It's been a while since i've had a conversation of this level; and a conversation in this context, i've certainly never had one! By the time you end reading this tale, you'd certainly think i'm slightly poorer of a few cents in my cranium up there. But then i assure you, the events that unfolded defied logic of any form that i'd ever seen!
And there and then it occurred, as do all good things in life, at a moment when you don't realize, and never expect. I found him on the street, patiently mulling and musing outside the Shalimar, unmindful of its surroundings, lost in its thoughts
"Peace be unto you my friend", quipped a voice distinctly different from the general humdrum around me. Intent scanning revealed nothing about the source of this voice, until it repeated itself again.
"Over here my friend, look below you..." and i looked down to see not a human but a being that i'd never seen before. Shaggy mane covered its body, and two twisted, massive horns protruded from a powerful skull. It looked a lot like Lucifer himself. Must've overheard me thinking of making a proposition on immaterial things, and wanted to buy my soul perhaps...
"It's not your soul i'm interested in friend, just a moment's worth of conversation! My days on this earth are numbered, and soon i shall be gone. I have no worries, for i have a lived a life long and ripe" said the Being in a flat voice, as if It was unafraid of dying.
"What's your name brother? Peace be unto you as well!" i replied as a measure of politeness, and intent on continuing this conversation.
"What's in a name? Call a rose by any other name, and yet it smells just as sweet" replied the Being. "Quoting Shakespeare!" i said to myself in the back of my mind, and then "It's not that i have a dislike for Shakespeare or something on personal levels, but i knew poets afore him who'd quoted verses and prose much better..."
I was certainly dealing with something on the levels of a Sphinx or a Yaksha! This guy's great with his knowledge, and his wit! "I'm known by a number of names, and Baa's what they call me around here..." the Being replied in a way i'm guaging to be the way It interacted with the world.
And here onwards started this most fabulous dialogue between being and Being...
This world you know of, this world is old and mighty,
Tread these grounds afore you are many. Some poor, some hoity toity...
If you've got the time, i have the verse and rhyme
I could sing to you a song, worth a penny, cent or dime
Before the time of Herakles, Darius and Alexander, roamed a race across Europe's heart
Swords were their strength, and swift was their dart...
They came here through the mountains, they came down in like a horde
No more of this vagrant life, no more of these mountains and tribes
We'll settle in this place, this's where our fortune's stored...
I warred alongside them, i warred with the sword and fire
Brought Hell upon the natives, and forced them to retire
Beautiful was their civilization, beautiful was their land
Reduced it we did, reduced it to shadows and sand...
i dared to ask,
"Is this Mohen Jo Daro that you speak of, the city of the dead...?"
"Where no living human dare tread...?"
Was my query pert and right
i wanted to know, to know His intellect's might
How much did He know, how far was He right!
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light
Long after this war was over, came a warrior of the Light
Born to a royal king, born he was to fight
Yet not with a sword or axe, but wisdom and light!
He carved out a path, he carved it right
The path to eternal freedom, youth and delight
By His sacrifice, He stood to gain
The wisdom of the righteous, the escape from re-birth and pain
i served Him in his time, i served Him the best i could
For my efforts He rewarded me, with what He thought He should
"Immortality kisses the one, who'll show Desire nothing but disdain"
These were His words to me, the words i cherish till date
Holding them to my heart, i carved out my Fate
Yet again i dared ask,
"Wasn't He the Bodhisattva, Gautama Buddha was His name...?"
"To show the path of righteous, is it not why He came...?"
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light!
The time of wisdom had gone, it was time again for the dark
The shade of peace was gone, the birds of carrion had begun to hark!
We went to war, but this time we warred for defense
Hordes poured in from the Hindu killer mountains
Droves of horsemen had come in for the offense
On the sandy plains of the North, we engaged in war
Iron clashed with iron, iron cleaved flesh and bone
Mighty elephants rampaged, leaving behind only the dead and stone
We were a might by ourselves, you'd better leave us alone
This was our land, worth dying and killing for
All that comes, must one day go
And the clever enemy proved it to be so
A flash of fire, and a clap of thunder
Our men and our elephants, were rent asunder
Yet again dared i ask,
"Were they not the sons of Timur,
The sons of the lame, the sons of the Moor...?"
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light!
Our time as kings was gone, alongwith the shadows and dust
As all that comes here, departure someday is a must...
And yet i survived, among the poets & among the scribes
Wit was my new weapon, sharp words were my jibes!
'Twas now the golden age of talent
Be it music, be it wit
Rewards of gold, rewards of honour
For the deserving one, for the best fit!
