Krishnas Kesh

Krishna Kesh 

Priest Prasad woke up before the moon goodbye. He chants the “Hare Krishna”  as he starts his routine. He walks towards the temple gate and begins to sing Krishna's poem. His sweet deep voice sings a beautiful imagery of Krishna. He opens the door and commences to clean the floor. He picks the paper, rose petals, marigold flowers, and holy basil leaves from the sandstone flooring. Then he mops the floor with a cloth and takes a deep breath. 

He continues his poem, and his voice becomes sweeter and more passionate. His voice attracts the bird to sing alongside him. Poems' savory words allure the sun to descend early in the sky. Sunlight enters from the window and fills the room with a warm gold light. He prepares the plate for the pooja. 

Prasad screams “Krishna”  and his old pale hands drop the flower plate on the floor. His eyes widen and his forehead drenches in sweat. His helper Ramu runs toward him. 

Ramu asks, “What happened Prasad G? Why the plate is on the floor.”

Prasad says, “Ramu the night has robbed us of the peace.” He falls on the floor and puts his hands on his forehead. 

“I didn't understand my gentle sir.” 

“Krishna Kesh and crown are lost”

“Sir you have kept them somewhere else”

“Not possible. Last night I forgot to remove them from Krishna's head” his voice trembles and slows down.

“What will happen? Janmashtami is in three days. ”

Prasad adjusts his glasses and says, “Begin the search.”

Ramu nods and his eyes turn pale.

Dogs were howling and clouds hid the peaceful sun. The news spread like wildfire and people gathered around the temple.  

Ramu lowers his gaze and says, “Sorry sir but the Kesh and crown are nowhere to be found in the temple.”

Prasad coughs and clears his throat, “You searched in the garden”, He clears his throat and says, “Have you searched in the fountain?  ” 

“Yes sir everywhere but no clue found.”

Heavy rainfall surrounds the area. Talk and tales emerge in the area. 

“Prasad come out. We want answers.” was the slogan of the crowd. 

Ramu rushes outside of the temple. He ran barefoot and his eyes were filled with doubt. 

“Stop insulting..”, Says Ramu, he controls his breath, “Sir, he hasn't done anything. ” 

“How come the crown and Kesh of the lord are missing?”, says an elder women 

“Wait, sir is coming and please be polite”, Says Ramu

“Yes let him come.” says the elder woman. 

A bird flies away in the sky to escape from the noise and heat of the crowd.

Prasad drags his old feet outside and says, “Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” says the crowd.

“Sorry for everything but we will find our beloved things,” says Prasad as he wipes his tears.

‘’We don't believe you.”

“Please have faith.”

“No, we want results.”

“We will get it before Janmashtami. ”

“We want security and Prasad should resign.” 

Prasad wipes his eyes. “I take oath that if crown and hair are not found by Janmashtami, then I will leave the city.”

Crowd claps. 

Ajeet the saint covered in gold and silver chains comes forward among the crowd. He raises his voice and thunder is heard in the sky. He says, “Bad luck has struck our town. Last night Kalu's cow died and a robbery happened in the King's Palace. ” 

“What bad luck”, says the crowd.

“We are doomed.”

Ajeet smiles at the crowd and says, “We could avoid it if you all donate rs 510000 to me and I will take away your sins.”

Prasad's eyebrow widens and his first shakes furiously. He says, “Don't fall for the trap. No one can take your sins. ” 

“What option do we have.”

“We believe in Ajeet Sir.”

“Let us donate and save our city and life.”

Prasad and Ramu leave the scene and start searching for the things. 

Prasad says “Don't worry. we will find the hair and crown. Then we will shut Ajeet and superstition.” 

“Yes sir, ” said Ramu.

“You go Ramu investigate the cow and bank.” 

Prasad finds a crow's feather and a broken rope beside the Idol. He thinks about it and walks to the backyard. He shouts, “Everyone assemble in the yard.” 

“G sir what happened?.” says a child.

“Did anyone open the temple window last night?”

“Yes, it was me.” said a boy.

“So Arjun did you forget to close it.” 

“Yes sir, I think I forgot about it.”

“So go find the crow's nest.” 

“But why sir.?”

“Please go.”

“Ok, sir.” 

Prasad then returns and starts praying to Krishna Idol.  After a moment Arjun returns  and says “Found it, sir.” 

“Let us go. To the nest.”

