The Night Jasmine

"Life is such an amazing blend of hopes, aspirations and realizations !" I thought as I made my way through the evening clatter of people. The erstwhile municipal block market was a few hundred meters from my abode that I have been trying to call home for sometime now. A park adorned the pride of place between these two terminal points of importance in my daily life. And incase you are wondering, the answer is 'Yes' for the market is important - this is where my groceries come from and occasionally my dinner when I'm not in a mood to exercise my culinary skills. Well, tonight turned out to be such an occasion.

           The small iron gate creaked in protest as I swung it open to let myself into the park. With every footstep, the halogen street lamps cast shadows of altering dimensions that followed me through the gravel path. A cool breeze from across the playground brought in a pleasant candor and caressed the face with unrestrained affection. Somewhere wrapped within the layers, a familiar scent held onto the senses; it was the smell of a world lost in the mundane activities of a seemingly busy life. The fragrance of old memories led me to a corner of the park - the sight of a blossoming night jasmine tree filled the famished heart with pure delight. I picked up a couple of the small white and orange colored flowers and walked down to a battered concrete bench nearby. At a distance the thunder rumbled; the clouds had gradually started to envelop the starry night skyline. It was going to rain in a while.

          Nearly eighteen years ago, life in general was a lot more simple and enjoyable; responsibility was just a farce in the face of innocence. On a cold November morning, a little boy would wake up at the crack of dawn overcoming the comfort of the warm quilt and the urge to sleep late on a Sunday morning. Throughout the week, he had been looking forward to this day - a day when he needn't get ready for school and instead would accompany Aaita (grandma) on her morning walks. Dressed in a single layer of woolens, a monkey cap and his 'Action' shoes, he ran to the room across the dining hall to wake up Aaita.

          "Oh, you are ready" she said, opening her sleepy eyes and smiled at him though the veil of the mosquito net.

          "Aaita, get up quickly ... we are getting late" he pleaded.

          "I'm coming dear. You go ahead and unlock the gates" she replied. His face glowered in joy as he collected the keys on the table and ran outside to open the gates. On the way out, he called out to his sleeping mother, "Ma, I'm going out with Aaita". He didn't wait for a reply. He knew that it would be followed by an order to put on another layer of woolens and that could just delay the little adventure.

            It was a beautiful morning. The sun was not yet up and a blanket of mist covered the sleepy neighborhood.Crystal drops of dew hung from the leaves of the trees. The little hands struggled to open the lock even as he smiled at his grandma carefully treading the steps on the front porch. She had wrapped herself in an eri chadar (an Assamese shawl) to fend of the cold and walked slowly towards the night jasmine tree beside the gate. It was blossoming in its peak season and the sweet fragrance of the jasmine flowers pervaded the cold morning air. She picked up a few flowers from the ground and handed it to him. He held the flowers close to his nose and chuckled with delight. "Keep them in your pocket dear" she told him, "we will pick up some more on our way back."

          The road ahead was shrouded in an atmosphere of mist that lent to it a mysterious, fairytale effect. The little boy hopped around his grandma as they slowly went on their way ahead. "Hey big boy, out for a morning walk, huh?" a busy Purnima pehi(aunty), sweeping off the fallen leaves in the courtyard with a bamboo broom, called out.
         "No school on Sunday!" he grinned back at her.
         "Let's walk to the bridge" she said cheerfully and joined the troop, leaving behind her broom resting against one of the pillars of the gate. The ladies soon became busy chatting about the daily happenings around the neighborhood. The little boy broke into a sprint and enjoyed the chilly current of air brushing against his face. Running on the asphalt road was an opportunity he didn't miss on their morning walks, especially when mom was not there with her strict directions. The sun brought in the first magical rays of light streaming through the canopy of tall trees. He reached the wooden bridge and glanced over the wooden beam, unmindful of the shouts to be careful. In the last few months approaching winter, the stream had transformed into a small brook and the gurgling waters sparkled in the warm rays of sunlight.
           Aaita and Purnima pehi spent some time enjoying the warm sun, while the little boy tried to put into use his newly learned skill of skidding pebbles over the water surface. He was not yet perfect, the stone managing to jump just once over the surface and then deciding to sink itself into the water. But he was getting there, he thought. The long siren of the nearby tea garden broke the silence, announcing the formal arrival of the morning at thirty past six.
          On the way back home, Purnima pehi said, "I'm coming down to your place in the afternoon. We will beat your grandpa at carrom today, okay buddy?" The little boy nodded and smiled, "We won't let him cheat again, would we?"
          Reaching home, he hopped around the night jasmine tree. The small flowers coated with dew covered the ground beneath like a soft white carpet. The fragrance carried through the air to create a mesmerizing effect. It was beautiful he thought, as he got to the task of helping Aaita to collect the flowers. He still had half an hour in hand before Rangoli started and then he would have his breakfast and get ready in time to watch Mowgli, Baloo and Uncle Scrooge. This was his day, he thought and he would enjoy it.

           The ringing of the mobile brought me back to the halogen lit park. A look at the display showed "Mom calling..." I got up from the bench and slowly walked towards the marketplace. "Hi Ma..." I spoke into the mobile. A smile broke onto the lips as I heard her voice over the earpiece asking about my day in office. The first few drops of rain came down in a steady flow and gradually increased in intensity. I glanced back at the night jasmine tree as it swayed in the wind. "Ma, I'm coming home for a few days" I heard myself say, "It's been a really long time!"