Category: short story

Waiting is killing

A rich man had lots of money. One time or the other some of his trusted assistants would abscond with some of his money. He always would seek them out wherever they had gone into hiding and put them in prison. Nowadays he was aged and more wise.

This time, another trusted associate ran away with his money and the police entreated him to give his nod. Please sir, we just need your consent so that we can go ahead and catch him from wherever he is now.

How long will you need to bring him back? Maybe a month, maybe more, maybe a year not more, the police man replied. My associate also will be thinking on the same lines. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, they will come looking for me and I do not want this agony of waiting for him to stop. That will be his punishment…

The talking metals

Over the ages, man has always accorded value to the fair glow in the metals be it copper, silver or gold. Iron though being the working metal still ranks behind…

Ganpat the farmer had a daughter Megha and Dikshit, a well to do person in the same village had a son Sachin. Both Sachin and Megha fell in love once they saw each other at the last year mela or the village annual fair at the Bhuvaneshwari temple. The Goddess at the temple was known to be very powerful.

When one day, Ganpat told Dikshit about his wish of his daughter’s marriage to Sachin, he made fun of Ganpat saying he wanted to give his daughter to someone his equal and not to a poor farmer.

Over the summer months, Ganpat was busy tilling the fields . One day he went to the blacksmith with his pick axe to sharpen it. The blacksmith was sitting in rapt attention as if listening to the tools in front of him. He asked ganpat to be seated but continued to listen to the talking metals. The pick axe also joined in the conversation. Yes, you are right. Iron is the downtrodden one just like this ganpat. He tills the land with his plough made of iron. The rich go in vehicles made of iron but does anyone give him or us the position we deserve.

They give value only to the fair silver or gold. They spend their lives either in getting it or hoarding it. They cover the temples and the gods in silver and gold as soon their positions improve. What happens to us, who toil day in and out for him.

The goddesss Bhuvaneshwari on her walking rounds reached the blacksmith’s workplace. She touched ganpat lightly on his shoulder so that he could see her and listen to the talking metals.

Man in pursuit of riches and happiness takes countless births. For the ever changing man greed is the only constant. He gets sorrow pain and happiness in return. Just like when he digs for gold he gets other metals, but he disregards it and his persistence wins and when he gets the coveted metal he thinks he is happy. These so called noble metals carry stories of war, murders and betrayal. After all the painstaking efforts to get it, then you need to protect it and there man loses his peace.

Ganpat fell at her feet and told his problem. All the while, working at the fields I was at peace but the moment Dikshit mentioned 25 sovereigns of gold, I lost my peace. Metals like iron, I hold in high esteem because they are the working metals like this Ganpat, the rest all are useless, said the goddess.

The talking metals and the blacksmith praised the goddess who was taking their leave. Ganpat, I will help you with your request but I want you to adorn me with 25 sovereign iron jewels. The money for the metal shall come from your hard earned money and you should buy the metal from the blacksmith. Give it to the village jeweller. I will give the instructions to him in a dream. Put your request this Sunday in front of me at the temple and ask dikshit to repeat how much he wants in jewelry. This time, I will adorn his tongue when he replies to you.

On the eve of the Sunday festival, among the jostling crowd, Ganpat put his request again to Dikshit for his daughter’s wedding. A ruffled Dikshit sounding agitated said how many times Ganpat I have to tell you I won’t take anything less than 25 tolas of loha from you. Everyone one was surprised to hear this strange ask from Dikshit. Ganpat again asked, can you please repeat it, to which Dikshit confirmed the same, “25 sovereigns of pure iron”.

Everyone talked about it during the day but no one had the guts to ask Dikshit as to why he had made such a strange request. Ganpat after offering salutations to the goddess hurried home took his hard earned money, gets the iron from the blacksmith and goes to the blessed and informed jeweler the next week who takes upon the task of making iron jewelry for the goddess. He decided to make a set of bangles, earrings and a chain that would come to 25 sovereigns just as how the goddess had instructed him in his dream. After a couple of months the jewelry was completed. It was shown to Ganpat, the blacksmith and to the goddess on an evening at the blacksmith’s hut. The goddess was satisfied and so were the talking metals. Now Ganpat, tell the priest about all what has happened. He will understand and adorn this jewelry on me this Navami. Now to the bewildered and at the same time blessed jeweller, “prepare one more set exactly like this for Ganpat and show it to me first before handing it over to him”.

