Messenger fro heaven.

                                                    Messenger from heave.   “Monsoon has arrived”.  My wife shouted excitedly from the window. ‘What’, I asked absent mindedly. “I am talking about rains; they will be falling by evening.”  She declared with such confidence that I stopped shaving. ‘How do you know’? I asked. ‘I just saw the rain bird’ she stated. I just looked at her blankly. “There is a particular bird and whenever I had seen it, the rains fell on the same day”.  She explained. I felt a twinge of worry creeping in my belly.  Two truckloads of cement bags were lying uncovered in the open at the site where my construction contract work was going on. I needed at least two more days to complete my work.  And if they get wet in the early rains I have to face not only an angry client but financial loss too. And my wife was not unaware of it.   I came out of the bathroom, partly unshaven, crossed the bedroom and peeped out of the window.  A jet black crow was sitting at the shajjah directly below, got alerted by my movement looked at me with cross-eyed, made its characteristic noise repeatedly and flew away. I looked around and could not locate any other bird. “It was sitting right there on that wall” my wife said from behind. ‘What kind of a bird it is.’ I asked. “A small two color bird, I don’t know its name and have seen it only a few times, but it is said that the rain follows it.” ‘Does it look like a mynah’? I was getting interested. “No it is smaller, and you know if a mynah enters a house on its own, someone from that house gets married”. ‘Ah’, I laughed. “And you know that this common sparrow, if one happens to see them first thing in the morning the day passes very peacefully”. ‘That’s great, why dint you told me this mantra earlier’, I joked. “and if a crow perched from the house calls repeatedly  that house will have visitors from far ”, she continued, “ if a white pigeon enters a house  and flies away,” she moved closer and whispered secretively, ” someone dies”. ‘A call from heavens’ I said lightly and added, ‘by the way I never knew you know so much about birds’. She smiled triumphantly.     Whole day I was at the site trying to complete the job earlier, covering the still unused bags with tarpaulins, keeping an eye on the sky which was as clear and cloudless as ever.  And all the while, thinking about my wife’s bird talk and her belief in it.   I remembered an incident, when a newly married couple, after completing all the traditional ceremonies stepped out of the marriage hall and walked towards a beautifully garlanded vehicle which was supposed to take them towards a new home and life.  A cat suddenly ran across their path, their departure was postponed as per the wishes of the bride-groom’s family and the advice of the pundit. Another day and time was fixed after consulting their astrologer.  And this time the ceremony was planned at Bride’s place.  As the neighborhood had lot of cats the bride’s family appointed some youngsters to keep an eye upon them.  The overzealous boys who were supposed to keep the cats away actually created a situation where a cat that too, a black one directly crossed the couple as they were stepping out of the door.  The net result was a permanently stalled marriage.  The last I heard was the girl’s family was looking for another proposal.    In another incident, a successful businessman’s new partner visited his residence.  This business man had a pet dog, which was as gentle as a pet dog can be.  This dog took a strong disliking to the new partner who was not a very good looking person, a bit dark with a huge head full of black beard. The dog barked and barked, all efforts to control and calm it failed and the meeting ended prematurely. The business man’s wife prevailed upon him to break up the partnership; reasoning that the ugly looking man has some bad spirits attached which the dog in its wisdom has recognized. I knew that as the torch bearer of an ancient civilization we do have to believe in lot of myths.  The migratory bird’s connection with monsoon can be natural and scientific, but the connection between a cat’s crossing with misfortune and a pigeon’s visit with death are something to think about.   I returned late in the evening, the weather still hot and dry.  As I rang the bell of my flat the door opened to a house full of women and children.  I was greeted by near musical roar from my wife’s mother and two sisters and their kids.  They might have started thirty six hours earlier to reach here. As I looked at my wife’s happy excited face I remembered the black crow quacking early in the morning.   By;- Milton Roy ‘Rahbar’,