(Red Stone Dangling Earring)
Phew! Finally I am out in broad day light. Where am I? I almost resigned myself to thinking that I am not going to see the light of day. It has been 5 years since I even felt red. Even if I were a black stone, I definitely would need a ray of light to define me as black. Well when light enters, darkness has to leave. I have been in the dark cellar of her jewel box for years now. The only thing good about it is that I was the best in her collection. ‘Old is Gold’, they say. I literally live by those golden words!
Let me tell you how I met this girl. She was only 7 years old at that time. I was the first gift from her Grandmother. In fact the only gift she got from her. Oh! Let me tell you about her grandmother first. She looked exhausted when I first saw her in the little elegant French city of Pondicherry at the jewelers shop. It was a hot summer day, when I saw this 80 year old, slim, self-confident, curly grey- haired woman walk into the store. She looked like Indira Gandhi! Don’t ask me how I know the prime minister of India, who was on the front page of an Indian Express newspaper slammed on the glass where I was show cased, just a few inches away from my face! Could you forget such an insult?! The lady seemed drained of energy, hopping from shop to shop to find the best pair of earrings for her grand daughter’s special day. She slumped into the little red chair in the jeweler’s shop fanning herself with a hand made palm leaf fan. Her eyes glanced at all the dazzling gold earrings in the show case from left to right and then from right to left. “Pick me, Pick me “, I shouted way louder than the rest and she did. Perhaps she must have heard only me because she was hard of hearing, which I observed later in life. Her eyes stopped and stared at me for one whole minute straight. “Show me that one with the red stone in the center”, she said. It was love at first sight! I was packed in a little red box, gift wrapped and had to travel with that Grandma and one of her daughters all the way to a very modern city called Madras. It was almost a 100 miles away and let me tell you, I could have melted in the heat on that bus ride but thank God, the concept of heat is not new to me! I have seen worse in a furnace but it has made me who I am today. Oh! I forgot to tell you how pretty I am ….I am shaped as a beautiful little flower, carved to perfection with 6 petals in bright gold and a bright red stone in the center. That red stone is no ordinary stone – it is the highlight of my existence! When you catch me catch a ray of sunlight, I bet you would also fall head over heels for me as well.
Over to Madras…I find myself in the midst of a big metal bronze plate with sweets and fruits (never hung out with them before!)- golden yellow laddu’s, red color jangiri’s almost matching me, halwa, apples, oranges and bananas along with a weird looking green betel leaf- really not my kind of hang out buddies, for sure! There was so much chatter, laughter, giggles and a whole bunch of people ranging in all ages but I saw only her. It was love at first sight! That little girl- she seemed scared, distracted a little not understanding why so many people were in her house that particular day. She was looking pretty, wearing a maroon blouse with an embroidery flower in the middle, made by her mom I think and a dazzling skirt in a matching color with gold glitter chamki, that glittered just like me. I knew we were meant to be together that very moment! “June”, her father called her and made her sit on his lap and every one’s focus instantly turned to her. The next I hear was a loud squeal from the little girl as some stranger pricked a hole in her ear with a sharp needle. “Put the laddu in her mouth, she is crying ”, someone shouted, “Or at least the banana”. Her father panicked and shoved the banana with the skin on into her mouth and she spit out every single bit of it in agony. Everyone laughed out loud except the poor little girl. There! That is how I met June who was in 2nd grade at that time. Everyone marveled at how pretty I looked on her! I was feeling good, very good actually, about me finding a purpose for which I was made and who I was going to spend the rest of my life with but I don’t think June thought much of me – at least, not on that first day we met!
It was a very special day for June because not only were all her relatives gathered for the “Ear Piercing” ceremony as they called it but, I heard people saying she received the First Holy communion that day. A dual celebration. Jesus and I entered June’s life the same day and she had no idea that day, that we were there to stay forever!
Though I was meant to be June’s, her mom never really allowed her to wear me to school, lest she should lose it. Now to be honest, June, played basket ball all throughout school and I wouldn’t exactly describe her as a dainty, delicate girl! No, I wouldn’t vouch that she cared very much about her belongings either, let alone be responsible about precious little ‘me’. I would show up on her ear when they went for weddings of relatives as a family. There were times when I would land up on her mom’s ears because those days were difficult days for her family. But I really liked hanging out with June because I could go to school with her and meet her friends. They wore different kinds of earrings but no one dazzled in the sunlight as crimson red as me! I was special. I am handsome and I know it. She had some nun’s at her convent who wore white uniforms and they didn’t seem to care for earrings at all. Well! To each her own, I figured.