Music played so divine, music played so fine
The Gods would dole out for it, jugs of their wine
Wit ruled unchallenged, wit was the new name of jest
'Twasn't enough to be good, not if you weren't the best
'Twas the court of the nine, the jewels of the crown
Those who had them not, could do little but frown...
Yet again dared i ask,
"Don't you speak of Tansen, and don't you speak of Birbal"
"Master of music, & master of words"
"Weren't they quick of mind, weren't they quick as birds...?"
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light!
Impatience was now drawing upon me, and time was to me dear
To cut this dialogue short, i spoke loud but with fear
"Form of a beast, but tongue of a man"
"None could last the race so long, the race you say you'd ran"
"Tell me the truth, tell me who are you...?"
"Show me your form, the one you know to be true!"
Laughingly replied Baa,
i am what i am, i choose what i choose to be
As a mortal, my true form you can never see
I've lived as a son of Man, i lived with the legends of yore
This form i don the last, afore i head for Hades shore
A time long ago, i know it not when
Received i a boon so great, a boon so strong
"Thou art deathless until you choose when..."
I thrived through the ages, i thrived for long
My life itself, became a part of the eternal song...
"Then why's it that you walk on fours, and not two"
"Be the timeless man, be the one that's you"
A curse by an insulted holy man, became my shame
I had to suffer for my sins, the holy man's blame
And so, i had to live the life of a goat
From a coat of gold & steel, brought down to a woollen coat!
At that moment, i know not whether 'twas the effect of the light on my eyes, or was it for real; i could see a single teardrop sparkling in Baa's eye. Baa was not completely detached after all.
What of my Fate, is my end anywhere near?
The butcher's axe, aye that'll deliver me my dear!
The sun had risen high up in the heavens, and the place was beginning to bustle with people, and it was a strange spectacle for a few. A few who thought i was a fool to be talking to an animal! An animal that was about to be taken away for slaughter!
The "owner" came up to me and asked, "What is it that you want sir...? You've been staring at my goat for a good while now! Is there anything that you want...?"
"Where did you get this goat my friend, where did you get your goat so dear...?"
"I bought him at a fair in Kashmir, aye he wasn't worth much i could tell you that. But his meat'll surely be tender! He'll cross over today, for there's a feast in the noon"
"Give him a clean finish, will you? That's all i ask of you. Let him suffer not for long..." was my last appeal to Baa's executioner, and with these words and a final parting look at Baa, i could see him smile, i turned my back around and retraced my steps...
And there and then it occurred, as do all good things in life, at a moment when you don't realize, and never expect. I found him on the street, patiently mulling and musing outside the Shalimar, unmindful of its surroundings, lost in its thoughts
"Peace be unto you my friend", quipped a voice distinctly different from the general humdrum around me. Intent scanning revealed nothing about the source of this voice, until it repeated itself again.
"Over here my friend, look below you..." and i looked down to see not a human but a being that i'd never seen before. Shaggy mane covered its body, and two twisted, massive horns protruded from a powerful skull. It looked a lot like Lucifer himself. Must've overheard me thinking of making a proposition on immaterial things, and wanted to buy my soul perhaps...
"It's not your soul i'm interested in friend, just a moment's worth of conversation! My days on this earth are numbered, and soon i shall be gone. I have no worries, for i have a lived a life long and ripe" said the Being in a flat voice, as if It was unafraid of dying.
"What's your name brother? Peace be unto you as well!" i replied as a measure of politeness, and intent on continuing this conversation.
"What's in a name? Call a rose by any other name, and yet it smells just as sweet" replied the Being. "Quoting Shakespeare!" i said to myself in the back of my mind, and then "It's not that i have a dislike for Shakespeare or something on personal levels, but i knew poets afore him who'd quoted verses and prose much better..."
I was certainly dealing with something on the levels of a Sphinx or a Yaksha! This guy's great with his knowledge, and his wit! "I'm known by a number of names, and Baa's what they call me around here..." the Being replied in a way i'm guaging to be the way It interacted with the world.
And here onwards started this most fabulous dialogue between being and Being...
This world you know of, this world is old and mighty,
Tread these grounds afore you are many. Some poor, some hoity toity...
If you've got the time, i have the verse and rhyme
I could sing to you a song, worth a penny, cent or dime
Before the time of Herakles, Darius and Alexander, roamed a race across Europe's heart
Swords were their strength, and swift was their dart...
They came here through the mountains, they came down in like a horde
No more of this vagrant life, no more of these mountains and tribes
We'll settle in this place, this's where our fortune's stored...
I warred alongside them, i warred with the sword and fire
Brought Hell upon the natives, and forced them to retire
Beautiful was their civilization, beautiful was their land
Reduced it we did, reduced it to shadows and sand...
i dared to ask,
"Is this Mohen Jo Daro that you speak of, the city of the dead...?"
