Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash
Harsha and Harini are a beautiful couple. Both are software engineers in New York. Both of them earn quite a good amount 1.5 cr in terms of INR. They have nothing less. They had 2 children. Both are studying in the US only. A nice family to say. Once in 2 years they come to India-Motherland and spend with their parents relatives friends and others. They go back with memories that last till they come again.
Life was going on very peacefully and something routine they got used to. Once a year they get a long weekend. It was during that weekend, they relax and live their life like a real human being in true.
Harsha is passionate for reading. It is infact his recreation both for the mind and heart. That week the weather was very cloudy, chill and predicted rain. So he sat in front of an array where he put his collection of books like Kalidasa- Shakuntalam, Meghan Sandesam etc. After going through a few books that were nostalgic, his eyes fell on Shakespeare's drama books. He took out one and it was Macbeth. He opened a page instinctively and his eyes read a verse that ran, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ------have lighted fools, the way to dusty death. Yes, there his fingers ran over the line, "The way to dusty death". Again he read the word "Dust". He just closed his eyes and leaned back. Harini came with a cup of tea. He just asked her to leave him alone for some time. She went away keeping the tea cup on the teapoy.
Time and again the word DUST tranquillises him, occupying his mind. He recalled his childhood days in his small village where he used to play in the mud with his friends. He recalled the days when he used to spend time near the lakes and pools coolly most Pleasantly. He remembered how they used to sit in the branches of trees eating nuts and putting jokes Enjoying with fun and laughter wholeheartedly.
He sensed the smell of the soil on the first rain that touched the ground blissfully. The smell, he could never forget. He always enjoyed the first touch of the raindrops on the mud that had a scent unparallel to any of the artificial scent sprays. He was lost in thoughts so much that his wife Harini came again after 3 hours saying it was 6 o clock in the evening and there started heavy rain just then. On hearing these words, Harsha sprang from his chair and ran out into the rain smell the scent of the soil. Nay! There was no muddy scent. On the concrete roads, the rainwater gushed into big underground gutters leaving no water on the roads. No child was seen splashing his legs in the rainwater. Again he recalled how they used to hold the raindrops and also feel the soft sweet tickle when they fell on them. Suddenly he understood something. Yes the money earned by them may be too much but it can't buy any sort of soul happiness that is got only by experience. That day he spent a sleepless night and by morning he came to a decision concretely.
The next day he called his wife and told her that he wanted to return to India and so was going to inform the company that he was going to resign the job. Harini also felt equally happy. Both of them together told their decision and to their surprise, the manager told them that he would see jobs for them in India in the same company but earning in terms of Rupees.
The next month, as the children's school came to an end, they booked tickets and returned to India- their beloved Motherland. As they came out of Bombay Airport, they saw the plants on either side that danced and waved trying to touch them. Suddenly the sky turned dark and sky showered rain. Then rose the sweet smell of the soil that they experienced in childhood. They became nostalgic. The children were saying that the smell of the ground was peculiar and pleasant. But Harsha was not in a position to hear them. He at once knelt down kissed the ground and breathing in the sweet scent of the soil, said," This the Scented Dust of my Motherland which is not felt anywhere in the world". This Dust which is pious and scented is the core of our life. We have come back to feel the lovely Scent in your Dust and will be here only hereafter. So feeling he said with tears rolling down his cheeks, "Maa Thuje Salaam, Mera Bharat Mahaan".