NAYANTARA THE LITTLE DEER

 XII

 NAYANTARA’S WISH FULFILLMENT : A FAMILY

The mighty herd that migrated across the plains and into the next valley to feed on fresh, juicy grass and to drink water that most valleys stored when the scorching summer liberally gives off its heat mercilessly across the plains and dries up the grass that is food for all  four-footed grass eating animals.  The yearly migration is one filled with adventure for all:  the wildebeests, zebras, the deer and even some fierce-looking buffaloes.  Of course, the long-necked, speckled giraffe did not need to lower its head to eat scorched brown grass.  He was used to holding his proud neck up  which was very long indeed, up to the top of the trees which had still juicy green leaves, much to the protest of the standing trees, who could only watch part of their heads being shaved off.   The lions of course, remained lean and hungry without the four-footed animals to pounce upon, especially when they were absorbed in drinking water from the big lake. The lake itself had decided to go on a diet and by force was smaller and less water-filled than when the rain gurgle and splashed into it and filled it right up to the brim.

These innocent unsuspecting animals were nowhere to be seen and so the lion,  his pride of lionesses and their cubs were also lean and hungry.   Some bold ones especially the panthers went after the migrating animals in a sneaky and slinky fashion during the dark night hours which covered their stealthy prowl.

But now, the far away forest breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The rains had come!  It rained madly and gleefully over everything it saw.  The clouds which had held the rains for so long were now also relieved, for they had unburdened themselves from carrying the rains for so long.  The rain trickled down the backs of the fleet-footed animals even though they tried bravely to find shady nooks and corners of the far away forest, to be away from the rain.  Many of them, especially the deer, found little openings in the rocks into which they huddled.  Nayantara as you know by now, was very sad.

She sighed heavily and she sat at the opening of the little cave looking at the flower and leaf- drenched forest and the splashing water forming little brown streamed as they made their way to the forest lake.

The forest lake swelled with pride and triumph, for now it swelled m with heaps and heaps of grateful rain water which at last had found their home in the lake till the days when the next migration occurred.

The fish in the lake that had sunk to the bottom, trying to keep cool in the little water that had protectively tried to cover them in the summer, now rose to the surface and merrily splashed around, some frisking into the air and forming silver streaks as they splashed back into the lake’s water.  All around was the sweet, fresh fragrance  of the air  that had been washed thoroughly by the rain and made the lake happy to have the migrating animals back again. The lake could no chatter and splatter talking with his long awaited friends again, to talk to when they came to drink water from its edge.

The lake said to them when they came around, “Hello, it’s nice to have you back, now you can look at your petty faces from the shimmering surface of my face. I would love to tell you how happy I am to see your faces again.  Don’t mind me, you can drink as much of my water as you like, you know how generous I can be.”

The fish listening to the lake danced around in circles, merrily and said to the drinking animals, “yes, yes, we will have you know, that  our lake is extremely generous, we are so grateful to him for filling up the place for now, we. can dash around where we will and find more mischievous ways of darting away from those horrible creatures, the flying geese, who have migrated form some neighboring plains.  Mind you,  the ducks are no better, but we have learned their pranks and we are very wise at escaping from them. “

“Or at least,”, said some of them sadly, we try not to get into their away.  In this far away forest , there is place for everyone.

The lake looked around and asked, “where is my favorite deer, my little Nayantara?”

“Oh, Oh, said the cacti, who did not mind if there was rain, or no rain because they were clever enough to store the water within their thick  fat stems.  “don’t you know, or may be you have not heard, our Nayantara is in love and the words spun softly around till it reached the tree tops who also nodded their leaves and said, “What a pity, what a pity.”

“What do you mean?”, asked the lake shaking his sides so that the water rose and fell quickly around the edges, “what do you mean, why is our deer Nayantara not happy?”

“Thereby hangs a sorry tale”, said the vain jackdaw who quickly flew from his isolated branch isolated from the other birds,  “yes, yes,” he said alighting over a willow tree that curved over the lake reflecting its face into the lake. The jackdaw shook the branch up and down as he hopped around, happy to know that the little deer who had exposed his folly at the music session, muttered to himself, “she deserves this separation from her young male deer””, and so he said loudly and raucously, “ha, ha, she is in love, she is in love, yes, yes,”, he said with an ugly laugh.

“She cannot marry him, her father forbids it”, and he laughed gleefully.  His loud ugly squawk reached the ears of Nayantara’s family as they sat resting from some of the great meals of green grass , which they had nibbled at in their favorite far away forest.

We know now that Nayantara’s father had told the beloved handsome deer that he had to wait a year, so that he could be more wise in taking care of a family when he married Nayantara.   He looked at Nayantara’s sad face, her eyes filled with pools of unshed tears.  He also knew that Nayantara was his favorite child and it hurt him to see her so very upset.  Also he respected his father’s wishes for grandfather deer was the one who knew the best of all and was known to be wise in his sayings.

