NAVARATHRI DIARIES- DAY-8 THE PEACOCK GARDEN.

The story explores the connection of Pari with nature and how the universe blesses her the fate, the life she had desired for through magic

Pari was running as fast as she can. She was carrying a back pack with so many stuffed documents about loan, investment and property buying. She spotted a bus stopping near by a stop and decided to catch it as she realised that it would be the last vehicle she would have to reach the bank building. Other than bus, which is the cheapest mode to reach the place, she has a lack of money in her purse and ill fated life that she had never desired for. She was running and her breath came straight from the lungs, perspiring through the wind thinking that losing this would be the last chance she had ever dreamt to get. But before she could run to the stop, she crossed by a bird butchering place and her eyes were horrid to see a sight.

10 YEARS LATER….

The car drove fast in the highway. Pari’s legs were trembling and shaking with her mind filled with so many negative perceptions. Pari looked to her watch repeatedly and said,” i should reach Chennai within 5 AM or so. To reach the factory on or before the officials, so that i can also introspect the issue of a worker getting accidentally injured and whether or not to give compensation to his medical treatment … wait, the committee members, of four they should also be there for spot visit, why is the secretory calling me to notify the issue? Then what the heck i have hired subordinates for? Already my mind is whacked with my mother’s cancer and now this factory issue that too at a time when i was outstation and these people don’t they even follow the safety protocols while handling the company machineries? Already the stationary industry is dominated by so many giants then what can i even think of? Running a small scale stationary object factory that too dominated by so. Many business sharks. I think i must have joined the amalgamation provided by TATA. That seems a pretty economical and cost friendly for me to run the company with no losses. I still could remember when my desire to become something else over shadowed my present reality of becoming a company owner. The birds , they are beautiful aren’t they? But they are precious too and they are most importantly free. I don’t know why people are so obsessed in caging beautiful birds. A bird is only beautiful unless it is flying. When it is caged, then its emotions, soul everything is caged just like me since childhood. Caging my real emotions, happiness and my life in an invisible prison that i had constructed around myself. The prison which i had to live due to my freaking father. He had been such a loser. I could still remember the day when my father for the sake of sorting his brother’s debts and loans left us money strapped. Myself and mom have worked for years to even have money to respire in this patriarchal society where living without money or status is deemed to be unfit for even to be born in the world. After getting cheated for the first time, my mother managed some expenses by the help of he family and made up my school studies to some extent. Though I can’t say that it was the best part of my life, but still I was free like these birds. I have always admired them. I am in fact a vegan and i am proud about it. I still hate those people who mercilessly whack a chicken’s leg in a barbecue restaurant. It makes me feel gross. Huh wobbling and whining like this also makes my mind feel lighter. Wait, the ceremony preps! I totally had forgotten about that, why is this Rakesh not even taking my phone? Why his family is pushing us in doing everything? We are giving dowry anyway. Why aren’t they even cared about the marriage? Wait i must call him?”

Pari made a call on to Rakesh while driving car and asked him the stage of their marriage preparation. Rakesh on the other side, came near to the window, as if to hide something from her. Some kind of conversation was going on with his parent and a girl’s parents. Pari who was familiar with Rakesh’s mother loud voice was inquisitive about the conversation. Rakesh blandly responded her that they are going well and before he could cut the phone, Pari heard something that she shouldn’t have heard of. “ Rakesh meet Nita, the daughter of business man, to whom are you speaking with? .. if it’s Pari, then cut her call now.” Hearing this nonsense, before Rakesh could cut the call, Pari abruptly cut off the conversation between them in a devastated and a frustrated note. “ Am i not even deserving to have a happy life? Why am I even living now? My mother is dying soon. My boyfriend, he is getting married to someone, my factory is freaked up with accidents and my.. ergh …. Car is again running out of fuel. Why am I feeling the same dejavu like the day which I can’t still forget now? That unlucky day of my life where i lost my opportunity and i became like someone that i never wanted to dream of. A business employee. I had always dreamt of becoming a caretaker of birds in a sanctuary. Also i have a wish of having a garden in my home where i can rear so many glossy glabrous flowers with bees stung on it and birds cooing it , like a garden straight out of a fairy tale. Alas what am i even existing of? In a home with no soul of vibrancy and no interesting feature, just like another 2 BHK with a rent that i barely paying that these days. With my savings getting lesser and lesser, i must rely only on that fateful amalgamation for which i need to reach Chennai on time..” Then boom , in her drowsy and maniac mode of driving recklessly on the highway, she accidentally got bumped by a container truck and her car dashed to the woods in a push. The truck driver was drunk and after the noise he got scared that he had bumped some one, but since her car toppled all way to the dark woods, and the eyes so blurred for him to see, the driver just drove his bumped vehicle with no conscience and remorse for his act. The funny part is that the truck is her own company vehicle driving to the chennai plant for receiving the supply and goods to deliver.

