The Damsel at Echo Point - Lalzuithanga
I wonder if you will believe this.
A considerable amount of time has passed since this incident. I was yet a young man and Aizawl was not as it is now for it was almost entirely covered with wild foliage. Yet the vais• had made their presence felt keenly, and a motorable approach to Lunglei had already been constructed.Aizawl had already attained its present status, as a city in the helm of administrative affairs and it was thus regarded to be the hub of all activity. The Ngaizel stretch was very much like a jungle, and it was filled with ngai• trees. Even the road constructed by the government was frequented by animals rather than men, especially at night. One night my friend and I had gone from Kelsih village to Aizawl town to deliver a message. Hardly has we set off when my friend sprained his foot and could no longer proceed. He had to hobble back painfully on foot. Feeling duty bound, I went ahead armed with a spear and knife. However, I reached Ngaizel uneventfully. It was a full moon night and the night was bright. I was at ease and as I reached echo point, I heard the clear sound of a woman laughing in great mirth. I could sense that it was towards the east of the road. I stood still and gazed upwards and at first I thought that it was my eyes playing tricks on me. I rubbed my eyes ,and I gazed up again and rubbed my eyes thrice, yet it was the very same thing that I saw.
At the echo point, under an old tree stood a beauteous young damsel, with jet black hair and a milky white complexion. She had not a stitch of clothing on her winsome frame and her figure was radiant and sylphlike. I could clearly see her face by the moonlight and what a beauty she was! The references to Lawnglaii∙ were inferior by far. A beauteous maiden with so perfect a figure I am yet to perceive even till this day! Yet the first glimpse of her made my hair stand on end, for was it a lunatic or an evil spirit? I could clearly see her wondrous locks of hair even as they glistened and swayed amidst the breeze. She smiled again and because she was looking my way and staring at me, I presumed it was me she was smiling at. Rising like a man, to the occasion I queried,
“Who are you?”
She smiled once again.
“Come along, it is lovely here, Thuama. I could sense your approach for quite a while and I have been lying in wait for you, come on, do climb up” she urged, in a melodious voice.
Had I been endowed with the kind of sentiments that are typical of men of today, I would have clambered up at the first instance. Yet I was naïve, and besides evil spirits and demons were feared by me. I did not respond even after she implored thrice to me.
“How strange! I am terribly lonely, and you are not responding, even though your destination is not afar , remember, you may not quite reach the place” she cautioned.
At that I was greatly alarmed and hardly had I paced another three steps or so when from the other end of the road a huge lion emerged and positioned itself on the road. The maiden laughed
“I told you! You would not go far, come here, why are you bent on proceeding further?”
I was at a loss.
“I do not know you. How do you know of me?”
She replied “I am Rautinchhingi, you obviously would not know me. Come up, there is nothing to fear .My family has gone away and I am very lonely.” she cajoled.
“All right then I shall come, but it looks very difficult” and saying this I took about a couple of steps, and I think I flew up the rest of the way.
The next moment I was seated beside her and I realized that the place was highly elevated and as I gazed round I started feeling dizzy. She began to shake the tree and I grabbed hold of her and she laughed in amusement.
“You are very scared, you are making me laugh, come let us go inside my house, lest people see us outside and it might be embarrassing.”
Saying this she took hold of my arm and escorted me. I could sense that the path was a well constructed one and as we entered her house I realized that it shone brightly as though it was daytime. On retrospect I felt that it could actually be akin to many of the houses that are constructed today in the style of Western architecture. Lovely wisps of transparent material hung here and there in the room but I could not perceive much of the interiors. There was a piece of furniture which I presumed was a bed, and it had a thick mattress. She made me sit atop it and later she handed me a drink of rice beer, from out of a beautiful ivory mug.
“I made this rice beer and you must consume some” she urged even as she sat by my side.
As I was very thirsty I quaffed it in a single gulp. Immediately, I was transported into another world altogether. The present did not matter anymore. I no longer thought about my destination, nor my purpose for having set out. I felt very much at home in my present surroundings and I even began to think of Rautinchhingi as my lover from a long gone past. I was filled with a sense of bliss. We spent the entire night enraptured in eternal ecstasy, away from prying eyes. At last I fell asleep. I lay down in the comforts of the bed with Rautinchhingi by my side. She stroked me lovingly and I fell into deep slumber.
