The Brahmaputra and beyond

I am from the land where the mighty Brahmaputra holds our lifeline. I remember visiting multiple places within Assam as a kid and no matter near or far, the bus ride always promised me a glimpse of the mighty river. My pious mother had instilled within me a faith that this river was not a river alone, it was our deity and needed to be worshipped. Each time we crossed it, she would jerk me from my sleep and fold my tiny hands into a "namaste" to show my obeisance towards the river. I was also taught that each namaste had to be accompanied with a slight bend of your head to show how humbled you felt when faced by the mighty river.

Years rolled, I grew from a kid to a confused adult. Confused is the apt word to describe my state because I am preety clear about the fact that a river can't be God and as a matter of fact I even can't explain who to relate to as God but even now some unseen force makes me fold my palm into a "namaste" followed by a brief nod (though I practice it within my head) each time I cross the river. Even though concepts change as we grow, there is a kid within us who desperately tries to cling to ignorance. In ignorance lies a sense of relief devoid of rationality or logic.

Also, with the passage of time I have grown a fondness for the river. I like its deafening silence layered in its bottom. I like the secrets it holds of thousands sighs of desolate farmers. I like the way it fetches fishes for feasts and people to their homes. I also like how it has room for my silence, it never questions when seeked.

And yet, we never spare a thought of how displaced it feels. We have built homes around it not leaving enough room for it to glide in its own sway. We have built towns, cities and countries and even divided it between Nations calling it different names. But, a river knows to flow and it is all that it wants. It recognises no boundaries nor any fractions and thus when you burden it, it shows its displeasure. It weeps as floods sweeping past villages and cities. It neither recognises nor spares any. Isn't it time we learn to set it free?

I may like the sea for its vastness but I can't deny the fact that I have grown with the river and to love it loving myself is enough.

I wish people knew what it means to find home in a river, I wish they saw my side of the world.