Antebellum Chant
The silver lining in the fluffy, white clouds reminded Mir of the time before the war broke. He would often step out of his house with an aloof expression and wondered if only people were more like him. There would be no war in the first place, he thought. Some time ago, he questioned a man in uniform about his views on death, the man replied inevitable. Mir was an impressionable young lad and he thought inevitable was the only answer.
So, when they called for military service and young boys from the entire village were picked, Mir's response to Ammi was 'inevitable'. Ammi was baffled, her special son had found a new obsession. He no more wanted to chase clouds but follow the road to guns and war. She begged him to stay but his mind was ensorcelled by death. And nobody disrespects anyone in the uniform, something that was never experienced by Mir. He was used to being picked upon. Boys in school teased him, teachers avoided him and others just pitied him. He knew those days were over for him.
The first few days at the camp seemed incredibly exciting but after a while, it became blasé. Only then he met Senge, a Ladakhi officer who was just as special as Mir. But military was Senge's bailiwick. He came from the philosophy of there are no rules in love or war. And he knew about war. He spent much of his youth on the front line. In his superiors eyes, he was a ticking bomb ready to explode. Nobody seemed to understand Senge either. He was dejected when they cancelled his promotion on grounds of being special.
He lost some of his soul and quite large proportions of will, but then the inevitable happened; he met Mir. They shared a lot in common, and much to their delight, the special bond was sealed when they were transferred to the same station. A lot has been said about camaraderie in the forces but Mir and Senge personified it. Senge taught Mir his family's antebellum chant. Mir was a gifted singer but he never explored that talent of his. Senge persuaded him to sing more often especially when they were going for front line operations. Others at the camp started to appreciate Mir's singing and clapped for him.
On one cold, wintery night, Senge was stationed at a camp a few kilometres away from Mir's. An attack was going to take place and nobody knew when. Senge, using his military acumen to the very best predicted it to take place where Mir was stationed. His heart skipped a beat at that particular instant. Risking his life, he reached Mir's camp and asked everyone to evacuate the camp. Mir was confused. He had never seen Senge in such tension. He asked what happened? And Senge replied you did. In the midst of getting everyone out of the camp, the attack from the enemy took full force. Firings were exchanged and lives were lost.
Senge was on the ground with his head barely able to lift and body paralysed with pain. Didn't you say death was inevitable my friend, said Senge. His last words. Mir wasn't able to save Senge. He cried profusely and sang the chant over and over again. Few days later, he went back to his village carrying Senge's few possessions; his compass and his copy of Iliad. Inside the book, there was a letter penned for Mir. Senge had written it when they were apart from each other, few days before he died. Mir decided not to read it.
Months passed and Mir did not return for service. After Senge's passing, he never sang, he never wept, he found company in the clouds, just like before.
So, when they called for military service and young boys from the entire village were picked, Mir's response to Ammi was 'inevitable'. Ammi was baffled, her special son had found a new obsession. He no more wanted to chase clouds but follow the road to guns and war. She begged him to stay but his mind was ensorcelled by death. And nobody disrespects anyone in the uniform, something that was never experienced by Mir. He was used to being picked upon. Boys in school teased him, teachers avoided him and others just pitied him. He knew those days were over for him.
The first few days at the camp seemed incredibly exciting but after a while, it became blasé. Only then he met Senge, a Ladakhi officer who was just as special as Mir. But military was Senge's bailiwick. He came from the philosophy of there are no rules in love or war. And he knew about war. He spent much of his youth on the front line. In his superiors eyes, he was a ticking bomb ready to explode. Nobody seemed to understand Senge either. He was dejected when they cancelled his promotion on grounds of being special.
He lost some of his soul and quite large proportions of will, but then the inevitable happened; he met Mir. They shared a lot in common, and much to their delight, the special bond was sealed when they were transferred to the same station. A lot has been said about camaraderie in the forces but Mir and Senge personified it. Senge taught Mir his family's antebellum chant. Mir was a gifted singer but he never explored that talent of his. Senge persuaded him to sing more often especially when they were going for front line operations. Others at the camp started to appreciate Mir's singing and clapped for him.
On one cold, wintery night, Senge was stationed at a camp a few kilometres away from Mir's. An attack was going to take place and nobody knew when. Senge, using his military acumen to the very best predicted it to take place where Mir was stationed. His heart skipped a beat at that particular instant. Risking his life, he reached Mir's camp and asked everyone to evacuate the camp. Mir was confused. He had never seen Senge in such tension. He asked what happened? And Senge replied you did. In the midst of getting everyone out of the camp, the attack from the enemy took full force. Firings were exchanged and lives were lost.
Senge was on the ground with his head barely able to lift and body paralysed with pain. Didn't you say death was inevitable my friend, said Senge. His last words. Mir wasn't able to save Senge. He cried profusely and sang the chant over and over again. Few days later, he went back to his village carrying Senge's few possessions; his compass and his copy of Iliad. Inside the book, there was a letter penned for Mir. Senge had written it when they were apart from each other, few days before he died. Mir decided not to read it.
Months passed and Mir did not return for service. After Senge's passing, he never sang, he never wept, he found company in the clouds, just like before.
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