The Pupil And The Master
As she walked and ran in the woods the fresh air was fragrant with the wild berries ripening at this time of the year. The yellow of the sun the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds created a perfect backdrop for the green forest which was alive with life inside. The rabbits ran popped their ears hid and ran again as she walked along with her master.
She came with him here to search her identity. They belonged to the shaper tribes. She was a ten year old as impish crazy, childish, grown up wise snappy... and her master was walking with the robe of experience with her.
“Here, Tyla I will leave you.” He said in a grave voice
“Go and search yourself and may the knowledge be granted to you by the wise ones. The test is to be experienced.”
With this he touched his had to her forehead and swiftly disappeared inside the thick forest.
Tyla walked over through the shrubs and reached the place a semi circle of green shrubs and many flowers. It was a place where they had to go for their tests. Here she would find her own identity. The true shape of their soul is to be found here. Time was not any constrain or a limit either. It could take days, months or years.
She entered the dell softly and hesitantly. She calmed her nerves and stilled her thoughts. She closed her eyes and concentrated and then she could feel the change in her body which suddenly flattened and then divided it self into soft petals as she transformed into a lovely delicate flower.
Tyla searched herself in the softness of the delicate petals but it felt cold not warm as it should and did not fee right. This was not her shape she immediately understood.
Time moved or flowed she never realized as she transformed into a rose then a weed and after that a willow tree. But there was no light for her to feel it right. It was dark and unknown.
She was worried now.
What if she does not have a shape? She will be an outcast. Her tribe was a mild tribe with nothing aggressive. But an outcast had to go away to the human realm and never to return. She would not like to be an outcast
She suddenly felt her shoulder blades itching and there were some soft wings with many hues growing through the sides. As she transformed into a butterfly she fluttered around the flowers trying to search her in that beautiful shape. The flowers she searched for the nectar which seemed tempting but as she tried to taste it was bitter. The darkness and coldness around her told her this again was not her true shape.
She fluttered and hovered and tired she fell through the overgrowth. She was still for some of the many moments but she never realized them passing by. When she became conscious she felt herself branching out and the young green leaves appeared on her branches as the roots sunk deep inside the rust brown Earth. The breeze tickled her as water transported the life force from the earth. The birds flew hither and thither and butterflies looked at her with awe. The sun gave her the divine energy to make the green leaves greener and small tendrils developed buds which became flowers and soon she was covered with white dainty flowers with a heavenly fragrance She could feel the wind touching like a lover’s breath and immediately it dawned on her that this she had not changed her form but she had become the tree.
She was happy dancing in the wind as it flowed through her branches and the birds came to make nests.
But she will have to go back now to her village to tell her master. She will have to transform herself. She slowly became Tyla and gathered her skirts as she walked and softly danced out of the forest …she smiled as she remembered a song she hummed softly
"Silently the birds fly through us.
Oh, I, who long to grow,
I look outside myself,
And the tree inside me grows."
Rainer Maria Rilke
(1875-1926)
"Silently the birds fly through us.
Oh, I, who long to grow,
I look outside myself,
And the tree inside me grows."
Close
Meera
Thanks for your lovely words.
This was a result of a strange thought pattern..and yes it was about the search good bad right wrong ...whatever.
Thanks for your appreciation
am happy you could relateto it.
keep coming
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Nupur
Absolutely loved it.
Every one of us go through this... trying to figure out our identity in the jungle :)) Left out, and figuring out by what feels good and right. That makes us smile and jump in joy :)
It is perfectly, beautifully written, crafted. You are gifted.
WOW! Great one :))
Meera
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bl
Thanks for your encouraging comments.
I am glad you could enjoy this . This one was a result of certain mind frame and magic and revealation came on its own.
Shapes ..destiny..true identity.....transformation of the soul..and knowledge...whatever it was or it can be.
No am no Goddess ..just a traveller in this desert of time...
keep coming
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WOW !!!!! Yaah .. I guess it was comin this way much before I came her eto read it , someone told me about it, and yepp, u kno wme .. always late for the good things... I liked it would be understatement .. I loved it ... i just LOVED it ... it has that wonderful strange mix of magic n self revealation that makes wonder...
I liked the part about searching one's true identity... that was marvelous ... that's how we all do, righto?? going from one shape to another... turning one thing then another.. only to learn wat r u made of !!!
U r the goddess... the perfect magician for the enchanted world..... n I'd like to see req's sequel as welll....
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scribblingpad
Thanks for your appreciation. Am glad you liked the poem.
keep coming.
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Bilingual
Thank you so much for the concern. I am touched. Yes I am aware of the problems of self publishing.And the patience required for all the self marketing to be done.You are very right that India is not a market where an author often gets the biggest bang for their buck or reward on investment.
Yes my stories can be adapted to become more universal in appeal.Your suggestions are extremely helpful for me to think on. The point is I have never ever thought of writing a novel and I feel it requires lot of dedicated effort and time and patience and with family commitments it might be difficult to find. But yes where there is a will there is a way.
