Rain seems to fascinate
me a lot. In the city I live, it has been raining incessantly for the last ten
days and it is the heaviest in the wee hours of the morning. Few days ago, as I
walked into the verandah of my house in the early hours, the rain which made
its presence felt throughout the night welcomed me with moist fragrance. The
world was still asleep and in the silence, I could distinctly hear the sound
the rain drops made on the green grass, leaves, cement road and the terrace.
Each one had its own melody as if they were an ensemble of an orchestra. I
forgot everything else, concentrated on the “music
of the rain drops” and was soon drawn into the orchestra.
The conductor;
immaculately dressed in a tuxedo, bow; holding a baton; his face a
personification of concentration; countenance glowing with radiance; briefly
looked at me and nodded his head acknowledging my presence. I was very
apprehensive at the sight of the conductor and stood in a corner hesitantly.
Though he was busy conducting the orchestra, he made eye contact with me and
beckoned me to come near. As I went near, he made me sit in front of a musical
instrument which I never saw before. It was shining with eye blinding
brilliance and was a pleasure to behold. The musical notes neatly pinned to a
stand were crystal clear and though I did not have any formal musical
initiation could understand them easily. I looked intently at the conductor as
his whole body swayed to the tune of the baton and seemed to be a boat floating
on the sea waves. Every sinew in his body was alive to the music and with his
eyes closed and hands moving in rhythm, he was the music itself. All of a sudden,
birds from above the trees started chirping happily at the prospect of the
morning and they blended into the orchestra like playback singers. There was
wide smile on the face of the conductor as if he knew that the birds would sing
and he appreciated them with a slight nod of his head. a
I sat mesmerized and saw
the conductor waving his baton swiftly. As if it was a signal to play the
percussion instruments, the terrace which was filled with water released it
through a pipe and the water fell on the ground with a thud. The fall of rain
drops on the leaves and tree branches was subdued as if they were slowed down
by the conductor to let the drums have their say. By this time tempo of the
rain picked up and the rain drops were falling heavily on the cement road. The
sound so produced looked as if all the instruments started playing the final
note to build a crescendo. It was accompanied by a loud thunder from the clouds and I thought it was
a thunderous applause from the audience.
“Wow! Gods must be very
kind to me to let me watch such a marvelous performance”. I thought.
Finally, the conductor bowed to
the audience and came to me. His face was glowing with such brilliance
that it was difficult for me to look into his eyes. He smiled at my
predicament, placed a hand on my shoulder and said “do you know how to play the
instrument which is in front of you”?
I was silent.
“Look at it carefully. Does it
have resemblance to something you know intimately”? The conductor said.
It is a part of me. I
started looking at the instrument with full concentration till such time that I
was fully consumed by it. The instrument seemed to be a part of me and saw its brilliance
emanate from me and spread all over the surroundings. I was in unison with the
happiness around and as I played the notes, “The Monsoon Orchestra” came alive
once again.
“How is it possible”? I asked the
conductor.
“It is possible. Every human
being has the capacity to radiate brilliance and make everything around shine. All of us have a musical instrument called
heart inside us. It shines, produces sweet music called feelings, emotions and
spreads happiness all around”.
“But is each one of us aware of
this fact”? I asked.
“To be aware of the brilliance
inside us, we need to appreciate the brilliance around us; feel the beauty in
the environment; appreciate the goodness; be grateful for all the blessings
showered upon us and live in the present”.
“How true”? If I was not in the present, I would have
missed “The Monsoon Orchestra” I thought.
