2. Cats of Kashi: Shasti
A slender, unnamed kitten sauntered through the gullies of Kashi. Her universe and life was about to unravel as she had discovered that her brothers and sisters had vanished. Her feline instincts twitched with unease and her senses were heightened. She was determined to find her lost litter; they must surely be feeling the same void that she was. It was not a good feeling to navigate in alone through the labyrinthine gullies where solid ground disintegrates without warning. Sudden silence constantly enveloped her, amplifying the weight of her solitude.
She ventured into the shadowy corners, hoping to find remnants of her lost litter, a fragment of certainty in a sea of uncertainty. The more she searched, the more elusive it became, slipping through her tiny paws like water. Her golden nose caught a delicate trail of a scent, and she traced its path to a decrepit house, with red un-plastered bricks and unfinished stairs leading to a terrace. Meandering around the house, she thought that this is where her litter must’ve wandered without her. Each step she took echoed with uncertainty yet carried a glimmer of hope.
It was dawn, and the sun shone softly on a rotting red wooden door with hand-made metal chain. Her delicate paws treaded cautiously as she approached the wooden door. As she peeped in, she could smell the musty air and hear a faint distant laughter of a young girl. She could see also an aged shiny glass with few wooden bangles scattered around it at the entrance. She delicately put her right paw into the house when she suddenly remembered that she came to rescue her lost litter. Her little heart racing within her tiny chest.
The room was filled with unanswered questions and unseen dangers lurking in the shadow. Her left paw landed onto a bangle, and she could see the reflection of her paw with the bangle in a mirror strewn on the floor. She was momentarily disoriented, as seconds seemed like hours when she was seeing her paw’s reflection. She approached the mirror cautiously dragging the bangle with her, a sense of wander had enveloped her tiny heart. She was lost in her reflection and escaped from her condition.
But in an instant, the stillness was shattered.
A sudden sound, like a gunshot pierced the air as the door swung open. The kitten jade eyes widened in alarm and her ears perked up and her body trembled with mixture of fear and curiosity. The warm scent of champi permeated the air and she was caught in a torrent of interconnected Sarees thrown on her. The clothes settled on her fur as the room gained stillness again. She tried to liberate herself from the saree’s grasps but found her adorned in multi-colour sarees owned by women of that sleepy neighbourhood. The kitten struggled to move again but she could only wait for resolution, while trembling with unblinking eyes. Her lost litter was now a distant cause. She heard a woman loudly scream — “Shasthi”.
In the early morning light, Shashti, the dhobi’s daughter, emerged from the depths of her dreams and awoke to embrace the day. Her mother unleashing a torrent of piercing words to help her with drying the freshly washed clothes. She sprang out of the house giggling and washed her face in the cold water of the Ganges. The light shining on dark gleaming skin which was used to being kissed by the sun. Her dark lustrous oiled curly hair cascaded to hear shoulder and embraced her round face. Her face still adorned the sandal paste put by the priest last night.
As Shashti ran through the sleepy neighbourhood, her feet kissing the ground with a delicate urgency, which could easily be as nimble as a cat. With a determined glow, she shot the door open to find a pile of those washed Sarees. She reached down to the pile with her tender hands and picked up the pile of clothes. She cradled the clothes around her waist, like her mother used to pick her. Her eyes sparkling with a mischievous curiosity as she climbed the stairs without any physical exertion as though flying.
She plopped the pile of clothes upon the grey floor and giggled for no reason. She sat down and unravelled the interlocking sarees to start to fold and hang the sarees on the string on the terrace. There must be at least 10 sarees for her to fold that day as the sun climbed higher in the sky and cast a shorter shadow. As she unfolded the sarees, tangled in the clothes, much to her amazement, she discovered a fragile, ginger kitten trembling with fear. The kitten’s eye widened with equal parts fear and curiosity.
A dance ensued with the two of them as they stared at each other. As their hearts beat at the same rhythm, a tapestry was being weaved between them. The kitten no longer remembered her litter and Shasthi was overcome by the beauty of the kitten. The kitten sudden desire to be held and loved was quickly fulfilled when Shasthi picked the pile of sarees and embraced her without breaking gaze. A rush of emotions coursed through their veins, ephemeral, enchanting.
The kitten and Shasthi, found themselves wrapped in sarees as their heartbeats found equilibrium, forever bonded to something much greater than themselves. As the sunlight pierced through the clouds, the river Ganges continued to flow slowly behind them, breathing life into everything it touches. As they twirled, a small whirlpool briefly appears and disappears in the great river.
Images generated using Bing Image Creator (Dall E)
I wish I could write what I see in my mind — so I took ChatGPT’s help in framing certain sentences.