On the Navami day, the goddess shown with a brilliance never seen before, partly due to a new metallic jewelry which had a rare hue. To some it seemed blue while for others a combination of other colors. It really is a rare metal jewelry gifted by Ganpat to our goddess, remarked many. Even Dikshit was surprised to see the change in fortunes for Ganpat. It was heard that the jeweller was now making the jewels for his daughter’s wedding.

The second set of jewels were ready. They were again taken to the blacksmith where on her evening visit, the goddess Bhuvaneshwari saw them and touched them sending a spark of energy through all who were present including the talking metals.

The rest of the story goes like this. Ganpat’s daughter got married to Dikshit’s son who never came to know that he had asked for iron jewelry, but whenever his wife showed the priceless jewels, to him, it was beyond doubt made of the finest gold, one that had a blue hue and a sparkle of other metallic colors that radiated from it. Please close the jewel box Radha and keep it in the safe, he lovingly told his wife, It is so divine that one cannot look at it for long just as the jewels gifted by Ganpat to the goddess…

The Madava Pass

Long years ago at the outskirts of Patannam, there was a flourishing Friday market that used to come alive in the afternoon. The Madava river flowing nearby used to host the market proceedings as traders from far off places used to trade  their goods for barter or for coins. Men and women from nearby villages used to come and witness the grand proceedings of trade and also barter the goods that they used to bring in and take back the ones that they wanted.

The streets of Pattanam were tidy and wound themselves into different directions. The main highway was also well patrolled by the king’s sentry except for the  Madava underpass at a distance of 10 miles from Pattanam. There was a forest section with a hillock into which a road was carved after chipping away the stones and the tunnel constructed by the locals was around 50 metres long. Some robbers used to loiter around or inside the tunnel and would whisk away the goods of people returning from the market if the conditions were favorable for them. Initially it was a few incidents of robbery that made the travelers weary of the thugs and therefore they used to go in groups inside the tunnel and hence mostly escaped from the robbery.

No woman dared to go alone through the tunnel be it during the day or the evening after the friday market which is when the market was its peak. There was incidents of teasing and kidnapping where the victims were never found. It seemed that there were more than one gang of robbers operating in that area who had their hideouts in the forest. Some would pose as guards and offer their services to take the unwary victim safely and falling into their trap they were either dumped after the robbery and humiliation or not to be seen again.

This went on and on for months and there seemed to be no solution as the vassal king and his sentry also did not pay much heed to the reports. This became a talk especially among the women folk in the weekly Friday market. One of the traders, Vijayan, who visited the market decided to do something about it. He went and stood before Paniappan at his village who had a solution to every problem that was brought to him. Paniappan dragged at the pipe and infused the tobacco and looked long into the eyes of a bunch of kids who were brought by their parents to him. These kids were causing a lot of headache to the village with their pranks. They would climb palm and coconut trees and cause the fruit to fall in other people’s area, thus causing fights between the owner and the possessor of the nuts. They were a naughty bunch and no less than a rogue of elephants in their strength and determination. They had got into angry fights with a couple of villagers who questioned their exploits. But as Paniappan thought they needed some work to direct their energy but what work to give them was still a dilemma.

To a hesitant Vijayan who thought he would share the robbers story at the tunnel after this bunch of young lads had been dispensed off, he was asked to present his story first.  Vijayan was a good narrator and he made the story very interesting in such a way that whoever heard it wanted to go and confront the robbers and give them a sound beating.

The question was posed to the kids to take up the pattanam assignment in front of a crowd and now they could not back out. Doing so would mean all their exploits so far were just for show and they did not possess the true grit required for this assignment. Girish one of the lads came forward and said we will vanquish the ruffians  and return home victoriously. A couple of other well built lads Bheema and Sahadev also came forward. The others though they seemed interested were too young for the job. Paniappan trained the lads for 2 weeks. They were well fed and given difficult tasks which they were able to complete in no time.

But the three lads, would they be enough to drive out the robbers? was a question that still tormented Vijayan’s mind as they ventured towards the town of pattanam which would take them a couple of days walking. On the way a discourse was happening at a temple and our group joined religiously. The priest of the temple chanced upon the young lads and said he too had a boy of the same age and asked gopal to accompany the trio with Vijayan. Now Vijayan couldn’t say no to the priest but he never wanted gopal to be a part of this team. He was lean and appeared a bit timid for the task in front of them. But somehow there was something about the boy, his lovely smiling eyes that bore into you had the power to read your mind.

