The Diary Of a Gopika

Krishna's Gopikas

While my fellow gopikas joined me on the way from different parts of the village, we all ended up taking the longest route that passes through the lane of Nand baba's haveli.

I love how the whole surroundings around the haveli are always filled with the pleasent smell of fresh ghee, flowers & sandal. As it should because YOU live in it.

But nevertheless, we couldn't manage to get that one glimpse of yours' despite travelling so far because you — you just cannot get rid of this habit of not staying at one place. As maiyya rightly says, 'mere lalla ke paav mein chakra lage hai' (my little one's feet has invisible wheels).

While we walk through the beautiful lanes of Braj filled with kadamb trees, flower gardens, cow sheds & sweet homes, all we could think of was YOU. On how you never leave a single chance to annoy us, pull our braids, break our pots, block our paths, steal our clothes & still manage to get away after all those troublesome deeds, and how we still love you despite all this.

What else would we converse about? What do we innocent milkmaids even know other than milk, maakhan & YOU!?

Mridula – the one with dark doe eyes, says : "I hate how that Yashoda's lalla ends up stealing my entire butter every single day and I just cannot do anything about it", and we all end up giggling because we very well know she means her entire 'heart' and not just butter.

Chandrakanta – the one who's known for her moon like face, screams : "Ugh! not again! There he is, natkhat nandlaal!!", out of nowhere, and we all at once start looking for you hastily in all the directions while she laughs at our sparky & restless faces. We all know this pranking is one old wierd habit of hers' yet we choose being gullible because there is certain pleasure even in getting fooled into believing anything that's related to you.

And that Gopali – the delusional one, is always lost in her own la la land all the time while we walk and when asked about the same, answers with : "Ahh, nothing!!". But her 'nothing' was always 'you', Kaanha.

We all do realise how madly each one of us is in love with you but never admit the same openly, instead choose to tease each other and act as if we are least bothered. But that spark in everyone's eyes on the mere mention of the blue boy was as clear as our reflections in the waters of Yamuna.

We were busy chatting, but all our eyes were constantly in search of you, as from which direction you would jump in and find new ways to mock us, as a part of your daily routine. And we abodh gopis, happily fall in your trap all over again.

Radhey radhey!