That morning I was late by more than half an hour to go to unlock and open the terrace door of the E Building. Many things could have happened: I would have come across many frowning faces, or would have heard sneering words…. But none of them happened. They didn’t seem to mind the delay.

When I came down after more than the normal time, spending time with my favourites- sky, clouds and kites, my workmate downstairs concernedly asked, “How was it? Anything happened?” Meaning, ‘Anybody shouted at you?’

‘No. Nothing happened.’ I said but soon I corrected my words to say, ‘Nothing expected happened.’ Because I can’t say nothing at all happened.

‘Do you have half a minute to listen to me? I will tell you all I can about the numerous things that happened there up on the terrace.’

‘Sure I do,’ said she.

‘Well, when I went up the 16 floors, on to the terrace, the sea was a clean sheet stretching widely from the shore to the horizon. Shapes of clouds were seen overcast. The low-lying ones were deep blue in colour, the same blue as the sea.

That moment it was like this: a huge shaped cloud was on the move. Behind it was a bright white fluffy cloud. Around this one was seen the waning moon, as old as three days after the Full Moon. The silvery whiteness of the big cloud made me turn around to see the Sun, who would be the cause for its whiteness. I was surprised to see the eastern sky also cloud-cast. But there was a small roundish gap, a resplendent part of the sky. I could see the Sun’s bright rays emanating from it. They were not shining on me but going out in another direction. Very photographic image.

Once again I turned to the west. The low lying clouds were causing mistiness under them…meaning it had begun to rain in those areas…. At a distance on the sea surface was a large area, shimmering and bright; soon I discovered that it was because there was no cloud over it.

Very soon drop after drop of rain began to fall on my face. The coolness increased. The brightness decreased. It was raining… out there and over me also.
I looked down at the level of humans and their chores. On the bridge, on the boats, on the land and sand and so on. All of them were scurrying… Many umbrellas bloomed under the falling rain. They looked like mushrooms on the move.

I looked at the calm backwaters. On it drops fell and ripples formed. Soon the gaps between these round ‘plates’ around every fallen drop decreased, and the entire surface was an interface of shimmering shivering water.

I could stay on the terrace for any length of time, doing nothing but just watching the many many things happening between the skies and the Earth. The cosmic drama… watching Nature revealing mysteries of the great Yajna of Creation. Rain-river-sea-cloud-rain again… this cycle has within itself another cause-effect closely related to us. And that is Rain-Grain.

Could I say, ‘Nothing happened’…? Just because by chance no interaction happened… among us a few humans…?

— Sandhya