COGNITIVE ANECDOTES: Fantasy.

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Tail Of The Silver Horse

"For Robin, Mervin, Vishak, Kannan, Ani, Noble and the folks from colony"

The wonderful lunch with fried fish, curry and rice left a jaded little Vaisakh heading to the bed for a siesta. As he stepped into his room, he was captivated by the brand new entry into his collection, The Silver horse, which he had won by exchanging ten potato chip wrappers from the market. It was a time when collectibles meant everything to the kids of Gandhi colony. From stamps, coins, stickers, sports cards, greeting cards, the list of collectibles went to almost every attractive article that would fit into these 8 year old kids palms.

It was a habit; rather an obsession of little Vaisakh to ogle at his priced collections before he jumped into his bed. He opened his shelf of belongings, which was overflowing with collectibles. He tried to find room for the Silver horse in the shelf but in vain and so decided to keep it outside the table, anyway he had to show it to his mates who would come to play later in the evening. "How elegantly the tail, body and limb pieces fit!" Vaisakh exclaimed as he proudly displayed his priced possession to his sister, Chinnu. "The tail is the best part !!" Chinnu added, which drew a big smile on little Vaisakh's face."Yea!" he agreed.

Vaisakh woke up to the noise of the bicycle bells of his mates. There they were, Noble, Robin, Vishak, Kannan and Meera, waiting for him to join the bicycle ride through the colony and the grass fields which was the first of the many activities to follow. After a couple of rides, everyone gathered in Vaisakh's home to show off their latest collections. Noble pulled out the dinosaur which he had won with the noodle pack while Kannan boasted his pack of cards which his cousin had gifted him and Robin exhibited the bear rubber which he won with a biscuit pack. Meera and Vishak were silent as usual, they never had the eye for collectibles.

Vaisakh pulled out his silver horse which stole the show. Its beautiful color and contours made every kid look at it in envy.
" That thing is not even half the size of my Dino!" remarked Noble arrogantly,
"Oh yea? Its certainly not as ugly as your Dyyyno" Hit back Vaisakh, clearly not amused by Noble's statement.
"Its beautiful Vaisakh!" remarked Robin.
"Lets play Ludo, I cant bear the sight of that sick horse!" said Noble. Vaisakh frowned, though Vaisakh hated to play with Noble, he joined them so that his other friends won't feel bad. After the game, everyone returned to the table to take their belongings. Vaisakh screamed in horror, "The Tail is Missing!"

Tears pouring down his face, Vaisakh searched desperately for the horse's tail. Noble laughed wickedly. Vaisakh ran towards Noble and hit him in the nose. "I know you stole it. Give the tail back!!" Vaisakh yelled and Noble started crying too. The chaotic scene made Vaisakh's mum rush to his room from the kitchen.
"Look what you did to poor Noble, You evil kid!!" Mum yelled angrily at Vaisakh.
"But he stole my horse's tail Mama!!" complained Vaisakh.
"Ssshhh!!!!!"
said mum. She cleaned Noble's wound and sent the children to their homes.

Vaisakh sat devastated staring at his tailless horse and wept the whole day. It was a limited edition offer, there was practically no chance of winning a similar horse again.

Years passed, the kids crossed their teens and now each of them studied in a different part of the state. Rarely did they get a chance to meet each other. In one such rare meetings, Vaisakh, Noble and Meera sat in the grass field, chewing the cud of sweet old memories. Vaisakh broke the silence. "hey Noble! I wanted to ask you, Did you really steal my old silver horse's tail?"
Noble laughed, "No dude, Why should I take it huh? I never liked that stupid horse!". Meera grinned and held out her clenched fist to Vaisakh, "Open up!". To the boys amazement, there it was, the Tail of the silver horse!
"I never thought It would be coincidental, but anyway I wanted to return your 'precious tail', Vaisakh!" Meera laughed.
"My Innocence has been proved!!! You Evil Girl, You Scoundrel !!" Noble Shouted and chased Meera who was running to avoid the outraged Noble.
Vaisakh stood smiling with the horse's tail in his hand as he watched Noble chase Meera.

