"White Shakuntala -2 Girl, give me some food! came the voice of a sage at the entrance of the hut. Shakuntala ignored the call! Not for any other reason but for the fact that she was wholly pre-occupied with thoughts of Dushyant. But this was not the voice of any ordinary sage. This was sage Durvasa, the mighty Rishi, who was dreaded for his short -temper and powerful curses. After two calls, the sage lost his temper and he roared, "Silly girl, let the one who spellbinds your attention forget you! His roar startled Shakuntala and she ran after the sage asking for forgiveness. Hearing her out, the sage said, "I cannot undo my curse, but I can amend it. He will forget you but when he sees this ring you wear, he will remember you! Durvasa's curse took effect. Weeks when by and there was no word from the king. Shakuntala decided to visit the king herself. En-route she had to cross a river. While sitting in the boat, Shakuntala again started day dreaming. She softly sang; skimming the waters with her fingers. A terrible thing happened! The ring from her fingers slipped and fell deep into the waters! Shakuntala did not notice and she blissfully arrived at the courts, hoping for a wonderful reunion with Dushyant. Who are you? Dushyant asked. Yes, the sage's curse was working. Dushyant had no memory of the beautiful damsel claiming to be his wife! Sire, See, Shakuntala lifted her hands to show him the ring. "😮‍💨, where is my ring! Oh dear! Well, without the ring, the king could not recognise her, so she had to leave. Sadly, she went back to the forest and quietly lived her life. (to be continued) ©Sanjoy Khuman "