The rays of the sun embracing the soils of the immacule streets of Malana, dancing along every curve of the peak of the surrounding hills, in the bosom of the various hills lied the deftly protected Malana lined with lush green trees and its leaves rustling in the company of the wind and its dulcet melody pleasing the ears. It had systematically organized housing with plain sandy streets where the chuckling of the kids echoed filling the air with zest. Monopoly never lodged in the conflict-free aura of Malana, if any contention took place the only way on which Malanians relied was parleying. A harmonious foyer was constructed by the town hall for those engaged in some kind of dispute. They indeed had a distinctive way to bring these arguments at accord. People with differences in opinions were locked in the foyer till they negotiate and reach a deduction. Undeniably unique! Near the fringes of the village was a pond of crystal- clear Adam’s ale with multipurpose use where animals come to quench their thirst but no incident was ever reported of any animal-harm caused to any villager. The creatures were at peace with one another and shared harmony. The pond was furthermore plied for agricultural works and in dwelling places for other hospitable chores.
People lived in exhaustively established chalets with gently slant roofs cleaned naturally by the clear precipitation. These chalets were typically decorated by the eaves and dougong as a part of the
architectural representation showcasing their professional carpentry
skills, most incredible carvings on the woods with various designs and patterns that were taught and replicated from the best of all teachers ”Mother Nature” done with all perfection that can be attained by the humans. These depicted designs of flowers, trees, human figures, animals, etc. and patterns of contrasting tints of bright colours, some pieces of glass paintings, zigzag colour schemes used skilfully that seem
soothing to the eyes, etc. by the well-versed people of Malana known as Malanians.
Every house was embellished with admirably organized gardens with flowers of different variants of hue conveyed the impression as if gravity acted a little too much on the rainbow for it domesticated in their
gardens. Not all but some were very fond of pets and had pets treated as
one of the family members. They had en-number of shops built in their locality for all the daily needed stuff rest others were bought and traded from at hand clusters of villages.
The Malanians being the most generous of all beings, come what may, were primed to lend a helping hand to anyone- anytime by all probable means till the person was cloistered from the hitch he was in. They were people of ethnicity and morality who would do anything but compromise with their ethics even at the stake of their lives. The elders in the village had profound wisdom, adroit advices and true blessings for their children, always ushering and assisting for the best. The men and women in the village with prowess precision, incessant endeavours and incessant vitality engaged in activities like agriculture, horticulture, fishing, animal husbandry etc. for their bread and butter and utterly devoted for the well-being of their family and village.
The youngsters in the village were always on the brink of some or the other activity that would be productive for them as well as beneficial for their village and all this when put together becomes an epitome of an ideal village that is well-off not only in putting its resources to their best use but also forming a society of the veritable hearts, sagacious minds and impeccable character. The people were not dressed in sloppy or in any sort of excruciatingly scintillating shades but preferred unostentatious, neat, and ritualistic togs for any occasion irrespective of it being salient or a daily-day. Women here were found dressing in skirts or gowns depending upon the event but they never hesitated in showing their creativity when it came to trying up to the minute vogues. Same applied to men but they were, by and large, sighted in attentively ironed
trousers and shirt. So the Malanians were habitual of being in ritzy yet comfortable apparel.
The weather here was as tranquil as its residents. No calamities ever hit the lands of Malana in the past twenty years, thereby it always flourished with its enriched flora and fauna. The terrain here was so
fertile and cultivable that it would reap exactly what one sowed and
desires to beget as a fruit. Malanians exhibit quite exuberant demeanour when it came to celebrating festivals, they use to relish with great pomp and show. Though it be any marriage fiesta, birthday bash, any bijou inauguration, baby showers, or some other reason of festivity the hamlet would look like a newly wedded bride and the peeps were so lively, they would enjoy without hesitation alike some tension-free, easy-going wedding caravan, as a one-unit clan.
But as every coin has two sides and every silver lining has a dark cloud, as for the pessimist side, so did Malana had some conceived dangers. There were some folktales that had no source of any reliable testament so these trivia were merely disregarded by the kins of Malana. But some people claimed about their gloomy life experiences that cropped up close by ‘Murkyana’ and ‘Ianclime’.
