Category: Short Stories

Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

Brief Introduction

• Birth – January 18, 1955
• Education – MBBS (IMS/BHU)
• Publications – 4 books (2 in Hindi, 1 each in English and Bengali) and two are yet to come.
• Translations – Books and articles are translated in English, Odiya, Marathi and Gujarati.
• Awards – CBT awarded stories and novel, “Kamaleshwar Smriti Katha Award (2013, 2017 and 2019)” by Kathabimb.
• Honour – “Hindi Sevi Samman” by Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Wardha (December 2016). 

☆ A GHOST स्टोरी – Part -2 ☆ Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury ☆

‘Now it was my turn to weep. And see an act of treachery by a friend. Brajlal said to me smilingly, ‘One must be kind / to a crying child!’ He had already scored four that is four laddus at a time sent to his inner world. The stomach.’

‘And I was clean bowled. Just like the glorious retreat of the British army during The Second World War, I had to accept the tragedy with a smile on my face. I handed over the rest to that unknown villain.’

Mama stopped. Probably reminiscing that past tragic incidence, he was feeling sorry again. Even after so many years.

But I grew restive. What was this? A ghost story? Where was that ghost? When would he appear in the story line? At least this could have happened – when the boy was yelling in the crowded bus, the driver turned his face and asked his mother to keep the child shut up. And then mamaji and his friend just fainted when they saw that the bus driver didn’t have a face. It was a headless body driving the bus. At least something of this sort of an unexpected climax could have occurred. A different story line! But here it was just a tasteless dish of a good for nothing ghost story! Out of frustration I screwed my eyes and murmured, ‘But the ghost? Where is he, mama?’

‘Wait, wait, a test match can’t be played merely in fifty overs? Haven’t you heard the saying – ‘if you can wait, you get the sweet to taste!’

By then ma had already brought tea and two plates of pakoras for three of us. Mama made an immediate capture of a plate and sipped his tea. His face brightened up with satisfaction. He started again …….

‘Rana and Chotku, you won’t believe me but at least in one thing Brajlal was more than one hundred percent correct. Oh, the dishes his dadi prepared that day – were all beyond any description! Pulao, fish curry, then dahi bada and above all her gujhiyas! Oh, even if my mind forgets them my tongue will never! My tongue is salivating again now that I mention it.’

‘But mama, the ghost -?’

‘Will you shut up? Or else I’m going to hang you from that toddy tree, and then and there you yourself will become a real ghost!’

I hung my head in disgust. I was in no mood to listen to this story of foodies. Pulao and gujhiyas are the things to be gobbled up. Not merely a thing to be heard about.

‘And the next morning, after the breakfast…’ mama, now full of energy, started batting again, ‘I and Brajlal went out to play cricket in the field, just outside their house. At first, I was bowling and Braj was at the batting end. After five or six deliveries he hit the ball and I ran after it. The ball went behind a big banyan tree. The moment I reached the spot to pick up the ball, I saw there ……’

Mama stopped again. He knew the secret of the art of storytelling. Sometime a silence is much more eloquent than a hundred spoken words. We two brothers jumped on the bed.

‘What mama? What was there?’

‘There was a man lying on the ground behind the tree. He was bleeding profusely. Blood was smeared all over his body. Blood was on the banyan leaves splattered all around him. He was groaning in pain, ‘Oh, is there anybody? Help, save me from this murderer!’

‘And a bearded man, with murder in his eyes, was seated on the chest of that hapless fellow. This second man had a dagger, smeared in blood, held in his raised right hand. He was repeatedly stabbing the poor fellow lying underneath.

‘And I? I didn’t have the power to yell even. Both my legs were as heavy as big black stones, seen in the movie ‘Sholey’, standing on which the villain Gabbar Singh would deliver all his famous dialogues, ‘They were two and you were six. What a mismatch! A gross injustice!’

Mama continued and now we two brothers were transfixed.

‘The man lying on earth yelled his last cry for help, ‘Babuji, please save my life! The killer is butchering me. Won’t you do nothing? Oh god! No brave heart throbs any more on this earth? Ah, ah!’

