It was very tiring- the climb up the mountains and walking through streams and over rocks. But it was lovely. I am at a loss for words to describe this sojourn.

When Ranjan, our friend , called on us last week and talked about making a trip to Kolli Malai, I was overjoyed. This has been my dream.

Yes, I am an incorrigible dreamer despite having fallen flat with disappointments and hurt myself black and blue all over, many times. Ah! But for my optimism which is like the dog’s tail…I do not know where I would be!

I had heard and read about the Siddhas (evolved souls who possess all the eight Siddhis) who are there in the Kolli Hills. Those awesome experiences some people have had, had left me spell bound! I have been dreaming of encountering at least one such enlightened soul during my  life-time. Will my wish be ever fulfilled?

This invitation to go over to the Kolli Hills came as a fantastic surprise and we set forth on a lovely cloudy day. My imagination forayed into wild regions and I pictured  meeting a Siddha.

The air was clean and pure and we felt energised. After having feasted on a frugal lunch, we had packed, we put back all the leaves, the paper cups and plastic bags into the garbage  bag we had brought, taking care not to litter the neat and tidy earth . The sun had gone behind the clouds and we were  feeling drowsy.

Ranjan and my husband spread the sheets  which  we had brought with us and lay down, telling me, “Get a shut eye. We’ll start after forty minutes.”

I spread a sheet too a little away from them under a bigger tree. Sleep refused to touch my eyes. In another forty minutes we should be on our way back. And no Siddha this time too. No… .Wait…

I saw a figure walking towards me. An old, bearded man clad in a slightly dirty dhoti and a cloth thrown across his shoulders. He held a bunch of plants in his left hand.

I got up and stared at him. There was a peculiar glow in his eyes. His hair hung in a plait over the left shoulder. There was a turban around his head. He wore a patch of sacred ash across the wide forehead with a big red Kumkum in the centre.  A couple of birds circled above him. I could see a cobra halting for a while and disappearing with a hiss through the dry leaves that were carpeting the terra firma under the tree. I brought my hands together as if to express - “Namaskaram.”

He raised his hand as if blessing me. He pulled out from the folds of his dress something that was shining and extended the same towards me. I stood there tongue-tied.

Where were all those questions that I had wanted to ask if I met one like this? The ones I had printed in my memory chips to shoot forth when and if I ever met an evolved soul ? No words came out.

It was an oval thing, shining like gold. An egg?

True…I had been dreaming of an encounter like this and some body giving me a Salagramam, ever since I read the book Engay En kannan ( Where Is My Krishna) over and over. But this…..

As if driven by some unknown force I extended my hand and took it. It was COLD.

ICE COLD. 

 

 

The birds fluttered above him. One perched on his shoulder and flew up, took a spin in the air and settled in his arm. I stood there, still, as if unable to get back my lost voice; saw him walk away and vanish into the trees .

I sat under the tree .The egg was still cupped in my palms. I opened my hand bag and slipped it in. I looked at the spot he had stood. A leaf fell, spinning down from the branches above, at that spot. It had a strange glow. I reached out and picked it up. It went inside my handbag too.

Oh !Why was I tongue tied?

I closed my eyes. A sense of exhilaration enveloped me, eluding sleep.

I opened my eyes. The sky looked lovely through the leaves .Then I spotted the bird. Green. Velvettish.Exotic looking. It let out a call like the cuckoo, throwing me off my calm. Oof! Calling out like the cuckoo ? ***It must be the Chloropsis .Ah!the bird in the ‘Refuge At Mugalur’, miming all the birds and thrilling the Birdman and his wife  no end.

I looked at the bird and whispered “Why are you doing this?”

The bird came down and landed near me on the pile of dried leaves, as if it heard me.

And….IT  TALKED.

“I am doing this to find my beloved whom I lost eons ago.”

I was stunned. It was speaking .

The bird looked at me and said.“So long as you have the Golden Egg with you, you can understand animals and birds and fish and…”

  I could’nt help thinking of that Eddie Murphy movie!

The Bird related the story

“We were together, my beloved and I, flying over these hills, more than a thousand  years ago. The forests were thicker then and no humans ventured into this space. Only the Siddahs were there-scores of them. This Hill had innumerable herbs. Their  secrets  only the Siddahs knew. There were plenty of fruits. Both of us flew over these hills and beyond and it was a life of absolute bliss. Then it happened. The misfortune…..

There was a little termite mound under one of the trees and we never realized there would be a Siddah inside that. Yes, he had been seated there in meditation for years and a mound had grown covering him. We in our foolishness, drunk with the joy of pride and  our own beautiful looks started pecking at the mound, singing full throatedly  and after a few minutes, our beaks struck the Divine Soul’s matted hair. We were shocked to see him inside. His eyes opened and were glowing , not at all pleased to have been brought out of His own world.

“You will forget your song”, he said looking at me, “and keep flying, imitating all the birds that come in your way .You will lose your beloved too.” Before we could react, my beloved had vanished and I hovered over Him, crying out in despair ,only to realize that I had lost my song.”

“What happened then? Do you think you’ll ever find your pair again?” I asked.

“Yes-through you.”

I was stunned.

The bird continued. “The Golden Egg was given to you since you have no fascination for Gold. Please take it out and hold it in your palm. It holds my beloved  in  captivity. The Siddah gave it to you, because you can part with it as easily as you can with a piece of cloth. Let me have my beloved back. You’ll be contented and happy, the rest of your life. Please give my beloved and our song back”.

I took the Golden Egg out of my bag and extended it towards the bird. It gave a gentle peck and lo, the egg cracked and a lovelier looking green bird flew out of it. They flew above me, flapping their wings, alighted on my lap once and flew away singing beautifully.

The Egg had vanished. I leaned on the tree and dozed off.

“Hey! Get up!” my husband was shaking me, and turning towards Ranjan, said, “See! She can sleep in any pose!”

I stood up and folded the sheets and put them in the bag we were carrying.

Was it all  a dream? I could not talk about this to them. They would tease me to no end. They knew about my obsession with Siddhas.

I was wondering in the car all the way back whether it was a dream or a real happening. The mystery of the bird has been solved anyway, I thought. Or has it been?

We stopped for tea on the roadside. It was welcome. We had some roasted masala groundnuts too and got back into the car.

My thoughts switched back to the Divine Soul I had met. Or had I? Where will I get the answers to my questions?

“Can you pass me a wet wipe?” my husband asked.

I opened my bag and pulled the packet out …

What’s this?

 

 

               From ogphoto

There, glistening among my small diary and the prayer book I carry with me always, was the Leaf.

As I touched it, my heart felt exhilarated a thrill ran through my body.

***To know more about this exotic bird, please go over to PKSundar’s blog   “MIMIC PAR EXCELLENCE.”

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