Nili Bhavsar

Ka - the story of Garuda

“Who can these Vālakhilyas be?” thought Garuda, flying along, the elephant and the turtle tight in his claws. “No sooner does one thing seem to get clearer than another, bigger thing turns up that’s completely obscure.” While Garuda was thinking this over, puzzled again, his wing skimmed the huge tree Rauhina, “By all means rest on a branch and eat,” said the tree’s voice. “Before you were born you sat here on me, along with a companion of yours, exactly like yourself. Perched on opposite branches, at the same height, you never left each other. You were already eating my fruit back then. And your companion watched you, though he didn’t eat. You couldn’t fly about the world then, because I was the world.” Garuda settled on a branch. Surrounded by the foliage that enfolded his feathers, he felt at home and couldn’t understand why. Of his birthplace he could remember only sand, stone, and snakes. Where as this tree protected him on every side with swathes of emerald that softened the merciless light of the sky. Hmm…In the meantime he might as well devour the elephant and the turtle, now on their backs on this branch that was a hundred leagues long. He concentrated a moment. He was choosing the spot where he would sink his beak-when there came a sudden crash. The branch had snapped. Calasso, Roberto (1996). Ka. P: 10. Vintage U.K. Random House: London

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