‘With each stab of the dagger he would let out a cry which could tear anybody’s heart. I stood dumb founded.’ Mama covered his face with both of his hands.

We two were pretty disturbed. Was he crying?

‘Ultimately the man died. And the murderer laughed loudly, ‘Yes, today I’ve done it. O god in heaven, see, I’ve taken my revenge. Ha, ha!’

‘And then I came to my senses. An awful thought suddenly struck me, that I was the sole witness of the murder. I must not be seen or caught. I fled the spot. Who could care to pick that god forsaken cricket ball after all? I rushed to Brajlal, breathless.

‘‘He asked me, ‘Why? What happened? Why your face is white as a sheet?’’

‘I was stammering, ‘B – Brajlal, a m – murder! There – he has killed a man. In front of my eyes. I just witnessed it.’

‘And just then someone laughed behind me. I turned to see. Oh, this time it was not the killer who had taken his revenge, but it was the murdered man himself. The dead man with blood smeared from his head to his toe. A ghost!’

As the event unfolded Chotku and I – both were shaking.

‘Pointing towards me the ghost yelled, ‘You, you a coward! You didn’t help me. You were simply watching the gruesome murder. Oh, I won’t let you go. Now you too will die in my hand. Ha, ha! You can’t escape the wrath of a ghost.

‘I turned to rush home, but he jumped and held my hand and then….

‘There was nothing but darkness all around. I fainted and fell on the ground. The ghost continued with his blast of laughter.’

Chotku whispered into my ears, ‘Bhaiya, I’m scared.’

I tried to assure him, but I too was nervous.

‘After that what followed’, mamaji said, ‘I don’t remember. How I was brought home, I can’t say. When I opened my eyes, I found dadi sitting beside me, waving a fan in her hand. She smiled and said, ‘Good god, I’m relieved that you’ve regained your senses. How are you feeling my boy? Want to drink some water?’

‘I nodded, as my throat was totally dry. She herself poured a little water into my mouth and then turned back her face to reprimand someone. Oh, both of them were standing there in the courtyard! The murderer and the dead man that is the ghost! Dadi said angrily, ‘Just see for yourself Rangnath, what you two have done to this innocent lad. He is from the town. How can he be aware that these sorts of practical jokes are common during the Holi festival in our village? No, no, you’ve not done a correct thing. After all he is our guest. If anything would have happened to him, what answer could we give to his parents? Just think this. It is Shiva who has saved our face from the humiliation.’

‘The ghost and his killer were smiling with their heads down.

‘And see the deception of a friend. Brajlal too was all smiles. It was obvious that he knew everything from the beginning. He simply enjoyed adding fuel to the fire. They all participated in this drama full of lies and deception.

‘Yes, like Shakespeare I too can say, ‘Betrayal of trust, thy name is friendship!’

We two protested, ‘But mama, it was not a real ghost at all. You just tricked us.’

‘Shh! What else do you want my dear nephews? Here too the dead became alive again. A real Resurrection. Then? Was it not a real ghost story?’

☆☆☆☆☆

© Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

Contact : Flat no. 301. Fourth Floor. Tower no.1. Mangalam Aananda, Phase 3A. Hajyawala Colony. Rampura Road. Sanganer. Jaipur 302029. Rajasthan. Mob: 9455168359.

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

Brief Introduction

• Birth – January 18, 1955
• Education – MBBS (IMS/BHU)
• Publications – 4 books (2 in Hindi, 1 each in English and Bengali) and two are yet to come.
• Translations – Books and articles are translated in English, Odiya, Marathi and Gujarati.
• Awards – CBT awarded stories and novel, “Kamaleshwar Smriti Katha Award (2013, 2017 and 2019)” by Kathabimb.
• Honour – “Hindi Sevi Samman” by Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Wardha (December 2016). 

☆ A GHOST STORY – Part -1 ☆ Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury ☆

‘Tell me first, do you believe in ghosts?’ asked mamaji.

We two brothers looked at him with startled eyes. Such was the atmosphere in the room and outside. Nervously I stuttered, ‘M – mama, have you ever seen a ghost?’

