BREAKING CLUMPS OF SOIL UNDER MOON-LIT NIGHTS

It was a full moon night. Houses in the village nearby can be seen silhouetted against the moon lit background. The village looks to have slept long time back, soon after the night has fallen. There were no electricity and people hardly stayed awake for few hours after the darkness.

But, out in the barren field someway away from the village, a group of young men and women, and few boys and girls are in the middle of a work amidst laughter, whispers and occasional bouts of singing. Bizarre it may sound but, sometimes, some households in my village hired helping hands of young men and women during the full moon nights to break clumps of dry soil in preparation for the oncoming wheat sowing.

I didn’t understand then on why people hired helping hands during nights. Now I understand how people must have had their hands full during the day, so that something less serious like breaking down clumps of soil can be done in the low visibility of the moon-lit nights. However, young men and women and even small boys and girls always looked forward excitedly to be working in barren fields during night time. In fact, all the young people (single) in the village will turn up for the task, each holding a long handled wooden mallet. The reason for excitement is all too obvious.

Winter is cold in place like Bumthang even during the day. Night is even colder with temperatures plummeting below freezing point and the gutsy wind that blows in the valley adds to the misery but, when you are young, you always have the gut to ignore the inclement weather. And the prospect of being able to flirt with the beautiful girls of the village under the cover of hazy moonlight with the opportunity provided by the night errand always makes it exciting for young men and women. It can be possible, that some of the matches must have taken shape while attending such errands.

Younger boys and girls who are too naïve to understand true romance are consigned to one side while more matured engineered their plans to be closer to each other where they can share their feelings and hatch naughty plans under whispers and flirt with each other.

Often, the talks in the night are between a pair in hushed tone and the sounds of bursting clumps under the force of mallets are all that can be heard loud and clear. But sometimes someone in the group starts talking loud so that rests of the members hears him. Even though, someone demands attention from the rest, there would be nothing serious to talk about but, share some raunchy jokes, that triggers bouts of laughter in the group. Sometimes, the young people sing in unison and sometimes, young men and women contest in the rendition of ballad (Tzangmo).

Tzangmo is sung in such a way that, after the first group or individual rendered four lines, the other group responses with another four lines that is basically a reply to what the first group implied through their rendition. On occasion like this, young men on one side will face off with women on the other. These kinds of rendition contest are known to go on till the wee hours of mornings. If the first one sings something sweet, the respondent tries to make it even sweeter and likewise, if one group sings something with unsavory connotation, the other will try to make it even nastier but, this normally ends with reconciliatory note. I admired at the reputation of some people who are known to be a great repository of Tzangmos.

It was funny too that, although blisters may begin forming in their palms, there is no lacking in will to go on hammering the last sizeable clumps.  Perhaps, the excitement of working side by side with the girls and boys of one’s liking may have enabled their hearts to pump lot of adrenalin into their muscles that, holding high, long handled wooden mallet and bringing them strongly on clumps of soil with thuds just comes spontaneously and effortlessly. As nights wear on,excitement among the young ones fade. Their eyes become bleary and they wish to run back home and snuggle under blankets but, the older ones remain oblivious to their plight blinded by their adrenalin rush.

This often goes on into the wee hours of the morning depending on the sizes of fields. In the end, all walk back to the house which hired those hands. The relative darkness offers privacy from prying eyes and most would be walking either hand in hand or side by side nudging each other’s shoulders flirtatiously. But, that is it. After a mug of steaming buttered tea and some snacks, boys will leave for their homes and girls will sleep in the host’s home until the next morning. 

That was how it used to be then. Now, wheat and potato fields are giving way to mushrooming of hotels, resorts and other commercial ventures. I am sure people no longer need to hire helping hands and young men and women also no longer need to go to break clumps for a chance to flirt any more.

Gyembo Namgyal

 May 19, 2015 11:55 PM

SOMETHINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNSAID, OR IS IT?

