A stone had got dislodged and Rama could not break its fall. It bounced. With the sheer volition of its speed matched by its weight, the force of gravity and the downward slope of the bank, the stone made a splash—the way actions create consequences. Rama had stopped by the grove of fragrant mango trees as he would whenever there was an opportunity to watch the sunset. The place was unchanged since the time he and his brothers used to swing from the branches as Dasaratha, their father, watched over them. Like a sports instructor, their father would assess which son had stronger arms while swinging from the branches, who was more nimble-footed, running along a high branch like a tightrope walker, and then invent new games. After the climbing, jumping, rolling and chasing, the boys would be led by Dasaratha to sit on the bank and watch what he called ‘the miracle of each and every day’, the sunset. Once he held Rama close and said, ‘Look how the sun is sinking in the west.
