I was walking in our courtyard,

The evening was cool as autumn was approaching,

I loved it.

The time when finally

the heat of summer leaves

And the weather starts turning cold at night,

Sending us the message that winter is coming.

The smell of the shiuli flower comes

Carrying the news that the Divine Mother is arriving on earth soon.

Thinking this, my heart became happy

As we, Bengalis, become extra-nostalgic

When we whisper, Pujo Asche.

I wasn’t counting my steps

As I wanted to be free from the stress

Of finishing a certain limit

Because I wanted to be limitless.

Baba came out of the home temple

And lit a diya before Radha-Krishna

Engraved in the Tulsi mancha.

The ambiance became pious

As the fragrance of the incense sticks

And the light of the diya

Filled the courtyard.

Baba and I,

Stood in front of the Tagar tree,

And looked at the ground beneath.

Countless fallen buds were lying there,

In the moonbeam, they looked like pearls.

But we became sad for them.

“See, these tiny buds fell before they bloomed,

I feel bad for them.”

Baba said.

And I nodded my head.

I also felt sad,

For I know the pain

of losing our dreams before they reach their destination.

Oh, it gives me a secret ache in my heart,

For I know how it feels

When the dreams fall on the ground,

Shattered, they never dare

To become a dream again.

Baba returned to the home temple,

And I continued walking.

Seeing the fallen buds,

I remembered my story,

And then I remembered how I found my purpose in life.

I went closer to the fallen buds,

And asked them if they also found their purpose.

Hearing my question, they smiled,

and said,

“We knew where we were destined to be

and we are happy

to be at the feed of our mother tree,

For our mother said,

not all her children belong to the branches and leaves,

to adorn the mother tree,

some of them belong to the mother who lies beneath,

and gives us the ground to put our feet,

and keep walking.

We fulfilled our purpose of

adorning the Mother Earth,

and also,

Adorning the lonely courtyard.”

_________________________________________________________

(This post is part of the series ‘Solace in the Mundaneness’ where I try to tell stories of the everyday things that capture a special place in my heart and they make me feel privileged to live a simple and ordinary life with contentment and peace. This post is also part of Blogchatter A to Z.)