Friday, May 14, 2010

The Moon

I live on the fourth, the topmost floor, of a building that has no lift. Every night when I get home, which is around midnight, I have to negotiate eight flights of stairs in total darkness since the watchman would have long switched off the lights and gone to sleep. Since I can climb the stairs blind-folded, thanks to years of familiarity, I haven't felt the need to ask the watchman to keep the lights on.

But the other night, something magical happened. As I got into the staircase, mentally prepared to climb up in darkness, I found it gently lit up. I looked up. The tubelight was switched off, as usual. Perhaps a neighbour's door was open, letting the light out? That was the not the case either. Then I spotted the source of the silvery light: the moon. Oh, I had forgotten that the moon gives light. So I climbed slowly, guided by the natural light of the night at every alternate flight of stairs, trying to recall when was the last time I did something under the moonlight.

I could not recall then, but I remember now. It was in Kanpur, four or five summers ago, when I was drinking with my brother on the terrace of our house. It was like drinking under the glow of nature's zero-watt lamp: gentle, but bright enough to see the facial features of people around you and even read the label on the whiskey bottle. It is only when you do nothing that you notice the moon, and it is only in Kanpur that I do nothing.

The moon, however, has always been there. It still shines the way it shone when poets and songwriters were inspired by it. Only that we don't notice it anymore because we neither have the time nor the place. Today we all live in flats, in which the sky visible from the window is as good as a wall; and even if we have a terrace, who really has the time to go there and bathe in the moonlight? I can only hope that Uncle Moon, pissed off by the lack of attention and admiration he has been enjoying for centuries, does not decide to stop shining. You never know know, he might just tell you one fine day: "You silly buggers, you deserve tubelights and neon lights. I am off. Don't call me again."

I hope the day doesn't come till I've fulfilled two desires of mine. One, to throw a moonlight, or moonlit, bash in a farmhouse (preferably by the sea) where the dance floor and the bar are illuminated solely by the full moon. How gorgeous the women would look in the silvery glow!

Desire number two, to make love on a charpoy on the terrace of a house in a small town where no building is tall and close enough to overlook the terrace you are holed up in. The gentle light of the moon lets you see what you want to see, and yet it doesn't let you see what she doesn't want you to see.

18 comments:

Paresh Palicha said...

May both your wishes be fulfilled soon.:P My fingers are crossed.

I like watching the moon (especially the full moon). Being a Cancerian, I feel loony (low) during those days. :P

Anonymous said...

Awwwwwww that bought back memories of moonlight fun i used to have as a kid at my grannies village.....moonlight dinners fun time with cousins ....but your wishes are definitely something i would love to try out too :) how well you have put it.... what you want to see and what she doesn't want you to see hmmmmmm.....thats BG... you rock.....

nilu said...

A beautiful expression sparked by moon, it reminds ourselves the things we have taken for granted and the beauty we at times ignore.

janani sampath said...

Uncle Moon is all beaming today, for a writer has given him his long-deserved attention.
Lovely expression, buddy

margee said...

full moon is a metaphor for god's being !

margee said...

BG...U ROCK AGAIN !
esp.the last part...wowwww ! loved it.
so aesthetically expressed !

SoulSpace said...

an uncommon eulogy to the moon

like yr two wishes...

Anonymous said...

I and he had a dream of making love in the moon light by a still lake.....:)hope it comes true someday :)

Anonymous said...

"He" and I have planned to view a historical monument in moonlight (full moon, to be precise). Nothing can be more romantic! Just can't wait and keep counting the days.:-)

Btw Mr Ghosh, am really surprised. what a coincidence! U too have thought about the moonlight around the same time. Good post. And...may ur wishes come true! :-)

SmitaJay said...

With these lines you have made me your "writing slave"...

"The gentle light of the moon lets you see what you want to see, and yet it doesn't let you see what she doesn't want you to see"...

Pearl said...

I would think any thing that you give so much thoughful attension will give out a silver glow! It happens with my tea cup, my table lamp(which is yellow) and even the times I shower I keep asking the water 'please tell me your colour' :) It never answers!
Moonlite is usually left to be talked amogst the old poets who methinks overhype it a bit too much! :P

Amit K Mukherjee said...

Hi Bishwanath,
Sometimes office can be boring if you are waiting for a review comment or approval of a plan that you have sent.
For the last couple of days, I was in a mode that we often refer to as "suspended animation"; until of course I started reading Ganga Mail. I browsed you blog for over 10 hours (don't tell my manager) and again today morning, I felt like coming back to the same URL.
My “date” with writing or should I say “tryst” with blogging was alive for years. The problem, however, was being faithful to one blog and one template for six months, forget four years.
I had a nice time reading your blog and that means I liked your style. Nostalgic, naughty, nonchalant with a subtle sense of humour (or should we say humor the American way). The use of "f" word was quite liberal and after getting over the initial "shock and awe" I was waiting of its next appearance.
Ganga Mail is among the few sites where I feel, it is worth spending sometime... and that's an understatement. Good Work!! - Amit.

Bishwanath Ghosh said...

Thanks, Amit!

Lakshmi said...

I mentioned in FB recently that stopping and looking at the moon was just sheer bliss..I remembered this song after reading our post- aadha hai chandrama raat aadhi..

Anonymous said...

bootiful.. as always, the moon and the post..

Unknown said...

with a name like Looneymuni ... cany help but appreciate the writing ;o)

Unknown said...

Sometimes when we are going through the grind of everyday lives we tend to forget the wonderful beauties that was part of our lives once.....We just take things for granted.....a post like this not only connect us to some deep hidden emotions but also make us longe for those good old days which we were so fond of....have been living on my own for the last 10 years and have never ever felt so home sick,nostalgic as i am feeling today after reading through your posts....well done man....u have such an ability to touch us where it matters the most through ur wonderful posts....

batteries listings said...

May both your wishes be fulfilled soon.:P My fingers are crossed.I like watching the moon (especially the full moon). Being a Cancerian, I feel loony (low) during those days. :P