In case you are wondering about the nut shell, let me not keep you wondering for too long. Nut Shell is a big hole in the only Mango tree in a huge Cashew nut farm in the Godsland. The mango tree is growing old and, therefore, struggles during monsoon. Its branches compete with the wild rain that is always aspiring to overpower the mango tree. However, the mango tree prefers silence over cribbing. There are other trees in this farm and, of course, there are other farms near the Cashew nut farm.
The Nut Shell has a little nut inside. Well the nut is not so little but, prefers not to take a leap into the adult world. Alas, she doesn’t have a choice! She is growing nevertheless. Trying to make a life in the shell is not so difficult but, she says, it isn’t that easy either. She usually nods when she means yes. She also nods when she means no. And in between nodding to and fro, she is scared of the walls in the shell. The walls claim that they are no walls at all. But the little nut thinks that boundaries are just that. Like shackles they bind those who are strangers to what lies beyond borders. Those beyond borders never worry about shackles, they are only amazed to see them. Life existing within four walls- an idea that continues to catch fancy of those who create these walls. They are genius at that. ‘Innovations in designing walls are a very upcoming field’, the nutty nut was told by the squirrel living under the bridge. The bridge isn’t very far away. But the bridge doesn’t bridge anything. There is no water in the river flowing beneath it. That doesn’t mean it is no river. The river continues to flow reminiscing about its earlier glory; sometimes it appears to bridge the gap between present and future. There is hardly any water now; there will be none soon.
Amidst her mundane life in the nutshell, the nut frequently sits with her diary. She loves recording her mundane everyday nothings like how many cashew nuts she ate during a week. It isn’t that tough to count. There are hardly any cashew nuts, most getting dried up. Most trees do not even have a green leaf left. Often, the nut has to do a marathon before getting to eat her piece in complete solitude. Between us, she tries to pretend there is a competition. There isn’t any in reality. The nut loves running, despite not knowing towards what, from what or sometimes even for what. To be on the run means she is up and active, else she would be like the meek bridge looking at the river below, or like the old mango tree sighing in his own silence. She doesn’t want to be still or silent. She wants to live and so she is constantly on the run, screaming, chirping, jumping, whooping...She is our main protagonist-The Nut in the Nutshell.
