The Autobiography Of My First Poem

The river was flowing below. The cold wind was continuously hitting them. Those seven friends had come here after bunking their college lectures, in the middle of the bridge above. Ritesh, Gary and Mansukh were standing swinging from the railing on the bank. Darshana Noori and Sahari were keeping an eye on the traffic ahead and behind. As always, Mahki, isolated from everyone else, had his eyes fixed on a boat coming far in the river. Due to the strong wind, everyone got an excuse to shout and talk among themselves.

Ritesh: Friends! Do you know that nowadays cow dung cakes or upalas are also available online!

Gary: What are you talking about bro! How do you know?

Mansukh: Hey friends! because he is the one who delivers them door to door,

Everyone laughs loudly.

Noori: By the way, what are these types of cakes? Is this a variant of chocolate cakes or strawberry ones? Mansukh: If you don't know the meaning of a upla then what were you laughing at, ten seconds before, huh noorie?

Ritesh: Friend, don't you know that our "tubelight friend" must be laughing at the same joke you told in the bus about half an hour ago?

Hearing this, everyone laughed loudly again. Noori figured that everybody was laughing at her, but why? That she had no idea about, her face fell because of the disappointment.

Darshana placed a consoling hand on her shoulder

Darshana: Upale means balls of cow or buffalo dung, they are dried and used for burning.

Mahki: Oh good god! the ones which are used to offer incense in the worship of Dussehra and Navratri.

Noori: Understood!, but why does Ritesh deliver cow dung?

Noori had asked this question in her innocence but its true meaning had insulted Ritesh and all of them could not stop laughing.

Noori felt that she had asked something wrong but Darshana said, taking the joke forward.

Darshana: Hey friends! what is there to laugh about here, Noori is right bang on here, tell me brother Ritesh why do you deliver cow dung, tell me why do you do such work Ritesh Mian!

Ritesh: Hey! I never bought a cricket league team, but which team was sold for how much? I know everything about it.

Gary: Okay, leave all this nonsense, tell me how high will this bridge be, how deep will be the water of the river below?

Noori: Very very much! I would never even think of jumping from here, O Baba!

Gary: You have to choose between jumping out of here and wearing baby nappies, you're going to suck at not getting your pants wet.

Noori: You have caught it absolutely right.

Mansukh: In such a situation, I would also like to borrow a nappy from Noori's nappy packet.

Ritesh: Friend! Seriously, how high will this bridge be above the river?

Mahki: About fifteen to twenty meters.

Sahari: You are speaking less, friend! it must be at least twenty meters

Noori: And dangerous too!

Ritesh: There is only water below, there is nothing dangerous in it.

Gary: You're right, friend! Just use your research analyst mind and calculate the height of this bridge.

Mansukh: Maybe it will be 25 meters.

Noori: Ya Allah! Why are we even talking about this? What happened with Sahil here, are you not aware of that dreadful scene that you are allowing such things to come to your mind? Have we forgotten that the heart-wrenching pictures of that painful accident were in the headlines of every newspaper and news channel?

Mansukh: But that accident was the result of miscalculation of distance, what does height have to do with it?

Darshana: That's not the point here, you moron!

Gary: Exactly! What's the Point in the Tale?

Gary took off his t-shirt, pants and shoes and climbed over the railing.

Mansukh: If I were you, I would have jumped wearing shoes, if there was any movement up or down while landing in water, my feet would be ruined.

Gary: Friend Ritesh, give me your shoes. I don't want to get my shoes dirty.

Ritesh took off his shoes and gave them to Gary and wore them himself.

Sahari: By the way, what is the story of this Sahil guy?

Then Gary climbed onto the railing screaming

Gary: Who's coming after me, guys? Let's live life, yaaaaaaa... hooouuuu... !

Woman: I will never come in this life.

Gary was about to jump when Mahki screamed.

Mahki: Wait! Look, at a distance, a boat is coming in the river.

Ritesh: Yes friend Gary! Actually a boat is coming, wait for five-ten minutes, then you might as well jump.

Gary agreed with Ritesh and jumped on his back and came back to the bridge.

After a while, the sound of an ambulance, like a boat blowing its horn, passed by and Gary climbed back over the railing with his adrenaline rush and his heart full of passion. Holding the railing from behind with a strong grip of his hands, he stood facing the river.

Darshana: This is the main channel of this river, right?

Mansukh: Don't know!

Gary: What a difference it makes, man!

Gary extended his hand towards Darshana and said "Come with me! Let us together find the frequency of your favorite channel beating in your heart's hertz(Hz) .

Noori: In which direction will the water flow?

Gary: I'll tell you in a few seconds.

Gary had just turned his feet to jump into the river when he saw a constable on a police bike coming waving a wooden stick in his hands.

Constable: Wait! What is this madness that you kids are going to do!?

Gary: Why? What happened sir ?

Constable: I will tell you everything, first you come back to the bridge from the railing. Don't know how many people have lost their lives in this kind of stupidity.

Gary: Here? Are you sure lives have been lost here?

Every word Gary said was a mixture of surprise and sarcasm.

The constable, understanding the meaning of Gary's mocking tone and ignoring every emotion hidden in his words, explained to him lovingly and said -

Havildar: Only last year, a boy of your age lost his life here, son! One of my colleagues from our department took out his body from the river after three days.