He had thought all this while, since the last migration, that Nayantara  understood the wisdom of what he had said,

That she had understood, true, it hurt him to tell them to postpone their wedding, but now he had second thoughts as many times the human beings often do.H did not know how to go to the subject again even though his father, the grandfather deer had taken the final decision.   There was no way he could escape agreeing and respectfully follow his father’s wishes.

He often saw the young deer go past his family and look wistfully at Nayantara who also met his eyes, shared their love again and then she dropped her lids sadly to look at the floor instead of what she really wanted to do was bound off with her young friend who, she loved so dearly and knew that he did also in return.

Now it happened one day, her grandfather was whispering to his son, the father deer. They seemed to be in serious conversation.  Towards evening that day, the grandfather deer gathered his herd, who all came to the centre, with the wild beast, the buffaloes and the zebras. When everyone was silenced and there was a hush in the moonlight. For, yes, the moon was following everything that was happening. The grandfather deer smiled.  And every one almost guessed that they knew what was going to happen.  Can you guess?

Yes. The grandfather deer said in solemn tones.  “Hear, you, everyone.  A few moons ago, Nayantara’s father told this young deer”, nodding towards the young deer, who now stood bold and upright, “that he could not marry Nayantara just now, but had to wait… But father deer admits that he was a bit hasty in his judgment. Waiting had nothing to do with how well prepared one is just now. It does not increase preparedness. It only brings in sorrow and restlessness.  The young deer by behaving with courage and great presence of mind in saving the mother deer, is as prepared for marriage as can be. He is mature and being mature is a state of mind. “I do declare in the name of Nayantara’s father, that he can marry Nayantara as soon as they want to,” his eyes twinkled, as he added, “the sooner the better.”

So there sat father deer looking away and then looking back at Nayantara’s face, who now hardly spoke and reluctantly walked with them,  did not frisk around and dance up and down with joy as did her brothers and sisters.  He thought and thought deeply before he spoke. Not to be  outdone, the sun which now shone brightly on his face, and seemed to sparkle with the same old wisdom shown by his father also chipped in.

The father deer looked out and saw the sun peeking gently between the clouds as the rain had stopped a while and he was unhappy if he did not see his friends in the far away forest and say, “hello, to his best friend the old far away forest, who also wanted to chat with him.

The sun peered sharply and said, “hello”, again, to their  dear tree friends: the big old warm and bracing oak tree, the tall and stately poplar and the birch tree whose young leaves were popping up again, ready to burst into green before the autumn came and turned them into lovely colours of burnt orange, before they turned dark and fell off during the winter, for  they had heard grandfather deer’s firm decision.

These trees also looked sad and were silent because they knew somehow the sun would also speak to the father deer so as to re-emphasise what grandfather deer said.  “Ahem, Ahem”, said the sun clearing his throat, “my deer young man,” the sun was very funny. He liked to crack jocks and his greatest wise crack was to call all old animals and tree “my dear young…..” and young trees and young animals, “my dear old pals.”

So he said in as loud a voice as he could, as it echoed through the forest and the far away forest, who was nodding off to sleep, awoke with a start, “I could not agree more with what grandfather deer has said” the sun’s voice came out loud and clear and not to be outdone by grandfather deer he said in a grandiose lofty tone, “My dear young father deer, don’t you know that postponing a decision is likely to leave everybody in suspense, what is the difference between now and later. I hear you have given them permission, I hope not reluctantly, to marry after a year.  What is this sacred thing about a year, don’t you also know that to carry out a decision now is better than postponing to later. So many things can happen in between, time is precious. Nothing and nobody lives forever, so let these young things make the most of their lives as soon as possible.”

The whole forest reared itself up holding its breath, “what would the answer be from father deer when he heard the grandfather deer’s decision. It could not be disobey and the friendly sun’s cheering the grandfather deer’s decision further on.

Like most human beings the father deer who was feeling guilty about his hasty decision to postpone this young couple’s happiness together regretted and was waiting for an opportunity whereby, without loosing his status in his family  he could now speak up and relieve himself his guilt, more so, since the young deer had shown such bravery in saving Nayantara’s mother’s life. He came out and stood in the sun’s kindly rays, while his family stood around him each holding one hoof up in breathless anticipation, hoping that the answer would be “yes”, and Oh, joy!

Even before the father deer could finish his laborious speech there was loud clapping, clamping, chirping, shaking of the branches of trees, and gleeful noises all around that only animals understand. The father’s last words were drowned in all these joyful noise. He had began to say, “yes, I think you are right, you are giving me the right advice and I cannot disobey my father’s wishes, kindly, sir, you have shone upon this forest since the beginning of the world.  We are little creatures who come and go, and time is precious.

