Colours of Raigarh.......

Tapan returned home weary and tired.Another day went by without any business.Not a single piece of saree got sold today.His family had been in this business since time immemorial.His father,grandfather,great grandfather and time till you could trace back had all been saree merchants.His grandpa would tell him stories about how his ancestors would dress up the queens with their exquiste sarees.And how with change those sarees had come to adorn ordinary people as kings and queens fell with upheavels in history.Colorful patterns;floral designs, polka dotted,geometrical shapes was what he understood.His father would bring in rich quality yarns of cotton,chiffon,georgette when he was young.The smell of those fresh bales still stuck to his senses.He knew of no other trade than selling sarees.It was not simply a business for Tapan Rai anymore.It was his way of life.The village women would wait for him to make his weekly round when he came in with his cart and set up shop under the banyan tree that stood like the old guardian of the village.The gentle breeze would carry the whiff of new sarees and the excited women folk would come out in groups to the cart near the tree.The young womenfolk would be all abuzz with excitement.The older ones would chide the young ones at their restlessness but what everybody felt was the beauty of the colors,patterns and endless yards of cloth around them.But things were changing.
Life was not so colorful as the sarees that were laid out in Tapan's cart.The crowd was much smaller.The smiling and bright faces were not there.All he could see was a pall of gloom.A fear of what tomorrow brings.Crestfallen mourning faces.Red shrieking sirens in the air.A small sound would scare all.More than colors he could see the white on women.The village was empty of life and soul.The war had killed their spirit as it killed their loved ones.The wives,daughters,daughter-in-laws,mothers had to everyday bid goodbye to their sons,brothers,fathers.Coffins arrived in lots everyday.Heart rending cries echoed in the air.The empty souls showed in their empty eyes.His heart broke at the sight today.He called out to his wife as he stopped ruminating."Shradhaa";he said"Pack those white cloth bundles tomorrow.I need to go back to the village".