Romance

Romance is a universal emotion, with no exception, beyond any barriers. 

My introduction to the word Romance dates back to the late 1960’s, when I was probably just about 5-6 years old. 

Delhi zoo has always had a special place in my heart and till date, whenever I visit Delhi, I try my hardest to visit the zoo. I have many pleasant memories of our routine Sunday picnics to the zoo, with my father, mother and sister. 

My father was a wild life enthusiast and he would take us every Sunday to the zoo. We would see the Royal Bengal Tiger, the White Tiger, Lion, monkeys , but my most loved spot was where Raja and Rani lived. 

Raja and Rani were a pair of chimpanzees and lived in an open cage, surrounded by a water moat. There was a landscaped hillock, some planted trees , an Asoka tree in particular, in whose shade Raja and Rani would play and unabashedly display their love for each other.

“ Baba, they are not monkeys, they are just like us humans”, the little me exclaimed excitedly.

“ Chimpanzees are the closet living human relative”, explained my father. “ they are also known as Chimps and are native to the Savannahs of tropical Africa”, my father gave me some additional information. I ran to my mother in a typical chimpanzee jig, “ Aai, Raja and Rani are our relatives “, I excitedly told her. 

Thereafter , each Sunday picnic lunch was planned , keeping Raja Rani in mind . We would take bananas, apples, ground nuts among all the other goodies. Baba and me would stand at the wall adjoining the water moat and throw the food to them . Raja would peel the banana, take a bite and feed the rest to his mate, Rani , who would later come and hug him . They would take all the loot and sit under the shade of a tree and gibber away to glory. Their talk made no sense to me .

Gradually, every Sunday , Raja Rani would look forward to our visit , as much as we looked forward to meeting them . On seeing us, excitedly, Raja would hold  Rani’s hand and come near the water moat .  Ramu, their keeper would tell us “ आपकी राह देखते हैं, आपसे मिल कर बहुत खुश होते हैं” ( They wait for you and are very happy on meeting you ) 

Hand  in hand they would walk and stroll around the open cage, kissing, cuddling , tickling each other , sharing the goodies got by us , happily laughing away in each other’s company. Their unabashed display of affection , their romance , was so pure and innocent. It was uninhibited, wasn’t laced with any ulterior motive,  grudges or secrets. It was exactly the romance that probably God had in mind while creating humans , an emotion so complex,  bordering between being passionate and companionate. 

Raja and Rani were each other’s world . 

One Sunday, when we visited Raja Rani, we found that Rani was not dancing and frolicking as usual with Raja . She lay quietly in one corner under the shade of her favourite Asoka  tree , while Raja sat by her side, eyes full of tears  and one hand on his head . As my father approached the moat , he came , crossed over the moat ( something that he had never done in the past) , stood beside the wall and reached out to my father’s hand . My father held it, without fear. Raja just looked at him with pain and sorrow in his eyes , my father spoke to him in an empathetic tone “ what happened Raja? Is Rani unwell ?”, he asked . Tearfully, Raja nodded, as though understanding my fathers words. He refused the usual bananas and apples offered by us and slowly walked back to where Rani was asleep and gently placed her head on his lap , caressed her with gentle hands, a touch so pure and filled with love . Ramu, his keeper, told us that Rani has been unwell for a week with some kind of fever, and has stopped eating since the past two days , hence Raja is very upset . 

Feeling very sad ourselves, we wound up our picnic and went home , upset with what we had witnessed. In the evening, while lighting the lamp, my mother prayed for the well-being of Raja and Rani. 

We went to the zoo again the very next evening. I ran to their open cage , Raja was sitting in a corner weeping , while there was no sign of Rani . Ramu came to us crying loudly and hugged my father. We knew that Rani had crossed over . No matter how much my father called out to our ancestral relative, Raja, he didn’t budge. He was sitting at the exact position where Rani used to lie, under the shade of the Asoka  tree, now in full blossom , grieving for his mate and alone . His helplessness was evident by his drooping shoulders and sorrowful eyes . It looked as if he had wept all night . We continued to visit him every day for a week , he continued to grieve and refuse the bananas, he would otherwise have happily accepted. 

That image of Raja stayed in my mind and as I entered adulthood, the experience of my childhood , taught me the meaning of romance, an emotion so pure , as pure as one’s faith in God and his creation .