Immediately a philosopher’s mask hung from his face, mama looked out of the window. As if lost in a supernatural question!

Outside it was drizzling since evening. Twice or thrice power supply of our house was gone.

‘Yes.’ just a word of affirmation, after a long silence. Mama was an expert narrator. He knew how to create an air of suspense. How to pump an air of interest in the heart of the listener.  So, again he stopped.

A yellow white dagger appeared in heaven and it split the dark bosom of the night sky into two. Followed by an outcry of roar in the sky. A thunder. 

We two were brimming with fear and eagerness. Naturally for a ghost story to be effective this fear factor is of utmost importance. A gulabjamun must be sweet and tasty, a golgappa or panipuri must be sweet and sour, and so should a ghost story be full of anxiety and the element of suspense and horror.

‘Yes, I had once seen it. The ghost of a murdered man! To believe it or not, is up to you.’ his words came out at last.

We got worried, ‘Oh, would he stop telling us the story?’ I said, ‘Oh mama, why do you say so? We certainly believe you. B… but the murdered man became alive or what? Started moving?’

‘Do you little boys know, there is word – Resurrection? That is when the life comes back to his dead body. Probably by the same mechanism of nature that murdered man was – oh, should I say – raised from the dead again?’

‘Bhaiya!’ Chotku, my younger brother, clutched my hand tightly.

And I, Chotku’s elder brother, who he depended so much on, started sweating. I was in a dilemma. Should we let mamaji continue with this horror film? Or was it better to pull the curtain down?

But curiosity never sits idle. It’s always restless to run and relish. Naturally we asked in unison at last, ‘Oh mama, come on. Enough of this beating about the bushes. Now begin the main story please.’

‘Didi!’ mama called out to ma, who was busy in the kitchen, preparing special dishes for her brother, that is our mama, ‘Send a cup of tea, please. And if you wish you can send a plate of pakoras too. I don’t mind.’

 We two glanced at each other’s eyes.

‘Now listen patiently and don’t disturb when I’m in full flow of the narration.’ mama began.

Pointing towards me he said, ‘I was just as young as you, Rana. There was one Brajlal in our friends’ circle. He lived with his parents in our town but his dada dadi were in their village, Mithunpura. One day, just before Holi, he told me, ‘My father wants me to go to the village and spend the festival days with my dada dadi. But I’m not in a mood to go. Tell me what charm will be there during Holi?’

‘At first, I didn’t say anything. See, in those days it was not a fashion to go for a holiday trip to Shimla or Kerala. I, myself, had visited my maternal uncle’s home only a couple of times. Either during Durga puja holidays or in summer vacation. So, I thought why he was not visiting his grandpa and gran. At least the old man and woman would be glad.

‘After a brief silence he suddenly asked me, ‘Well, my dear friend, would you come along?’

‘I?’ I was totally taken a back at the suddenness of the proposal.

‘‘Yes, why not? Babuji is quite insisting. I feel it’ll be impossible to escape. It’s very hard to ignore what he dictates. But if you accompany me, it’ll be a nice journey and a beautiful stay over there.’ Then he tried to tempt me, ‘And for your kind information my dadi is an excellent cook. If you ever taste the gujhiya made by her only once in your life, you can never forget it. Your mouth will be wet the moment you’ll think of it.’

‘But Rana and Chotku, as you’re aware, though I’m not a glutton, I’m very much fond of tasty things. Naturally I was in a dilemma. Finally, I said, ‘I must ask my mother. And I’ve to take my father’s permission too.’

“Oh, don’t worry yaar.’ he thumped on my back and declared, ‘I’ll come with you to ask for permission. I hope I can convince uncle.’

‘When father asked him how far the place was. He answered by bus it was a three-hour ride. He ended every sentence with a sweet ‘please’ while talking to your nana. Well, somehow father was moved and said he would let me go with him.