“Arjun go climb the tree.”, said Prasad. 

Arjun nods. 

Arjun climbs up and his eyes widen. He says, “Sir, Krishnas Kesh is inside the nest but how?”Prasad smiles, “Did you find the crown?” 

“No crown found but how did you know?”

“I guessed it and how is the Kesh?”

“Well, the bird has laid eggs on it. ”

“So we can't use it now?” Said Prasad. He puts a finger over his lip.

“ What will we do now sir ? “, said Arjun, and he looked down. 

“ We can't get a new one, “ Prasad thinks.

“ Well sir, what will we do? 

“ Ask Radha to knot new hair from wool” 

“ Can she make it fast and on time? “ 

“Yes, she can if she makes it only ¾, and the rest we cover with flowers.” 

“ That's a good plan “.

“ Arjun, meet with Radha and I will look for the crown “. 

Prasad rushes back again to find the clue. He sees the rope, flowers, and a marble lying in the corner of the room. 

“ I think I know about this marble “, Prasad thinks 

“Roopa, come into my office.”, Says Prasad.

“You called me. Sir?”, Said Roopa.

“Did anyone come inside the temple premises in the evening?”

“Which evening sir?”

“Yesterday one.”

“I haven't seen anyone but I saw blood droplets on the floor  and child's bloody footsteps.”

“Why didn't you report to me?”

“Your hands were full, so I thought I would report the incident later.”

“This was an emergency. What if the person was in danger?”

“I asked Ravi to look for the person and he couldn't find anything. Sir, please calm down.” 

Prasad sighed, “How did you know the person was a child ?”

“Footprints were small.”

“Did you clean the temple?”

“Yes sir”

“Ok you may go but next contact me first.  Police don't come into the village due to our landlord's influence. So the responsibility falls on us too, so be careful.”

The crowd had grown and was ready to burst open in anger and fear. So Prasad went out from the back door.

He investigates the area and finds out about a boy, who was beaten badly yesterday.

“ Why was the boy beaten? “ Asked Prasad.

“ The boy was playing with the cow and the cow later died. So the public thought the boy was cursed.” said an old man.

“ Why and how the incident happened.” 

“ The cow was sad and hungry. The boy played with her and gave her food. But the cow slipped and fell in the hole.” 

“ Then how come it's the boy's fault.” 

“ The boy was playing near the hole and villagers tried to warn him. But he ignored it and the accident happened very fast.” 

“ Then what happened? ‘’ said Prasad looking at his wristwatch. 

‘ The witnesses misunderstood the situation and believed the boy had pushed the cow. It happened again. “ 

“ What happened again?” asked Prasad as he got impatient.

‘ Well, the boy was playing with Ajeet's majestic cow and she died a few days later. Ajeet didn't get compensation from the king or the boy's side. As the boy is an orphan.”

“ Well who was the owner of the deceased cow ?" asked Prasad.

Tears rolled down from Prasad's eyes. He wipes those tears and reaches the City outskirts.   

He then went back to the temple and called Ramu.

“ Ramu,  inquire about Ajeet cow.  tomorrow morning fix the meeting with the public.” Said Prasad.

“ Sir, what about the crown? “ Asked Prasad.

“ Everything will be clear tomorrow.” 

In the morning, Lord Idol went missing, and Prasad weeps loudly. The Crowd gathers in the hall. 

 Prasad wipes his tears and stands in the center. 

“Our lord has left the city.” 

“What?”, said the crowd. 

“Why and now what will happen?”

“It's all your sins,” said Prasad, “Ramu  come and  bring the body inside the hall.”

 Ramu brings the boy's body and keeps it on the floor. 

Prasad said, “Silence.”  His eyes turn red and he says, “The boy succumbed to his injuries. Given by you all. Murdered by the crowd.”

Prasad turns around looks at Ajeet and says, “Kalu cow died by accident and the bank was robbed one week ago. You lied Ajeet.”

Prasad walks a little and says, “Ajeet you planned the murder and tried to take advantage of the crowd. To earn money from someone's death. ” 

“Yesterday, the boy had come to the temple and dropped his marble and the cow rope. Krishna's crown fell on his head and he walked home. There he succumbed to his injuries and met Krishna.  The idol is there but Krishna has left the city.” 

The crow flies with Krishna's flute and crowd notices the crow. They run after it with stones in hand.