In Mittu I trust !

Mittu was sitting quietly inside her cage. The man who was carrying her in the cage almost looked like her bigger cousin, with all the pearls around his neck, colorful headgear, ash on his forehead and the long shawl. As soon as he spread the fortune cards on the floor and kept the cage on the ground, Mittu came out of the cage on to the pavement. I was walking around the Hussain Sagar lake at Hyderabad last Sunday morning, when I bumped into Mittu and her master Shasank. They are one among the many fortune tellers - parrot astrologer to be precise - who roam around the lake, and tell you few good things about your future in exchange for a little money.

I had my cousins with me and we decided to ask Mittu what is in store for us in the near future. So we sat on one of the stone benches as Shasank carefully laid out the cards on the floor. Unlike what I have heard, Shasank had just 12 cards instead of the usual 27 or so. These cards look much like the tarot cards, with a picture and some writing enclosed in a small red velvet pouch. So as I told Mittu my name, she went ahead and picked a card from the bunch and quietly walked back to the comfort of her cage. She had the looks of a judge in the court who just passed her verdict, relaxing on a chair watching the agony or ecstacy of the crowd. Before opening the pouch, Shasank wanted to take a look at my hands and exclaimed that I got a beautiful hand. What he meant was not the texture of the skin or proportion of the fingers, but the lines on my palm. According to him I will eventually have a lot of money and other comforts in ife... in his own words 'Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity, is literally dancing on my hand'. I never knew!

There was a picture of lord Ganesha inside the pouch Mittu picked for me. Shasank looked at the picture and the text and went on explaining how I am going to make it big in life. He had only good things to tell except that I should listen more to my life partner. As he spoke, Mittu made a clicking noise and occasionally said her name loud, as if claiming that she picked the perfect card for me. He said that my bad times are coming to an end and good times will start from the 12th of January 2010. Mittu looked trustworthy with her cute voice, green attire and friendly mannerisms and I believed all that Shasank told me. So when I slept on the 11th night, my mind was filled with joy and expectation.. after all, Mittu had told me fortunes are going to change!

I am an early riser. When I opened my eyes on 12th morning, I couldn't beleive my eyes.. my room was filled with some kind of bright light. I was aghast and could not make out for a moment what is happening. Then all that Shasank said the other day flashed across my mind... the change of fortune from 12th January! I closed my eyes and opened it again to make sure I am not dreaming, and the white light was still there. Then I looked at the watch and realised that it is already 7:30 in the morning. Just that I slept late. The light was nothing but the sunlight seeping in through the open windows.

But probably it is an indication of the change. I prefer to wait and watch than pass a harsh judgment on Mittu so soon.