Pari’s eyes slowly opened. She looked to her broken watch and the time was pointing 1.00 AM., she saw herself and the car being drowned in a small pond like area. The water flushed inside her vehicle and she had no time to think. She simply decided to drown herself to death and closed her eyes. Her legs stuck in the seat, her mind completely losing sanity and intelligence to think and save herself and her heart broker with no hope. Her eyes with tears closed its last. Just then, a magic she had never seen happened. The magic of miracle, that she always wanted to happen in her life started to occur. She felt like she was flying. Along with her, the vehicle too was in the air. She suddenly opened the eyes to witness the shock. She tucked off her seat belt and saw herself few feet from the ground. The full moon was lustrous and bright. Brighter than before. Just as she could imagine, she felt something was lifting the vehicle on the whole. Soon the car was dropped safely. Pari stepped from her vehicle and in front of her a beauty stood there. Actually many beautiful birds, particularly peacocks. They all gazed with their beautiful eyes and they spread their vibrant coloured wings in the air. They flocked it in the air and cawed their noise in rejoice and happiness. Pari can’t understand what the hell was going on. These peacocks, the birds did it saved her. Then light came from the bird flock and they just emanated to the sky to the full moon particularly and they all transformed to beautiful fairies with wings. Pari realised angels like her name really existed in front of her eyes. They were all adoring a beautiful dress, in a peacock style indicating that the place she had stepped in was nothing short of a miracle. The fairies in chorus said,” welcome to the peacock garden and warmed her with affection!” Pari was speechless by their kind greeting and she soon joined them. Time was 1.30 AM and with whole bright white moon, no problem was even appearing on Pari’s mind. Just warmth and peace. The enchantment of nature and its creation. The head peacock fairy invited Pari into the woods only to discover such a beautiful plush greenly garden, the Same fairy tale garden she always wanted to recreate in her home with blooming flowers, cooing birds and a peace that nothing can offer other than the great nature itself. The soothing effect on seeing a plant or life glimmering in format us gives us the hope to live and stay happy. It’s refreshing and unimaginably calm to witness the eternal beauty of nature herself. The head peacock approached with a motherly gaze and said,” we are responsible for the mishaps in your life. The mishap of choosing this life that you never wanted to become. Yet you have to, And you are forced to live this to overcome your poverty that your father had forced on you people. I think you can remember this…” and she clasped Pari’s hand. Pari’s mind was transferred to remind her past 10 year memory, that too the unlucky day she always wanted to forget, the same day with a full clarity on the incidents occurred on that fateful day.

10 YEARS BEFORE…

Pari left her home in a hope that her mother’s restaurant land would be auctioned and priced by the buyer in a reasonable rate of profit. And the buyer was none other than her mom’s brother- her distant foreign return uncle who was hell bent on buying the land and helping his elder sister with money. So to sell the land, she rushed to the bank building after tackling an issue with her dad who had also eyed his gaze on the money that mother daughter duo have. Desperate to have that, he tried to stop his own daughter and seize those documents to his hand, so that he could have a control over it. Having suffered years of difficulty, Pari’s mom wanted only happiness. They thought that after selling the restaurant, they had plans of settling near a country side where Pari could live her dream job of being a bird care taker in a sanctuary near Kanchipuram- the native place of Pari’s mom. They had done all types of job for earning. Now they have sufficient money, now they need to enjoy that happiness they had deserved for. Pari was on the run to reach there when she witnessed the horrifying sight of a peacock going to be shredded and killed for some other purpose in a building while crossing there. Along with peacocks other varieties of birds were also caged in that area, which on exterior looked like a meat buying shop, but inside doing this horrific activity. To stop that, Pari called the police on spot and on doing this process, they also arrested the respective men and the birds- indigenous and exotic were left free including that one peacock- the head one speaking to her now, which can use its powers only when the full moon night arises gazed her with thankfulness and kindness. The beauty filled with peacock spread its wings and along with it so many birds spluttered its wings to leave so many feathers around her, they all now have the freedom to fly any where far away to escape this cruel world. To enjoy the breezy skies and to fly in freedom and liberty. They all flew around her in gratitude including the peacock which returned to its den- the peacock garden. By doing all this stuff, Pari lost her way to Bank and to life by her nobleness and nothing good was left for her. Now she had toil all way down again until she can have the money for happiness. She tried to reach the bank to see her uncle, but he was no where to be seen. Her father had tricked her with duplicate documents in her bag and devastated by the turn of events, the mother daughter would lame only on their tragic fate to be destined for them. 

THE PRESENT…..

The head peacock made her remembered everything. It advised her that during this full moon day , any wish , any luxury she could ask for, that could be fulfilled for her. Pari couldn’t ask for anything. Now the company, the wealth she wanted to cure her mother,everything seems short. She uttered the word Happiness and closed her eyes. Several varieties of peacocks ranging from multicoloured to green, white and other encircled around her in troops and cawed at the same time to the god. Pari couldn’t see anything around her and started realising that things are getting more blurry and invisible. And Boom she opened only to see her present memories teleported to past. The past self remembering all this while leaving from home, called for police and made her dad arrested for duping herself and her mother in the past case. Also she had a hold on the original documents and she requested her mother to call police alternatively on an area where the butchering is taking place. Her mother too conceded with her and her mother now had became the bird saviour while Pari got the money she had needed for. The mother daughter hugged each other with a warm smile and they both stood together in a bridge watching birds crossing the sunset horizon. There can’t be nothing beautiful than this. In Pari’s mind, she thanked the fairy for being grateful to her and changing her life. If the past changes so is the future. Ten years later, Pari found herself working in her favourite job and she realised that if we feel gratified to the nature for our creation and concerned it even a slightest of it, then nature too watches from somewhere and it will transpire to change our lives in a minute of magic. It will conspire the events that would fulfil our long asked desires and bless us a long healthy life.