पुकार
Summary
The story begins with an old gardener picking a flower to thread into a garland, when a cry of "No! No!! No!!!" comes from the basket. The gardener is shocked to see tears in the eyes of a fully bloomed flower, as flowers always smile. His sensitivity overcomes his greed, but as he resumes his work, the flower speaks again, asking him to stop. The flower recalls its painful past: being separated from its mother, forced from home, and pierced by a needle. It remembers the day it was to become a garland for a young prime minister, only for a bomb blast to destroy that smiling face forever. The flower laments that a human hid gunpowder in its petals for revenge, tainting its innocent beauty with politics. The gardener, disturbed, questions if he is dreaming. His granddaughter Paro arrives with another basket of half-bloomed and wilted flowers, but the flower continues, accusing the gardener of selfishness for plucking buds before their time. The flower declares it no longer wishes to be used for terrorists' victims or stone statues, sensing conspiracy in every human act. It describes being neglected at events, thrown into corners, and suffering from harsh treatment. The flower wishes it could end in the gentle hands of innocent children instead. Despite its pain, it understands the gardener's hereditary trade and agrees to go, hoping its smile will mock artificial laughter, its fragrance curse conspiracies, and its touch awaken humanity in stone hearts. The gardener, moved, hugs the flower and resumes making garlands.
Conclusion
The narrative reveals the profound emotional and ethical conflict within a traditional occupation, where a flower's plea exposes the exploitation and misuse of natural beauty for human agendas, particularly political violence and social hypocrisy. The implications are stark: the flower’s suffering symbolizes the corruption of innocence and the dehumanization inherent in treating living things as mere commodities. The outcome is a moment of painful awakening for the gardener, who is forced to confront his complicity in a system that prioritizes profit and spectacle over compassion. Ultimately, the story suggests that even in the face of deep disillusionment, there remains a fragile hope for redemption through empathy and a conscious choice to honor the intrinsic value of life, challenging both the gardener and the reader to reconsider their own roles in perpetuating such cycles of exploitation.