The fl(oo)ewing beetle

5^th August, 2012- 11.00pm

I was clutching dearly my laptop, when the electricity died after going dim for a few couple of minutes, leaving me wondering, if that was due to another one of those grid failures, since that’s how it had happened the first time on 31st July, 2012. A grid had gone faulty which had resulted in a day of no power in most of the northern states of India. That night, past midnight, at 2.30am, I was about to switch off the light I was reading in, the a/c unit was already turned off, for the weather outside was cloudy since a couple and it was chilling inside even when the poor unit is no better than an old room cooler when the celcius goes over 30 outside; when it had dimmed as though life being sucked out by a dementor’s kiss…; in this case, electricity out of the connecting wires! It was comfortable in my bedroom; thanks to the weather, the whole night and next half day in continuation. Barely a few days had passed when two of those grid disrupts had resulted in making almost half the country powerless.

I was sitting reading the “e” version of Harry Potter (wait, till I share my personal musings while reading this one), when the electricity had started to pass out yet again. I was reading through the pages (errr… screens I mean) of the fourth part- Goblet of Fire, where the Weasleys arrive at Potter’s uncle’s place through their established network for just that one time of Floo powder, when eckletricity in our muggle town had gone out. No sooner that had happened, when a black beetle had started dancing erratic inside my room. Bless the li’l one, it was only that and of a size that I could cup a while later from then, that you are now reading this passage.

Reading through with a silent prayer for the muggles’ eckletricity network to be up, I was constantly buzzed by the beetle. I had gotten up and switched off all the switches so it won’t damage any cables, I was finding it a bit annoying to be listening to the beetle’s knocks at the walls and then also a few times being attacked by the beetle’s nonchalance to somersault over my head… As though it was destined to be, it then crashed on the laptop screen. No seconds were wasted in cupping the intruder spotting it with the help of the cellphone screen light. It kept tickling the insides of my palm with all of its legs and constant buzz in desperate attempts to start a flight. I then got up yet another one time to dispose of the pest in the other room where it would sleep in peace for it wasn’t in use after evenings.

What do I see? It was only a fault in the local cable and the electricity had been re-instated already long back. Well now, I would have never ever found out about that if I had not stepped out of my room for I was so engrossed in reading, I was losing out on getting up and checking if the electricity was back. I indeed thanked that creator who had poured the thoughts of catching the beetle and then, stepping out of my room with it.

Many of the readers would call it a co-incidence promptly; but this isn’t the first time where I feel I have been prompted or signaled. I believe there are signs everywhere, only we don’t use our intellect to read it. Often we put our wits to sleep before it deciphers the happening of such instances. While most of us enjoyed watching the HP series, some even reading through it; I bet my muggle life, not many have given a thought over the thought, that the words written down by Rowling are indeed a possibility. How and which way are the things that would come separately in a different post or else this one will lose its essence.

For now, I feel indebted to that beetle for showing me light and very literally at that. I would remain grateful to it for making me move my apple cheeks instead of squatting over them for the battery was already out and my laptop would have gone to sleep disrupting my read, mood and possibly my knowing of the reality for I was quite sucked in knowing how Mr. Weasley could even control not giving his wand a few wounds so to set the Durshleys right… but then that would so have been only half the fun.