Sunday Feature By Rituparno Datta

My Deer

There was nothing for me to do, no meterial job left, especially on a afternoon sleeping on the lap of a Monsoon’s twilight in Shantiniketan. My brother was out for his Indian Classical lessons in Biswa Bharati. I was lying down on his disorganized bed, looking straight outside of the Grey Monsoon window. The things I couldn’t see, I heard, like the far away cows moving maybe towards some undiscovered river in search of the most lively water. What I could see was the tiny margins of the deep Green grass landscape just beside our paying guest apartment. As if a bride was getting ready and the relatives were the little rain drops released from the most unseen sky of Monsoon. I thought of not just sitting or lying by the bed and thought of going outside of the little stay made up of brunches and clay. My mind was seeking something or maybe someone more close to the heavenly nature of the rain. I booked a ‘Toto’ as they call it and headed towards the Deer park. When I reached there, I was amused by the peace and silence of the place. There was absolutely no one except for me. The whole ambient was kissed by the most recent blessing of the Monsoon wet twilight. There were gigantic trees on both sides of the lonely road. Suddenly, I saw a Deer. It was standing on the middle of the road towards the more empty portion of the road, a place where even the forest on both the sides got tired of protecting humanity’s emptiness. The Deer was not only standing but was dancing and hopping in the little rain it could get. I was mesmerized by the view. Just then, two more came, they were big in size from the one enjoying the rain. The dance stopped as it saw the parents coming out from the forest. There was a huge pause. And then slowly and silently, like a metaphor of the twilight time three of them moved inside of the forest. Before the baby was about to enter the deepest darkness of the Green ahead of it, he looked at me and I felt that my eyes were my soul.
A call came to me, “Babu, Shondhye hoeche bari phirte hobe.”.