“What do you plan to do?” asked Charles.

“I need help to decide,” replied Gangothri.

“You will have to give yourself up to the police,” Charles advised.

“They'll hang me on a noose,” replied Gangothri.

“It is the law of the land,” Charles suggested.

“My fight is with the Mura,” Gangothri moaned, “ I lost. How is the law of the land on the side of the Mura?”

“It's the choices offered to you by the Mura,” Charles offered. “If he offers to fight you then you must kill him. If he offers to test you, you must pass that test. Where you have failed, you must submit to the judgment.”

“What is the judgment?” Gangothri asked.

“Nobody can tell you that,” said Charles. “ You may enroll in the school to learn and where you have learnt of the arts and come to level with your innamorata, it will tell you what you have to do. But if you run away from the law, the punishment will be brought to you in this life or in the next. Your experience of the world will be taken away from you and you will have to recreate the world from your mind. ”

Gangothri thought about it and then said slowly,

“You're right. That is justice.” Then he added, “To recreate the world....that's Brahmastram. Has anybody done it before?”

“The legends say its Parasuraman, but in today's world, that might be the Taliban and they may not have refined it yet. They might be some other sources.....” Charles trailed off.

“Like what.”

“I can guide you, but you must do exactly what I say. We need a dvd player and TV. I need to get the dvds to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 'The Matrix'.

“The movie?” asked Gangothri in an incredulous manner.

“Its a learning process like any other. You have to bring a devotion to it. Then we can supplement it with Siva Purana, while you are engaged in the school.”

“What if the fates don't let me continue?”

“We'll have to appeal to Urvasi,” said Charles. Urvasi is the transvestite equivalent in the human, not yet perfected as Sivan/Sakthi. “If she's not happy with your progress, then you'll have to give yourself up to the police.”

Reviews

[Sagar Waingankar]

:-) This one simply target's the simplicity as well as the ideals one is carrying with him unaware about what the others are expecting! I liked the characters as they are intruding every part in this portrait!