Noor Jahan sat under the magnificent Silver Maple tree as the garden filled with dry leaves shed from the Royal Paulownia in the corner of the garden surrounding the ornate bungalow. Time seemed to fly by her. Spring had turned to summer, summer to the monsoon & now autumn approached galloping in full glory. The Red Mulberry tree had shamelessly shed its lobed, unevenly balanced leaves leaving behind bare branches. Everything looked stark cementing the misery she felt from within.
The two things’ she loved about this season though were the flock of migratory birds that perched on the rickety grim colored bare branches & the wind that blew from the northern direction. Noor loved to feel the breeze in her hair as she sat reminiscing about her life in her beloved Kashmir. How she recklessly ran around the house her grand father, Sheikh Abdul Ghani had built in the early part of the twenty-first century. Kashmir had been her soul. A place where she was born. A place that was like no other. A place who’s people exuded the warmth which was so alien in New York.
Noor’s father, Sheikh Rafik Abdullah Ghani was the emerging face in the state political circles. Noor was his only child & the apple of his eyes. Noor's mother had died of hemorrhage during childbirth & Sheikh Saab had raised Noor with the help of Rabia bi.
Noor accompanied her father on his political trips of the province. Her celestial looks made her stand out in the crowd. It had been one of those relentless trips in the interiors during a political campaign. The cavalcade of motors snaked through pristine forested areas when a bomb exploded ripping the bridge they were crossing.
In between screams of agony at the unexpected assault flew smoke & splinter, wasting everything in its path like a tornado. Within seconds, what was once a majestic procession turned to upturned smoke bellowing wreckage. Sheikh Saab never traveled in the same car with Noor. He was perhaps wary of the jingoistic spirits of the jihadis fighting for an independent Kashmir.
Noor’s car was thrown into the river below dismantling the car’s outer body & flinging her about 10 feet away where she landed with a rude thud on jagged rocks. Sheikh Saab’s car miraculously escaped the brunt of the attack. Receiving minor cuts & bruises, he scrambled to the banks of the river shouting out to Noor Jahan worried sick about her well being.
Noor was brought back to safety by the rapid military forces that swung into action. She suffered grave injury all over her body. Her spine was broken & body scalded. Within a few hours, she was flown to Srinagar & after administering first aid to Delhi for life saving treatment. The various test reports were grim. It was as if the carpet had been pulled from below Sheikh Saab’s feet. He worried & suffered but due to his public image, maintained gravity.
The press hounded the attack episode & all the victims involved in it. The video clippings were all over the national & international channels. The world grieved at Noor’s misfortune. Hundreds of miles away, Noor’s best friend Piyu was watching the news & was horrified at seeing her friends limp figure as she was being transported from Srinagar to Delhi. She was heart broken. Noor & she had studied together in a public school in Mussorie. They had been inseparable as school mates.
When Noor came to, she realized that she had lost all sensation hips down. Being a medical student didn’t help much. She realized the gravity of the situation & started spiraling down the abyss embracing depression in spurts. Too much knowledge had made Noor pessimistic. The hospital counselors realized that along with her body, they had to concentrate on her mental disposition as well.
After the initial surgery & recovery, Sheikh Saab flew Noor to New York to meet Dr Shepherd who was an authority on spinal injuries. Dr Shepherd was a realist & talked to Noor directly without veiling the truth. Only her attitude could save her, he said.
Meanwhile, Piyu had been in touch with Noor & the pathos in the once bubbly Noor’s voice had saddened her immensely. She cried tears of helplessness & despair wondering how she could help her friend when she needed her the most.
It had been raining that morning & the birds had taken shelter soaked to their skins. A woebegone looking Myna sat perched near her window, fluttering its wings at odd intervals to shake off the rain droplets that had mercilessly permeated to her bones. The sight of the Myna took Piyu back to their school days in class 9th.
