Stories  
Ananda Sankaram – 2
by NS Murty

By any mischance, does she want me to mediate? Nandagopal is a known roudy-sheeter. So long as he could, he might have taken her to lodges and along beaches and in the end he must have spurned her now. Fellow with the face of Amrish Puri! If I say anything, he would beat me black and blue. What a misfortune I wrought upon myself! I should have said no to her,” he debated within himself. He started by nine in the morning as if he was in a hurry, roamed about the bazaars till noon show time, saw the matinee in Jagadamba and was back to his burrow at one. Ananda Sankaram, who made it a habit not to keep his promises and run away from the realities of life, did it once more.

And now he was feeling guilty and a lot of inconvenience to talk to Vijaya. And when the first opportunity presented itself, he ran away from her to some other place. There, as usual, Niranjanrao was talking gibberish with four or five students around. “What can I tell you? It’s unfortunate that I had to join this social-work course. Life has reduced to just visiting the deaf, dumb, mute and destitute homes or the “Nirmal Hriday” old age homes! I lost interest in life itself listening repeatedly to the same pitiable stories, and same monotony of recording them time and again in the records! And to top it all, Sudha, the only girl friend I have thinks herself another Metha Patkar. No taste for joys, no cinemas, and no sweet nothings. Just a dead wood! Sometime she says ‘to Bal Nivas’ and sometime later she says ‘to Old-age Home’. When I am at my wits’ end with this Social work, she is like a Kannamba to me! I feel like running away leaving this Kannamba and this Metha Patkar!” and his flow stopped instantly when he saw Sudha coming to them.

“Niranjan! Instead of whiling away your time gossiping here why don’t you come and help me? I am finding it hard for the last one hour to dress and make up the destitute-home children all alone. They are in the final rehearsal. Go there! I will find if I can manage some tea and snacks for them,” she said, and left the place as hurriedly as she had come. Niranjan headed towards reading room in obedience.

And the whole electrifying atmosphere had changed all of a sudden into hushed silence and one junior student shouted in his irrepressible excitement: “here comes Mohini! Mohini!” Mohini was the class beauty. Junior Lata Mangeshkar. She was the campus Cuckoo who could sing with enchanting ease the classical ‘Nagumomu Kanaleni.’ Or the pop ‘those were the days my friend, we thought they never end’.

When Ananda Sankaram saw her, his heart throbbed. Mohini was the sweet hum of Rag Mohana of his dreams. Being able to talk to her for few minutes was the most cherished of his desires.

“Your attention please,” Niranjanrao came to the mike, “it is the desire of our respected Professor to conduct the party in the most informal way. So you will hear no speeches, no sermons, and no advices. Just fun and music, that’s all! Of course, you hear songs from Ms Mohini without saying. And today’s special attraction is the musical Ballet compeered and presented by Ms Sudha. And I sincerely hope that this evening, this excitement and its sweetness lingers and haunts you for years to come. Let us start this evening’s programme with a very brief, one minute address by our honorable Vice Chancellor.”

Vice Chancellor Rammohanrao walked up to the dais. With gray hair and eyes so radiant, he looked like the light of knowledge.

“Fear is more dangerous than death itself. It’s cancer that terminates all our good traits. There is so much of happiness in this world. Hubbub and activity, arresting beauty, sweetness of friendships and the colorful spectrum of togetherness. But all these things this fear can deprive us of. The youth that should fly to the limits of horizon fearlessly like the hawks is behaving like hens put under a basket. Forgetting that they envelope enormous amount of energy hidden within them, they are trying merely to exist like ‘bespeakables’, and in an unseemly and unbecoming way…” Ananda Sankaram started and even thought if the V.C. was speaking keeping him in his mind. “If you can break these shackles, the world will prostrate before you!” The words reverberated in his ears.

The Ballet of the “Bal Nivas children” commenced. That was a wonderful stage adaptation of Richard Bach’s famous novel “Jonathan Livingston Sea Gull”. All sea birds (not seagulls) argue that it was enough if they can get few grains for the day than run after mirages. Jonathan argues that one should touch the limits of horizons and unfold new vistas of life, and that earning a livelihood is not the end of life itself. He will be banished from the group. Ananda Sankaram lost himself in the ballet. “We show the way and the world follows,” the girl playing Jonathan was singing beautifully, “open up your wings of courage and follow, I lead you to wonderful worlds unknown!” Jonathan was still singing.

– Continued

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