TUNNEL 6:

Day 1:

The 25^th king of the titan tribe arrived in an unconventional manner. He was not dressed properly; he didn’t hold his royal stag and he had huge dark circles on his eyes. As the drum roll hit its maximum tempo, royalties from stage cheered for his arrival. The king was zoned out. At his third step, he fell down. Some thought he was drunk, few thought he was sick and many thought he was clumsy.

Day 2:

The drum rolled. The dais was set, King appeared on time. He tried his best to be perfect. With a majestic smile, he crossed the alley and sat on his throne. Suddenly he got worried looking at the expressions on people’s face. They were shocked. Everyone looked at him. He followed their looks and found out that he has forgotten to wear his pants. In a jiffy, he ran out to his room.

Day 3:

Soldiers were waiting. This time the king had to demonstrate his skills. As the king stretched his arm and threw the sphere, an unusual sound came out. It was a cow from the nearby farm. Instead of hitting the mark, he has killed a cow nearby. King let out an embarrassing smile.

Day 4:

This time it was a meeting. Important people from other nations had arrived to visit the king and discuss trade. The king directly went in and hugged one of his maids instead of the guest.  The maid got scared and ran away.

A sense of panic ran through the crowd. Is he even suitable for the position? What was his intention? Will he carry his duty for this country? He is acting strange, he must be a foreigner or is he an imposter?  Does he deserve our respect and loyalty?

All these questions popped up.

Calm down people, there is nothing to worry. The king is perfectly all right. There is no reason to be tense, the king actually sleep deprived, the minister said.

From that moment doctors from the different corners of the kingdom tried to cure him. Sorceress tried magical incantations too. Nothing helped. No one understood what the problem was. Everyone tried to convince the king. But, he never got convinced. He was just not able to sleep.

Finally the day arrived where the king had to disguise himself and patrol the kingdom.  He disguised himself as a trash collector. Somehow, whatever happening around him was very normal. There were no special treatment, no attention and no crowd around him. Everyone was busy with their own life.

When the track ended, he found a tunnel where all the trash was dumped. First he saw few kids who were scavenging the trash heap. They found few broken toys and they were happily playing with it. Then he found an old couple who had their cosy tent made of old bedsheets and dirty rags. Looking at them gave him a sense of satisfaction.

Kingdom, royalty, righteousness, grace, people, leadership etc. all these labels vanished from his thoughts. Gradually he found a spot and dozed off to sleep.

From the next day, the king stayed as a trash collector forever. He made a small tent for him inside the tunnel and had a peaceful sleep for the rest of his life. He never returned to his royal life.

Ashwin Muralidharan...

The tunnel 5

Like light, darkness can add taste to your life. It’s an acquired taste. It’s more tempting and tantalizing. Any kind of art form needs inspiration for evolution. I the base form it’s just showcased as a normal performance or an eye-catching element. Once in a lifetime, of one in a million chance, it transcends it’s base form and gets a signature. If we brush upon history, we can count the number of people who became famous.

Everyone had a single moment in their life that added inspiration to their art. They say it’s a feeling that strikes you for few seconds.  

So, here I am on a culinary trip to find the perfect experience. I am a cook. Well, I was one. Now I am no more than an oven. What I serve are hot piping delicacies with the usual taste that holds peoples taste. I always wanted to change this thing. I wanted them to experience food that not just fills their stomach. I wanted them to taste food that fulfills their desires.

En route several adventures, I landed upon an unusual spot. It was a tunnel adjacent to a coastal area. The beach added a little salt to my curiosity. With more anticipation as seasoning, I went inside a dark void. There was no one and nothing around me. It was just me. And when I was alone I was myself. The darkness brought out the desire inside me. As I kept walking, all my other four senses were at its peak. The smell, the air around my skin, the dry ambiance and the sound of the backwaters opened my mind. In the darkness, you give in or give up. I completely surrendered my will to it and it lingered longer than I expected.

After few minutes my moment occurred there. A small spec of light fell on a crystal blue spot. Amongst the dark void, this puddle was in the spotlight. This was a nature’s spectacle that was adorned to enlighten me. I bent down and had a sip of that water. And that’s where I got my moment of inspiration. The water had a blend of salt, sweetness, and sourness. It was mixed with several minerals that flowed inside the tunnel. I got my secret ingredient.

All my dishes from that day had a tinge of darkness and refreshing taste of that spring water. The blend not only changed peoples taste, it changed their mood and expression.

Sometimes we need a tunnel view to improve our art form.

Ashwin Muralidharan...

The Tunnel 4

99% of the tunnels in the world are manmade. Remaining one percent is made from time and nature itself. One of such place is the Soda Pub. Though it’s natural; it turned out to be a manmade attraction spot. It’s famous for its pulpy sodas. 

With special organic soil, rich minerals and medicinal values, this place was home to many fruits and herbs. In early 80’s, this tunnel lost its natural virginity to one of the biggest Cafe chains in the world – The Star Ducks. After global warming and pollution, they are the next big threat to nature. When money flowed from all directions, they grew like creepers.

Soon after unveiling the tunnel, they bought it from the government and started a side business called the soda Pub. They turned all the special fruits, herbs and all edible materials into a pulp and mixed it with soda. Gradually they got addicted to its taste and became brand loyal to them.

But, one thing remained unique, untouched and universal inside the tunnel. It was its natural properties.  They tried to recreate the same soil and set up in many places around the world. Everything was a failure. They started digging more. They went towards a point where they could not return.

Well, even though every human being is different, one thing remains common for everyone, that makes them humans. It’s their curiosity. When the line of curiosity becomes an obsession, nature has her own way of balancing it.

The tunnel collapsed and soda pub got shut. Soon after that, the entire chain of Star Duck got shut one by one.

Ashwin Muralidharan...