I will definitely try and take some of my stories and put some serious thought on which one can be expanded into a novel. Then would try and add chapters as and when I can.And someone else had also told me the same thing to write chapter length short stories add and adapt them.And then I will ask for your guidance.
Thank you for your appreciation and yes Sup and Requiem are both very talented writers and there are so many on Sulekha.
Thank you so much for the encouraging words am deeply touched.
Nupur
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Hi Nupur, May I give you some advice? I don't think the self publishing world or the ebook world is yet ripe for the plucking.. for you or anyone. There is too much self marketing work required. Assuming that you would like SOME decent return on investment, ebooks are not too fruitful. In your case ( knowing your talent) and knowing the market a little, let me give you an example. Keshev's book sold for 6.00USD when I bought one recently. That is really inexpensive ( in the West). His book is about his Sabbu stories ( decidedly Indian). India is of course a huge market but it is not a market where an author often gets the biggest bang for their buck or reward on investment.
Your stories often have Indian characters but they are not really Indian stories in many cases, the appeal is universal. I would never suggest you take the Indianesque out of the stories, but I think the characters in your stories are almost interchangeable with other nationalities. I think you COULD say take any of your stories and expand them to chapter length about 2500-4000 words and they would stand on their own. IF you maybe had 12 to 15 chapters and made 1/3 or half of the characters Indian and then did just a bit of research and changed some of the stories to say have Brits, Japanese, Chinese, Americans, Spanish ETC characters the stories would really.. really have an international feel. I mean they do already, because you take us to whatever "Never Neverland" you are creating.
It really just has to do with what you want in an audience. Sure we know that Harry Potter is English kids, but even there Ms. Rowling is cognizant of the appeal of say the Indian twins... It allows us all to identify with the story. Prince Caspian ( which I saw last night) introduced a new race of men that were swarthy and from the Caspian Sea racial makeup....
It is just food for thought for you. Can you "beef up" your stories and make them chapter length? I am confident you can. When you finish ( if you move ahead in this direction) I will be happy to help you either get an agent or publisher..... something I am working on now for me. I have found considerable resources regarding this. Even though you book would have broader appeal than just children, it would probably be considered a children's book and certain agents and publishers specialize in this genre of publishing, these are whom you should target with your enquiry or proposal letter. The way to do this is a bit complex but not overwhelming, and I would be happy to share my thoughts on this with you when and if you become ready.
You see Nupur you really do have a gift and it should be shared. Definitely there are others here that have great potential here, say Supiyad, but in her case she is (I think) still searching and exploring what her game plan is, now she is doing poems. Definitely you both have talent, but yours is more focused on one area (at least it seems to be in the years I have read you). It is not easy to spend your time on a whole book but I imagine that in your case as I said it could be a collection of chapter length short stories. This makes it a bit easier than a whole book on the same story. I think the building blocks are there, why don't you try one chapter or two first with a two of your favorite stories? I just noticed Req's comment.... and here is another very talented writer who is asking for more from you! Who knows you and Req might work together on a collaboration....
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The poem is brilliant. liked it.
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Bilingual
I am overwhelmed with your praise..so much that in spite of reading the comment in the morning today I was not able to reply it. I am so happy that you enjoy my stories and they provide you with a welcome respite.I just want them to be that.
JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis are great masters and am nowhere near them I am humbled by your words.
I try to find a positive side to everything that happens in life and can't remain depressed for long. May be that reflects in my writing.
No I do not have any works published but will think over and find out more about publishing.
You have not taken my time..in fact you made my day ..no many days when I can come and read this wonderful comment when I feel blue or sad and then start to writing another story with more enthusiasm.
I read your blogs but rarely comment. There are no reasons it just happens.And I enjoy your writing very much.
Thank you once again and to Sulekha which provided a platform to meet so many wonderful people.
Thanks again and keep coming so that I can weave more such tales.
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Hiya Keyaa. I would like to scratch your back here a bit if you will indulge me. I don't get to your blog as often as I would like and I feel cheated that I do not. However whenever I come here, it is peaceful and magical. Much like a short story by JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, or any of the unique writers that take us through their stories to places we never thought were real. It is a gift you have with your very fertile mind. Yeah perhaps I am putting you in too lofty of company but every reader still takes a journey in your stories, so the comparison is apt.
For me personally, it is a welcome respite when I travel to the locations you create, even for a few minutes. The visit recharges my batteries and puts a smile on the face of a world where sensationalist news stories often depress us.
I admire the fact that you can weave a story so positive and inspirational time after time, I where I end up ranting like a loon the vast majority of the time. Your stories leave me thirsty wanting more and so I was wondering if you have any published works in longer form? If not you certainly have the talent, and I would encourage you to consider it.
Well I have taken up too much of your time, but let me close in saying that I am not here to solicit you visiting my Blog.. Our interests are quite different. I am not scratching your back hoping you will scratch mine. I am simply here as you are one of those writers I respect and admire and I know you get many such accolades, yet I am a believer in giving credit where credit is due. You have earned my respect and admiration before and you continue to inspire me and others here at Sulekha.
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