Remembering Nissim Ezekiel's Night of the Scorpion (It's not what you think it is)

Rains? Oh, adrak wali chai (ginger tea) and pakode (fritters) to the rescue! As much as pop culture has glorified that feeling, has anyone felt gloomy with the continuous downpour -- the relentless rainfall, which often takes away homes and roads with it? The gloom descended this morning, thanks to a sunny sky. I felt these smileys today. 🌞☀️

Closer home, what the rains did till yesterday was to not allow clothes to dry, to linger as a smell that refused to budge despite pouring floor cleaning soapy liquid and a copious amount of the liquid that claims to kill 99.9% of germs including the one that is responsible for the Covid- 19 pandemic. While I think of splashing that liquid all over the world via a helicopter, my nose rang an alarm in my brain. Yet again. Ah! That semi-dry, modern version of poncha (wiping stick) was the culprit.

While the dream of a fragrant home (with flowers blooming all over for dramatic effect) remained a dream, I had to then fish out agarbathis (incense sticks) to ward off the culprit. Then came the other dampener. Matchsticks that would not budge.

"Come on. You are here for a purpose. Light up."

"Don't blame us," they appeared to me as if they were talking to me. "The rains are to be blamed".

I gave up.

The blessing came in the form of a lighter. The credit for it goes to my non-smoking husband who carried it always in his bag only to be mistaken for a chain smoker.

Phew! Some relief that was. All of the sweeping, wiping and lighting later, I decided it was time I didn't become the next culprit. So off I went, hoping to smell like green tea and aloe vera (how do they smell?) after I stepped out of the shower.

Tragedy struck at the fag end of the ablution. There it was. As small as an ant. A scorpion? Could it be that small? But it definitely was a scorpion. Or wasn't it? Were my eyes playing tricks upon me? After last night's Olympic- qualifying race by a centipede towards me, I can no longer be sure about any of the wildlife prospering inside our house in Kerala.

If all that wasn't enough, four days back, my father in-law was stung by a scorpion. I could make out that it was definitely a big one from the description I heard from a man in pain. While Ayurveda and his will power to overcome the pain were his ammunitions, I can profess no such skills.

It took me back to the poem we had read in school -- Nissim Ezekiel's Night of the Scorpion. The scene where our English teacher enacted the pain undergone by the mother while she recited the poem flashed before my eyes. It further intensified what I felt about the whole situation.

Anyway, he is alright now. The swelling faded along with the pain in about three days.

And so, I quickly stepped out of the shower (I managed to complete the purpose though). I took the phone, tiptoed and clicked the most clear image I could manage and ran out, once again.

While I have no idea where it has ventured into, I pray that it gets its space under the sun, without having to sting anyone in the process.

And for myself, I pray I don't become a biologist soon. However, here's your chance to become one with a crash course on myth busters surrounding Scorpions.

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