Yes, I should not deprive these two young ones who are so much in love their happiness of being united in marriage.  Nayantara’s whole body trembled when she heard these words, she rushed to her father and nudged his neck gently to tell him how happy she was that he had at last relented and with her quick spring of her hooves, kicking up the soil under them, she bounded off to look for  her handsome deer.

“Of course, you can tell that the young male deer had heard the voice of the father deer and he also bounded towards her with the great hoof of joy.  They were so eager to get to each other that they actually bumped into each other and so they stayed a while, locked into each other with their horns. The young deer licking the face of gentle Nayantara while tears and joys coursed down from her beautiful limpid eyes.  And then on, what a great deal of activity, what a great deal of rushing here and there, to prepare for the great day for Nayantara and her beloved dear.

The far away forest was happy, very happy and his trees clapped their hands together in a swishing, whirring fashion, saying “the far away forest has delegated us to tell you how happy he is and that he is waiting eagerly for the festivity to begin.”

The moon came out eagerly in the evening, and said, “I could hardly wait, Nayantara, to tell you how happy I am!  The Tara in your eyes shall shine more brightly now. But I wish to be present at your wedding, so let it be in the early morning before I go back to sleep, and also at the time when the rosy sun will greet you in the midst.  I’ve already spoken with him through my ray messages. Say yes, Nayantara…” Nayantara nodded eagerly, for were these not the two heavenly friends who had given her name?

And it came to pass that the moon had all kinds of discussions with the sun through his rays, as to how they would bring light and rays on the wedding ceremony, and the animals were happily busy all night.  The cheeky crow got along his gang of squirrels who festooned the branches of the beautiful trees in the valley hollow, with flowers of all kinds and all types.  The zebras practiced a chorus dance, the wildebeest said they would play the wedding march with their hoofs, and the buffaloes threatened to bellow in unison, which the moon and the sun both agreed would only irritate the whole valley in the early hours of the morning.

And so it came to pass that the sky was turning a shade lighter, and the sun could not wait to burst open the day, all shiny and scrubbed, and the moon began to pale into a sleepy shadow, when the ceremonies began.

What a beautiful sight it was.  The rosy beams of the sun caught the young couple in the flower bedecked circle.  The waning moon silvered the beautiful coat of Nayantara’s skin, and the air was fresh with the scent of the old forest’s messengers; the breezes, who requested the trees and the leaves to shimmer and dance for the couple.  The couple locked horns gently as a symbol of marriage, while the mother and father and brothers and sisters of the bride and groom did a slow step dance around the two in the centre.  The clouds stood hushed on the rims of the earth, the wind sighed romantically.  And while the singing and dancing was going on in the valley, the old forest :

“ahemed- ahemed” from time to time as if to clear his throat, but that was only to hide the tears of joy that threatened to fall down his trees.  Grandfather deer smiled benignly on the young couple while father deer nodded and bowed his head to his father in a graceful gesture.  Mother deer kept fussing around the young couple, running around them with the brush made of willow twigs, between her teeth, sleeking down Nayantara’s already shiny fur.

The birds began to sing a slow hushing song in the early morning, a twitter here and a twitter there, and yes in between a crow cawed a crow caw.  And guess who was in time and tune with that crowing and cawing, and cheeky old crow of course. In the old forest, Nayantara’s friends, the frog and the squirrel were so excited that they tried to embrace each other, but could only brush and claw each other.  The parrot strutted about, and actually hobnobbed with the proud peacock, who for once was not so proud as they fluttered up and down trees to the unison of the singing birds.

Nayantara’s friend, the good eagle, flew all the way from the mountain to be with his dear adventurous deer.  As a present, he brought her the finest, shiniest pebble from the mountain top. If Nayantara was a human being she would have gasped at its priceless value, but as an animal she could only admire nature’s beauty caught in the rays.  What she and her young husband cherished most was the love and the warmth of understanding in the animal world.  True there were sorrows and crises, especially of those wounded and those from whom they were parted forever, but for the time that  existed it was the most beautiful experience for them in all this love in harmony.

And so, after several moons, if you chance to visit the clearing in the old far away forest, you will come upon Nayantara, seated gracefully and nodding her head from time to time at her young deerlings, as he looked up at her into the still pools of her eyes trying to grasp his first lesson.

The little baby deer listened in hushed silence, as his mother recounted to him the first lesson she had heard from her mother.  She also told him stories of her experiences, her first friend… her first adventure and of course her first and last romance.  He  liked them all, and listened to them eagerly, again and again.

But most of all, he liked the stories about the kind sun and the gentle moon who had given her  name: Nayan, for her beautiful eyes and “Tara” for the shine and loving warmth that came as stars on the world that she saw. Eyes that were like stars, and so ends our beautiful stories about  the gentle Nayantara and as all stories say we also wish them to “live happy ever after”.

__END__