It was a season of rains and wind-howling in Srinagar,
\nSkies were in turmoil and the air felt damp and sultry,
\nStreets were awash and traffic arrested,
\nThe mood of loneliness descended in on everything.<\/p>\n
I was nailed down near old Fateh Kadal,
\nClose to former Mission School.
\nAt the corner of a deserted crooked lane,
\nWaiting for a rendezvous with her.<\/p>\n
It was 6:00 P.M. and the fear cut the air,
\nPeople looked at each other with deep suspicion.
\nTucked in a raincoat and a baseball cap
\nI felt I was at a moment of destiny.<\/p>\n
Her society wouldn\u2019t let us meet during daylight,
\nSo we chose the dark layers of evening to camouflage us.
\nMeeting time came and went by but she still didn\u2019t show up,
\nMy apprehension climaxed into anxiety.<\/p>\n
I had almost given up when I saw a black silhouette walk toward me,
\nIt could have been a militant out to assault a stranger.
\nAs the covered figure came closer I saw that it was a burka,
\nMy fear shot up in a crescendo.<\/p>\n
When a few inches from me
\nThe figure lifted the front panel of burka.
\nShe peered at me with an apprehensive intensity,
\nI closed our gap fearless of the surroundings.<\/p>\n
She told me how difficult it was for her to come to see me,
\nIf her family found it they might even kill her.
\nThe pressure on me was awful and I hadn\u2019t imagined
\nThat love could be deadly.<\/p>\n
I swam in her eyes for several lingering minutes,
\nAnd moved in to kiss her on the upper lip.
\nShe held me in a close embrace
\nAnd hung her right hand over my shoulder momentarily.<\/p>\n
The minutes ticked on in painful pace,
\nMy fear rose exponentially.
\nThen I tore her from me in a cruel snatch,
\nShe dived to hold her balance.<\/p>\n
Finally, she bade me khuda hafiz,
\nAnd let her burka flap fall over her.
\nAs I watched her go,
\nShe dissolved in the mists of the evening.<\/p>\n
The danger to her life
\nKept me immobilized for a while,
\nBut suddenly I heard loud yelling
\nCursing her for loose behavior.<\/p>\n
She screamed, sobbed, and sighed,
\nBut was forced to go along with some angry men.
\nI protested loud for them to let her go,
\nBut soon two men grabbed my torso and socked my mouth.<\/p>\n
I was kicked in the groin,
head, back, and chest;
\nGyrating to ground with a groan.
\nThey threatened to kill me
\nFor corrupting a local girl.<\/p>\n
When I opened my eyes an hour later,
\nI found myself in a gutter,
blood trickling from my mouth.
\nIn the pitch darkness around me
\nThere was no one to help me.<\/p>\n
When my energy started returning,
\nI slowly managed to get up.
\nLike a drunk I strutted forward,
\nNot knowing where I was going.
\nThe streets seemed dead, the air felt dead,
\nThe death mood covered everything.
\nI walked slowly toward my hotel
\nPassersby looked at my blood but said nothing.
\nI fell on my bed,
\nUniverse spun around me,
\nI didn\u2019t know who I was
\nAnd why I was breathing.
\nSuffern,
New York,
February 28, 2012
\nwww.kaulscorner,com
\nmaharaj.kaul@yahoo.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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