The Language Of Love – A Contest

1. Write a story, a poem, an essay on your blog on the following prompt:

Listen with the ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love! ~ Rumi

2. The quote need not be used but your writing should be inspired by it.

3. The word limit is 600 words.

We are grateful to our friend, Vishal Bheeroo for inspiring us to choose this quote. Thanks, Vishal!

The monorail zoomed above them which made their heads turn albeit momentarily.

The heavy grocery bags weighed them down. Kaveri preferred taking an auto but Raja insisted walking down the road. Exercise was good for the heart, he said but deep down she knew that this exercise meant saving money. She kept mum and acted naïve.

Tomorrow would be their first anniversary and Raja had not planned for any celebrations. Kaveri’s friends pestered her to spill the beans and when they did not get an answer from her they assumed that she was trying to keep the celebrations of the big day a secret.

Kaveri knew that Raja was not the typical romantic hero out of the M & B books. Fair tall and handsome he was, but much to her chagrin was the boring types in the blue shirt and black pants. His well-oiled hair was combed neatly with not a strand out of place and his glass with thick rims made him look like a professor of the 1960’s Hindi films. He never uttered the golden 3 words that every fiancée or wife would wait with abated breath to hear it. The musical words that her ears longed to hear were never pronounced.

But Kaveri was a good judge of people. She knew beneath the rough and unpolished exterior lay a soft heart of gold burnished with good values and respect for the opposite sex as an equal. Raja respected her as an equal. Kaveri was aware that these are the right ingredients for a perfect marriage. She and of course Raja believed that the union was ‘till death does us apart’ and the quick tying and untying of the holy knot did not appeal to them.

Inspite of knowing that she had a diamond, she wished for some sheen and sparkle. She remembered her amma’s words, ‘ husbands are not boyfriends or lovers to entertain’. But she felt that if the two roles rolled and merged into one , life would be so exciting.

Her father , Shankar Shastri , the famed astrologer had arranged this match. Appointments for ‘starry ‘consultations were sought after by the famous and the ordinary people alike , and Shankar Shastri was a man who firmly upheld the view that the match is fixed in Heaven and the marriage , a ritual , is executed on Earth.

Raja’s and Kaveri’s marriage was held in their ancestral village. Her father requested the guests to bless the couple and donate an amount to a charitable trust, that they intended to present to the newly-weds.

It was getting slightly dark and the mercury had taken a dip to spread the blanket of chill on Mumbai skies and the humidity level was low.

The road leading to the Karishma Housing Society was deserted, lonely and dark. The street-lights were not functioning plunging the area into semi-darkness. Suddenly a ruffian with dirty clothes and unkempt hair , brandishing a long knife appeared from the bushes and asked them to part with their valuables. The sudden appearance of an unknown thug and the semi-darkness sent Raja and Kaveri into chills of panic and fright. Raja tried shielding Kaveri from the thief. But the thief threatening Raja asked Kaveri to remove the gold chain from her neck. The heavy gold chain being a family heirloom, Kaveri was hestitant to part with it.

Raja said ,’Kaveri , give it to him . Your life is more precious than gold.’

The chain was not an ordinary gold chain as it was handed down by his grandmother to his mother and now to her.

Kaveri hitched her cotton sari high unto her knees and with a powerful shout kicked the thief in the most vulnerable part of a man’s anatomy. The thief dropped his knife and fell down writhing in pain.

The commotion attracted some passer-by and soon the mob handed the thief to the police.

Shaken, Raja and Kaveri reached home.

After dinner Raja asked Kaveri about her martial arts performance. Shyly Kaveri revealed that in the guise of attending Carnatic classes, she had learnt Karate. Her father would not approve of it but she had convinced her amma about self-defense being necessary to girls. She had wished to start a class of martial arts but her dream never became a reality.

14^th Feb 2014

The auspicious day dawned. Kaveri draped the maroon and gold Kanjeevarm saree and strung jasmine flowers into her hair. Both of them went to the nearby Shiva temple.

After their breakfast of idli sambar and payasam, Raja announced that he would not be going to office.

Kaveri was a bit surprised. Raja presented her with a small heart-shaped ring and a box of chocolates.

Her eyes shone and her face broke into the widest smiles he had ever seen. He wrapped his arms around her and said that marriage means falling in love with the same partner again and again, overlooking the flaws and admiring the strong points, to see the grey hair and wrinkles as they grow old together.

There was so much love around and she had not got a whiff of it. But now the fragrance had invaded her whole being as she remembered Rumi’s lines