The Cloud of the Princess - Part I Chapter 8

The brain wakes up first. Then the ears do. And finally the eyes. Sembaruthi was lying in a state where her brain was partially awake and her ears were starting to hear sounds. Though she could not clearly understand the words that were being spoken around her, she was able to figure out that there were more than two males present and at least one female discussing something around her. Her brain slowly adapted to the conditions and she could hear better now. But she did not prefer to open her eyes as she was experiencing torturous head ache and opening her eyes would just increase it. She decided to stay as she was and lend her ears to the discussion that was going on around her.

“These girls are all ready to get married now. But they never understand the seriousness of our advices. They do things on their own and then suffer like this. May be the women should have never been let out. Padmanabanaar spent his whole life to make them bold and courageous but what is the use?. Kunjidhapaadhanaar is now following whatever his father had left behind. But these kings never realize the practical problems. The more we let our women stand up and talk and be bold and all that, the more the problem. Look at her mother. She has never gone to the madiyamalai temple alone in her whole life. Either I go with her or her father took her when she was young. And there was no problem at all. But look at these girls. They go there daily, and however we advice, they come back just before the madhuoli. I always knew there would be someday where she would not return before the madhuoli. But for you and the poosari, I would have lost my daughter altogether. I have no doubt that you are no one but lord arivamudhar himself in human form.”

It was a steady voice with pauses in-between to breathe air in. The flow was like that of a log in a river which stumbles over rocks occasionally.

Sembaruthi took no time to figure out that it was her father. But she was not able to guess the voice that followed. It was a young man’s voice and it sounded dynamic and powerful yet polite and sweet. The flow on contrast was like a waterfall that has no obstructions on the way.

“Ayya … This is the tenth time you have thanked me. And I don’t think I deserve it at all. Would you not have found back home a girl who shouts, faints and rolls down the rocks bruising all over her body? I did nothing big ayya … but I think I have to contradict you in one point that you have. King Kunjidhapaadhanaar is not an ordinary king. He knows the right thing to do at the right time. He has a brilliant mind that overflows with generosity and humanity. He is committed to serve the people and always looks at the practical side of solving people’s problems. Though I understand that your daughter should not have stayed in madiyamalai for so long, I don’t think it was wrong for them to go there at all. I still wonder what made your daughter climb the hill at that time of the day. And I don’t know what sort of friends she has who would not accompany her to the temple but stay back downhill and keep laughing”

A third male voice was heard now. It was also a familiar voice for Sembaruthi, but she was not able to recognize it immediately.

“Well said dhalapadhiyaar … I have also advised these girls a number of times to go home early but they never care. But then, who would care for a old poosaari who has nothing much to live for except experiencing the glory of the lord’s creation and sustenance of life forms”

The young man’s voice was heard.

“Ayya… It is very humble of you to talk like that. Don’t we all know that poosaris are our pathway to reach almighty himself? If not for you, lord arivamudhar who sits on top of madiyamalai would not get the garlands he wanted and would not get the abishegams he deserved and more importantly would not receive the prayers of all men and women who climb uphill to seek a solution for their problems.”

The poosari’s voice sounded like a overflowing can of milk.

“Dhalapadhiyaar Maithreyarey… It is a great honor those men like you are bringing to Pavazhanaadu. The god’s have granted you excellent knowledge in a young age. This old man’s only advice is to ask you to use all of them for the development of Pavazhanaadu and its people. “

At this point a female voice was heard. It was Sembaruthi’s mother.

“I hope dhalapadhiyaar and poosariaar will honor us by having food in this small home today.We shall be happy forever if the Dhalapadhiyaar could stay here for the day”

Sembaruthi’s father spoke in a quick tone with occasional coughs in between.

“Yes Yes… How foolish of me to forget that. I am really sorry for not having asked my wife to serve you anything. I hope Dhalapadhiyaar is staying here in aaraimedu today?”

Maithreyan spoke.

“Thanks a lot ayya… It would be really wonderful to have food in a home like this where the goddess of peace and beauty would want to live. But unfortunately I am not in a position to do so. I have two reasons for it. First one being that I need to be in lakshanur by tafternoon to meet the local heads there for implementing stricter laws to stop common men from alcohol addiction. I think you know that i was here this week in araimaedu for the same reason. I see a lot of people consuming alcohol even during day time and as per King Kunjidhapaadhanaar's orders, i have imprisioned over three hundred men in araimedu. The second reason i can't be here is that I don’t want to disturb you unnecessarily when you have to take care of your daughter. I suggest you to call a vaithiyar immediately, so that she recovers soon. She must in terrible pain which she might not feel immediately but start feeling in a day or two. But there is one thing i was not able to find out. And that is about the irresponsible friends your daughter has. Ayya... I would want you to ask her friends and know the truth behind why they had sent her alone uphill. I would not prefer such friends who won't be with you at times of danger.They are useless if they don't come infront of you when needed. Hope you understand it.”