‘That day father gave me twenty-five rupees for bus fare and other expenses. Don’t laugh. Those days that was a big pocket money. Babuji said to me, ‘You’ll be staying in an unknown family. Should not mess around and should behave properly.’ Ma packed my things and -’

I was getting quite restless, so I protested, ‘Mama, you promised to tell a ghost story and not a travelogue. What’s this? Where is the ghost?’

‘Then let me stop here.’ mama was upset, ‘You fool, what do you know about the art of storytelling? Do you think you’re more knowledgeable than Valmiki or Vedvyasa? What happened in Ramayana? Ravana or his sister Surpanakha didn’t come to play a part unless Ram, Sita and Lakshmana were exiled to Chitrakoot. And in Mahabharata? Only when Pandavas were banished, Bhim could meet Hidimba in the forest. What do you think of a ghost? A cheap incarnation? After living a long and eventful life, they come to this existence. Understand?’

He stopped and shouted again, ‘Didi, where is my tea? Have the tea leaves yet started from Assam?’

Now we two brothers were scared more of mama than the ghost.

‘Okay, now let me finish. Brajlal and I rode on the bus. It was spring season and a gentle breeze was wafting all around. But gradually on the way the bus became so jam packed with the commuters that it became difficult for us to breathe even. And there was a total chaos. Someone talking politics, some child crying at the pitch of his voice, some lady talking loudly about her mother-in-law and sister-in-law and so on.

‘Ma had given me some coconut laddus for two of us as refreshments. We two were sitting, sandwiched between the back of the seat and the standing passengers falling on us off and on. Yet somehow, I managed to open my bag and took out the laddus.

‘Brajlal, eyeing all my efforts quite attentively, asked, ‘What treasure you’re getting your hands on?’

‘The moment he saw the laddus he exclaimed, ‘O my goodness! A real treasure they are!’

‘In less than a second eight laddus were gone. Four into his hands and four on my lap.

‘But the cruel fate had its own game plan. The moment I went for a bite, a child from the front row, sitting in his mother’s lap, looked back and shrieked his demand, ‘Mamma, those laddus! I want them.’

‘I was thunder struck. Whole of the commuters were looking at me. One gentleman even showed his benevolence, ‘See young man, he is but a child. Just like your younger brother. Don’t forget how much Ram loved Lakshman. So, shouldn’t you share with him?’

‘Quite unwillingly I gave one to that little devil. Immediately it was gone through his mouth to his belly. And he again let out a scream with his fingers directed towards me, ‘Mamma, those laddus. I want more!’                

Contd…. 2 

☆☆☆☆☆

© Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

Contact : Flat no. 301. Fourth Floor. Tower no.1. Mangalam Aananda, Phase 3A. Hajyawala Colony. Rampura Road. Sanganer. Jaipur 302029. Rajasthan. Mob: 9455168359.

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

Brief Introduction

• Birth – January 18, 1955
• Education – MBBS (IMS/BHU)
• Publications – 4 books (2 in Hindi, 1 each in English and Bengali) and two are yet to come.
• Translations – Books and articles are translated in English, Odiya, Marathi and Gujarati.
• Awards – CBT awarded stories and novel, “Kamaleshwar Smriti Katha Award (2013, 2017 and 2019)” by Kathabimb.
• Honour – “Hindi Sevi Samman” by Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Wardha (December 2016). 

☆ Juvenile Fiction ☆ The Tide of will – Part-19 ☆ Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury ☆

The Lost Medal

The mother of the child was thunder struck. She couldn’t even make a cry for help. Next she started hitting her chest and yelled, ‘O Krishna! O deva! Help. Please save my son. He’s drowning.’

The baby in her lap started crying too.

A pandemonium broke out on the deck. Everyone was shrieking in terror, ‘Nobody is here who can save the child?’

A passenger shouted to a fisherman on a dinghy, ‘Look, a boy is drowning there. Go and save him, please.’

By the time two of the dinghies rushed in that direction the child was gone away from them in the unruly waves.

Narayanan murmured to himself, ‘Oh god! What’s this you’ve done today to us?’

Suddenly there was a sound. A thud. Again a splash of water. Narayana turned with a start to find Gayatri was no more standing on his side.

‘Look, that girl is swimming. There, there. Can’t you see?’

