Ashad Ka Ek Din, is one of Mohan Rakesh's masterpieces of gloom - ah, but so beautiful. The sheer poetry of writing about Kalidas, is an irrepressible urge among writers ( I would think, but would also be happy to be contradicted) because of the inherent pathos of a man ,who goes chasing after his own heart's desires.

Err, nothing wrong with that. Today its the done thing. And so it was those days ,when men believed that they must do what they must do. Stories abound about how men looked at a beautiful woman, woo her , make love to her and then move on to perform their other manly duties; it could be ruling a land, being a landlord or whatever. And then of course, they would forget that brief but beautiful interlude ,till the damsel in literal distress would land up with a tiny little baby in tow to remind them of that moment, when love meant everything. It happened with Shakuntala and Dushyanta, with Kunti and the Sun Lord and oh so many such instances. This is not really about all of them. This is about the way Mohan Rakesh drew up the character of Kalidasa as a man, an artist and a detatched soul.

Even as he grew famous writing some of the best works in Indian literature, the man himself has remained a mere mortal. But that is how they are and people make the mistake of associating certain standard good qualities of loyalty, compassion , love et all, to them because of the confusion arising from their marvelous creativity and their being.

A creative person is not necessarily the best to be around with. As it was in the case with Kalidas- who enjoyed the love ,passion and poetry that Mallika brings to him ,but never really had the strength to stand by her and be with her till the end. I wouldnt really say he was lured by the bright lights of Ujjain and the laurels that were waiting for him over there. That is actually not what he was looking for- but he did look for ways and means of living down his shortcomings, which were so part of him. The agony and ecstasy of having both. It is human and that is why one does not end up hating him.

But what of Mallika, who lives a life of denial? My battle is with the likes of women like her. Why do they have to deify such men? They know the failings, but are still willingly to obviously drown that aspect. Love unconditionally? Maybe. But I'm still not able to come to terms with that. Blame that on my being around in a world of today. That makes me wonder if I would be able to do the same. Love the man no matter what? Its a good and bad thing and as I'm writing this I am actually losing the drift of what I really wanted to write about in the first place.

Ah Mohan Rakesh and his Kalidas.
So then Kalidas loves and leaves his beautiful Mallika to go to Ujjain and get used to the world of luxury and excess. His marriage to the princess, brings him to a pinnacle he never imagined.Even got to rule the world for a while; but then all good things come to an end. Nothing allowed him to forget the one and only love in his life though. The rain, the clouds and everything associated with raw beauty, reminded him of his home and the woman who complemented him so aptly.

Time that goes is unrelenting. Nothing remains the same. Nothing ever can. He comes back to see how Mallika is no more his. In the physical sense. Soul wise, they never belonged to anyone else. But then, we have to judge everything in the physicality of things on earth.

Souls have connections you see. Maybe that is the point I'm trying to make through all this. And this is something that does not allow those that are meant for each other, to live lives that dont have them in it. So it was for Kalidas with all his longing and poignant poetry; so it was for Mallika, who lived a life of penury and disgrace ; and so it is for many of us, who realise that the soul has a partner out somewhere. Even if one recognises it, the other could take time. Or be trapped in a body, that cannot belong in this lifetime. Who knows when and how they will meet?