I woke up at dawn, and I could sense that Rautinchhingi was lying next to me. When I opened my eyes I could not see her and I was slightly alarmed. I got up from the bed and called out to her and I could hear her voice from somewhere within the house.
“It is dawn and you will not be able to see me, just hold on to the ivory mug and go your way. You must come again tomorrow night.”
I pleaded with her to come out from where she was. She assured me that she had stepped out into the light, but that it was impossible for her to be perceived by humans.
“Do not be afraid of anything. I shall guard over you. Just go on ahead”
Hearing this, I took hold of the ivory mug and hardly had I taken a couple of steps when I found myself in the direction that I was to take. I looked at my hands and I realized that the ivory mug that I held so dear was but a mere clod of earth. However, instead of discarding it, I tucked it away to safety. Only after that did I render the message that I was to deliver. In fact, I even narrated the reason for the delay and there were some who refused to believe me, while there were others who remained anxious for me.
I was filled with an immense sense of nostalgia. And I told myself that it was autumn, and we were not too busy in the fields, so it would be all right even if I did not return home immediately. But at the same time there were no excuses that I could make for staying back in Aizawl and as I had no kith or kin in that area it was embarrassing to even tarry awhile. Of course, as a messenger I felt it was my duty to stay behind awhile. As there were none who resided in Kulikawn at that point of time, I loitered awhile because I was tremendously desirous of meeting Rautinchhingi later that night.
Eventually at nightfall, I went off with a sense of elation. I reached the echo point once again even as the moon was rising from the east towards Tawi hill. It lit up the entire vicinity of Ngaizel. I had no fear at all in my heart. I went towards the Ngai tree and climbed up and sat upon a low lying branch. I seemed to recollect this branch from the night before. I was deeply disappointed and besides there was silence all around. I could only hear the call of the gecko at regular intervals. In my heart I felt a pang of deep regret.
I took out the clod of earth from my bag and when I looked at it I saw that it had been transformed into an ivory mug once again and that it even contained crystal clear water. I drank it up and immediately I could decipher the path that I had taken the night before. I went along the path on my own and I realized that it was a familiar path. At last I reached the house and went inside. I could discern that the fair Rautinchhingi was deep in slumber, with a handsome young man sitting, in wait beside her. He was stroking her face tenderly. I was indeed envious. He did not see me, even though I could see him clearly, but could not make out who he was. At length he sang a song, that was slow, lyrical, and yet unknown to me. However it soon dawned upon me that I would never ever forget the lyrics. Yet no matter how much I try, I have not succeeded in recalling the tune. The words go thus;
By the light of the moon
Dawns a beauteous light
Awake, sleeping Rautinchhingi!!
And meet your heart’s desire
Until the break of dawn
Let all happiness be yours
After he sang the song, he drank from the mug in hand and sprinkled the rest of the contents over the sleeping figure of Rautinchhingi.Even as I watched he started fading out slowly and soon disappeared into oblivion.
After that, I approached Rautinchhingi who was still in deep slumber. So enraptured was I over her countenance and her winsome features that I gazed at her for a long time. Had I been a sculptor I would have been able to erect a sculpture of her even now, so unforgettable was she! After I had gazed at her for a long time, I sat beside her, and shook her awake. Upon waking she gazed languorously at me, and hugged me wordlessly for a long time.
“O Thuama, how I wish you would no longer go away from me! If only we could spend all our lives together. How I miss you”
Saying so, she gazed at me. So ethereal were the beauty of her eyes that should a Hollywood film director perceive her, he would not hesitate to invest all his wealth in her, just in order that she would teach all his starlets to gaze as beautifully as she!
I said “But you are a spirit and I am human, what else can we do? Can there be a way out?”
She replied helplessly “There is no way out, even if you were to die there would still be no way out”
After we had spent a long pleasurable while in the comforts of the bed she said,
“Tonight is our last night together. I am about to reveal many things to you. After a time Aizawl will develop into a larger city, and these areas will be teeming with people night and day. We will no longer be able to remain here, but after many years, these outskirts and the path here will no longer be accessible to people. It will decay and fade and will remain more or less the way it is now. It will remain secluded. When such a time comes to pass, I shall be able to visit this place every full moon night, but alas! you will no longer be alive. However, you shall bear a son, who is akin to you, and he shall be able to see me every once in a while. This much I shall reveal to you.Come, let us go out I shall display to you the secret world of the spirits, that will never be subject to decay.” Saying this she held me and we went out together.
