Artabhaga was sitting in the sprawling shadow of an old banyan tree behind the cottage. Leaning against its trunk was like choosing to get lost into an unknown by-lane of an ancient village. He wondered how deep and far-flung its roots must be beneath the soil. There was no trace of the heat of the sun in the shade where he was sitting. He looked around. It was a blazing noon as he looked up and saw the sky above the tree.
Artabhaga wondered what knowledge the blazing sun had of this ancient tree in the courtyard. The sun and the tree seemed to hide a secret knowledge of each other, knowing well that they were not going to see each other in the darkness of the night. The tree was held between the sky and the soil. Artabhaga recollected one of his favourite fantasies of childhood : a fantasy which gave wings to trees! He laughed as he remembered how, in his imagination, he would think of what a flying tree could do to humans. After that weird , but hilarious excursion into the world of the impossible, Artabhaga would return to reality and thank the almighty that he did not allow such a disastrous world to take shape.
The banyan tree which held a shadow over him at that moment, seemed to laugh in a whispering voice and say to him, "Now you know why you hate to let your roots penetrate the soil. What are roots to a tree--a support, or eternal bondage? It takes tremendous peace and understanding, my dear, to be born a tree. And you talk about its shade!"
Artabhaga came to himeself with the sound of the swaying top of the tree and reminded himself that fantasies don't speak the truth. "But they don't lie either," he said to himself.
Just as he was thing of leaving he saw Maitreyi coming in his direction. He stood up and stayed where h was, feeling like an intruder upon her territory. A strong beam of the mid-day sun caught her eye as she came near. She quickly shaded he eyes. When she approached him she was out of the range of the blinding sunlight. He could watch the play of light and shadow around her as she stood there. He could not presume anything and therefore thought it untimely to say anything.
He could still feel the presence of Yajnyawalkya's son in her aura. He remembered the way she had monitored the boy's movements when Artabhaga had visited the hermitage earlier.
he watched her with a guarded silence, careful not to betray any sign of a critical evaluation of hr predicament. he knew, she was not shy, but she was certainly proud and reticent.
He greeted her and looked around to see if he could make the space comfortable for he. She smiled to put him at ease. Without resorting to any preliminaries, she asked him, "I'm sure it is not by way of chance that you have accompanied Yajnyawalkya."
Artabhaga did not know whether the remark was meant to be an affront. He was not yet familiar with the nuances of her speech. However the statement was made with no allowance for contradiction. He realized quickly the import of it. In her circumstances it could not be dismissed as casual, light sarcasm. He could not lie. At the same time, accepting the statement would mean causing offence to her pride. Thinking that an honest answer was better than a lie, he said, "It was Yajnyawalkya's wish that I should acompny him."
After a pause he said, "I visited him in Videha after leaving your hermitage." She listened quietly. Then she sat down on a boulder in the shade of the tree and signalled him to sit down. Though feeling a bit uncertain, he complied.
Maitreyi watchd him curiously. He was trying to regain composure under her inquiring gaze. After a moment or two she broke the silence.
"When I knew the truth, there was no point in eliciting it from you. Please do not feel uncomfortable."
Aryabhaga looked at her He felt that it was she who needed to feel comfortable. He looked here and there for a while. He realized that she needed to talk.
To be contd.
Artabhaga wondered what knowledge the blazing sun had of this ancient tree in the courtyard. The sun and the tree seemed to hide a secret knowledge of each other, knowing well that they were not going to see each other in the darkness of the night. The tree was held between the sky and the soil. Artabhaga recollected one of his favourite fantasies of childhood : a fantasy which gave wings to trees! He laughed as he remembered how, in his imagination, he would think of what a flying tree could do to humans. After that weird , but hilarious excursion into the world of the impossible, Artabhaga would return to reality and thank the almighty that he did not allow such a disastrous world to take shape.
The banyan tree which held a shadow over him at that moment, seemed to laugh in a whispering voice and say to him, "Now you know why you hate to let your roots penetrate the soil. What are roots to a tree--a support, or eternal bondage? It takes tremendous peace and understanding, my dear, to be born a tree. And you talk about its shade!"
Artabhaga came to himeself with the sound of the swaying top of the tree and reminded himself that fantasies don't speak the truth. "But they don't lie either," he said to himself.
Just as he was thing of leaving he saw Maitreyi coming in his direction. He stood up and stayed where h was, feeling like an intruder upon her territory. A strong beam of the mid-day sun caught her eye as she came near. She quickly shaded he eyes. When she approached him she was out of the range of the blinding sunlight. He could watch the play of light and shadow around her as she stood there. He could not presume anything and therefore thought it untimely to say anything.
He could still feel the presence of Yajnyawalkya's son in her aura. He remembered the way she had monitored the boy's movements when Artabhaga had visited the hermitage earlier.
he watched her with a guarded silence, careful not to betray any sign of a critical evaluation of hr predicament. he knew, she was not shy, but she was certainly proud and reticent.
He greeted her and looked around to see if he could make the space comfortable for he. She smiled to put him at ease. Without resorting to any preliminaries, she asked him, "I'm sure it is not by way of chance that you have accompanied Yajnyawalkya."
Artabhaga did not know whether the remark was meant to be an affront. He was not yet familiar with the nuances of her speech. However the statement was made with no allowance for contradiction. He realized quickly the import of it. In her circumstances it could not be dismissed as casual, light sarcasm. He could not lie. At the same time, accepting the statement would mean causing offence to her pride. Thinking that an honest answer was better than a lie, he said, "It was Yajnyawalkya's wish that I should acompny him."
After a pause he said, "I visited him in Videha after leaving your hermitage." She listened quietly. Then she sat down on a boulder in the shade of the tree and signalled him to sit down. Though feeling a bit uncertain, he complied.
Maitreyi watchd him curiously. He was trying to regain composure under her inquiring gaze. After a moment or two she broke the silence.
"When I knew the truth, there was no point in eliciting it from you. Please do not feel uncomfortable."
Aryabhaga looked at her He felt that it was she who needed to feel comfortable. He looked here and there for a while. He realized that she needed to talk.
To be contd.
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