Land of Lilliputians

“The story starts almost like another story: The Sleeping Beauty. However, it is about a seed. There was once a little black seed. It slept peacefully inside the earth for many months while the water kept caressing it. So one day it woke up.  The seed opened its green eyes and looked at the world around it. It looked at the Ashoka tree that stood tall at some distance and was looking affectionately at the budding seed. The seed smiled and nodded to the tree. Little did it know that one day the tree would become its best friend. As the sunlight gently touched the bud it started growing, and it grew fast. It was curious and wanted to explore the world, so it kept spreading in all directions. The water and the sunlight, seeing the seed’s thirst for knowledge, kept helping it travel far and wide. It became a vine. One day the vine looked at the starry skies, they seemed to beckon it. Now it wanted to travel upwards and meet the stars, so unquenchable was its curiosi...

“Look!” Omar’s voice reverberates in the kitchen and, most probably, is heard within  the radius of thirty miles.  He has experienced a eureka moment:Two bananas that sleep cozily inside a single peel. “They are twins. They are born together,” I tell Omar, and then decide to create a visual experience.  And if you are standing in a kitchen, there is no dearth of possibilities to stoke your creativity. My sculpting skills need just two black peppers for those deep dark eyes, a clove for a roman nose, and a bit of tomato peel for those rosy lips. I am happy with my artwork. I feel so creative; and Omar is impressed. “Aren’t they cute” I ask Omar. “Yes, let’s keep them for ever,” he enthuses.  “We can’t, they will rot. Everything in this world is transitory, even banana twins.” After all these years, Omar has learned to ignore my meaningless digressions. And he focuses on what matters: twins “Do I have a twin too?” he asks. “No,...