‘Oh, just behind the waves.’

‘But she herself is a child. Will she be able to save him?’

‘A child she is. But such a daring girl.’

In the prevailing chaos Narayanan felt a bit dizzy in his head. He gripped the fence with both of his hands. ‘Yes, there is my kuchumol. Oh, the courage of an eagle in the bosom a sparrow!’

By the time Gayatri reached the spot the boy was already sinking. Gayatri was swimming crazily. Yes, what were Mr. Kumaran’s instructions for fast swimming? With the face down, stretched arms going up and down through the water. She was not able to flap her right leg properly. Actually it was struck by an oar when she dived from the deck. It was paining and bleeding too. Still Gayatri didn’t care for this. The only thing in her mind was how quickly she could reach the spot and save the hapless boy. All the worries for competition were washed off from her mind.

‘Bravo, she has arrived. Yes, there she is.’

Pulling her own hairs, the mother started yelling, ‘But where is my son? He’s no more visible.’

‘Oh, deva! Has he drowned already?’ A gentleman said nervously.

Only a few bubbles were seen on the spot.

Was Narayanan going to fall? A tremor of anxiety ran through his body. Oh, his fingers were aching from his tight grip on the railing.

Gayatri had arrived at the place. But was she doomed to be a failure? Where was the child? She took an immediate decision. She took a deep breath, filled her chest with air and plunged deep into the water. She was going down and down. All around her there was only green water and nothing else. Oh, she felt as if her chest was on the brink of bursting. It was crying for fresh oxygen. No, she couldn’t continue her journey downwards. She failed. Just to take a second breath she had to come up over the surface. Again she filled both of her lungs. The air, the oxygen, the nectar of life!

‘Could you? Could you reach that boy?’ People from the deck asked eagerly.

Just a few feet away again those bubbles appeared in the foams.

The mother seemed to have gone stark raving mad. She was crying and beating her chest. The other child was yelling and another woman tried to pacify him.

As the earth trembles before an earthquake Narayanan’s heart was throbbing wildly, ‘Couldn’t she? Oh, couldn’t she save that unfortunate boy?’

Deep down in the water Gayatri had reached again in that green walled space. Suddenly a little hand touched her body. She kicked her legs back and sprang to catch hold of that hand. Next she was rising up and up. There was light at the end of the green waters.

As if the whole world yelled in joyful excitement, ‘She has done it. She’s coming with the boy.’

Holding the boy with one hand and pushing him Gayatri was swimming towards the shore. Those fishermen rushed to pick up the boy and Gayatri in their dinghy.

Carrying their bags in both his hands when Narayanan got down from the launch a crowd was already collected around Gayatri and that boy. Gayatri was not able to breathe properly. She had drunk lots of water. Narayanan was alarmed to see the bleeding wound on her leg. That boy too had swallowed much of water. Her mother was continuously moaning.

‘We must take them to the hospital.’ said a man. Two more persons came forward to help. Two autos were called. Narayanan went inside one of them with his kuchumol. Those two men sat in the other with that lady and his sons. Narayanan, buried under all his worries couldn’t even think of asking, ‘Gayatri, how did you have this wound?’

The doctors were alarmed to see the child. Water had entered his lungs. He was gasping occasionally. Immediately oxygen was started. Along with necessary injections and all. His mother was seated on a bench nearby. His achcha had been informed and any time he would reach soon.

The wound on Gayatri’s leg was bandaged. Although she too had swallowed a lot of water she was out of danger. She was lying on another bed.

Misfortunes come sometime without giving any premonition. Narayanan looked at his wristwatch. It was past nine in the morning. Gayatri was supposed to be present there at the Veluthampi Stadium at eight o’clock sharp. He thought he must intimate Kuamaran about all these mishaps. Certainly he must be worried a lot. He went out of the ward and took out his mobile from his pocket.

