Saturday, January 2, 2010

leader

"... together, we'd march into the new world. You and I, alike- as equals. There would soon be a dawn- that would last forever. The trees- green forever. Birds- chirping forever. And men- awake, forever..."

The crowd cheered in a mad frenzy. There was a glint of hope and joy in all those eyes, that could easily be mistaken for insanity! People of the Earth.

"..do you think if he could see me now"? said Govardhan, unsure of what the reply would be.

"Are you crazy!? Don't you have eyes? He's addressing almost 5000 people out there!"- came the reply.

Govardhan knew that this could not wait for long. He looked at the crowd gathered there, for a while.

"..What should we do, if we need all of that? Can we make it possible"?

"YES!!! YES!!!"

He heard them shout in unison. He felt, as though the entire nation's cry echoed from that crowd.

"How?"

S.i.l.e.n.c.e...

Everyone wants to change the world. Everyone wants peace and prosperity. Everyone wants their voices to be heard. But the question always remained though- 'How'? And there would be a door opened, only when there would be an answer to that question.

Govardhan could not wait anymore.

"Das bhai! Please try and understand. This is urgent. And I am sure that he would want to hear it right away.."

Das looked at Govardhan. He was, probably, for the first time seeing him closely. There was a sure mark of panic on his face that was usually calm and composed. Das knew what must be done.

"... I shall tell you how. Friends, I shall tell you the secret to change the world! I shall show you the doors that would lead you into a paradise! Into Utopia! I shall...."

There was a pause. The crowd could see that their 'Leader' was temporarily interrupted by some unknown person. They would wait for him. They knew that their 'Leader' would soon come back to them. Tell them the secret to the new world. Lead them into the heaven... They would wait.

Das returned to Govardhan. He whispered something to Govardhan.

"... So my friends! Would you be with me??"

"YES!!! YES!!!" They chorused.

"I need you to give me your word upon that. The world now, is filled with jackals and other scavengers- who wait for the others to fall. And the moment they do- they never, would have another chance to raise up! I need all the help that I can get from you. WE SHOULD UNITE OUR HANDS AND LIGHT UP THE FIRE TO WARD THEM OFF! YOU, my brothers, YOU are the future. YOU are my strength! Your hands on mine- together we would hunt them! Drive them off to their dens and close their gates! DO I HAVE YOUR WORD"?

"YES!! YES!!!"

Govardhan hurried back- making sure that there was no one apart from him and his shadow. He walked fast- past the crowd. Past the people of the Earth.

He soon reached the end of the ground- away from the crowd. There was just one other shadow, behind the tree. The shadow, probably sensed that someone was coming near. So, it let the light fall upon it. There stood a man now, facing Govardhan. He was smirking.

"Well. what does he say"?

"He does not agree. And he's definitely not pleased by the way you are trying to deal with him", replied Govardhan.

"He said that, did he? The 'Leader'? He knows that if this news gets out, let alone being 'Leader'; he very well knows what he'd become! Did he tell you that too? That..."

"Yes, he did. But he says that he has still got one work for you. And he said that you, and only you can do it for him", said Govardhan, his eyes, never leaving the other man's face. He was a master. He knew how to handle men. He knew- that one blink of an eye- and he'd lose the man.

".... I AM GOING TO BRING YOU CHANGE!"

The clap was so loud that the whole ground was vibrating to the rhythm of the clap!

"Brothers! Listen to me carefully. There are forces around that are trying to take away things from you- that are yours. We must identify those forces. We must not let them take away our happiness! We need to be together. We need to control those forces together. We are the brothers. Brothers, who would fight with these forces. We would form an army of power and love- a combination that could never be broken by any force upon this Earth. We would march together into the new world! Would you walk along with me, my brother? I am prepared to shed the last drop of my blood for the new world! Would you shed your blood with me? Would you give your life today, so that there could be a smile upon your child's face, tomorrow? WOULD YOU....."

There was an abrupt pause. Every single eye turned towards the back of the ground... Towards those blazing flames from a moving pyre...

23 comments:

Indrajit said...

Hey! Happy new yr to you too.

'Leader' - I found it interesting and was confounded by the ending.
You have been a great writer and just wish you keep going. :)

CRD said...

Unexpected endings..i like :)


Cheers
CRD

Matangi Mawley said...

@ indr...

thanks!! :)

Matangi Mawley said...

@ CRD...

thanks! :)

Arv said...

Happy New Year mate :)

Amber Light said...

This was written like a movie script. Definitely the kind of movie that I would like to watch. But the ending really confused the hell out of me :-/ i just did not get it

Matangi Mawley said...

@arv..

thanks! :) happy new yr to u too!

Matangi Mawley said...

@amber light..

:) script.. thts a good thought.. coz.. it s a story of almost most politics based movies... it s just my narration exercise... towards the end- the guy who wantd to expose the 'leader' is burnt alive...

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

I was confused most of the time while i read this until the end. I was thinking where this conversation lead to..but then the last two para's made sense to me and i was grounded with the gist of the story :)

Very well written and thanks for the visit at my blog :)

Lena said...

well done, really an unexpected ending.

Have a great new year and keep writing :)

Matangi Mawley said...

@ mahesh...

thanks!

Matangi Mawley said...

@ lena...

thanks!

Matangi Mawley said...

@ lena..

happy new year to u too!

IamtheEyeofGod said...

Dramatic........like the portrait of a painter!! :D

Matangi Mawley said...

@eye of god...

:-) curious comparison! thanks!

Chandramouli G said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chandramouli G said...

Hi Matangi,

You torched the New Year so bright with this story. Great story and I felt with the previous blog, a wonderful painting to go with it.

"He was a master. He knew how to handle men. He knew- that one blink of an eye- and he'd lose the man." - very powerful depiction of Govardhan.

It was a very enjoyable read. Please do keep writing.

Cheers,
Chandramouli

Matangi Mawley said...

@chandramowli...

thanks! :)

swati said...

liked the way u concluded..Goodone!
happy new year!

Matangi Mawley said...

@swati...

thanks! :)

Priya said...

Well written and Happy New Year Matangi.

Matangi Mawley said...

@priya...

thanks! happy new yr to u too!

Maroussia said...

It will be great to watch Blood Brothers, i have bought tickets from
http://ticketfront.com/event/Blood_Brothers-tickets looking forward to it.