Kaangal Irundal

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Mala had been sitting on the steps for almost an hour now, waiting for Bala to turn up.The house was on a raised ground with four steps down leading to the street below.She had just another 20 minutes left of her play time, then her mother would be calling her to come inside and start her home work .

Bala had promised her, that she would come today to take her somewhere. so Mala had been dreaming about it all day.Mala had never ventured from home,all that she was permitted to do was sit on the steps and watch other children play.she hated that and here she had a friend who was so light hearted, her mother never asked her to stay indoors.”How lucky she was”thought Mala.Bala never spoke of her family for some reason,she didn’t mention about her father or having brothers or sisters.All Mala knew was she had a mother,so she must be the only child, like her.It didn’t matter to Mala,she found her comforting,gentle,playful and loving.In the few months she had known her, she felt she had at last found a friend.

At last, she saw Bala coming towards her,she ran down the stairs and held bala’s hand and asked her where she was taking her.Bala beamed with pride,not letting out her little secret.Mala became impatient and asked her over and over again.Bala looked at her and said”here first have this” and from behind she took out a chocolate,Mala took it from her and asked her where she was taking her.Bala said ”come with me and you will see”.with her Mala went.

They passed through several street,lined with rows of houses on one side and on the other side was the huge compound wall of the temple.The temple had 5 prakarams and each prakarams had a wall around it and this wall had a huge walking space on the top,such was the magnitude of the temple. Mala had wandered nearby but never this far,now they went through smaller lanes. Mala had so many questions,where was she taking her?,does Bala live here?, what was so special about this place?,but she couldn’t ask her all these questions,because whenever she asked her questions, she would smile and test her patience. so Mala walked quietly but excited inside.The alleys opened up into a small grove,bala ran and Mala ran behind her and there it was.A small mandapam,it looked very ancient,with walls dampened by mossand didlook exciting. Mala had never seen anything like this .The place was quiet,the chirping of birds could be heard and there were coconut trees lining the path, with a few mango trees short as they were, it was easy for a person like Mala to pluck mangoes from the trees.she didn’t bother about them now.At a closer look the mandapam had a lot of characters to it.As they came closer she could see the huge archway of the mandapam which had decorated sthupis on it, which is quite a familiar sight in these areas and the walls had insciption on it which dates back to the fifth century.Mala could see inside.The hall structure stood on a platform with porches. The platform was typically only a few feet tall with fluted sides. Chains of intricate carvings was seen around the platform. The porches, typically located on all sides, gave access to the top of the platform. Granite pillars stood supporting the flat roof structure. These pillars had carvings with rampant Yalis (giant mythical creatures).The Yali pillars were facing the porch and facing the central hall portions. The other pillars had carved images of gods and other mythical themes.

This again opened up into a beautiful garden with a centre court which had huge pillars carved with figurines of the god and godess, it also stands testimony to the culture, customs and even the stories of ancient people.In went bala and mala followed her.It was slightly dark inside, but it opened out into a bigger space which was surrounded by pillars and there was a centre area which was laid with stones,but it had grass on it, showing it was never visited.it had some characters which appealed to Mala, she has never been to such a place in her life.Her friend has opened a new world and it was quite exciting. bala held her hand and started going round and round.The two girls laughed and giggled.Mala was jubliant, she had never done anything like this before.She could feel the tingling of fresh air,the fragrance of Jasmine flowers,the songs from the temple close by filled the air, she loved every moment of it. The two girls played around for some time and were soon tired.As Mala stepped on to the stone near by dancing, the stone moved and she fell to the ground with a thud.Bala came up to her and held out her hand to get up.They looked at each other,mala looked straight into bala’s eyes.It was only for a minute,but it looked like endless time in space.She saw the moving Universe,moving quietly as though it was just the norm of the day.The stars looked like droplets,she saw huge blocks of rock coming closer and then moving away.It was a sea of darkness with specks of light here and there.It looked as though she had stepped into space.There were rows and rows of stars some of them close by and some so far away,but there were infinite of them,moving steadily giving way for each of them so that they don’t collide with each other,She could sense the silence out there.She pulled herself away from bala, stepped back puzzled,shocked and frightened.Did she see what she just saw? or was it something that she had imagined?She froze.Bala held her hand,came closer calmed her down and said “It is our little secret,it wasn’t meant to be like that.I didn’t mean to frighten you,look Mala,I am sorry”.Mala was trembling with fear and tears rolled down her eyes,The eyes gave away something or is it everything? Mala turned and walked back.she wanted to go back home,forget everything,the place,this girl whom she had thought to be her only friend,and all what she saw, everything. There was total silence on their way back home. Both of them where in no mood to talk,Bala was holding Mala’s hand, that said it all,The way back home was the longest journey she had ever taken.Will she ever see Bala again, is to be seen........

Kaalam Bhathil Sollum...

Date: 08.12.2021