Surdas' Moment of Glory by T. K. Raghunathan - HTML preview

Chapter4

Krishna was attending to a cow in the cowshed , when Radha returned from her meeting with Surdas. He heard the wicket gate squeak when she pushed the gate and entered her house. He waited for her to settle down before enquiring about her visit. She came through the house to the backyard where Krishna stood in the cowshed. She picked up a handful of green grass to feed the cow. Krishna saw  in her face an un common peace. Krishna mentally thanked Surdas for working his magic on her. He waited for her to begin. She said, ’I met him’

Uh, uh.

He sings rather well. It was very inspiring.

I see that you danced

How did you know?

You look flushed. There is a glow in your face that you normally see in people  after they have had a vigorous work out.

Yes I danced .pity he could not see it.  

Don’t worry. He saw you alright.

How is it possible? He is blind.

Yes, that is true. But he has an uncanny ability  and power to visualise. He saw you dancing as clearly as I see you  standing in front of me.

I believe you. I hope I measured  up to his standard.

He is not the type to size you up that way.

Yes, he thinks differently. He gave me a long discourse about being fortunate enough to be born on this earth as human being. You can sing, dance, tell stories, give lectures as human , activities you don’t see much in other creatures. That makes our birth worthwhile and worth being indebted to the creator.

You think that is not right?

He believes being indebted is a virtue. It brings humility very naturally. A grateful soul has natural inclination towards God.

You have developed a liking towards him. Much against your own judgement, you feel his beliefs are sound.

We don’t see such traits these days.

Yes. That is what makes him special.

Radha was silent for some time . Then like a typical house keeper, she asked

‘Did you eat while I was away?”

No, I waited for you to return. Thought it would be nice to eat together.

She went to the kitchen to fix a meal and brought the plate to the front room where a wooden swing was suspended by chains from the ceiling and Krishna was sitting on the wooden plank of the swing,  wiping his  face with end of  wet towel .She sat at his side with plate in between them. They ate from the same plate, one feeding the other. It was the most harmonious moment. She kept pushing her leg against the floor to keep the swing move to and fro. Krishna saw her shapely legs stretched in air enjoying the soft movement of swing. His eyes fell on the naked ankle of left leg. He remarked

Your left leg anklet  is missing.

What?

Yes. I said your anklet is missing. You know Radha that was not an ordinary anklet. It is a precious ornament made of silver with rubies and pearl embedded in it. The pearls came from the tusks of a rogue elephant. It was my mother’s favourite ornament before she bequeathed it to you. It was a gift worth keeping. You were careless in losing it.

Radha noticed that Krishna was angry.

My God, I never realised it was  missing till you pointed it to me. Must have dropped while I was dancing so vigorously  in Surdas’s place. He must have picked it up .Then why did he not return it when I took his leave? Krishna , your blind hero covets other people’s assets.

No Radha, stop it right there. He is blind. He may not have noticed.

But he can hear can’t he?

You were making lot of noise. He was singing.

Your defending him does you credit. I asked him to return your silk cloth. He refused .Now he has taken my nupur. He is gathering quite a collection.

Krishna would not back down

He said,  ’I think you left it there on purpose.”

Radha bristled ,’what do you mean?

‘You were hitting out at me for giving away some thing you adored , the yellow silk cloth. So you dropped the anklet given by my mother. Tit for tat.

Krishna…You are insane. Your thoughts are down right base.

A quarrel ensued, typical of any household.

I will go and get it back.

No use. He won’t give it back.

Why do you think so?

He did not return the silk cloth.

He has use of your garment. what can he do with my nupur?

I know what he will do.

What?

I won’t tell now. You will soon see for your self.

I will go now and get it back

No don’t go now. Let it be there for some time. let us see what he does with it.

Okay, as you say.

Radha got down from the swing with the empty  silver plate in hand. She moved to the kitchen to wash and clean up.

End of chapter4