It was the year of 1987, on a warm summer’s day in Bombay, India. Masumatra was making chai (tea) and nan (bread) for an afternoon snack. After she finished cooking, she tended to the laundry and went to the balcony to dry the laundry. As she was drying her clothes on the clothes line, she noticed someone sitting on a bamboo mat on the balcony across from hers.
The balcony was not too far from her sight. And Masumatra had an almost clear view of the handsome young man, who appeared to have noticed her as well. It seemed as if he was drinking a mango lassie (smoothie). She could tell by the faint orange color seen through the clear glass cup. It was one of her favorite drinks. The young man obviously saw Masumatra eyeing the glass and asked if she would like some. They both smiled, and by the brightness of the young mans smile, Masumatra’s cheeks warmed and turned brilliantly red. She was so bashful that she left the laundry and ran back in to the house.
Her mother saw her change of face as she came back in to the kitchen. Masumatra’s mother asked her if she had any secrets but Masumatra said that she hadn’t any. Her mother felt that there was something but remained quiet nevertheless. Masumatra waited till after dark to dry the remaining of her clothes. As night prevailed, she lied in her bed envisioning the handsome mans face. She slept soundly in her bed and dreamt as she usually does.
As she arose from her sleep, the sun crept through the window and the loud screech of the rooster forced her to inevitably awake. She instantly remembered the laundry and rushed to the balcony. She ran so fast that she almost tripped as she was going up the stairs. It was still quite early in the morning and the sun hadn’t fully risen yet. She removed all the clothes from the clothes line and put them in the basket.
After all the clothes were taken off from the clothes line, she could see the young man prostrating and reciting a verse from the Quran. Rushil was Muslim and she was Hindu. Even though it was her second time seeing him she had fallen for him the first time she laid eyes on him. Masumatra started to fold the laundry at the edge of the balcony, and as she raised her head she saw the handsome man staring her in mesmerization. She neatly and precisely folded the laundry and the young man watched her every move. She put the laundry aside and looked back into the young mans eyes. They locked eyes for the longest time which felt everlastingly. They didn’t talk but their eyes spoke for them. There is a hidden language of the eyes which only the free spirited can understand.
They remained like so for days and days at a time. On the days where they were not able to see each other, Rushil would write Masumatra a letter and toss it on her balcony. Masumatra’s mother kept quiet for a long time but couldn’t help noticing that she was not doing a very good job with the housework.
One day Masumatra’s mother called her but she did not reply. So her mother decided to see what she was up to. She looked all throughout the house, the corridor, the bedrooms, and the kitchen but she was no where to be found. There was only one place that that she had not searched for Masumatra: the balcony.She saw Masumatra and the young man speaking to each other by the edge of the balcony.Masumatra’s mother was so furious that she grabbed Masumatra by her sash and dragged her into the house. What do you think you were doing? Are you crazy Masumatra? I never want to see you on that balcony again!
The tale of the two admirers had become so notorious that even the goddesses had heard about their account.Maya the goddess of illusion was especially spellbound by their story and decided to help the two.Maya sprinkled powder from the clouds into their eyes during their sleep. The powder was called Samadhi powder.Samadhi is a state of complete control over the functions and distractions of consciousness.This special powder is supposed to bring and end to illusionary senses and also help the realization of truth.
The next morning they woke up at the same exact time. They both felt a sense of relaxation and peacefulness. Sometimes in life we want something so bad but we cannot attain it. You can never go against your fate. What’s written is your true destiny. Rushil and Masumatra remained in love until the last moments of perpetuity, but they couldn’t go against their parent’s wishes. They were both obedient and did not rebel. And because of their noble actions, Brahma gifted the two with a special endowment. Brahma awarded them with the gift of aum which is the gift of tranquility.
The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.
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