Sounds of Silence

Have you ever listened to the sounds of the night?

Night time brings with it, its own mystery, a different bed time story.

Growing up in  a small town, living in homes away from heavy traffic movement, the silence of the night booms out loud!!

The nerdy me, needed to study late into night as well as wake up in the wee hours of the morning.

Living in a bungalow with glass windows where walls should be, was scary.

The rustling of the leaves, the swaying of the trees, the banging window which would not close….

A scuttling noise, a thump, then the growl of our faithful watch dog…

Was that a baby crying???? No.. there were no babies around……..

Shadows cast by the coconut trees, moonlight filtering through the leaves and the wire gauze windows causing my imagination to run amuck.

Suddenly, as if to calm my fears would be the floating of  sounds from a movie hall nearby.

I would hear shooting of guns, screams, pleading, melancholy songs, crazy laughter!! 

The night watchman walking around with his portable radio playing loud music to keep himself alert.

The sudden shrill whistle from  the police station across the road.

“Night is a world lit by itself”-Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943,

Morning was more comforting.

The bells from the church, sound of the birds feasting on the cherries from our tree, the milkman tinkling away with his cans on his cycle.

The occasional bus on the road stopping with a screech near our gates, the night watchman still on his beats, his stick hitting the road at regular intervals.

The dogs yelping and fighting over the spoils and spills of the night.

Till the sun light slowly crept in through the netting and the reflection jumped off my mirror and I could see the hands on the clock on my study table.

Signifying everything was right with my day.

“The day has eyes, the night has ears”- David Fergusson