We climbed atop the ngai tree once more,
“Get ready” she cautioned while gazing at me,
“Grab hold tightly at my waist”
And I grabbed hold and got ready. She jumped down, and we flew down in ecstasy that was beyond words. I gazed down, and I saw a beautiful land, beckoning all at once with sentiments. We then descended and saw the banks of a river in all its splendour, and filled with exotic flowers. The light of the moon was brighter than it ever was before. And there was no one else. There was no house to be seen and we sat by a rock on the banks of the river. I can still see it very clearly in my mind’s eye, and had I been an artist I could have portrayed the poignancy of the scene. I slept in the softness of her lap and though we were atop a rock, it felt like spun cotton. She stroked my hair intently and said
“Go to sleep, you are very tired, I shall be on guard here”
I implored, “You must not go away”
She replied even as she hugged me, “The night is yet young, and we can be together for yet awhile. When dawn breaks we shall have to part for eternity, that is what I dread, I shall miss you terribly, but I shall not be able to see you. The young man you saw upon your entrance was my elder brother. He is our Chief. He has shown me your countenance sometime back, and unknown to you I have made my acquaintance with you. He has permitted me to seek you out in this manner only from the night before. His powers limit him only to a couple of nights but he is ardently aware of our love for each other. Yet this is all that he can do for us, and if it were up to him, he would have done much more, for he is willing to walk several miles more us. As for me, I shall be by your side, unknown to you. We will no longer be able to speak, see or hear each other. I shall however be able to see your son, every full moon night, once he is a full grown man. He too will be able to see me, only then.Thus, this is our last night together, and we shall be allowed to do whatever we want to, and there shall be none to restrict us.”
We were blissfully happy, and for a while I slept in softness of her lap. I awoke after a brief while, and we walked across the gently flowing river, and glided across the beauty of the place. The night passed away in a brief while for me!!
Suddenly I saw a splendid white cloud approaching from the heavens.
Rautinchhingi cried and hugged me
“Oh no, Thuama, my brother is approaching. It is time for us to part. How I dread this! Why could I not have been born human?”
I too was dreading this moment. The splendid white cloud shrouded itself over us and she cried, “O my brother, do you not have more powers? Do you not pity me?”
She cried and hugged me. At that instant her brother’s countenance was revealed before us, and I could see that he was indeed sympathetic towards us. He told his sister,
“Mami, even I wish to help you, I am aware of your desires as well, but my powers are very limited. So even though it is difficult for you, I am afraid you will both have to part ways, for there is no other way out. That you were not born of the human race is your misfortune”. He then took hold of his sister by the arm and wiped her tears.
“Dawn beckons on the horizon! Thuama, you and Mami, are to part forever. But you must never ever fear. She will protect you from evil until the very end. No harm of any sort shall ever befall you. It is time for us to go.Here, take hold of this, and jump down the river near you”.
Saying this he plucked a flower and handed it to me. He then held his sister and skipped aside and both of them flew up high into the air. Rautinchhingi gazed unflinchingly at me, and very soon they faded steadily into the sky. I gazed as far as the eye could see, and suddenly as dawn broke, I could see no longer see them. I jumped into the river nearby. I could not make out my plight and when I came to, I realized that I was lying in our village zawlbuk•. As I gazed out, I realized that dawn was at hand. I awoke quickly and in my mind’s eye I could perceive Rautinchhingi and her brother, disappearing into the horizon.
A keen sense of nostalgia empowered me and from then on, I have always been mesmerized by the break of dawn.
~~~
· non mizos
· a species of screw pine
▪Mizo mythology has denoted that she was a beauteous damsel,so fair was she that her beauty could light up seven continent
Lalzuithanga (1916 - 1950) wrote a number of plays including The Black Corner of Aizawl in 1999 and Thlahrang, a short novel Phira and Ngurthanpari, and several short stories. The story translated here is titled Au Khawk Lasi in Mizo.
Picture: Buannel by Tlangrokhuma , oil on canvas, www.zozehart.com
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