Samsaara : Devadoot

In Your Dreams

The smell of freshly cut grass and drying cow dung was ever present. No longer was I, a tiny rodent in this never ending rat race. I was now in a simpler part of India: a part where urbanization had not infected its people with haste and greed. Everyone here greets one another. Everyone smiled at one another. There was no superficial 'hey man', hi dude' or 'what's up bro', the people here greeted each other with 'hari om!'. The train came to a halt at Ujjain station and herd of Coolies stampeded towards me like a bison. Being a light traveller, I carried my sole bag pack and made my way on foot, leaving the Coolies disappointed. Next the rickshaw-walas swooped down on me like vultures asking where I wanted to go and quoting exorbitant prices.

Ignoring the rural scavengers, I walked till the ticket counter where I met with my relative Mr. Parasram. He was unlike what you would imagine a restaurateur. Dressed in a simple kurta and crisply ironed trousers that fails to hide his muffin top he stood there casually. The 'If you have it, flaunt it. If you don't, take a loan and flaunt it' culture from the cities had not found its way here yet. He greeted me with a hug and escorted me to his vehicle, A Mahindra Thar which in my opinion is the best car for Indian roads. He took me to the restaurant above which I would stay during the auditions and then left for his own house.

I was given a generous allowance of Rs. 8000 for 4 days and I was to begin the audition tomorrow. So I had an entire day to relax and do what I wanted. After I bathed and freshened up, I left from my room to do everything that I had planned. A visit to the Mahakaal temple, followed by Hot milk from Shriganga and sizzler from Prem palace satisfied my hunger pangs.

Then, exhausted I called it a day.

The next two days were uneventful, just auditions of about 50 budding musicians. It reminded me of my skill levels when I had just begun to learn music. It was a refreshing change of pace and I managed to select a good band setup, for an ideal indo-western fusion. I was supposed to leave the next morning.

I finished my packing and went to bed. As I lay on my bed I felt a warmth in my chest, literally not figuratively. My hand reached straight towards the pin. Red ruby bulb was glowing. The swirling liquid inside it was invisible through the light it propagated. The mere sight of it was enough to make my blood race in anticipation of the excitement about to ensue.

Knowing what I had to do, I held it by its chain and suspended the pin. As I was expecting, it was defying gravity. Diagonally pointing towards where my next adventure lay. Time was of the essence as I had to leave the next morning. The frigid winter's cold was kept at bay by the jacket which I wore on top of my night suit.

I got on the street by 9 o'clock but the roads were deserted in this laid back town. The only movements on those unlit streets were of curious packs of dogs who were eager to make my acquaintance. The company that those mongrels provided was most welcome as my excitement to dive head first into my next adventure had changed into fear of the unknown. The dogs trotted behind me like a faithful army as I made my way through the narrow by-lanes. Yellow street lights occasionally lit small parts of the roads and served as meeting centres for flies of all kinds. An hour of walking led me to the outer ends of the city near the Devas link road. The pin still pointed in the same direction and I continued to walk.