His eyes were sweet as was his laughter. His heart was sweet as was his gait. His speech was sweet  as was his nature. In short everything about him was sweet.

But that was the problem. How can he gel with the others and tackle the thieves? He was a delicate boy who needed the protection just as the women did. Let us hope everything works out well thought Vijayan to himself as he proceeded towards the market. They reached their destination on the third day mighty tired and feasted on the fruits at the market and setup a makeshift lodging. Vijayan also asked the boys to set up a northern gate on the path to the madava pass, so that they would know the people who would venture to the pass towards the market. He set two of his boys each at the market side and the northern gate. He also had two sentries locally recruited for fridays manning the gates assisted by his boys.

Girish and Bheema manned the northern gate and Gopal and Sahadev were posted at the market gate. In short whoever left the market towards the pass would meet Gopal and Sahadev who would make enquiries before letting them pass and escort them if needed. Vijayan would spend the next week incognito as a villager and make his way through the underpass many a times in disguise. There was no untoward incident during that week and so Vijayan told the sentry to keep doing what they were told to and left for his village promising that he would be back in a month or two It was during Vijayan’s absence that a young village girl  also volunteered to be at the northern gate. People going and coming through the madava pass were curious as to how these lads and now this girl would protect them in the underpass. But they were happy and a bit assured that the added security cover if requested from these lads would be readily available. Some of the womenfolk took a liking towards Gopal and Vani the girl because of their innocent and yet determined nature and always requested them to accompany them through the pass.

The robbers had their task cut out these days as mostly the women were escorted by the well fed Girish and Bheema who did not mind walking umpteen times to the market and going back with eatables from the market. In a month they had gained so much weight that they looked fearful for any one to confront them. On the other side, Gopal and Vani were so sweet that even the robbers inspite of their hard hearts got lost in their charm. Whenever Gopal escorted the women, he had invented his own style of keeping them enchanted. Every day he had something in his hand to sell to the women and the women not wanting to lose his company dilly dallied with their purchase of the saleable item even though he ran around them in the madava pass with his super negotiating skills. He would put a price on the item in hand just as then entered the madava pass and each traveler would want to buy from him and he would go on increasing the price and then start decreasing it as they neared the end of the pass. Another wonder was Vani used to run after him in a bid to catch him and dissuade him from selling it. It was always a sort of procession when the group went through the pass.

The robbers waited for their time for days and even tried their best to rob some one, but utterly failed as at any moment of the day, they would find either of the four inside the pass who would always give them the slip if they tried to administer any injury. The four lit the forest pass with lamps in the evening which refused to die out till the next day morning, so there was ample light and the presence of any of these four was guaranteed whenever circumstances warranted. To cut a long story short, the robbers could do no harm to the travelers as somehow they felt their strength subside when they tried to confront any of these boys. Slowly the robbers were identified and when Vijayan who arrived with a bigger force the next time, caught them from their hideouts near the pass and  madava became free of any such incidents that had got it a bad name. One fine day, Gopal and Vani were not to be seen. They had left the region never to be seen again and the folks in the region made their story a folklore and even constructed a temple at the northern end of the pass dedicated to them. Even today, anyone who prays at the temple has never known to have faced any issue while making their way to and from the madava pass…

Nature

A child fed the crows and the pigeons daily and it had been almost a year. She tried her best that each one got its bountiful share. They still bickered with each other during feeding time. Some of them became plump and some were average while others looked famished. She tried to feed the famished ones but the well fed ones came back everytime for their share.

She used to feed the crows first lest they fight the pigeons off. Even then they used to pull the pigeons by their tails and make fun of the famished ones. After that she would find the crows fighting with each for no particular reason.

One day she asked her father, why is it so dad that inspite of all the freedom and the food they get, they behave so? The dad replied, “every form of living beings have their own nature and it is mighty difficult to change it. Some think over their actions and get better. Even we humans are no different, child! You will understand this when you grow up”

Divine barter

Unni lived with his grandmother for as long as he could remember. His parents had left for their heavenly abode, that is what his grandmother said, to be with Krishna. They would remain his guests for as much as they liked. So it was left to Unni to help his grandmother with the daily chores and long walk to get items in barter from the weekly market. The market was a good 10 miles away and their house was the only one in the area they lived. Nestled within coconut palms and a lot of cashew, jackfruit and mango trees was Unni’s house with a palm leaf thatch roof.

