The Blue Lotus

THE SUNDAY MORNING

The pages of the science textbook flapped as the fan rotated at high speed, late at 11.43 PM in the night. Indy wanted to get up and place a weight over it but he kept his eyes shut as the voices rose to a clamor. It had been a long Sunday, a gloomy one. Acchan and Amma had not even bothered to see if he had completed his homework for Monday. They had been arguing since lunch and the lights were still on. Indy shifted slightly, as if in sleep and took the science text book into his blanket. He slowly took out the folded leaflet that was placed between the pages and opened it, as his thoughts traveled back to the day’s morning.

***

It was a bright Sunday morning in Badiya, Kasaragod. Indy woke up early to join his friends in Dappa Kali. They were 9 boys and one of them always played the umpire. By the time Indy joined them that day, his friends had already stacked the seven stones for the game, with the tiniest one on the top.

As Indy ran towards them, one of them shouted

Indivare! Olapanthu kondu vannittundo?, (“Indivara! Have you brought the Olapanthu?”)

Olapanthu was a ball that was made out of coconut tree leaves. A team of players had to hit the stack of seven stones with the ball and the opposite team tried to arrange it back, by defending themselves from getting blocked by their opponents. This day it was Indy’s turn to get the ball from home. As he took the ball out of his pocket, his friends called back “Indivare! Indivare!” and started laughing.

His full name was Indivara, but he introduced himself as Indy to everyone he met. Nevertheless, he had to write his full name in the school register; and the class teacher once called it out for attendance “Indivara!” Indy stood up and corrected her saying “‘Indy’ Teacher.” Gradually, his actual name became something that was made fun of and his friends started teasing him with it, conscious that Indy did not like it.

His friends still kept shouting “Indivareeeyy!!”

Indy ran towards them and started kicking one of them in the stomach. They fought and played until it was very hot and went back to their homes.

As Indy reached home, his father was returning from the market, carrying a pile of newspapers.

“Acchaaaan!” Indy ran towards him.

Indy’s father was a potter. Every Sunday, he went to the market side, as all the shops were closed, and brought old newspapers from his fellow vendor. They would then wrap the small tumblers and pots in those newspapers and stockpile them to sell at the market next day. Indy sat down along with his father to help with the set of newspapers. As he opened one of the folds, he found a pamphlet that read:

Congratulations!

You are one of the lucky winners!

Pack your bags to go to the moon. We are coming…

“Indieee!” his mother called from inside.

He folded the pamphlet and ran towards the kitchen. On the way, he hid the pamphlet in his science text book and placed the olapanthu on it.

“Come here and help me draw the water from the well”, Amma yelled.

As Indy pulled the rope and dropped it over again into the well, drawing water into a huge barrel, he kept thinking about the pamphlet he had seen.

“Amma! Is it possible to live on the moon?” he asked.

Amma looked up and said, “Yes Indy, as long as Acchan is okay with it, we can do anything and live anywhere.”

Indy looked up at her and noticed that Amma was tired, done with all her household chores for the day, carrying a 5-month old belly. He told her to go inside and rest, as he poured another bucket of water into the barrel. He filled the barrel and went back to help Acchan, and completely forgot about the pamphlet.

During lunch that day, they had been sitting quietly until Acchan tasted a pickle that Amma made early that morning and scowled at her.

“What kind of a pickle is this? Did you not clean the grinding stone before preparing for it?” he shouted.

Illaetta! “No!”, she replied with due respect, bracing up to check the jar of pickle that was beside her.

“I cleaned it pretty well. I checked everything before I ground the ingredients”, she said as she tasted a tad of pickle. “It seems fine to me. I like it.”

“It tastes like sand. You have been doing whatever you want. No regards for what I say in this house”, he frowned.

Indy reckoned there was going to be another brawl that day. He knew that the actual reason was not the pickle. It was about the 5-month old belly that Amma was carrying.

***

Four months before that Sunday, on a Saturday afternoon, it was raining cats and dogs. Amma and Acchan had gone to the doctor and Indy was waiting for them to arrive. As the rain receded, they came back and both looked exceedingly happy. Amma rushed inside and told Indy,

“Indy, you are going to have a sibling. You’ll get someone to play with in just 8 more months.”