Noor & She had not been particularly faring well in their lessons. They had been fascinated by a lame Myna. This bird was born with just one leg which was wretchedly crooked with its claws grotesquely pointing upwards. The Myna could just hop a little & then would sit down spent on its belly. But she was one feisty little girl! She would extricate energy reserves from all corners of her little body to get up and hop on to the boundary wall which was her favorite position to hold court with the other’s from her clan chirping animatedly in the morning sun.
Noor & Piyu could never get enough of their favorite Myna. They had named her Polly the folly! They brought back bread crumbs & biscuits from the breakfast table for Polly & in the time to come, Polly adopted the two girls allowing them to trespass in her personal space.
Piyu had a few pictures of Polly that was very close to her heart. Whenever she felt discouraged, she would open her childhood album & out would spring Polly to wipe her tears of despair. And now Noor was far away in a strange land lost & broken. The idea to resurrect Polly sprung suddenly in Piyu’s mind. She quickly sat down to write Noor an email with Polly’s picture. Piyu’s words flowed right from her heart as she brought to life the misty memories of yester years. She penned a little poem in commemoration of Ms Polly.
I’m Ms Polly the dauntless
The one legged spirit of life
I don’t shake or tremble
Nor cower in pain…a reputation
I don’t wave the flag of despondency
Nary a cry of humble inadequacy
Battle on I will,
Even when the dignity is under strain
Coz I’m Ms Polly
The one legged spirit of life
I crenellate hope
And push away any scope
Of pulling down the essence of life
I’m Ms Polly the dauntless
The one legged spirit of life
Thousands of miles across seamless oceans, Noor received a message from Piyu to check her email. Noor’s abba jaan* had made sure that she remained connected to all the people who mattered to her. She hopped on to her wheel chair & thrust herself towards the computer table. As the email unfolded, tears of joy ran down her cheeks recollecting the careless abandon with which they squandered their lesson time fooling the dunderhead dormitory in charge into thinking they were researching a project in astronomy. It never occurred to the dunce supervisor to question the connection between the garden boundary wall & the stars & planets.
Noor read Ms Polly’s poem with brimming eyes & a straight back. The email was like balm to her ravaged spirits. She summoned the nurse & asked her to get her an appointment with the physio-therapist. Everyone was surprised at the sudden resurgence in Noor’s attitude. The faltering disposition was replaced by a renewed strength & belief in locking horns with her nemesis.
The journey towards complete recovery was prolix fraught with set backs. But the resolve was undeterred & therefore the siege to emerge victorious inevitable. One therapy that Noor particularly looked forward to was her swims with the dolphins. She strained no matter what to not let the beloved creatures down who swam alongside her, gently nudging her to stay afloat.
As weeks stretched to months & autumn to winter & then spring….Noor’s limbs started gaining strength. The vigor returned slowly. It was for the first time that she was ecstatic to feel the pain in her legs. Even the physical pain was welcome in comparison to manifesting numbness.
By late May Noor was finally discharged from the Hospital. The staff had grown so fond of this resilient Indian girl, that they hosted a farewell party in her honour.
The door bell kept ringing continuously and an annoyed Piyu groggily lumbered to the door to check who it was at this godly hour. The door opened to a blast of energy that hugged her tight & Noor chuckled looking at Piyu’s stumped face.
They hugged & laughed at the same time, tears of redemption chipping away the remorse that had filled both their lives the last few months. As the two friends sat sipping steaming hot tea on the balcony, the first rays of sun hit the greenhouse roof & life around them began to come alive.
The birds started singing their tunes, hopping on the rain washed branches. The milkman hurried to deliver everyone’s quota on time. The paper boy cycled around dropping neat bundles of news that carried reports of the mayhem around. The readers read the news along with their morning breakfast & went about doing what they did without a passing thought. But the people who were affected by such meaningless tragedy…they were changed forever.
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'" -- Eleanor Roosevelt
*Abba Jaan - Father
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2007