PIC; GOOGLE

“I am leaving tomorrow. Will you not come to meet me? If you are coming, I will be home today, otherwise a friend invited me for early dinner,” told Doelma over the phone to a friend of hers. If Drimed ever goes to Doelma’s place, it would not only be their first one-to-one meeting but, also their last.

Drimed was unsure of whether to heed to her final call or just avoid the meeting with some excuses. What’s the point in meeting her in the penultimate day of her departure? Those unsaid words and feelings are now best  left to rest or else it will only lead to the opening of floodgates of built up emotions and will be the cause of further heartbreaks.

Yet, another side of him wanted to go and meet her even if it is for the last time. And the fact that Doelma asked him to see her cannot have been a casual reason. She wanted to see him of all the people. She must have mustered her courage to have called him to ask for the meeting, he thought. So, Drimed weighed the options and finally made a return call telling Doelma, that he is coming.

Over the phone, she told him that, everything had been packed, ready to be shipped. “I have packed everything and I had to borrow even plates from my neighbours last night. In fact, I am being funny to ask you to come here but, for the last time, I wanted to see you,” she said, when Drimed called back to tell her, he is coming.

“Will you also bring me some of your favourite songs in your phone? I always loved your collections,” she added.

Drimed made a quick revision of his lists of favourite songs and transferred to his spare micro SD card. But, he did not know what to take as a parting gift. He thought, if there is anything to be gifted it must be appropriate. So he scoured the market and bought a thanka scroll. He thought, it is the most appropriate gift as it also auspicious and something related to spirituality.

Dolma saw Drimed coming. So she went outside her rented home to receive him. The house was a small traditional one with two rooms and a separate kitchen. It is not a bad place except it hung little precariously on a slope. Outside the house some people are found basking in the afternoon sun while three children ran helter-skelter merrily.

As is customary, Dolema prepared an aromatic tea but, she had to run to her neighbour’s place to get a porcelain mug serve. When she finally brought the steaming tea, she said, she forgot to leave even those essential utensils unpacked and now she is not sure which boxes contained what.

Drimed sat on a dewan wrapped in cardbox papers for transportation as Dolema made herself comfortable sitting on the floor. For few minutes they sat silently not knowing how to begin. “So you are going tomorrow? Why do you want to go so fast?” asked Drimed finally.

“Someone found me a vehicle going that way, so I have decided to go.”

“Yeah, sometimes everything falls in the right places like it has happened to you. It is a sign, something good is in store. You are going and there is vehicle going that way. It cannot get better.”

“Yeah but, I don’t know if it is going to be for better or worse. I wanted to go at one point of time. But, I don’t know why, if I have the choice I would love to remain back,” said Doelma, her voice chocking.

Drimed could not say anything too. There was a surge of emotion welling up inside him too. And he wondered why he is feeling that way. They have become good friends over the time. They even began liking each other but, that is it. The two never had enough courage to make their feelings known to each other and it had remained that way to this day, a time when they are on the verge of going separate ways. But, even without speaking and expressing anything, both understood through telepathy what they felt for each other.

In their first and the last meeting, both are unsure whether to let the other know what is going on inside their heart. They also realize the futility of letting each other know of their feelings now.  So they decide to let their emotions fizzle out.

When Drimed came to meet her the last time, one thing he wanted to do was muster all his courage and hug her. But, when the time came for him to leave her, all he could do was wish her safe journey. The reason Doelma called Drimed was to tell him she liked him at least and plant a kiss on his cheek for being the most wonderful friend outside her family. But, when he finally rose to leave, she could not even look into his eyes as tears filled them. And long after the parting, both kept thinking of each other knowing that with time new friends will come into their lives and enable them to move forward.

What do you think of this story? Did Drimed and Doelma do the right thing by leaving their feelings unexpressed even in their last meeting? After all, they have not been able to let each other know of their true feelings when they were together. Will time heal their feelings by ushering in new friends that may give new directions in their lives? Are certain things best left unsaid for the fear of their repercussions? I leave this for my readers to decide.

Gyembo Namgyal

February 9, 2015 11:57 PM