Chapter3
The village of Srirangapur, on the banks of river Yamuna was a few miles north of Mathura, the capital city. The rains had stopped and normalcy returned slowly to the village that was battered by the recent deluge. Surdas was back in his house along with his niece and grand niece.They put in lot of hard work to clean up the house. There was peace in every house and people resumed their usual chores. For Surdas it meant visiting local temple, give lectures, teach children and sing. All his activities involved Krishna .For Surdas, Krishna pervaded all aspects of life. So not a moment went with out mention of Krishna.
Today , somehow, Surdas ‘s mind was occupied by Radha and Krishan.Their divine love.He had written so many songs about their love.It appeared as though he knew them both intimately. He remembered the lines from a song written long time ago
Lotusses forgot their enmity towards the moon,
Their soft petals opened delicately,
the moon had come too close to them,
His pearly teeth shone from with in,
As he smiles and his lips opened,
The bees in the moon face twinkled,
Swimming in the milky ocean of eyes,
The face bent over,
The lips turned up wet and expectant
They touched,
A blush sliced through,
She hid her face in her hands
and twisted to run,
Not so fast Radha, tarry a while.
I have so much to share,
With you, with you,
His hands darted to sieze,
Her hands longed to be trapped,
They stayed glued fast,
What the lips missed, the hands rendered
The bliss flowed through.
A smile lit up his face. He enjoyed remembering those lines.
There was a knock at the door. He turned to face the door.
‘may I come in?’
Surdas heard the request. He had tasted sugar mixed with fresh butter. He also knew that honey also tasted great but the tone of the request was much more sweeter to hear than any other thing he knew about. He waited so that he could hear the voice again
‘May I come in ?’
Surdas responded ,’who is that ?please identify yourself. I am blind.
I am Radha. I was passing by your house. I have heard a great deal about you. I thought I could stop by and listen to your song. Is it possible?
Radha? from where?
She was not forthcoming with any response. She had already communicated her wish .She waited for him to reply.
“please step in and take a seat. All are welcome at Surdas’s house whether it Radha of Brindavan or Radha from srirangpur. You are all same to me. Do you like Krishna?.” The question was added as an after thought.
She replied enthusiastically, ”yes sir, very much. In fact I can sing almost every song ever written about Krishna”
That is very good. I would like to hear you sing. You have an enchanting voice
She was quick ”You are very liberal with your praise. I hear it differently. They say when Surdas sings Krishna hides behind Jamun trees to listen tohim, Imean you.’
That is all rubbish. Don’t you believe a word of all that gossip. Krishna has better things to do than waste his time listening to my music.
Don’t undermine your skills. Humility is a virtue ,, no doubt. But that does not apply to skills so profound. May I express my wish?’
Please command.
‘You sing and I shall dance.’
My dear, I am very sure that you can dance like those angels from heaven and the celestial apsaras can learn many things from you. But I wont be able to appreciate your skills in dancing as I am differently enabled. I can most definitely appreciate your musical accomplishments if you sing.
‘I appreciate what you say and I will sing for you but that is on the condition that after I finish singing, you will sing and I will dance.’
She waited for him to reply. In the mean while , her eyes roamed around the room , taking in every thing.She spotted the yellow silk cloth draped over a couch.
Surdas got up from his place and walked towards the couch and picked up the yellow cloth. He put it around his shoulder like a shawl.
Radha stared at his face.
She clearly saw Krishna dancing in his eyes
Radha was thrilled.
why don’t you begin?
‘of course. By all means.’ She cleared her throat and began
“for ever we are in your debt,
Different are the ways you bless us.” She sang these two lines in different enchanting Ragas and different thalam. Some times slow dignified, suddenly climbing and slow drop or the other way. She exhibited tremendous control on all aspects of rendering a couplet with a musical score
Surdas sat stunned. He had never heard such an exposition of musical skills and perfection. He could not help clapping and shouting in joy , his appreciation of what Radha had presented..
