By Savitri Narayanan
The eastern sky was slowly brightening up.
“Time to wake up,” a lotus in the pond told herself as she gently lifted a petal.
“I’m already up,” said the baby lotus, ‘See, the sun is coming up!”
“Good you’re up, my baby,” said the mother lotus. “You understand and follow the rules.”
In the pond, these conversations took place early every morning. The pond was on the left of the pathway, on its right stretched the wheat fields. The harvest was done, the grains were stored in the granaries. The fields were rather quiet with hardly anyone present except for the cattle who grazed around and cowherds who kept an eye from the shade of the nearby tree.
Quite a few lotuses and water lilies grew in the pond. In Shirgaon village, there was no novelty in a lotus, these were part of their surroundings. The devotees from Shirgaon who walked across the fields to offer prayers rarely cast a second glance at them. It was part of their daily routine, and they rarely noticed the flowers.
But for the outsiders it was a different matter. They were fascinated by the blossoming lotuses in the pond, often paused to take photographs. Some took selfies with the lotuses, some requested a third person, very often the cowherds resting under the tree, to click their group photo with the lotus in the background. Mostly it happened on auspicious days when new devotees came, or the residents’ relatives came over to offer prayers.
On that Saturday morning, the Shirgaon village saw a crowd of visitors!
The school bus from a city school drove down, parked and a group of senior students got out with their notebooks and pens. Many had their water-bottles hung over their shoulders, some carried binoculars too.
Both the escorting teachers had cameras with them.
‘Who are these? Why are they here?’
Chhottu and Balu couldn’t hold their curiosity anymore, so they got up from under the tree and joined them. The students looked around, taking in the view. Excited chatter was in the air.
‘Beautiful!’
‘See the sun rising!’
‘How true, the birds are flying towards the east!’
‘Back home I rarely think of east and west!’
‘The lotus and the lilies are blossoming!’
As they exchanged views, the air turned noisy. Surely it was a new experience for the urban children.
“Where do the lotus grow, Sir?” asked Ashutosh hesitatingly. “Is there mud under water?”
“Good question,’ said Sharma Sir and briefly explained how the lotus flowers’ roots were in the marshes below and how their long stems sway with the wind and hence coming to no harm.
“Is lotus God’s flower?” Sajish voiced the thoughts in several minds.
“Not only here in India but also in countries like China, Japan and Korea, the lotus is considered a holy flower, symbol of peace, prosperity and longevity. They have been present on the earth for millions of years! Despite its delicate look, the lotus is strong and sturdy. They even survived the ice age when many plants became extinct. Lotus has a unique growth pattern. Imagine, the seeds of its flower can survive for thousands of years even without water!”
The students listened with great interest.
‘Yes, sir! My uncle told me about how they were destroyed in a catastrophic flood in China which lasted for a few years,” said Neeraj. “When the water receded, the lotus flowers just grew again!”
“True,” agreed Sharma Sir. “This was possible because even when their roots were destroyed in that flood that lasted years, the lotus seeds which had scattered started growing.”
“Strong indeed, they are,” said Vaibhav, “Though they look so delicate.”
“Now you understand why the epics show Gods and Goddesses sitting atop or emerging from the lotus. Lakshmi is shown seated in the lotus, so is Saraswati, which symbolizes nothing but strength!”
“Guess what,” Sir continued. “The Lotus has the ability to purify the water it grows in and can even resist pollution. Can you imagine how the lotus submerges below the water each night and reblooms in the morning without trapping any impurities from the water.”
“If only we could pluck one lotus,” said Ajay. “Would love to see how long is its stem!”
Ajay knew swimming, was confident to get the lotus but didn’t have a change of dress. Not that he would be allowed to get into the water anyway!
There was silence for a minute or so.
“I’ll pluck one for you,” said Balu. Without a second thought he took off his shirt, passed it in on to Chhottu and stepped into the pond. As the students watched, Balu swam away and returned with a half-bloomed lotus on a long stem.
Plenty of water lilies also blossomed in the pond.
“Thank God, I’m safe! He didn’t pluck me,” said a water lily.
“I’m the queen of flowers! See how pretty I am,” said a lotus. “When I’m here, why would they pluck you?”
“Don’t be so proud,” the water lily was offended. “I challenge, you can’t do what I can. See, my leaves float directly on the water, if you do that, yours will die! So, you hold your leaves above the water, right?”
“When the sun sets, I go underwater and come up next morning in full bloom,” retorted the lotus, “Can you do that?”
The sun was listening to the conversation. It was time to set so it said in parting, “Both of you are my dear children, beautiful in your own way! Here you are, fighting about petty things! Instead, be friends, enjoy your friendship!”
(Savitri Narayanan is retired educationist at present in Goa. A mother and grandmother loves reading, writing, and travelling.)