‘Murkyana’ is a deadly dense forest and ‘Ianclime’ is a lair castle that seems to be owned by some malign energies acclaimed by those who managed to come back alive from its horrific shackles. This was believed
to be just some rumoured tales to hold back the overenthusiastic
children away from the forest so as to keep them grounded lest they are shielded from the dangers of the cavern. Moreover it was the only place in Malana that was abysmally black and not a ray of light ever emerged or was ever witnessed by any of the villager even on the brightest of the sunny days though this was quite ironical as no one ever stepped on the land of the jungle and the so called valour stories were also made- up by some boasting villagers. So it was not pellucid whether to count on the scuttlebutts or stick to the nitty-gritty.
But what could still take the villagers all the way through these hollows was a boon that resided on the highest peak of Dresden.
Dresden, a gigantic summit that always laid its mighty arms fortifying every being on the face of the planet from every possible danger present under the sun. Dresden was not any ordinary range of cliffs but it had an unusually winning gleam.
As huge as human mind can ever imagine this mountain with its rocky surface and unevenly layered smooth texture of various livid tints reflected as if the palette of an artist. It dazzled in the setting sun
creating an imagery as though a carpet of palladium is spread upon it.
Indeed an eye-catching scenario! It was encompassed with clouds peculiar to the zenith as if a crown for a king, enhancing its pulchritude to an extent that one is captivated while looking at it with their hearts filled with plaudit as one extols when eye gazing at a loved one.
The benison was popularly known as ‘Nocumatus’. This exquisite cloud above the hill was recognized as a wish-granting cloud, any good wish intended for a good cause would come true as soon as uttered from the
lips standing beneath the clouds. Nevertheless, if the wish were to cause
some hazard to anyone in anyway then that person present under the clouds would taste the flavour of their own medicine and the one for whom the bane was asked would be ever protected from it. Among the list of all the other reputed tales this was truly the top trivia and many a times mocked by the practical middle group of the cluster.
These places were located away from the residential area so all and sundry were least bothered even if the stories had any percentage of truth beneath its intricate woven layers of highly exaggerated lies. Not only the place but also the thoroughfare to it was equally treacherous. Crossing a narrow gorge on the hill that was located behind the pond, where the boundaries of the settlement ended. Not even a person with unstable senses dared to cross these boundaries unless their life seemed of little salience to them! No traces were ever validated even of any minuscule creature near the lands by the boundaries, hence these yarns were mere well-built castles, never seen but invariably reiterated under the fabricated spiels.
What was more fascinating was the fact that all these changes in Malana happened approximately in the last two decades. Before this time it was a nominal village. The former Malana was nowhere close to what it is today. To be precise, it was just an open swath of land with a little bit more than few settlements and a notable number of people living in there. The people were indeed hardworking but they did not harvest equivalent to their diligence. As if the village was cursed to languish, the villagers where despondent and accepted this considering
it their fate!
Not their fault, justice prevails, this attitude they developed came with their trials and tribulations. The soil was not much fertile and hence they were not able to reap the expected results. This may be because
the land lacked prosperity, as believed by the residents. They tried
everything that would prove effective in returning the fertility of the lands but to no avail. Because of the poor quality crops Malana was neither the prime choice for trade nor self-sufficient. Those were really tough times Malana went through. Rightly exemplifying the adage that if you want to shine like the sun, first burn like the sun!
Apart from this bunch of village muddles, the weight of their personal issues added on to the burden that had its place stabilized on their shoulders since ages. No one from the near-by villages was ready to marry their daughters in this area and one of the prime reasons of all the migrations taking place that hold the power to turn Malana into a dreary deserted dump! Needless to mention, this was quite a tough test to check the patience of the handful of people that were liable of loyalty towards their birth place as they had everything but a penny to establish and fund their living at a new place. They thought this to be fait accompli!
As of the miseries of the people are concerned, they somehow managed to make a living by selling or maybe trading some artefacts they were able to create garnering all their creativity at one place. There
went days without them even getting a glimpse of food. Due to the
negligible marriage rates, the village lacked human resources hence
illiteracy was ruling each n every department as not a single soul was willing to invest in such a place where benches would exceed the number of students and losses would be doing the same with profit.
But as fortune favours the bold and patient, despite of all the hurdles, Malanians managed to add colours to their canvas. Slowly and steadily with passing time the tables turned. Malana prospered into a beaut and unassailable village, you being well aware of the facts and figures. Whether it was the patience and perseverance of its tried and true residents or it was some miraculous transformations that changed the scenario, this was still an enigma. But with no attempt at concealment, no one who endured this suffering ever bothered how they got through the tunnel, what only matter is that they are no longer in that gloomy zone and are living happily in the arms of their treasured world !
