In the small, picturesque town of Vrindavan, something felt different that day. The Kadamb trees looked greener, the blossoms brighter, the peacocks jollier, the cows healthier, and the people, happier. Nobody knew why they couldn't shake off the smile on their lips. The winds whistled in their ears, softly rustling their locks, and the curve of their lips went even wider. This happiness was strangely similar to that of an era gone by - the pure, complete, and absolute blue bliss of Vrindavan. The young population there might not know it very well, but those who had lived through that earlier phase knew that something's different, yet insanely familiar.
On the boundaries of the town, Nand Baba and group awaited the arrival of people from Dwarka. Over the years, several visitors had come and gone, and the same party had received them all. That day, however, it wasn't the same. The eagerness in their eyes shone through their tired faces, while they bobbed their heads up and down to try and see as far as they could. Even the milkmaids kept turning around from the woods to check if they had arrived.
While such anxiety for Krishna's arrival would've been too less, for anyone else to receive such attention from Brijwaasis was completely unprecedented. And yet it was happening. The simple reason being hope. These people survived on hope. They hoped to see in the faces of Dwarka, some faint image of their beloved Kanha. If they were lucky enough, they might get a glimpse of one of his sons who looked like him. In that glimpse, they would look for the charming smile of their Kanha, his innocent eyes and his chubby little hands! In his princely voice, they would look for the nectarian words of their Kanha, words that used to melt them all. In the shining royalty of Dwarka, they would look for the charming simplicity of their Vrindavan. As silly as it might sound to those who don't know, to these cowherds the slightest shadow of their precious boy was equivalent to heaven. They would cling on to it like a drowning man clutches a floating log, and they would survive the rest of their lives solely on that one faint image in their mind.
...
On the other side, there was another party equally excited, perhaps more.
"Pitashree! Itni kya sheeghrataa hai? Rath pe baith jaaiye, aise paidal jaana aapko shobha nahi deta!"
Similar protests rose all around, but when had Krishna ever listened? Today, Dwarkadheesh Shri Krishna was Kanha all over again, and it showed in the glimmer of his smile. He had been blessed to remain ever youthful, and yet the ravages of time had slightly diminished the unfiltered glow of his grin. That day, both the smile and the youth was back, almost as if time had moved backwards! In his bright yellow attire, beautifully-flowered turban and glowing demeanour, all one could see was the young cowherd of Vrindavan back in his full glory.
He looked back at his surprised son, smiled a little, gave him a gentle pat on the back and said, "tum nahi samjhoge, putr!"
Before anyone could reply, Krishna had picked up the shoes he had especially ordered, placed them on his head with both his hands, and was already running away, leaving the chariot behind. He was, after all, going home.
...
Nand Baba couldn't believe his eyes for a moment. He thought he was seeing an image from the past – his little son, barely three or four years old, running towards him, holding his shoes on his head with both of his tiny hands. It had been a daily ritual between Kanha and his Baba. He would only wear shoes when Kanha brought them for him, and for baby Kanha, that was his favourite thing to do. The ritual had become a habit, and something of an inside joke between the two with time. And so, it wasn't surprising that Baba had remained bare-footed right since the day his little boy left.
The memories all came back to him in a rush, he briefly looked down at his uncovered feet and a tiny drop escaped his moist eyes. When he looked up again, he realized he wasn't dreaming. Someone actually was running towards him, way ahead of the chariot, with hands on his head. And although it wasn't a baby, it was obviously someone he knew. As the realization dawned upon him, as the eyes around him started to widen, as heaven finally seemed to be running towards the earth – he felt like he would collapse under the sheer weight of this extraordinary surpise. He wondered, for a brief moment, if this was all real.