He had to visit the market every fortnight for vegetables and other grocery items. Since they did not have any other means of income, he had to barter the coconuts, tapioca and the fruits for getting other items from the market. So every fortnight, be it a sunny or a rainy day, Unni would have a gunny bag over his shoulder full of such produce and tread his way to the market and by late evening he would carry a bag of rice and other stuff back that he received in barter. Some of the times due to inclement weather, he would stay put at the market and reach the next day only.

One day his grandmother told him now that he was a big boy, he should visit the Krishna temple every fortnight near the market and get Krishna’s blessings and sweet offering. He took the advice and geared up to go on the first day of the month.. On his first visit, he travelled a bit early so that he would be in time for the worship and get the prasadam. The footwear was not helping him much since the old pair was worn out. He reached the temple in time put his sandals outside, entered and prayed for a long time but by the time he went to receive the prasadam it had finished since there was a huge rush of devotees that day being the first day of the new month. Sadly he came out wondering what he would give his grandmother. How would she believe that he did visit the temple? To his dismay, he could not locate his sandals among the scattered footwear of the devotees. There was really a good assortment of footwear, some new, some old, some costly, some cheap but not his. He made a few more inspections and still he could not locate his footwear.

A boy sitting next to the temple gate was watching all this and when Unni once looked up to him, he said, “why, you should take one of the many here and get going. It happens sometimes, and that is the only solution that I have if you are asking me”, he said with a mischievous smile. “No no, that is not fair, how can I take one that does not belong to me?”, said Unni in all innocence and started walking to the market bare feet. He reached the market with his produce for barter and many others like him came to him for exchanging his items for theirs. After the initial hustle had subsided, one old man came to him and asked for a bunch of bananas. He looked very poor, almost on the verge of fainting. But he had nothing to offer but a small portion of prasadam from the temple wrapped in a banana leaf. “Would this suffice for that small bunch of bananas that you have?” It was at this point Unni noticed that the poor man was wearing the sandals he had lost at the temple gate.

He took the prasadam in barter for the bunch of bananas that he had among the other fruits in his bag. When the old man found Unni looking at his footwear a few times, the old man asked whether he had visited the temple to which Unni nodded in confirmation. I am wondering if they are yours since I lost my footwear in the temple today, said the old man. So I looked for the oldest worn out sandals that I could wear since my feet are full of corns, I came across this old pair and took it. It has many holes in it, but it was so good for my feet after wearing them. Since you are not wearing any footwear, maybe you can keep it if it is yours? Unni said no to the offer and kept his silence. The old man thanked him profusely and went his way wearing his footwear.

Unni had to sit till evening before he could barter away all his items and that is when he decided to stay at the market and go home the next day morning, as he could sense a thunderstorm brewing. The next day morning, carrying his sack he was thinking of walking back the long way home when he met another old woman at the market asking if he had some food. He gave her the remaining prasadam of the previous day, took her blessings and continued his walking. He saw some one was following him. There were two horse carriages handled by able bodied men. The carriages stopped and the rich man and his wife in one of them asked if Unni wanted to come along with them, but he refused the offer saying his house was just a mile away and continued walking. The carriage went ahead but he could always see them as they travelled very slowly in front of him. Again when he caught up with them, he told the same and continued walking. The horse carriages disappeared into the distance when he was minutes away from his home. He felt so famished in mind and body when he reached home as there was nothing to offer to his grandmother. He told her of his trip and how he lost his sandals and could not deliver the prasadam though he had got it from the poor man.

The grandmother embraced her child and said she got to know all about it. “You are such a lucky child that Krishna took note of you on your first visit to the temple”. There is a pot full of prasadam for us and a pair of special footwear for you, said his grandmother pointing to them. How could she have received it. Unni thought. Let me narrate my part of the story, she said.

“A rich man had had an ailment that was refusing to go away inspite of all the medications he took from many physicians. Then he consulted an astrologer who asked him to visit the Krishna temple and sit in prayer for 21 days. On the eighteenth day he should fast for the next three days by taking water only. On the twenty first day, he should dress like a poor man with worn out clothes, after prayer, take prasadam and wear the most worn out footwear from the temple and walk to the market and break his fast from the most poor looking trader by bartering the left over prasadam for a bunch of bananas. After eating the bananas, he should continue walking like a poor man wearing the same footwear back home to get respite from his ailment”.

