"The Monsoon Orchestra"

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.