Inspired from my childhood

"The Suburbs- Arcade fire"

Istanbul

Posted by Vaisakh comments (6)

The Blue Mosque, Attribution: Source-Wikimedia,Image author:Jeremy Avnet

It was as if I was seeing myself for the first time! As I stood in front of the mirror, admiring myself, I caressed my magnificent black beard and glanced at the beauty of my golden colored skin. I had bought a Turkish cap last week from Osman; the clothier and I was going to wear it for the first time. Just then, Gulben, my beautiful wife entered. She had a glass of red cherry sherbet in her hands which I had ordered her to fetch. She looked even more beautiful in the slight ray of sunlight that hit the room. Her red veil though, hid her perfect face.

"The Sultan wants me at the palazzo, I'll have to leave, dear" I said and made my way out of my mansion after kissing my beloved's cheek.

I worked as a minister in our Sultan's palazzo and people called me Hikmet; meaning wisdom. Ten years ago, I would have never even dreamt of living in Istanbul and serving the Sultan. My actual name was Ishak and I came from Persia, ten years ago. I had been a good scholar then and soon was deputed as one of the Sultan's ministers.

As I peregrinated towards the palazzo, I was occupied by the bustling activity in the streets. I observed children running and playing with the toy swords, the beautiful maidens gossiping and few street dogs languishing in the front of food stalls. I could hear the sound of musical instruments as i walked past dervish houses. Osman was busy persuading customers to buy the new arrivals at his garments store. What a clever tradesman! I thought. During my melancholy walk, I wondered why the Sultan had commissioned an order for me to arrive at the palazzo, as I knew I had completed all my work and was looking forward to spending a day with my wife.

The city was as beautiful as ever. I saw that the stunning minarets, tombs and mosques acquired a golden tinge in the morning sun. The cherry and Pomegranate trees had icicles on them. Nature was recovering from yesterday nights heavy snowfall. I couldn't help praising Allah and the beauty he has endowed in earth. The air was cool, fresh and had a sweet smell of lavender dispersed in it. The gorgeous maidens smiled at me as I glanced at them, their coquettish instincts showing off, probably being intimidated by the handsomeness I possessed.

Having walked for few minutes now, I could now see that I was approaching "Sultanahmet Camii" or the Blue mosque. With its 6 magnificent minarets, it was one of its kind. I stood gazing at this architectural marvel for some time. "The Ottomans were really gifted by Allah" I thought. I was awakened from my state of awe when the thought of Sultan's letter crossed my mind and continued walking to my destination, the palazzo.

Sultan's men were waiting for me at the gate. They informed that a masterpiece of the great miniaturist Ismail Effendi that Sultan recently received had been stolen and I was one among the many suspects. I had seen the painting. It was a true wonder and to be honest, I had wished if I possessed it. Its exquisite work and embellishments would have had any person longing to possess it. But I had not stolen it. I wondered why the Sultan would suspect me. It was so harsh, being a loyal servant of the Sultan for years, how could he distrust me!?

The only way to find out the culprit was by torturing methods. The torturers took me and others branded as suspects into a dark room. We were stripped naked, Now, awaiting the torture, I cried to Allah. "How can they punish me? I am Innocent..Allah ! give me strength!! " A man closed in me with a dagger, or was it a dagger? I was not sure. I didn't dare to look.Soon I felt sharp pain, wincing, I jumped, and screamed at the top of my voice.

The pain subsided, I opened my eyes, to my amazement, I was sitting in my bed, sweating. I didn't have the long magnificent beard nor the fair, golden skin nor the ostentatious Turkish clothes. Grandfather was lighting the lamp. I saw the beautiful picture of lord Krishna, Ganesha and other deities in the room. Grandfather had just started praying.

I shoved the blanket and discovered the book I had left half-read last night- "My name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk. I took the book in my hands and buried my face in its pages. I reflected again my time in Istanbul and its mystic beauty, the people I met there, Gulben, the smell of lavender that hung in the air, the blue mosque and the handsome Hikmet or..Ishak.

Grandfather was getting irritated of the fact that I had not bothered to get up and offer my prayers. I quickly got up, prayed to lord and hurried downstairs. I stared aesthetically at the gorgeous morning sky, still, very different to the amethyst sky I saw in my dreams, where Eagles hovered over the myriad tombs and minarets of Istanbul. A strange hollow feeling haunted me, I wish I was still there, to prove my innocence to Sultan and continue my life as Hikmet, in the city where east meets west and which happens to be the most intelligent city of the world, Istanbul.