“Yes Indy. You will have a partner to play with, study with and help me with. And from now on, you have to help Amma a lot. Will you do that?” Acchan smiled.

“Yes Acchan!” Indy exclaimed in excitement.

He was delighted at the thought of having somebody to do everything with. Whenever he went to the yearly fair during Onam, he looked at his friends carrying their little brothers and sisters on their shoulders, so they could see all the shops.

Amma sat beside Indy that afternoon and told him,

“Indy, you have to study well. You need to work harder. Acchan is working very hard for you. Just like that, you need to work hard for your little brother or sister. We will all go to the fair together and just like your Acchan carried you on his shoulders when you were young, you will have to carry your sibling and show the whole village. I will have to go to the hospital every Saturday evening, and so you will have to take care of home when we are away. You have a huge responsibility along with the gift you are going to get.” She smiled.

Acchan smiled at him too.

***

Acchan had been happy and took good care of Amma for the last three months. But it has all changed since the past week; after Amma and Acchan came back from doctor last Saturday.

***

The rains have subsided and sky was clear most of the mornings. Indy stopped taking his umbrella to school and his slippers weren’t dirty anymore. Acchan also kept the pots in the sun not fearing that it might rain. Amma’s belly had grown a little and she was easily growing tired after work.

That Saturday evening, after he came back from school, Indy sat at the door, as he did every Saturday evening, waiting for Amma and Acchan to return from the hospital.

As they arrived, Amma or Acchan did not greet Indy. Acchan stormed into the kitchen and fetched a tumbler of water. Amma held her head down and walked inside not noticing Indy. He wondered what happened, but did not know if he could ask either of them. While he kept his school bag by the wall, he heard Acchan yell,

“How could it be a girl? No way! We don’t want a girl. Our families would never approve of it. And I am just a potter. I am struggling to even send my son to school. How can we think of having a daughter? The expenses would almost triple. No way!”

Amma stayed quiet, holding herself culpable for the biological predicament.

She did not dare to utter a word against her husband. She knew that deep inside, she wanted to keep the baby irrespective of all odds, but she knew she would have to carry the blame along with the baby, for an entire lifetime.

Indy understood that he was going to have a sister. But he also discerned that he might not have one.

A year ago, he had heard from one of his friends, Biju, that his mother went and gave her 5-and-a-half month old baby that was sleeping in the belly, back to God because they did not want a daughter. They wondered how God was keeping so many daughters with him, after they sent them back. They had all planned that they would visit God and ask him to show their sisters. They just wanted to see if they lived happily there, if they had a new Amma and Acchan, if they went to schools, and if they had funny names. They wanted to see if there were friends to play with, and if they even knew about Dappa Kali.

Since that Saturday, Amma and Acchan had been fighting on every tiny thing. Everyone at home talked less. The silence felt better than the howls and screams that a conversation might bring. A week into the silent home, Indy found the pamphlet in the newspaper folds.

THE SUNDAY NIGHT

Indy opened the pamphlet and continued reading it as the voices at home grew louder. The Pamphlet read:

Congratulations!

You are one of the lucky winners!

Pack your bags to go to the moon. We are coming to your home tonight. Get into the dark hole you find to the left of your door;

And you will be with us.

Unlike other leaflets, this one had no names, addresses or details of any person who it belonged to, or who offered the deal. Indy turned it back and checked. It was empty. He folded the paper and kept it back in the text book. But he couldn’t sleep. He wanted to go near the door once and see if the hole was open. But he could hear that his parents hadn’t slept yet.

“Ptooeyyyy!!” he heard his Acchan spit.

He could hear Amma almost cry and choke, and then get up. After a vague sound of water splash, she came back into the room.

“You have no shame! I spat on you and you are going and washing your face. You are going to bear everything I do, aren’t you? Listen, we are going to the doctor tomorrow and remove the baby. Now shut your bloody mouth and sleep.” Acchan scowled.

The lights finally went off. Indy wanted to get up, but waited for a while. After almost what felt like an hour, he peeped out of the blanket and got up.In the faint moon light that emanated from between the window rails, he walked towards the main door. It was darker there. He went near to the door and looked to the left. He found nothing but a bare rusty nail on the wall. He turned back to go to bed and felt warmth over his back.

He turned back and saw that there was an oval shaped halo, darkness oozing from inside.

He remembered the day when he and Amma talked about God.