She then led out Unni out of the house. There, at a distance the horse carriages were standing. The rich man standing next to his wife walked over to Unni and embraced him and said with tears in his eyes, “for years I have enjoyed being rich thinking that all the riches I have earned is through my hard work and never parted or helped anybody. Then I suffered from this ailment, and took good advice. I was taught a lesson and I have made amends. In you I saw a role model that I can follow for the rest of my life”. Unni could recognise the old women he had met early in the day at the market in the rich man’s wife and smiled at her. She came near and blessed Unni. “I wanted to meet such a divine boy that I heard from my husband, you have been instrumental in curing him and you are no less than a god to us. Since my husband came to me without the prasadam, I though of partaking the divine offering if you still were in possession of it today morning and like charity personified you gifted the portion that was intended for your grandmother. I then suggested my husband to visit your house after going to the temple to make up for your loss”. “As a gift, I got you this footwear for the one I took”, said the rich man. “Please accept this horse carriage also for transporting your goods. I have many others in my stable like these. I have learnt the fact that for every goodness you barter, multifold goodness would come to you”. Saying so, he and his wife saluted them once more and took leave.

The thirsty traveler

Once a rich man who always took pride in his possessions that he had accumulated and his rising status in society looked disturbed. He could not get quality sleep, could not enjoy much as of old and therefore decided  to do a solo ride to a far off place to meet a Guru who he thought would help him attain some peace of mind. The Guru’s Ashram was hundreds of miles far away from the city and was at a place which was unknown territory to him. Almost an hour to the destination guided the support voice from the vehicle. He happily drove ahead for some more time.  The vehicle navigation stopped momentarily as he  came across a place where the path ahead twisted into opposite directions. On the left was a muddy patch that looked like leading into the desert. The other was a better path leading into a shade of trees at a distance. There he saw a  traveler on foot with torn clothes and a dirty  bag in hand. He stopped his vehicle and inquired of  him on which   path he should take ahead.

“I am walking with only one destination in mind said the smiling mendicant. But you may take the left one”. He offered some water to the rich man which he refused saying he had enough of it with him. “It is a wonderful vehicle that you have got here. Hope it will take it to your intended destination. I can accompany you if you like me as a guide“, to which our man replied “There is no need for your guidance. This has inbuilt navigation. I can manage myself alone“.

The rich man thought of the man as a crazy old man and continued on the path on the right  which was well laid out and was happy he had not taken the foolish advice. After having gone some time, the road suddenly disappeared beneath the desert sands and the trees he had been seeing in the near distance had also vanished. His vehicle navigation was of no use in the desert terrain. Huge dunes of sand greeted him. He travelled over them each time narrowly missing being stuck in the loose sand. He stopped his vehicle as it had got heated. He drank from his rations of water and offered some to the vehicle.

It was hours since he had met the mendicant and cursed himself for not having taken him on board. After travelling again for some time, he came to the same place where he had met the mendicant. There was no trace of him. This time he took the left one and within an hour he reached an oasis which was lined up with the same trees that he had seen before. He reached the Ashram having hundreds of seekers sitting in attention to what the guru was saying.

“Always remember that there is no rich and poor among us. We are all seekers traveling through the limited time gifted to us. Seekers of joy, seekers of wealth, status or power. But there is a cost to such seeking. You lose your glow as you make compromises, do not listen to your inner guiding voice, do not heed good advice given externally and thus lose your way in the desert of life. If you had sought your creator all along and lost yourselves in his glory and attained bliss, there would be no need to drive yourself here to take the advice of this foolish man. The Lord is busy yet he has time for each one of us. When we are about to dwell on the wrong path, he sends us good advice in many forms. It could be your parent,  your sibling, a friend or a stranger. Take a pause in your stride and listen to such good advice”.

Saying so, the guru looked at the lone standing rich traveller who was looking at him to guide him to some seat to sit. When their eyes met, the rich traveller could recognise the smiling mendicant in the Guru…

A Kadali Tale

On the occasion of Onam I wish all my dear readers a very happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead! They say after a sumptuous feast on Onam, children should listen to a story or more…

Hope you enjoy this Kadali Tale from my archives.

kadali

Reghu chanced upon a small cottage while on the run away from the nearby Chartusra city and in his travails, hungry and famished and with a bag laden with stolen valuables, the robber makes his arrival known to the inmates by coughing and gasping at their door. Vedha, the small time jeweller traded in his jewellery which was made at the cottage with Bhanu, his helping hand welcomed the tired robber not knowing his exact credentials. On inquiring as to why he looked so tired and out of breath, he said he was a trader from Chartusra and had been followed by robbers while coming this way to Patali, the port city, the same place where Vedha used to sell his home made jewellery.

