Companion1 Silence in love betrays more woe Than words, though ne’er so witty —Sir Walter Raleigh All the women woke up before sunrise, brushed their teeth and performed their morning ablutions. They wore clean saffron clothes and got busy with their assigned tasks. Bhakti Maiya and her associates took Madhuri to the forest groves created in the Vihar Math. They discussed the programme for the evening’s Ras Lila and explained it to Madhuri. On a large rock on top of a hill a clearing was made. It was open and so could receive the moonlight as also the winds blowing from the south and west. It was on a higher elevation than all the three maths and so situated that it could be seen from all three. A vast kadamba tree occupied the centre space, around which small flowering shrubs were planted. The open square was surrounded by unsurmountable hill tops on which exotic birds nested. There was a pool of water called Yamuna Kund. The Ras Lila was to take place around it. The sea shore was clearly seen from this height. Its foaming waves seemed like the glistening breasts of a fair, young maiden. The group stood watching the sea. Any remark about the beauty of the scene seemed to take away something of that beauty. All of them stood there without speaking or moving. The comforting joy of it permeated their hearts. Vamini broke the silence. ‘Madhuri Maiya, this cool breeze blowing over the sea and rising up the mountain does not seem to give you any joy. This beautiful scene seems to have perturbed you.’ Kumud: ‘The sea reminds me of my past. The master of my heart compared me with moonlight and himself with the sea. He said that the moonlight causes the sea to rise, which was patently false. There is no moonlight and yet the sea waves continue to rise.’ Vamini: ‘But it will rise even more when the moonlight appears.’ Kumud: ‘Some other moon will rise, but my moonlight has been captured in the long locks of Shivji.’ Bansari: ‘The play of desire knows how to bring both the moon and the sea under its sway. This play of desire brings with it the memory of the moon even on a dark, moonless night. The meekness of your heart has shaken your faith. I have seen a similar condition ail many hearts.’ Kumud: ‘Why do you wish to poison my melancholy heart with hope when the heart has come to love dejection?’ Vamini: ‘Do you believe that you have disappeared from Navinchandra’s heart without leaving any trace? Oh dear Madhuri, I observed you both when your eyes met. The desire and attraction present in your eyes were present in his as well. Can you challenge me on this?’ This question broke Kumud’s defences. She was reminded of the meeting of the previous morning. Her innermost feelings became transparent. She could give no response. She was disturbed, felt abashed and looked down. Vamini: