6
Patiala, India
“I can’t believe my eyes, and my ears, Rajat!” Rajat said
to Jai. He was so used to calling him Rajat, that calling him by his new name
seemed unnatural to him.
“I can’t believe that I am talking to you! Over that,
when you tell me about immortal sages and hermitages on this earth, it seems
that I am visiting an epic.” Rajat continued.
“Yes!” Jai remarked. “Rajat, we are the epic!” He looked
deep into Rajat’s eyes, as if he would pierce through them and enter into his
soul. Rajat imbibed the intense communication, by closing his eyes, and feeling
Jai’s presence through his soul. He know deep inside, that Jai wasn’t lying. A
soul cannot lie! It may change forms and perceptions, but it cannot lie. This
was Rajat’s soul.
“We can’t be here for long.” Jai interrupted Rajat’s
train of thoughts. ”There are too many people around, and a significant amount
of them are presently watching you talk to thin air!”
Rajat turned around, and realized that he was on the high
platform in the middle of a park in a place where all others were, perhaps,
silent and meditating! He saw a couple of people staring at him in a pretty
unforgivable manner. He immediately blushed, and looked at Jai, who sat in
front of him.
Jai asked him to get up, and just listen to him. Both of
them came out of the crematorium and crossed the narrow street to reach a weird
wall full of lifts marked “Shahi Samadhaan”. Rajat saw people getting into the
lift hastily. He looked up and saw cable cars running in self-drawn cable paths
that materialized and vanished into nothing! The sky level was full of cable
cars going and coming from different directions. It was an enigma for Rajat
since he arrived in the city. He wondered that who controlled the traffic.
Rajat and Jai went to the ‘board’ level, where they were presented with a drop
down option to choose their destination.
“Take the northern line to Thapar.” Jai remarked. Rajat
looked at him.
“Dude, I can’t touch!” Jai said irritatingly. “I am not a
human. I’m not taking the car anyways! I would reach much before it. Meet me at
the Rajbaha Woodland” In an instant, Jai
was gone!
Rajat took the cable car to Thapar.
Rajbaha
Woodlands
In twenty first century, the forest authorities had
developed this two kilometer narrow strip of woods besides the shallow Rajbaha
canal into a jogging track amidst the untamed nature. Bound by roads on both
the sides, it was an unexpected piece of wilderness in the heart of a city.
With time, they had introduced small animals, with the monkeys being the first
colonizers, however, today, the black bucks often roamed around the roads and neighborhood.
In absence of a predator, their number
had once increased a lot. That was the time that they were shifted to nearby deer
park and only fifteen black bucks were allowed to be in the woodlands at any
time, with only four females.
Jai stood on the gate of the woodlands as Rajat descended
the lift at the station.
“This is my home, Rajat.” He said.
“How do you even manage?” Rajat asked as he entered the
green and calm woodlands.
“ Rajat, I know now that the accident in which you died
wasn’t an accident at all!” Jai suddenly changed the topic.
(To continue tomorrow….)