As Kuamaran was waiting for them he became much worried. When they didn’t turn up even after the stipulated time, he went mad. His condition was just like the captain of a cricket team who finds his spinner of proven ability is absent because of some serious injury and the opposite team is catching up with runs without fall of a wicket. He was confident that Gayatri was his winning card. He had so much confidence on the girl. And he had laboured so much for her development. Gradually he got enraged with his beloved teacher, ‘Oh, why on earth they are not serious? He must be sick or something. So many times, I had asked him to come with me. What can I do now? Oh, where are they?’

When his phone rang in his pocket, like a dog searching its buried bone, he took it out, ‘Yes sir, what happened? Where is Gayatri? What are you saying? She is in hospital? Which one? Oh! Yes I can reach there, once the competition items are over.’

Whatever happens to a man the time never stops. It flies by. The earth continues with its revolution around its own axis. The departure bell for the day was ringing in the horizon. It was again the time for the birds to return to their nests chirping. Before setting in the west the sun was bidding a red coloured goodbye to all. The windowpanes of the hospital were tinged with this hue. Face of Gayatri was luminous with her satisfaction as a result of the feat she could achieve. That boy was now much better.

And then ……..

Running through the corridor of the hospital Kumaran rushed into the ward. He was breathless and sweating. He didn’t stop for a breath but said outright to Narayanan, ‘What a treachery of the fate, sir! How all this happened?’

Narayanan was quite sympathetic to this unfortunate trainer of his kuchumol. He stood there silently patting on Kumaran’s shoulder. He couldn’t utter a single word of consolation.

‘The moment I was relieved I rushed to come here. Where is that boy who was drowning?’

Narayanan waved his hand towards his bed. Kumaran just looked at the boy but didn’t go near. He was quite heart broken. He was pretty sure that Gayatri was going to win at least two golds. With his head down on his hand he sank into a chair. He said bitterly, ‘All gone waste. Our labours of so many months and years – all our efforts are but wasted.’

‘No. Don’t say that, young man.’ Narayanan said boldly. There was no sign of remorse on his face, ‘Not a second of the time that you and Gayatri have put to achieve all this has been wasted. Not a fraction of your hard labour is lost.’

‘Sir, I’m quite confident that Gayatri could’ve won two golds in hundred and two hundred metres. Two golds at least, besides the silver in other items.’

‘Kumaran, are you worrying for simple gold medals only? My kuchumol has won much more precious medal than your gold, you know?’

‘What do you mean, sir?’ Kumaran was very much perplexed.

‘Yes, don’t you know that she has won a medal made of pearls?’

‘Medal of pearls! What does that mean, sir? I fail to comprehend.’ Kumaran was now a bit annoyed.

‘Look at the eyes of the mother of that boy. Look.’ Narayanan turned his eyes in that direction.

Kumaran went near his bed and saw the boy was slowly opening his eyes, ‘Amme! Amme, oh!’

A tremor hovered on the mother’s lips. Her eyes welled up with the tears of joy. A tear dropped on her cheek. And it was shining brightly in the sun light through the pane…..

Just like a piece of some precious pearl from a rare oyster, lying on the bed of some deep sea.

He turned towards his disciple and found Gayatri all smiles.

The old appupan touched lightly the head of his kuchumol and said, ‘My dear Kumaran, probably I too can give you a lesson as far as the world of sports is concerned. The excellence in sports is not all about winning a medal only but one must try to win the heart of the people. It’s a real sportsmanship. And I think my Gayatri knows it far better than anybody.’

Kumaran looked at his former headmaster of school days. The room was illuminated by the rays from the setting sun. He felt as if the sun conveyed its salute of admiration to the old man and his granddaughter. Silently he nodded his head.

☆☆☆☆☆

© Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

C0ntact: Care Dr. Alok Kumar Mukherjee, 104/93, Vijay Path, Mansarovar, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302020

Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

Brief Introduction

• Birth – January 18, 1955
• Education – MBBS (IMS/BHU)
• Publications – 4 books (2 in Hindi, 1 each in English and Bengali) and two are yet to come.
• Translations – Books and articles are translated in English, Odiya, Marathi and Gujarati.
• Awards – CBT awarded stories and novel, “Kamaleshwar Smriti Katha Award (2013, 2017 and 2019)” by Kathabimb.
• Honour – “Hindi Sevi Samman” by Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Wardha (December 2016). 

