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Heaven - On The River Banks
It
was usual for 12 year young Batra to come to the banks of the river
‘Garv’ to share his small little joys and the occasional disappointments.
He used to unwind and relax himself while wondering about and admiring
the nature, as the waters of Garv continued with their unusually
consistent flow, with a rhythmic rippling effect.
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Once when Batra
stood first in the class, he rushed to Garv and declared the
reason of his joy, to which the waters of Garv responded by
flowing all the more enthusiastically, enthusing his ears
with their magical sound. At a time when something was wrong
between Batra and his closest friend Mitra, Garv seemed to
first patiently listen to Batra and then through its flow
advised both of them to be friends again. Joy or sorrow, peace
or pleasure, Batra had found the best way to live life- by
sharing it with a trustworthy friend. Batra also used to spend
a lot of time with the small shrubs and grass and many weeds
at the river banks. He liked to know more about them, how
they grew so fast, how after the monsoons, the grass-wall
blocked his vision etc.
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It wouldn’t be untrue
to say that Batra had formed a bond with Garv. In Garv he found
a common friend, with whom he could be himself- a friend gifted
to him by nature. Throughout his school years, Batra shared numerous
eventful moments with Garv and it seemed to him that Garv supported
him quite well.
Once his Class ten
results were out, Batra had to choose his college. Since Batra stayed
in a remote village in middle India called Sthanpur, it was necessary
for him to move out as the nearest colleges were at least 100 kms
away. Batra’s interest in the science stream made him move to Gyanpur,
which had the nearest science college. A day before leaving for
Gyanpur, Batra came to Garv and emoted. He cried and one could see
the sorrow of going away from his friend of many years. He left
a small sapling, placed at the mouth of the river in such a way
that it could be easily watered by Garv. Batra immediately bid good-bye
to his friend and left for Gyanpur.
Many years passed
and Batra got busy with his studies. He went on to become a doctor,
Initially the separation from Garv bothered him, but soon he had
left it far behind him. Batra’s parents were still at Sthanpur and
asked him to come down, once his studies of five years were over.
By now, he was 21. Batra wrote to his parents that he will come
soon. By now, Batra hardly remembered about Garv. He returned, unaware
about the sapling that he had left behind some years back. He took
a few days to settle, taking one day at a time. After ten days had
passed, when he was going through nostalgia-evoking charms of the
past like his old schoolbooks etc, he found in one of them, a leaf
of the sapling that he had planted years back.
He took no time in
rushing to his once-upon-a-time only friend. When he reached on
the banks of Garv, he was pleased to see that his sapling had gradually
and steadily grown big. As soon as his feet stepped on the banks,
Garv seemed to extend a warm welcome to the busy friend. Batra conversed
with his friend for hours together sharing his experiences at Gyanpur.
The sun that was over the head when Batra arrived near the banks
was now getting ready to immerse in the seas and Batra still had
lots to share with is friend. It again became a daily routine for
Batra to make day-long visits to the river and spend a whole lot
of quality time there. When Batra’s results came out and he scored
good marks, he was pleased to break the news first to Garv before
sharing it with family and other friends. He was now a science graduate.
Batra now had the option of doing further studies or apply for a
job. He opted for the latter and after giving a spate of interviews,
again made his trips to Garv.
With such an unique
bond with the river, Batra had developed an inclination towards
nature. However, he felt that once he would get a job it would not
be possible to continue with this special bond. He thought hard
as to how can he continue with this soothing connection while also
being responsible and practical. On further introspection, he realized
that his heart was at studying plants and various other nature’s
elements. Moreover, his studies had also been about botany- about
plants their various characteristics etc. He got a shot in the arm
when the Government decided that the area around the banks of river
Batra had to be enhanced with proper nurturing of the plants there.
One of the companies to which Batra had applied- Love-lea-nature
was awarded the contract of five years. Batra was selected and assigned
the task of supervising and taking the mandate for the enhancement
forward. His joy knew no bounds. Batra
got to spend five more years with his friend Garv. Every day, as
hundreds of stories got shared between Batra and Garv, amidst the
soothing melody of the ripples, Batra had the realization of finding
heaven on earth. His heaven- was – on the river banks. Grav, it
seems was his angel.
Contributing Story Teller
Saurabh
Niranjan Turakhia is a 28 year young poet and has lately been dabbling
in short story writing. I am also thankful to
Contentwriter.in for providing
a good platform for writers like me
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