Falling in love was never in the agenda…yet…
I arrived at this village, Niyampatti, which was in the middle of nowhere, one late summer afternoon.
Survey the land records, resolve disputes and leave…that was the agenda.
Arjun met me at the ancient bridge leading to the village. He was a local assigned to help me.
“We will first meet the Ruleman.”
Soon we were standing in front of the community hall.
A forgotten relic of the British times, leaning perilously against the sky as if tired.
We entered into a huge hall where light shimmered in from the dirty arched windows. A single tubelight, below which, was a huge dusty mahagony table. And sitting behind this table, poring over a large ledger was a tiny man.
“Vikram Manickam from the government.”
“Harrummmph…” he rasped. Silence
“Ahem…” Arjun coughed respectfully.
Shifty eyes surveyed me from behind smudged lenses.
“Tell him the rules … huh”
And we were dismissed as he bent over the thick book.
Once outside in the bright sunshine, Arjun started giving me all the info.
The rules in the rulebook are sacrosanct to the village. The only rule in the village is to follow the rules. The ruleman is the ultimate arbiter.
I didn’t give the rulebook much thought but it had other ideas.
For the next two days the rules dogged, stalked and hounded me….
No fresh milk before 8 AM, the buffaloes cannot be disturbed.
No blues on Wednesdays, no one knows why.
No bright colours near the riverside, it blinds the fishes!
The third day started on a regular note. We were busy documenting an area near a grove.
And there … she was … under the banyan tree, an Angel with eyes like mist! And when she lifted them … I could hear a cascade of silver bells. Colourful butterflies were creating a magical symphony …
“Arjun, did you speak to her?”
… her voice like crystal glasses clinking, vibrated straight through my ribs, sending my heart tumbling – a full chaotic somersault, leaving it firmly wedged in my throat!
I realized my heart stopped beating just for me and started singing only for her. I was in Love!!!
“No, I don’t want to!”
I came down to this world…my feet touched the ground…
“You two know each other?”
Arjun nodded, “Meet my fiancée, Malar. Malar this is Vikram.”
Eh! What! Fiancée!!
A heaviness settled in my chest. But the symphony and the tinkling had not yet stopped. It had just amped its volume … she smiled … I was floating … No … Anchor… Ah, yes … solid ground.
“Engaged?” I blurted questioningly.
“No!”
“Yes!”
“Eh???”
Malar spoke first
“He loves Kamini and refuses to tell her.”
“If I do, you will be banished.”
“Wait… What … Why …”
“It’s the rules! ” Arjun replied, “Malar has to marry before she turns twenty-five which is three months from now or she will be banished and never be allowed to step into the village. She can’t marry an outsider. And I am the last guy elder than her. The Ruleman’s order is for us to marry within three months.”
I bristled. “This Ruleman is ruining all your lives … and mine too”, I added under my breath, “let’s go and talk to him.”
Two hours later, we were standing in front of the community hall, sent out with a flea in our ear in the raspiest voice by the shifty eyed Ruleman!
We retraced our steps to the grove, but the heavens opened the floodgates and we rushed for shelter back to the hall.
At that moment a sudden lightening smote the structure. With a loud groan the hall collapsed and the heavy roof beams caved in. A ruin of stones lay in front of us.
We rushed forward and managed to extricate the Ruleman from under the debris. The villagers who arrived there tried to revive him. But to no avail!
People gathered, confused voices, uncertainity in the air.
“What do we do now?”
“Who decides?”
“What is allowed?”
It was as if the absence of rules was more frightening than its presence! These people were trapped by the rules.
I stepped forward.
“Rules were meant to serve you, not the other way round.”
I turned to Arjun and other young guys standing near him.
“You know this village and understand its people. You will build not just walls but wisdom.”
Soon, new rules began to be formed. Not written in haste or dictated by fear.
Discussed – Questioned – Changed.
Malar stayed and celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday.
Arjun proposed to Kamini.
Today morning he married her. A simple ceremony. A quiet union.
Now as the golden sun readies to dip and the sharp shadows of the afternoon merge to soft silhouettes, my feet lead me to the bend in the river where the water flows swiftly.
I look at the old rule book in my hand.
Worn… heavy… silent.
I lift it and hurl it into the river. The current carries it away without resistance. No trace. No return.
Niyampatti will never be held hostage by the Rulebook again!
In the shadows of twilight, I retrace my steps to the banyan tree. The bells have started tinkling and the butterflies have started their symphony.
Falling in love was never in the agenda … yet … I am in love and the flower of my heart awaits!
