Aranyani: Chapter 1

I have presented the characters of Hindu mythology in a modern time

“Excited?” Raghav asked as he climbed onto the jeep.

“Excited for this safari? Not at all!” I said and bent to keep my bag beside my legs.

Raghav took the seat beside me. Our camp instructor announced that the front seat was to be left for the guide. We waited till all the children settled into the twelve jeeps before we hit the road. Raghav and Devansh were talking about a cricket match they were going to miss because of the camp. The others in our jeep were also talking. I didn’t expect to be included in any of the conversations. At school people usually ignored me, all except Raghav. We became friends when we participated together in a dance competition, that was a month ago and since then our friendship changed my life. That friendship changed my life. Having somebody by my side, someone to confide in gave me confidence. My shrink had also noticed that.

The jeep halted and our guide went to the office to show our IDs. At the gate a board read ‘The Pench National Park.’ Beside it there was a small board with the picture of a tiger on it. The tiger population in India has gone down and so the government has made many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to protect forests where tigers or other endangered animals lived. We were about to leave for our first safari. Everyone was excited but me. The very idea of a safari freaked me out. I wouldn’t have come to Pench in the first place if Raghav hadn’t insisted.

Our guide came back with a form and each of us filled it one by one.
“How much more time is it gonna take?! We’ve been waiting for ages!” Raghav exclaimed.
“I don’t mind.” I said.
“Vidhi, I know you hate the wild but now that you have come here just try to enjoy it.”
“I guess I should.”  I said as I realized how bad it was of me to constantly remind Raghav that he had forced me to come to Pench. I wish I could tell him the truth but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that or for that matter if he was. I certainly didn’t want to loose my only friend.

 I found my heart racing as the jeep moved into the forest. Soon, I saw a deer “Humans here! Get away” it said. Other Animals and their voices followed. One particular voice caught my attention, it came from a monkey. “She’s here, she’s here.” The monkey said and disappeared into the forest. I had a queer feeling that the ‘she’ referred to me.

I closed my eyes. “Monkeys don’t talk, they are animals. Ignore the voices.” I told myself. I took a deep breath before I opened my eyes.

“Vidhi, are you okay?” Raghav asked.

“I’m fine. Its just the forest.” I lied again. I loved the forest, its greenery and the solace it provided. It was only these voices which scared me.The reason of me having no friends was that weird things happened around me. I dreaded those moments when someone pointed towards an animal because hearing animal voices wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed. I tried to concentrate on the trees and the road to distract myself from the voices. It worked for a while, I was even able to talk to Raghav and enjoy a bit.

I was laughing at something Raghav had said when our guide said “Quiet! There is a call. A tiger might be coming.”

People considered themselves really lucky if they spotted a tiger in Pench. We might be extremely lucky because the tiger walked right up to us. The tiger was the most magnificent creature I had ever seen. Its tawny yellow fur glowed against the sunlight. I almost expected to hear the tiger say “My, my! I’m already salivating.” But instead it just walked towards us silently. I had heard animals stayed away from humans but it didn’t. It moved slowly till it was right beside the jeep. I was sitting on the corner, it was inches beside me. Raghav put an arm around my shoulders and tried to pull we away from the tiger. It seemed as if the tiger was looking directly at me.

Then I heard the tiger, “Honored to see you Goddess Aranyani. Welcome back to the wild. The Yekasis are waiting.”
It was obvious that the tiger was talking to me. But I was no Goddess. It took a while before I could reply.

 “I am Vidhi.. um, You made some.. er, mistake.” I felt stupid as I said the words. Was I trying to talk to a tiger?

But the tiger replied.

“Goddess Aranyani your memory has been taken away. Please, see the Yekasis! They will tell you everything.”

“I can’t.”

“Goddess Aranyani! We need you! The wild is in grave danger. If you don’t help us, then the day is not far off when we will fade into oblivion.”

I don’t know why I said what I said next.

“Look I can’t come now. I’ll come, later.”

The tiger didn’t move an inch. I sighed.