"Where no living human dare tread...?"
Was my query pert and right
i wanted to know, to know His intellect's might
How much did He know, how far was He right!
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light
Long after this war was over, came a warrior of the Light
Born to a royal king, born he was to fight
Yet not with a sword or axe, but wisdom and light!
He carved out a path, he carved it right
The path to eternal freedom, youth and delight
By His sacrifice, He stood to gain
The wisdom of the righteous, the escape from re-birth and pain
i served Him in his time, i served Him the best i could
For my efforts He rewarded me, with what He thought He should
"Immortality kisses the one, who'll show Desire nothing but disdain"
These were His words to me, the words i cherish till date
Holding them to my heart, i carved out my Fate
Yet again i dared ask,
"Wasn't He the Bodhisattva, Gautama Buddha was His name...?"
"To show the path of righteous, is it not why He came...?"
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light!
The time of wisdom had gone, it was time again for the dark
The shade of peace was gone, the birds of carrion had begun to hark!
We went to war, but this time we warred for defense
Hordes poured in from the Hindu killer mountains
Droves of horsemen had come in for the offense
On the sandy plains of the North, we engaged in war
Iron clashed with iron, iron cleaved flesh and bone
Mighty elephants rampaged, leaving behind only the dead and stone
We were a might by ourselves, you'd better leave us alone
This was our land, worth dying and killing for
All that comes, must one day go
And the clever enemy proved it to be so
A flash of fire, and a clap of thunder
Our men and our elephants, were rent asunder
Yet again dared i ask,
"Were they not the sons of Timur,
The sons of the lame, the sons of the Moor...?"
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light!
Our time as kings was gone, alongwith the shadows and dust
As all that comes here, departure someday is a must...
And yet i survived, among the poets & among the scribes
Wit was my new weapon, sharp words were my jibes!
'Twas now the golden age of talent
Be it music, be it wit
Rewards of gold, rewards of honour
For the deserving one, for the best fit!
Music played so divine, music played so fine
The Gods would dole out for it, jugs of their wine
Wit ruled unchallenged, wit was the new name of jest
'Twasn't enough to be good, not if you weren't the best
'Twas the court of the nine, the jewels of the crown
Those who had them not, could do little but frown...
Yet again dared i ask,
"Don't you speak of Tansen, and don't you speak of Birbal"
"Master of music, & master of words"
"Weren't they quick of mind, weren't they quick as birds...?"
Pert was His reply,
i know what i know, and what i know is right!
Now listen carefully, afore i rejoin with the Light!
Impatience was now drawing upon me, and time was to me dear
To cut this dialogue short, i spoke loud but with fear
"Form of a beast, but tongue of a man"
"None could last the race so long, the race you say you'd ran"
"Tell me the truth, tell me who are you...?"
"Show me your form, the one you know to be true!"
Laughingly replied Baa,
i am what i am, i choose what i choose to be
As a mortal, my true form you can never see
I've lived as a son of Man, i lived with the legends of yore
This form i don the last, afore i head for Hades shore
A time long ago, i know it not when
Received i a boon so great, a boon so strong
"Thou art deathless until you choose when..."
I thrived through the ages, i thrived for long
My life itself, became a part of the eternal song...
"Then why's it that you walk on fours, and not two"
"Be the timeless man, be the one that's you"
A curse by an insulted holy man, became my shame
I had to suffer for my sins, the holy man's blame
And so, i had to live the life of a goat
From a coat of gold & steel, brought down to a woollen coat!
At that moment, i know not whether 'twas the effect of the light on my eyes, or was it for real; i could see a single teardrop sparkling in Baa's eye. Baa was not completely detached after all.
What of my Fate, is my end anywhere near?
The butcher's axe, aye that'll deliver me my dear!
The sun had risen high up in the heavens, and the place was beginning to bustle with people, and it was a strange spectacle for a few. A few who thought i was a fool to be talking to an animal! An animal that was about to be taken away for slaughter!
The "owner" came up to me and asked, "What is it that you want sir...? You've been staring at my goat for a good while now! Is there anything that you want...?"
"Where did you get this goat my friend, where did you get your goat so dear...?"
"I bought him at a fair in Kashmir, aye he wasn't worth much i could tell you that. But his meat'll surely be tender! He'll cross over today, for there's a feast in the noon"
"Give him a clean finish, will you? That's all i ask of you. Let him suffer not for long..." was my last appeal to Baa's executioner, and with these words and a final parting look at Baa, i could see him smile, i turned my back around and retraced my steps...