At this point Sembaruthi became agitated. She knew that it was her own decision to go uphill and it had nothing to do with any of her friends. She had already tolerated him talking bad about her friends before. She could not tolerate it any more. She rose up from her bed in a flash and spoke as harshly as she could like a snake spitting venom on the prey.

“Dhalapadhiyaarey… I have been hearing what you people are discussing. It is not good to talk something before you know what you are talking about. You have no right to talk about my friends. Especially when they are not here. I wonder how Pavazhanaadu has such people in key posts . It was really disgusting to hear you talk about my friends like that. I won’t tolerate it anymore"

Sembaruthi’s father was shocked to see her talk like this and he rose up swiflty to slap her on the face. Maithreyan moved quickly to stop him from slapping by holding his raised hand. Then, he turned towards Sembaruthi and gave a gentle smile and spoke.

“Aah haa… I seriously doubted if you were really sleeping at all. Now I know that you were not. I just wanted to make sure you got up and saw the man who saved your life and brought you here. I had no other option but to talk like that so that you would get up yourself. But if you think your friends are really good and caring, tell me why they did not accompany you to the top?”

Sembaruthi was in two minds now. Something in Maithreyan seemed to be magnetic. Something that she was not able to overcome. She had not seen his eyes while shouting at him but for a second now their eyes met , a spark ignited somewhere down her heart and it proved fatal. She immediately cursed herself for having spoken like that. She knew she was laid into a trap by this handsome man in front of her. He had kindled up her emotions and made her rise from the bed. 'May be he did not have the intention of talking bad about my friends at all' she thought. 'But how did he know that i was awake? Was he watching me all along the discussion? Did some slight movement of my eyes made him find out?. He should be a brilliant observer to have found that out... Or...Or... was it just some tacit understanding of his mind and mine that made him find out?' The more she thought about him, the more she sensed that she was being pushed down some strange dark tunnel called attraction by millions of hands that seem to be popping up from everwhere around her.

Suddenly there was a unbearable sound followed by dead silence.

She came back to her hut from nowhere. She was standing alone without anybody to support. Her father had not yet put down his raised hands. She realised that Maithreyan had asked her a question and was waiting for an answer.She had to make up an something.

“That is not something I could tell you. It was something very private. Is it a rule that a innocent young girl should tell everything she knows to the Dhalapadhi of the Kingdom? I have never heard anything like that”

Maithreyan smiled again. His eyes directly looked into hers. She felt as if his hands were clutching her neck. She took her eyes off him. He spoke as slowly as possible.

“I have no doubts that the common man can have his own privacy… Even the king cannot interfere in it…let alone the Dhalapadhi. And so can you – the one who claims to be an innocent girl… But if the innocent young girl...” He gave a pause here. It seemed deliberate.

Everybody was looking at the Dhalapadhi now. The atmosphere seemed to have become static. Each one, Sembaruthi’s father, her mother, the poosari and Semabaruthi herself were expecting a different reply from him.

His reply came in a slow pace but with an authoritative voice.

“But…if the innocent young girl becomes the Dhalapadhi’s dharmapathini, then I assume she has to say it to him”

The heat of the atmosphere soared up and it seemed the hut where they were in would burn in plain air. It took heated discussions among Sembaruthi, her father, mother and occasionally the poosari before a conclusion was reached. Maithreyan was as hard as a rock and as cool as the winter cloud throughout the discussions. All throughout the chaos that was happening around him, he kept his eyes fixed on sembaruthi's eyes while still answering calmly to the questions that her parents were asking.He knew exactly how things will turn out from here and just waited patiently for them to happen.

Afterall he was in love with Sembaruthi.

It does not take years to fall in love. Love is instantaneous. It can bloom between the thorn and the rose, the fruit and the root, the beautiful and the ugly, the rich and the poor, the prince and the damsel,the princess and the poet, between any two souls that vibrate with the same frequency for the unknown.

It can bloom anywhere, anytime.

And in Maithreyans’case, it was a dark night when the most beautiful girl he would ever see rolled down from the top of the god's hill to right below his feet.