“I promise I will. Please leave, you are scaring people.”

“I will leave now. I pray for your blessings.”

It seemed rude not to reply so I said, “I bless you.”

The black markings on his forehead glowed red. As he turned away I heard him thanking me. Maybe it was just my imagination but he seemed awestruck to me. That instant everything was crystal clear. There wasn’t a shadow of doubt in my mind. I knew with absolute certainty that I wasn’t imagining all this.

Our guide told us that tigers had come close to jeeps before, not this close though. Everyone remained very quiet for the rest of the ride. Even Raghav was being uncharacteristically quiet. We stopped at a dam. As soon as we got down from the jeep and we were out of everyone’s earshot Raghav started talking.

“Vidhi, you talked to that tiger.”

“You think I am crazy.” I retorted.

“Look I just wanna know whats going on.”

I wasn’t actually planning on telling him anything but seeing that typical frown on his face that usually came about when he was worried, I finally gave in. I took a deep breath and started talking not caring if what I said had any semblance of pragmatism.

I narrated the whole incident to Raghav. “I want to go into the forest. I don’t want to break a promise.” I said.

“A promise you made to a tiger? C’mon Vidhi the forest is not safe.” He said.

 “Raghav, I have been hearing animals since I was a kid. I’m different from everyone. I need to figure this out. I won’t go deep inside. As it is animals don’t come in this area.”

“Okay but I am coming with you.”

I didn’t have the time to argue and honestly, I wanted Raghav to be with me.

We told our teachers that we had left our bags in the jeep and wanted to get them. But instead of walking towards the jeep we went into the forest. Soon we were surrounded by trees. I placed a hand on Raghav’s shoulder.

“Wait.” I said.

I cleared my throat and tried to speak in a strong voice.

“I call the tiger that came to me earlier and addressed me as Aranyani. I have kept my promise and come to see him.”

At first, I felt dumb when no tiger came. But after a few minutes the tiger came with a woman walking beside him.

“Goddess Aranyani! This is Agrata, she leads the Yekasis in your absence.” The tiger said.

“Who is the Yekasis?” I asked.

“You will come to know.” The tiger said curtly.

 “Oh Goddess Aranyani! The Wanderer of the Wild! I welcome you to your home. You were cursed eons ago by the Sky God but no one knows why. Because of that curse, you take birth in human form away from the forests with no memory of your identity, responsibility or power. Our group is the Yekasis. We are your helpers. We try to find you every time. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. The forests are decreasing. Those in your realm are suffering. Lead us again. The wild has suffered due to your absence. Please revive it with your presence.”

I had always been good at sensing lies. I trusted my intuition. This time it told me that the woman wasn’t lying which was difficult to believe.

“I just find all this, er, difficult to believe.”

The woman nodded. She came to me and handed me a small cloth bag. “These are your anklets.”

I opened the bag. I took the anklets, as soon as the metal touched my skin I knew the woman was truthful, the anklets were mine.

I took a deep breath. “I will come to the forest. First my friend has to go back.”

I walked with Raghav the way we had come. Sensing that we needed privacy Agrata stayed behind. “I will stay in contact with you. I am a goddess I should be able to do that, huh?”

“Everyone will know that we were gone.”

“Tell them some story. I know you are good at it. Tell Mom and Dad I love them.”

“ Vidhi I have to say this, it’s now or never. I’ve been smitten since I first saw you dance.”

“Er, Raghav.. I like you too.”

“C’mon you don’t have to say that.”

“I’ll miss you.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. I put my arms around him and cried silently.

 “I should leave, Vidhi.”

Raghav went away; soon he was out of my sight.

The feeling that I belonged somewhere subdued my grief. Raghav was my love but the wild was my responsibility. I wore my anklets and danced in the wilderness.

My dance was its breath

 my anklets jingling was its laughter

 the presence of my soul revitalized its beauty.

 Flowers bloomed where my tears fell.

With me my forest was alive.

I am Aranyani.

Author's Note

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