I was the only midget in a herd of giants, hiding somewhere in a
corner,
Discreetly, peeping into the skies to explore freedom of the open
skies.
As if god heard my wish just before his rush hour of wishes, I was
beckoned by my master ,
As if in trance, I blindly followed him…
The bruhat gopuras of the big temple arose as an oasis in
the desert…
The master prayed, Holding me in his hand (decorated with twelve
rings made of solid gold)…
He prayed vehemently to cover for his sins and as If to pacify the
wrath of the big god, he offered me to gods as an offering of peace.
From one corner to another, from one jail to another I lay
confined in this dark dungeon. The temple bells rang, thousands upon thousands
of pot bellied men ate their share of gods grace. I waited, for a stray rice
morsel to fly by, but my wishes never seemed to go beyond the walls. huh!
god was so near , yet so far...
Four days later, the sun tore into our darkness and the temple
authority took me away. In his hand I stayed put, a small beggar dying asked
for me yet this holy man walked off un-deterred chanting god’s name in a
monotone…I wondered sadly
The holy man swiftly got up onto a locomotive, with its
wheels rolling it accelerated my journey of destiny, a man in dark brown
uniform asked for me and gladly this man offered me with a smile, so again from
one dungeon to another I was transported to another land. A few minutes later
the holy man disappeared from view…
Soon after a few more stories shared with my brothers and sisters
also in captive,
I was gifted with a snort to a young hand, holding in his hand a
trophy. This small kid came into my life full of energy, sweating profusely
handing me a bath after four years!!
His back arched with a huge burden carrying a truck load of books,
he wondered about his trophy, won in a basketball match but how
would his parents take it when they knew he had failed an exam again…I loved
this kid, so full of energy, heart so pure, voice so divine but suffering in
fear… I felt sorry for him, He cried walking back to his home, ashamed
distraught and dejected…he never noticed a truck coming in his direction, there
was just one second of pain; I lay there in a pool of blood, as his lungs
expunged its last effort to live…
The truck sped away…it was dark silent and ghastly, I shivered in
the hands of a dead kid, so full of dreams , so talented...yet so easily taken
to the world of hell and heaven… I wondered would his trophy or his academic
records get him to heaven?
Soon there came a drunken man, swaying gently in the breeze, he
saw the kid there, collected all valuables he could find, he dragged me along
too and left him for dead not bothering to call an ambulance...
I was bartered again for a packet of alcohol, paid by a dead kid
on the side of the road…My newest master took me along, kept me under his bed
and slept. I shivered and cried all night like a child running in fear…where
could I run??
The owner took me along with his ailing mother, termed as a
mentally disabled woman she was subjected to humiliation by society…but her son
loved her, selling liquor he would manage to feed her , again I wondered at
this man would he go to heaven or hell??
on my next journey I met an autowallah, who ran his auto along the
countryside, all over the world, swaying from danger, avoiding potholes, music
radiating from his radio eternally; I roamed safely in his world, exploring the
freedom of life…It was only when he gifted me away to a young teenage couple
did I notice his legs in crutches, a result of an accident…I wondered
again…life was strange
A happy couple, holding hands they walked…In their hands they held
a tiny little magic box, dissipating strange lights and sounds, They
buzzed away blissfully unaware , caught in a web of deceit, merry and
jovialism. But all was not well in the lives of these two lovers, so they set
upon their destiny on road on top of a hill..The autowallah dropped them off
and set about happy that today his sons would not sleep hungry. The young
lovers walked now hands apart, speaking in harsh tones and blaming each other
for their inherent sadness…after hours of squabbling they left their separate
ways…I was still there hidden in the cusp of the scorned lovers grasp…I
wondered what love really was??
The boy sad and disturbed took his bike and zoomed the night in
the foothills of the nilgiri forests, Up and up he went revving up his
rpm, The sun broke his vow of silence and out he came, bringing life back to
the young boy’s morale…By the side of a river, he simply sat taking in the
beauty of life…For now, his anger had left him; he threw me away wishing for a
wish…
He wished that one day, he would be a great man having lots of
money…The stream swept me away, putting me in mortal danger, I leapt in the
air, bounced about boulders and fell from a height of a few thousand feet…There
I lay on the floor of the river, breathing in peace, Away from the world I
never understood…
Another journey began, big men wearing white shirts and men
who donned yellow robes came and blasted away the rocks I slept on …In greed
they watched as tons of mineral ore lay in their possession….Again I wondered
where god was???Letting his kind die in the clutches of immorality, in doldrums
of corruption …
Who was I to change the world?? After all I was just a one rupee
coin….just a rupee coin with a story to tell!!
But I was humbled again, another grown man, black bearded, gave me
away as a part of fifty thousand and one rupees donation to an orphanage
for the blind. I just wondered there was still hope left…
Where would my journey take me next time…??
Maybe you could answer that when you get to hold me in hand…
Through cobbled streets, hands of the mighty, to lush lawns and
bungalows, friends and frolick, plus the borders of craziness, to the humble
abode of love, to the steps of religion, masks of sadness Bordering on the
corridors of “change” I travel the world!!
So begins another journey, ”saar one rupee change idre
kodthira?” !!