☆ Juvenile Fiction ☆ The Tide of will – Part-18 ☆ Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury ☆

Riding the Waves

The door clicked open and Kalyani’s son, Kunjiraman, shouted out excitedly, ‘Amme, just see who is here.’

Kalyani was at a loss. As if she couldn’t believe her own eyes, ‘Oh, is she Gayatri? The daughter of our Mani? When I got married Mani was just as little. Always looking at my face, in a bridal make up.’

‘Hey Krishna!’ Narayanan started joking with his much younger sister- in-law, ‘Won’t you let us in? Started all your Ramayana standing on the doorsteps only?’

Kalyani started running from this room to that. She called out her husband, ‘They’re already here. Why don’t you come?’ A joy full of excitement winged its way all through the house.’

Her husband and her children all were too happy. Kunjiraman said laughingly to Gayatri, ‘We enjoyed a lot at brother Mani’s wedding.’

‘You too can come some time to Haripadam and spend your holiday there.’ Narayanan said.

‘We must’ answered the young man.

At night, during their dinner Kalyani was pestering Gayatri much to take more of this or that item. She smiled and refused, ‘Tomorrow I’ve to participate in the competition. If I eat so much, I’ll certainly float my sweet granny, but won’t be able to swim.’

Everyone laughed.

Early in the next morning, they got readied. Gayatri checked her competition card, swimming costume, swimming goggles and all. Narayanan said to his sister – in – law, ‘Now we must start, Kalyani.’

She touched her forehead with folded hands and put an ornamental mark with sandalwood paste on Gayatri’s forehead affectionately, ‘Everything will be alright.’ Then she asked Narayanan, ‘I think by the time you’ll return it’ll be past six o’clock.’

‘I think so.’

Kunjuraman accompanied them to the ferry station. When they were seated in the launch he said, ‘Now let me go. In the evening if you feel I can come to fetch you.’

‘Oh, my boy, I’m not that old. This much I can manage myself.’

The steamer was sailing on the waves. The waves were striking it and it was shaking a bit from side to side. So many sea gulls were following it. Spreading their wings, they were flying and shrieking. A kingfisher ducked into the water. It had got its catch. Behind the steamer a garland of white foams was floating on the blue water.

‘Hold the railing tightly.’ Narayanan cautioned Gayatri and came closer to her.

The steamer was totally full of men and women. Some had their cycles or scooters with them. Everybody’s destination was Ernakulum. Some were students, some were office goers, and many were daily labourers.

The harbour city of Cochin consists of many islands. Hundreds of years ago Jews came here and settled. They offer their prayer in synagogue. After them so many people – Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabians – all came here to trade in the business of spices. A few of them even wanted to rule.

On the deck, near the fence, so many were standing. Probably they couldn’t find a seat or they were in much hurry to get down from the launch once it was anchored.

Just on the right of them was the Jews neighbourhood. The Chinese nets were hung near the seashore with the help of four or more sets of wooden poles and bamboos. This has become a trademark sign of the city.

Near the shore there were so many fishermen’s dinghies. The whole air was heavy with the fishy smell. The fishes were spread on the boats to dry up. The nets were hanging from the sides of the dinghies. The steamer was proceeding slowly. Everybody started rushing on the deck to reach the exit point first. Everyone was in a hurry to catch a bus or to attend his duty. Suddenly a dinghy came floating in front of the launch. The driver tried to move it in another direction. But by this skilful manoeuvre the launch was tilted on one side. Everybody on board screamed out in terror, ‘Oh, take care. What’s this happening?’

But by that fraction of a second …….

‘Amma -!’ A child’s helpless cry was heard from the sea. The child had slipped from the deck under the railing and fell into the water.

Were there a few bubbles in the waves? Could anybody see a little hand waving madly from them?

Contd…      

© Dr. Amitabh Shanker Roy Choudhury

C0ntact: Care Dr. Alok Kumar Mukherjee, 104/93, Vijay Path, Mansarovar, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302020