“Amma! Who lives on the moon?”

“Mmmm, God Indy. He lives far away from us. He lives on the clouds for few days, on the stars for few days, on the sun and on the moon for few days. We can’t see him from here. We shall all go there one day and visit him. But he can see us. So, complete your homework quickly. God loves good children like you. He’s seeing from there.” Amma said.

***

Indy stepped into the nimbus and promptly looked behind. He saw nothing but darkness. He walked ahead and saw many bright spots here and there. He could not ascertain if he was already on the moon, or if someone would come to take him. As he walked ahead, he saw a little girl playing with a doll. Indy went closer and looked into her face.

She looked exactly like Biju, except that she wore a blouse and mundu, a skirt. Her hair was tied into a ponytail that looked like a fountain, with tiny white chrysanthemum flowers decorated around it. She smiled at Indy and went back to playing with her doll. The doll was made of coconut tree leaves. As Indy was about to speak, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Indy looked over his shoulder and saw a person who looked almost like Acchan, but also looked like Amma. He stood up and turned towards the figure. The person smiled at Indy, took him by his hand and slowly walked towards a door. He sat on the steps in front of the door and asked Indy to sit. Indy sat beside the figure and looked up.

“Who are you? Are you God? You look like Amma, but also like Acchan. You also look like me. Am I on the moon?” Indy asked innocently.

The person replied with a saintly smile, “Yes Indeevar, you are on the moon, and I live here. I am your friend, and you might call me god, if you know me by that name.”

“But how do you know my name?” Indy exclaimed.

“Just like how you know my name Indy. Your mother told you that I am god. My mother told me that you are Indy.”

“Oh! Then have you been seeing me all this while from here, like Amma said?”

“Yes Indy. I have been seeing you, Amma, Acchan, your home, school, your friends and everything. Tell me, why are you here?”

“You said you have been seeing everything. Did you not see how Amma and Acchan had been fighting? They want to send my sister back to you because she might become a burden to them. But I want her to be with me. Is that little girl who was playing there Biju’s sister? She looks like him. But Biju can’t see her. He can’t play with her, can he?” Indy held his head down.

“I want to play with my sister at my home. I want to carry her over my shoulders during the fair and take good care of her. Amma told me that it was my responsibility. I will name her Nila. Do you know what it means? It means ‘The Moon’. Do you know what Indeevar means? It means ‘The blue lotus’. The moon and blue lotus can always be together. Isn’t it? It will be a happy place. Amma, Acchan, the blue lotus and the moon. Amma told me that you like good children like me. So, will you please send her back home, if Amma and Acchan give her to you?”

God smirked. “Indy, Nila is already here. You have come to me yesterday night, and it is already Monday morning now. Amma and Acchan have sent her back to me. Look at her. She’s sitting there, along with her friends.”

Indy’s gaze followed God’s finger and saw a little girl sitting in a white gown, along with few other girls. Indy ran towards her and looked into her face. She looked exactly like him. Indy stepped back in awe and stood petrified.

Drops of tears smeared his eyes and Indy started weeping. God came near Indy and said,

“Indy! It is okay. Nila will always be here. You can always come here and play with her. Go home and tell Amma and Acchan that she is safe with me, won’t you?”

Indy wiped his tears with the back of his hands and said, “Okay God. But may I come and play with her every day after school? Do you have fairs during Onam on the Moon? I will take Nila on my shoulders and show her around. Will Nila go to school here?”

“Yes Indy. Nila will go to school along with her friends, she will do her homework everyday just like you. She will wait for you to take her to the fair. They will all play together. They have all been seeing you and learning how to play Dappa Kali”, God patted on Indy’s head.

Indy grinned and looked at his sister. He fumbled through his pocket, took out the olapanthu and gave it to Nila.

Nila smiled and hugged him.

***

Indy felt a push from behind and looked back. He saw the rusty nail on the wall, beside the main door. He walked outside and sat on the steps, waiting for Amma and Acchan.

***

THE MONDAY MORNING

As they arrived home, Indy ran towards them and screamed, “Amma! You sent her back to God, didn’t you? Don’t worry. She’s happy there.” Amma and Acchan stared at Indy and looked back at each other.

Amma, Acchan and the blue lotus walked inside, as the pages of the science text book flapped, with the olapanthu missing on it.