danced . I wanted to tell them that I couldn ’ t help them , I couldn ’ t hear them . All I could hear
was the sarangi .
My mouth felt numb , and a cooling sensation washed over me , causing my heart to skip a
beat . I felt my mouth stretching wide .
“ Dance and dance again , pyari
Your tears were never lost on me , jaani .
Come , come to me .”
The words were breathless and slow as they floated from my mouth . Faces froze as the
words settled into the dust .
I was still dancing when I felt the familiar tingling of my scalp as my hair fluttered side
to side in the windless day . I felt my body crumple as the world faded to gold .
*
The face of a woman with deep brown skin came before me . Long waves of black hair
flowing behind Her as Her head swayed so ly . She could hear the same music that had
descended onto me ever since I reached the edge of what cruel men considered ‘ womanhood ’.
Her brown eyes glistened regally against the deep richness of Her skin . The mother of the
Gypsies .
Sara La Kali .
*