EMPTY EYES

It was the marriage of my uncle's elder son.we reached uncle's house 5 days before actual marriage was to take place. When it comes to a north indian marriage there are so many little ceremonies and rituals b4 the BARAAT.It was not less than a small zoo when we reached there with so many relatives and i started bending down every 2sec/2 minutes for "pairi pauna".

I met one of my distant relatives.I had never met her. However, she blessed me and was very happy 2 c me. Then met her son. A young,tall and handsome guy who was older than me by 6-7 years, and the only son of a financially sound family.i started calling him bhaiya but the bond became more friendly within a day or two.

when only few days are left 4 marriage, bhangra and dhol become a part of daily routine in that house. every evening ppl dance and enjoy and the atmosphere is such that nobody can resist to b a part of it though it continues till late night.
Every evening, bhaiya and I were in the centre with the fist TAAL of the dhol. we danced alongwith several others, kids,cousins, aunts,uncles and parents of those uncles and aunts.soon we developed an excellent sync of bhangra steps. Bhaiya's mother always looked mesmerised when we were performing bhangra.On the day of Baraat, we danced for hrs till we reached the venue.we were really tired at that moment but soon realised that it was not the end. A DJ was playing there and that was an indication that we will not b spared. Forget the food, forget the cermonies , forget the meetings; all wanted us to b on the dance floor.


Four years later, it was the marriage of my uncle's younger son.I managed to reach there only a day before the baraat. this time i was not much interested in dancing but still could not resist the TAAL when i was forcefully pulled onto the dance floor.
Suddenly i noticed two eyes staring at me while i was dancing. Bhaiya's mother was there. She looked pale but was wearing an artificial smile.I went to her and asked 4 her blessings. She gave a smile that was a genuine one this time and blessed me with some words. The next thing she said ,"u r not dancing today ? where r ur steps?".

I went back to the dance floor and did the steps so that they would make her happy. but instead they made her cry as i noticed wetness in her EMPTY EYES which have drained after the death of her only son. He had died in a tragic road accident one year back.I felt the guilt in making her cry his son.being a mother she missed him every moment. probably she saw him in me and urged me to dance.She went out of the frame and i sat lonely on a side missing him too.