Mani Pradhan hailed from Shrivardhan in Raigad district of Maharashtra in India. He had retired as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. He was tall, slim and was extremely fair with luxuriant hair on his head. The fair skin had a pink shade displaying good health on the cheerful countenance. He sported a thick moustache that was grey like his hair. He was married to a fair beautiful lady named Aboli. Aboli is an orange coloured flower that is often strung together into strands, sometimes along with white jasmine flowers. These strands of flowers are used to embellish a woman’s hair or offered to deities.
Aboli was short but fair and pretty with long hair that was plaited loosely. She never adorned Aboli flowers though the bushes graced the compound wall of their house. She was calm and had a smiling face just like Mani. The couple had moved to Pune after a few years of their marriage and had lived there long after Mani’s retirement. They bought a flat close to the office at Shrivihar, in Nigdi. They were blessed with a son who lived abroad and was married to a girl who hailed from Pune. Mani and Aboli had made numerous visits abroad when their grandchildren were born. Mani turned 82 in the month of March 2020, Aboli was 77 years old but they displayed sheer agelessness, they were Dorian Grey.
Life was an array of flowers for Mani. Aboli was a great housekeeper and cooked the choicest dishes that Mani wanted. They had their ancestral house at Shrivardhan and often went there for long periods. Mani loved the house in Pune as the house was in the peaceful locales of Pune bound by the cantonment area that had stopped construction of buildings maintaining the tranquillity. There was a manmade forest which was close to their home and lay nestled between the cantonment and their colony. Life could not have been better. Mani rode the Vespa scooter, he was just like any young lad when he mounted the scooter. He would go fast and many times take Aboli as a pillion rider to the market. Aboli would take care to curl the end of her sari and her long plait tightly across her before embarking the scooter. The market would bring into them a state of frenzy for they were fond of fresh vegetables. It was sheer nostalgia when they would come across green eggplants, baby potatoes, white onions and the list was endless. While returning, Mani would drive through the narrow lanes to reach Hotel Gayatri where they would stop for a cup of coffee. Mani would also invite any of his friends visible on the way for coffee. They enjoyed these gatherings. There were times when Mani would go alone, Aboli would finish her household chores and keep herself free to listen to Mani’s chatter.
Mani and Aboli had decided that they would celebrate Mani’s 82nd birthday on the 22nd of March,2020 at home with friends. Aboli had decided to cook Mani’s favourite Puranpoli along with Pav bhaji and kothambirwadi, Pulav and Varan bhaath. In the second week of March, there was a partial lockdown in Pune owing to the Pandemic caused by Corona Virus. Mani and Aboli were ready with their things. They kept themselves active despite the lockdown. They were ready to appreciate the healthcare staff and the security at their doorway on the 22nd evening in the ‘Janata Curfew’ as announced by the Prime-minister. Aboli rang the bell while Mani supported her with his loud claps for five minutes. They were astonished to see a long procession of people yelling ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai, Go Corona’, Go. People had forgotten the secret of social distancing.
The lockdown was announced for 21 days and Mani’s birthday celebrations stood postponed. Each day the count of people dying and the number of people affected made Mani and Aboli understand the importance of social distancing, using a mask, washing hands and the norms that were prescribed by the health officials. They saw some of the people trying to violate the rules and harass the authorities. On the 5th of April, Mani and Aboli commemorated the Prime Minister’s word by lighting lamps at 9 in the night to show their solidarity with Indians during the Pandemic. Mani and Aboli witnessed a mob one again walking across the road shouting. They screamed, long live Hindutva’. They used demoralising words in a secular country. Mani saw Aboli getting agitated but he resigned to the fate saying, ‘People won’t change’. When he turned around, he could not find Aboli, there was a loud noise in the procession.
Mani looked across to see Aboli standing right in the middle of the crowd with a face mask and bamboo staff. She pointed the bamboo staff at the people and said, ‘you have destroyed the hard work of millions of people who have been striving to make your life peaceful, helping you face the siege peacefully. You have politicised the Pandemic.
Mani rushed to the spot but saw Aboli charged up with fire-spitting from her eyes. She threw the staff down and said, ‘The word Hindutva means leading a full life, move back home and start assisting the Government in their job. If you have the energy to counter the Pandemic, become a volunteer and feed the needy, go beyond yourself to be a spark of happiness for others’.
Aboli sighed and added, ‘If you can’t do any of these, Stay home…Stay safe’
There was pin-drop silence. Aboli had burst just as the pod of the Aboli flower does by sending the seeds of Sanity and level-headedness during the Pandemic. The people in the area joined Aboli in her feat and dispersed the mob.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
* The English name for Aboli flower is Crossandra. This flower is also known as “Firecracker Flower” for the reason that the seed pods of Cassandra plant explodes onto the ground and creates new seedlings. Crossandra is also known as Firecracker Flower.
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