He said with lot of feeling ,’My dear Girl, you have made my words so alive, so vibrant, so compelling and so true.’
‘May I say some thing please.’
Yes , please go ahead.
Those were not your words. Those words were uttered by Krishna first, when he sang to please Radha.They were in each others debt.. They blessed one another just as they complimented one another. The blessing was the love they shared between them.. Did you have that love in your mind when you were composing this song?’
No, not at all.
‘Then what exactly did you have in mind when you wrote those lines?’
That song was composed and sung at a time of calamity. We were all suffering on account of flash floods and un relenting rains. Yamuna breached the banks to add to our misery. We were uprooted from our houses and moved to high grounds. There was no food for days. We had no option but to pray to the lord to save us by stopping the rains. I said we were indebted to him because we are born on this good earth, created by Him. He created this earth and he has every reason to protect it from being ravaged by nature, which is also a part of him. If we have faith in Him he is indebted to us to save us and our habitat. It was my way of reminding Him that he had a duty towards us. I took that liberty. I had a right to do so and that right came on the strength of my faith in Him. The faith that he would not fail us. He obliged us really. The rains stopped. We have resumed our way of life. .So the debt stays. We are a grateful lot. That is what the song is all about.” Surdas stopped for breath.
Radha said, ‘ I read it differently.’
It is okay. I am not the type to make issues on such matters. You have a right to your opinion.
‘ thank you. will you sing for me now?’
Must I? At this age my voice is not as good as yours.
Does not matter. What Krishna enjoys, I can endure.
He began to sing. A very touching love song involving the enchanting couple that captured the imaginations of poets all over. Krishna and Radha, the eternal lovers. Surdas was describing the scene in his typical style. Krishna wanting to take Radha to the forests to show her the sights. Radha wanted to stay put in a place and keep peering into His charming face and talk about love. The push and pull between them formed the main theme of the song. She was about to yield when he beats her by capitulating strategically to win her favour. Surdas was singing with great feeling.
Radha danced forgetting that she was in front of surdas. She was back in those woods, running between trees to avoid capture by Krishna. Creepers come in the way , Krishna trips and falls down. Radha watches from distance Krishan feigns injury and acts as though he is in pain. Radha unable to bear watching him suffer comes close to help. The same creeper trips her too and she falls over Krishna. Krishna catches her and holds her in a tight embrace, a long breathless clinch in each others arms, warm , cosy , so blissful.
As Radha danced forgetting herself, a gungroo in her left leg worked loose and fell out. She did not notice it and continued to dance. Surdas had heard and he reached for it and picked it up for safe keeping.
The song ended. Radha stopped dancing. She was hot and flushed. She stood still to gather her wind, her heavy bosom heaving with effort, it had been a long long time since she had danced in such care free manner. She felt delighted. She looked at the calm serene face of surdas. She walked towards him. She touched his hands and said softly’
‘That was a lovely song. I was really inspired to dance like a young maid.
I have not danced like this in recent days. I feel very nice now. Many doubts in my mind have cleared. Thank you for every thing. I must leave now. I have stayed too long.”
Surdas found his voice again ‘yes , you must be having lot of work to do. You must leave before your folks start missing you.
He remembered about the anklet that fell out of her body. For some reason, he did not make any mention about it.
Radha looked at the silk cloth around his shoulder longingly. She asked him if she could take that silk cloth as a memento to remember her visit to Surdas’s place
Surdas refused to part with it. He said with surprising feeling, ‘No I will not give it to you. It is some thing I treasure. It was given by the noble soul who saved me. I will return it to him as and when I meet him again. I know in my heart that I will meet him very soon.’
Radha ‘s face fell. She said, “you want me to go with out carrying any thing to remember my meeting with you?”
You have many things to remember our meeting. I am not such a great man. I will not be surprised if you forget all about me by the time you turn the corner on your way home.’
She left. There was a mild regret about not getting her silk cloth.
End of chapter3