Meghaduta or The Cloud Messenger is a masterpiece of Sanskrit literature, written by Kalidasa some 1500 years ago. This breathtaking poem of 111 stanzas is about a Yaksha, who is banished for a year to central India for neglecting his duties by Kubera-the Lord of Wealth, from his abode at the fabled city of Alaka near Mount Kailasa. The Yaksha exhorts a passing cloud to carry his message across to his beloved in the Himalayas. The cloud is assisted by sylphs, nymphs, eight-legged animals, the wish fulfilling trees, drums, celestial elephants, birds, rare flowers, trees and rivers during his journey.
