World of My Dreams

I lived in the most beautiful valley on earth in Kashmir. The sight of the snow-capped mountains, the sounds of the flowing river striking against numerous boulders on its path, the long winding roads going up and down and the lines of green trees along the paths made this place truly a paradise on earth.

My parents worked in a local factory, as carpenters. All kinds of wood works including designs on doors, windows and shelves were done by them. We lived in a small house near the flowing river. I went to a local school and studied various subjects including Science and Mathematics. I was extremely curious and used to ask a lot of questions to my teachers, parents, friends and myself. I never ceased to wonder how on some days the sky and the wind conjured up to make the clouds burst with joy and the tears of happiness flowed down from the sky above in the form of rain. Or I used to wonder why the dark, black, ominous looking clouds covered the face of the moon in the evenings, and the nearby stars kept twinkling away. Looked like they were playing hide and seek with the moon. The stars seemed to wink at the approaching enemy clouds, as if teasing them to give a chase. I never ceased to wonder how the butterfly glides through the flowers and the grass, with its infinite colors. How it carried life from one flower to another, carrying nectar and dew.

Then there was Captain Negi from the Indian Army, who lived in his army quarters, near the check post. He was the jolliest person I had ever met in life. In the evenings, our gang of school friends used to gather in the courtyard of his office quarters. He told us stories about ancient times, about Aladdin and the magic lamp, Alibaba and the forty thieves, Ganesha and his elephant trunk and how the River Ganga came down to the earth from the heavens. Laughter and wisdom flowed in those discussions and we were heartily regaled by his tales and anecdotes. Also, in store for us were the numerous candies, chocolates and muffins. We had the most beautiful of evenings whenever Captain Negi was in the valley. I had a lot of questions, as usual, about the stories he told and about the world around us. He listened to all my questions patiently and replied to most of them in a very lucid and simple manner. One evening, I asked him whether there was a tunnel underneath our little village. He was genuinely confused and when I told him how else the sun could go down over this hill every dusk and come out over the mountains in the nearby village next morning, he laughed so loudly that nearby villagers came around and inquired if everything was ok with us or not!

On another such evening, I asked Captain Negi about his childhood days and what he dreamt about this world. He somehow became a bit dreamy eyed and stared blankly at us. After a long silence, he replied, “The world of my dreams is a very beautiful place. I have always searched for that clear blue sky which I saw in childhood, where there were less worries and more joys. I searched for the moon which dispels the darkness of hate, and for that sun which leads to the dawn of hope. I used to look over the vast fields and distant hills and feel happily content under the free blue sky. The colorful and chirping birds roamed around me and every evening used to be so exquisitely golden. I dreamt of a world where there will be no petty differences based on caste. I dreamt that merit alone will judge our future. Beyond childhood, there will be many highs and lows, I hoped the long road of life will not tire me altogether.” We were stunned and remained silent after this solemn reply from him. We had never seen him so somber. I again asked him, “So, has the long road of life tired you now?” He smiled back and said, “The child’s dream is just a dream, yet to be fulfilled. As I look around now, we are surrounded by so much progress! The clear blue sky is now black with haze and the moon and sun are covered with clouds of modernity. This long road of life seems to be too tiring. The birds do not chirp much as before. How I wish I never grew up and remained a child. Childhood dreams cannot be fulfilled by this progress!”

We thought that we had led Captain Negi to a situation with our questions where he now wanted to be left alone. We quietly bade him goodbye for the evening and slowly trudged back to our homes. One thought still rang inside my head, “Is this world not as beautiful as it looks like? Is there a different world too?”

After a few days, on a bright early morning, a group of 4 people knocked at our home. My father opened the door, still with his eyes half shut. I could not gather much about the conversation they had. But it seemed like they were representing a very rich man from the nearby city and were asking us to leave our home in a few days. My father was very much alarmed by this situation and kept on requesting them to allow us to live here. But the group of people were adamant and shouted at him and went away. My father was literally crying when he shut the door and told my mother and me that these well-bred men were looking for a spot for an upcoming club in the valley. Some rich man from the city wanted to build a 5-star club with all the modern facilities for Indian and foreign travelers to the valley. Our home was the perfect spot as it was near the river and not too far from the main road, connecting the highway to the city. We had to clear this house the very next day as our landlord had already sold this house to the rich man from the city.

The very next morning, we shifted our meager belongings to the outskirts of the village, at our relative’s house. As we were putting our last set of utensils and clothes on the horse cart outside our home, we saw a huge bull-dozer coming to demolish our dream home to dust. Within a matter of minutes, our home of dreams was reduced to dust on the earth. One of the men from the group who had come to our home yesterday was now talking on his mobile and giving this great news to the other side. It seemed that the first step to build the first modern 5 -star club in the valley was completed and now the valley will see the much-needed development and progress.

Life carried on as usual. But the evenings were no longer as enjoyable as before. Captain Negi was not in his quarters for the last few days. We heard from his brother who stayed with him that there had been a few firings near the border and the Indian Army soldiers were busy warding off the intruders. The guns kept on blazing over the hills all day along and life almost came to a standstill. Then suddenly one day, we saw an Army jeep near the village center and a few soldiers carrying the body of a person wrapped in Indian tricolor out of the jeep. They carried the body to Captain Negi’s house. Hearing the commotion, his brother came out of the house and rushed to the soldiers carrying the body. He wailed out loudly and lamented the demise of his brother. We kept on looking from the crowd surrounding the jeep. I was shell shocked. The ever-smiling Captain Negi was no more a part of us! All the tales he had told us came flashing through to my mind and it made me numb. The world of his dreams had crashed with a single bullet on his chest from the intruder’s side.

I somehow wonder at the purpose of our life in this world. Where have we come from and where are we headed to? In this never-ending multitude of stars and planets, on this vast earth, I am a tiny speck in the tiniest of villages. I somehow wonder at the infinite questions cropping up in my finite mind. What is my aim? Is this all just a journey or is there some destination as well?

I have now grown up and work as a bank clerk in the nearby city. My parents have long since expired and I do visit my relatives in the village sometimes. The hills are now heavy with moisture laden money. The 5-star club is a major tourist attraction and thousands of Indian and foreign tourists visit to enjoy their holidays. The setting sun and the bird's homebound resonate with me very strongly now. I sometimes think of the world of my dreams and find Captain Negi smiling and winking at me, asking me,” Have you found out the tunnel in the village through which the Sun travels in the dusk and rises from over the mountains in the east the next morning”? If he was here now, I would have replied, “Captain Negi, it is difficult to find the tunnel. But I will try my best to make the Sun shine brightly on the valley, as long as I can”.