Growing up in Baripada was never an advantage but a high privilege. The thin line difference between advantage and privilege is that, advantage is what you are supposed to have and privilege is what you want to have. Somewhat like a highly longed relationship.
A town which one can go around in less than 45 mins is smaller than small.
Baripada by crow fly route is less than 50km from the sea and by road its 72km from the sea. But, the winds of the sea prefer to take the straight route crossing over the plains and collide against the high hills of the Simlipal National Park of Mayurbhanj district. Mayurbhanj is the largest district of the Odisha state and Baripada is its headquarter.
Baripada, due to its close proximity to the sea is sticky and humid for almost 6 months of the year. I hate this part, it makes the skin itch and personality irritating. The whole day is hot and moist, makes you lethargic and exhausted. Sometimes unwanted prickly heat make life more miserable. Cycling back from school and again setting your back on the same cycle seat in an one hour’s difference would even turn the rishi into a sinner. All bad on an Indian summer day.
But, days don't last forever, they subside when the sun sleeps calling all birds to accompany him. This is the time when the suburban Baripada resident knows life will have a reason to smile and say Aah! The breeze welcomes the sun down hours like a devoted wife waiting desperately for the tired husband to come back after a hard day’s work, to comfort the man.
The breeze starts slow like a sensuous love making scene from a Hollywood movie. The senses start approving of the soothing sensation. The heat, the prickly heat, the stink of the underarms, the sticky dust from the days work on the skin, everything is still there, still bothering. But, now they are less loud, less active and less present. Or may be fully present but just a little shy in the presence of the lady breeze.
Now she starts getting a little wilder and even more active, playing the senses to swoon of all the people in the suburbs. She does this for the next many hours until, the late night moon shines his silver glow, telling her to leave, saying that she has served her part, balmed the victims of the day, now the sun was on his way to scorch the sinners again.
She leaves a little before day break. Most wouldn’t ever know what she had done to lull all to sleep. She had caressed child and old alike. Slithered through stinky gullies and wiped the foul out. She just does her part and leaves without a trace.
Baripada wakes up to its daily chores and curses the sun. I wish sometimes Baripada stopped for a moment to think what made last night’s sleep, sleep.
