It was one of those days when he would get back home, drained of his energies, and suddenly get busy cleaning the house. Nothing new, it always started from one thing that seemed a bother. This night it was the gap between the tiles on dining table. He had already tried cleaning it once but it was not too satisfactory. This time he used the dishwashing liquid and an old toothbrush, and it did the trick. And it never ended there; he went on to clean many such corners. Though that night it was not a usual day of cleaning for him. He was more tired than he normally used to be. Normally he would clean because he felt like, or because he wanted to distract himself, and sometimes because the house needed cleaning. But that night he was cleaning against his regular urge, and under a certain compulsion. He was so tired this time that he would keep on coming back for some rest after every part he cleaned. On any other day he would quit. But he went on cleaning in greater detail than ever; Wet-mopping the floor, cleaning kitchen slabs, bathroom tiles, fans, lamps. He did not know why he was doing it, but he could not stop himself either. And this went on till wee hours of morning. Finally when it seemed to him that there was nothing more he could clean, out of will or need, he took a shower, changed and called it a night.
The legend of Mahabali was a story he was told many times around the festival of Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala. While he never volunteered for any cleaning, his normal day before Onam was disrupted by his family moving him around to clean the house. The pretext was of keeping the house clean for King Mahabali, who was said to visit his beloved subjects, in the early hours of morning. And he would enter and bless a house that was kept clean.
Next morning, he was woken up at 8 am by a text message from a family friend. It conveyed Onam wishes on behalf of him and his family. It reminded him of the day about which he had temporarily forgotten.
It did not occur to him till he stepped out of bed, till his bare feet touched the floor, and he could not feel even a speck of dust beneath him. He realized his house was ready, without his conscious intent, to welcome the King..