Several years rolled by and June was now in college. She had grown up to be a beautiful, young girl and I’ll admit, I was beginning to feel safe with her as she was becoming a responsible, professional woman. For some reason she also wore a white coat and I was hoping she wouldn’t abandon me like the nun’s at her school. Now this was a different world! You can tell, I got tired of seeing just girls from 2nd grade all the way to high school. One day she wore me to a basketball match that she played in an intercollege match. There were handsome men just like me, all around the stadium. I dangled and played along with her the entire 40 minutes. She even made a few points and I heard all the guys whistle and cheer for her (and me) and her team. I could tell she was happy when the game ended because her team won but just as she was leaving the basketball court, I felt dizzy and wobbly and I fainted to the floor. Must be all the exhaustion from the game! The little screw that held me in place disappeared and luckily, I hit the grass or else I could have bled to death. I lay there watching her familiar giggle and laugh, fade away at a distance, as she walked with her friends and disappeared around the corner of the south wing of Madras Medical College. Madras had become Chennai by then and they were talking about changing the name of this great institute as well! It is one of the oldest institutions they say that made many great doctors in the world but nothing mattered to me, because personally, it was my burial ground and nothing more that dark day. I lay there desolate, as the last ray that illuminated me said a final good bye. I lay there sad for a whole night , only occasionally couldn’t help but giggle, being tickled by the green grass, until they weren’t as green anymore, as the sunlight faded at a distance.
I woke up to a few female voices in the morning “ I am sure I lost it here”. It was a familiar voice. I was so glad to hear June again. She was looking for me first thing in the morning. She did love me too, indeed. “ Look! Look at me. Look here!”, I yelled, as she was looking everywhere else except where I was. If only I could tilt my body to catch the morning sun, she would notice me, I thought. Luckily the sun popped up at just the right angle and I showed myself as bright as possible and she noticed me, at last. Phew! It was a divine moment of heaven colliding with earth, the golden sun with the red stone, or simply stated, a ‘lost and found’ moment. “Oh my God, I found it “, she shrieked with joy and puffed a sigh of relief. I did too but she couldn’t hear me. Well, it was like I was buried and resurrected the next day itself! I might have beaten Jesus to it. Geez! It took him three days, I believe.
Well, you would think this moment should have taught her a lesson. Nope. She lost me a couple of more times in life but found me again, by the Grace of God, she says. She would have been as sad as me, if we had not found each other again and again in life. Remember we were meant to be ‘forever’ in her life – Jesus and Me. One day her dad thought of this brilliant idea to complement me for my faithfulness to her. He had been wanting to find me a partner for a very long time but he really had to save every penny to afford her. He found a perfect little ‘jimmiki’ to go along with me. Here was the best part ….she had three red stones too, that perfectly matched mine! In fact that’s exactly what triggered June’s dad to buy it for her. Believe me folks when I say, we looked so good together you would think we were born for each other. There was not a head that didn’t turn to look at us. Like a hand in glove. We would play on June’s ears, each of us trying to catch the sunlight with our red stone, without her noticing it, of course. If I miss it, my jimmiki would catch it. We were a perfect pair, glowing and blushing every time we went out with June. She has grown up to be a fine woman now and was getting married soon. She got a couple of new earrings and a few more gold jewels but I knew I was special to her. One of a kind. Don’t ask how. Just knew it!
She would wear me for those special days, like her birthdays which was weirdly in February though she was called June, Christmas and Easter, when she felt special and beautiful. But it has been a while now since she moved to the United States. I haven’t been united with June since she left India. Apparently ‘pearls’ are a thing here in US, just as gold is in India. Whatever! I bet they can’t catch the sunlight as I do! I thought she had forgotten about me totally but today as I heard the rumbling noise in her jewel box and when I felt her soft familiar touch as she unbuttoned me and fondly wore me on her ear, I resurrected. Again! After all, Easter is round the corner, I hear. When she looked in the mirror, I saw all of them in all of time, the past, the present and the future – Her Grandma, her Ma and her Dad, flickered in her eyes and she looked away smiling as she stepped out in the bright sun, feeling special again….. Told ya, I am special. I have had that magic spell on June every time she wears me, even though she has more grey hair than when last saw her. I was made for her and she was made for me!
“Still a long way to go, June! Don’t you worry, baby girl. I’ll be there forever just like Jesus! I’ll just keep shining bright along with you! I know the journey is more than a 100 miles but we got this. By His Grace, remember?!”
-Eppadiku Anbudan ( Yours truly with love),
Reddu Kallu Jimmiki Kammal