Reality is not so Scary

                   The presence of the moon around us is a source of happiness, isn’t it? Padma was a big fan of both the Sea and the Moon.

                   In her childhood, it was fairly common for her to watch the moonlight  fall on the Bay of Bengal and think of moonlight songs like  ‘Lahiri lahiri lahirilo’.

Does this pic not remind us about songs on the Moon? I remember 'Lahiri  lahiri' and the legendary cinematographer Marcus Bartley

                  
It was not as though she was very fond of the Moon from her childhood. Whenever she’d see the full moon, she’d consider Him (being a ‘Mama’) as a monster out to gobble her . She would cry and make her parents take her indoors. She was, however, fond of filmy songs on the Moon like ‘ Chandamama Rave’ (1957 vintage) and ‘Pandu Vennela’ – she would ask her mom, Shakti, to sing them for her.

                   Once she grew up, she became extremely fond of the Moon and spent hours watching ‘Him’. When the family moved into an interior area, she missed out on the combo but she never gave up gaping at the moon, whenever she had the time. This time round, it was from her terrace. She would carry a mat to the terrace, and sit on it and spend a couple of hours watching the Moon. Power cuts in the night were fairly common in her younger days, especially during summer, the holiday- time for schools and colleges. If there were any guilt about spending so much of time moon-gazing, the night power cuts washed it away. On top of it, there was the celebrated poem of William Henry Davies, ‘Leisure’, which would justify the act.

                   Padma pursued a research degree which caused her a lot of isolation, but definitely not from the Moon. She would unwind by moon-gazing.

'Pandu Vennela'

                   Her career took her places. Responsibilities, both official and personal , reduced her moon- gazing time.

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                   At one point of time, Padma’s parents visited her in Chennai. She was very happy to see them at her home, and the three of them recollected and relived a number of good old memories.

                   It was a full-moon day and Padma pleaded with her parents to accompany her to the sea-shore to see the moon rise. She told them that a log-bridge was recently laid between two boulders, which made sea-gazing a pleasure. Soma, her father, wasn’t too keen to go over because of the bridge was not exactly on the shore.

                   Shakti told Padma that she wouldn’t want to go because of the distance one had to walk to reach the shore or the bridge. This poured cold water on her plans, but Padma managed to convince Soma to accompany her, as he could walk the distance.

                   The moon was above the horizon even before sunset. When moonlight glittered on the waves, Soma and Padma became nostalgic. They enjoyed themselves. Somehow, to their surprise, the sea-shore did not have many visitors. They considered themselves to be extremely lucky to have been the only two souls on the log-bridge. The excited Padma clicked umpteen number of photographs of the Moon and His light, and sang the songs about the Moon which her mother song for her in her childhood and the ones she learnt subsequently. Soma was glad to see his daughter very happy. He took instructions from her to click her pictures and got himself clicked by her. It was an enjoyable evening. He was happy that he didn’t stay back at home unlike Shakti.

Moonrise in Chennai

                  

                   Padma, during her Moon-n-Sea gazing noticed that the sea had become rougher. Having spent her childhood close to the sea, she wasn’t alarmed- instead, she was thrilled. The waves rose higher and higher but since Soma and Padma were on the bridge, it did not affect them much.

                   Suddenly, Padma noticed that the water just  outside the reach of the  bridge, had risen to some 60-70 feet, and a giant wave was about to break on  the bridge. She reacted to it in the same way a batsman would have reacted to a bouncer. “Nanna, duck”, she yelled. But, will ducking save anybody from a tidal wave/tsunami?

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                   The cuckoo coo-ed. Padma wondered how the cuckoo survived the tidal wave. Now for the pertinent question- how did she survive it? She started sweating profusely- what happened to Nanna? She heard a sound- the alarm of her mobile rang, to indicate that it was 6 a.m.

                   Padma looked around- she was in her room, and everything seemed normal. She reflected on what had happened. When did her parents visit her? They were always with her. When was the last full moon? It was more than a fortnight back. Where in Chennai was that log-bridge inside the sea? She had not known of any! When, during evenings, did one find no crowd on the Chennai shore? Never. So, all that ‘had happened’ was only in a dream!

                   Even as Padma got out of her bed, Shakti peeped in to remind her that it was a working day. Padma smiled at her mother. In the meanwhile, Soma walked in and wished his daughter, ‘Tava Suprabhatam’ . Padma smiled again. ‘It’s not summer. What made you sweat so much, so early in the day?         Do you want to see the doctor? Are you okay?’ , asked Shakti. ‘I’m fine. Reality is not so scary as my dream’, replied Padma, as she hopped off to get ready and even as her parents became wide-eyed, not having understood what their daughter was talking about.

                  

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