Darshana: Didn't you hear, Gary! Come on, leave this childishness and come back!

Gary, hearing Darshana's scolding, came back to the bridge.

Sahari: Sir! Is it really that dangerous?

Constable: And if not then what? Do you people consider the height of forty meters a joke? Then boats moving in the river also require clearance. You young blood and this enthusiasm of youth, I don't know when you will understand the importance of this life!

Noori: Yes sir, you are absolutely right, we will never do this again.Constable: You all are of the age of my children, so I understand, son! Okay, now you all go back to your homes. It's going to get dark anyway.

After explaining this, the constable started his fast and left from there.

Gary: What the hell, man! How can someone die after falling from here?

Ritesh: I don't know friend! I myself have come here for the first time.

Sahari: That policeman seemed to be a local here and was very old too, he might be lying to us.

Noori: That's right! let's go from here

Darshana: Noori is absolutely right, all of you leave your childishness and go away from here now!

Everyone started staring at Gary for walking back.

Gary: Hey man, you guys are staring at me as if that boy died because of me.

,

Seeing the situation getting worse, Mansukh started walking from there, followed by Noori, Sehri and Mehki.

Darshana held Gary's hand and started convincing him to come back. Gary pushed away his hand but in the next moment controlled his anger and said

“You go ahead Darshan, I will come with Ritesh, anyway after getting down from the bridge, everyone will go together in the bus, right?

Darshana accepted his request and started walking ahead with the rest of her friends. Ritesh and Gary were walking together a little behind them. The bridge was long, so everyone was walking on one side, away from the railing.

Gary: What a sick joke, man!

Ritesh: That's right! Don't know how to dance, the courtyard is crooked!

Gary: What do you mean? After all, what do you want to say to Ritesh?

Ritesh: When that idiot told you about the death of the boy, you were in tears, Gary, admit it friend!

Gary: That was just a normal human reaction that anyone would react to the way I did.

Ritesh: That's what I'm saying, friend! Feeling scared and breaking down is a normal human reaction, my friend!

And laughed out loud.

Gary: It might have happened, but I was not scared, everyone had insisted on that so I got off the railing. There was nothing scary about it.

Ritesh: Friend, all the other friends are ahead, I am the only one here, why are you ashamed of me! Why don't you admit that you were scared?

Gary: Why should I accept it when I was not scared? Ritesh: Friend, you still look scared, even your voice is trembling.

Gary: Just think, if someone came to you and told you that where you are standing, someone had died some time ago, how would you react?

Ritesh: I will feel sympathy for him, I will not go to "Vibrate-Mode" out of fear like you.

Gary got very angry after hearing this and he shouted towards the sky and said, "I was not scared, understand?

Hearing his scream, the five friends walking ahead stopped.

Darshana and Mansukh came running back.

Darshana hugged Gary and said, "Now leave it Gary. Forget it!"

Ritesh: Yes yes forget it friend! And we will also forget that you are a number one idiot.

Mansukh glared angrily at Ritesh and tried to convince Gary to go back to college.

Sahari and Mahki also came behind.

Mehki: What Gary Babu! Are you thinking of taking the leap again?

Noori was scared and was almost begging everyone to go back holding their hands.

Ritesh: What drama is Gary doing? If you were not scared then why didn't you jump, please tell me!

Gary: Because everyone had lost interest in that thing.

Ritesh: So if even one person was "interested" you would have jumped in?

Gary: Yes, of course I would have jumped!

Ritesh: Okay, if that's it Gary! So I am interested.

Gary: If that's the case I'll jump.

Ritesh: Take a look! This time you are not lying like before!

Gary: What do you mean like before?

Ritesh: Hey, it means that even in college earlier, you said,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I mean, you talked about your father...

Darshana: Shut up Ritesh! Just shut up!

Darshana had understood what the consequences of this were going to be, but as she moved towards Gary to explain, Gary looked towards the sky and screamed.

Gary: I'm not a liar! I didn't lie, Papa! I'm so sorry dad! I'll just jump in and show you all.

Gary ran to the other side and climbed over the railing.

Seeing this, all the passers-by who were walking peacefully a little further ahead of them suddenly became nervous and scared all of a sudden.

Everyone started running towards Gary.

Nouri: Come back Gary!

Mansukh: What are you doing Gary?

Darshana: Get off from there Gary! Otherwise I will never talk to you. I love you so much, you idiot!

Gary: Me too!

Although the entire college was aware of the love between them, but this was the first time that both of them had expressed their love to each other.

Smiling at Darshana, Gary jumped into the river.

Everyone started running here and there in panic. chaos was there. After ten to twelve minutes Mahki screamed loudly

"Look there on the bank of the river! Look, our Gary is standing there.

"He did it, he did it."

Everyone saw that Gary was standing on the shore waving towards them. There were lines of peace and tranquility on his face and heart. Perhaps sometimes, to calm the storm rising in the sea of the heart , one has to take a leap of faith into the infinite depths of vulnerability.

Is it like a horizon?

There is neither earth nor sky here

Is my solitude lies in these depths or

These are infinite depths hidden in this dark loneliness

Is this the rustle of new leaves in the desert of my heart? OR

These are my heartbeats that are holding back the storm that is trembling in my breath.