Lokakah:The Magical Town in Monsoon

Lokakah was a mythical town situated in the heart of Rajasthan, a town that only appeared when it rained! It appeared out of nowhere…

Janushi Raichura
L okakah was a mythical town situated in the heart of Rajasthan, a town that only appeared when it rained! It appeared out of nowhere, each time in a new place, and stayed as long as it rained, disappearing the moment the water stopped.
One day, Manas and his friends decided to spend the entire Monsoon season in Rajasthan, staying on the lookout for Lokakah. It was believed that the people in Lokakah were the kindest, the food the tastiest, and the dances merriest.
But it was the sweets that attracted them the most. Lokakah was known to have the best ghevar in all of India- the best treat a kid could eat. Lokakah promised fun beyond what Manas and his friends could've ever imagined.
They started staying over at Manas's uncle's house, constantly vigilant about the rain. Among the four boys, they divided shifts so that one would always be awake to ensure they did not miss out on Lokakah.
And on one fateful day, it happened. It was Aryan's shift, and he was staring out at the full moon, eyes dropping as the hour hand lingered near three when it began to rain. Excitement seized him, and he jumped up, grabbing the binoculars they had borrowed from Manas's uncle, who worked in tourism, and climbed up to the terrace where he had a three-sixty-degree view of the town.
Up in the distance, he saw it- a carnival adorned with the most beautiful lights, and people laughing with joy, chattering amongst themselves. Then his eyes caught the ghevar, and he ran at the speed of light to wake up the others!
Manas's uncle instantly pulled out his jeep, and they all hopped on, praying for the rain to linger at least until they had one bite of the magical ghevar.
There were no vehicles allowed inside Lokakah, and so, they parked the Jeep outside and entered the mystical town.
A circus with animals they had never encountered before was on their left. A majestic lion-like creature hopped through the hoops, growling like a bear. A snake-charmer with a purple-green snake told the boys, "Welcome to Lokakah! Enjoy every moment! You never know when the fun might end!"
The charmer took them deeper inside the town, and they rode on beautiful rides that took them so high that they felt like the moon was at their fingertips.
The rain went on for hours, but they didn't feel cold or comfortable. It was something about the way the breeze worked that made the rain pleasant.
They hopped around the town mirthfully enjoying every moment, buying new clothes and snacks, trying different types of cotton candies, and desperately searching for ghevar. They finally found it- at a seller located near an unearthly river, with water the color of silver, shining brightly where the moonlight reflected on it.
"Six ghevars, please," Manas requested the vendor, who handed the sweets to them.
"Savor every bite; you can only have one!" the vendor warned, and Manas complied.
Every bite felt like he was tasting heaven. The heavy taste of ghee and cardamom blended together, topped off by saffron, before the sweetness exploded in his mouth.
My God.
It was the most delicious thing he had ever consumed, and it was when he was done eating that he realized that the rain had stopped.
Lokakah had vanished.
Manas looked around frantically, but found no trace of the ethereal town aside from the lingering taste of the ghevaron his lips.
"I will return next year," he said with an absolute resolve.
"You can only enjoy Lokakah once. It's the rule," Aryan answered.
"Lokakah is a crazy projection of life. It is just like how you only live once. Lokakah is a miraculous place, and it is supposed to teach us to enjoy life as it goes. You never know when it might end. Like the rain. And the rain was brutal when you were going around the Ferris Wheel, but you smiled through it. Life gets hard like that. You just have to find what makes you happy," Manas's uncle explained.
"I cannot believe it was all real. The rides, the animals, the treats…"
"Reality is beyond the scope of human imagination. What we know is a fraction of what we do not know. But in the calculus of life, all that matters is the reality we choose."

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