THE UNSOLVED PUZZLE

Once in a year Swami
came home clad in
saffron robes.
He was dark and bald
his forehead, chest and
hands pasted with holy
ash.
Swami never came to
home in broad-daylight
he waited for the veil
of darkness to descend
over the village
the reason still I'm not
aware of.
His visit to home was celebration
time for everybody at home
espceially grandma.
He never entered the rooms
he had a fixed resting
place on the verandah
and was comfortable there.
In the presence of
Grandma beside him he
was all delight, he never
sat while she was around,
Grandma had many things
to talk to him alway in
whispering tones.
My mother, aunties and uncles too
came to him, he had many
things to tell them always
in whispering tones
I was in my knickers those
days, a child with curiosity
abound.
Swami was very fond of me
he always called me to sit
by his side and gave me
sweets a dime a dozen,
and
and doled out sweet advices.
In the wee hours of morning
he melted into
the thick of darkness
without bidding a good bye
to me.
My Grandma, mother, aunties and uncles
knew when he went, where
he went, which they kept
a top secret I didn't know
why, still I know not.
Whether he would visit home
the next year, that also
remained a puzzle to me.