Reghu was welcomed as a guest and was told, he could stay for a few days before he could gain enough strength to go to Patali. One day Reghu’s eyes fell upon the golden bunch of 4 Kadali kept in front of the Lord and worshiped by Sree, Vedha’s wife, Reghu was thinking of adding it to his collection. The old caretaker and help, Bhanu to whom Sree was just like a daughter took good care of them all. Bhanu was not happy about Reghu but Vedha dismissed his fears and allowed Reghu to stay. With stolen silver and gold coins he impressed upon the jeweller to make a replica of the Kadali saying it would fetch him a good price at Patali. The jeweller obliged and took a week before finishing one, an exact replica of the one which he had made earlier on Sree’s request.

Once the work was completed and Reghu getting impatient and tired of the stay with the lovely couple, one day kills them and flees but not before taking the work in progress jewels and the two Kadali bunch. After walking for two days and night he came across a plain land with not much human habitation near a placid river. As dusk was approaching he thought of burying the 2 golden priceless Kadali. He chose one huge old jack-fruit tree to bury one near it. As he was in the process, a fearful spirit came down the tree and asked him what he was doing. Reghu told her that he was hiding this Kadali which he had in his hand and said he would return in a week to claim it. She agreed and asked him about the other banana jewel he had in his bag. Reghu on second thought thought of burying the other one too there, but she told him to hide the second one, a hundred yards away as she could not stand the sight of the divine jewel. Do claim this one in a week otherwise you will forfeit it and I will not allow anyone who comes in possession of it, any peace, was her parting words.

Reghu walked a hundred yards and came upon a mango tree near the river bank and as instructed started burying the Lord’s Kadali there. A benevolent spirit came down the tree and asked what he was doing…. He said that he was burying the Jewel in his possession and showed it to her. So be it, she said with a smile, I will guard this till it reaches the rightful owner and help him in any test that he is put to, she murmured to herself..and went back to the tree.

The river was in full flow and had submerged most of the land when he came back after selling the stolen jewels and the coins with a few workers to set up a home. To his surprise he found the landscape had changed thanks to the flood. The marked trees had got uprooted and he knew not where his twin treasure lay buried. He was seen digging most of the time but never told his servants as to what he was looking for. They deserted him soon after his money got over. He was now a man gone mad…

Years had passed by with the jewels remaining hidden where they lay for a few generations. The land had changed much and it was a small village now. Jinu was a landless worker who got a tract of land on lease from the greedy village officer to plant banana plantains. Half of the produce he would need to give to the officer as per the deal struck between them. As expected and to Jinu’s happiness, the first crop turned out well. One day while digging a canal to water the plants in the land, he came upon one of the golden plantains. He took it to Jayaram the local jeweler who had a good look at it and gave a small token to Jinu assuring him the rest of the money, but as a law abiding citizen, he had to talk to the village officer first about its antiquity before he could sell it as the laws had changed. He showed it to the village officer the same day who kept it with himself though he told Jayaram and Jinu that he would be handing it to the higher officials in the government and had no plans to keep anything to himself. The next day he told Jinu he had other plans and asked him to stop using the land for his planned second crop.

Jinu was out of work and was finding it difficult to sustain himself after whatever money he had on him ran out. He could see that the tract of land was fully dug up by the village officer in the hope that he would get some more of such golden Kadali, but his search for more treasure turned futile. Meanwhile Jinu again approached the village officer after a couple of weeks to use the tract of land for plantation, but he was driven out.

The village officer’s wife was fascinated by the golden fruit so much that she took it daily out of the strong box to marvel at it. The fascination increased so much that the officer had to hide it in another room and lock it. Meanwhile Jinu thought of planting a few banana plantains around his small home near the river bank where he was forced to retire. At least it will keep him from hunger once his efforts bore fruit. He prayed to Krishna at his home that the first fruit from his land will be gifted to him. As he dug another canal he came upon another golden plantain which was the exact replica of the first one he had got, but this time he made good his promise and bestowed the golden marvel to Krishna. Whenever he prayed, the golden jewel would change to real bananas and he would take one as prasadam(offering from the Lord).

One day he chanced upon Tulsi standing nearby who happened to watch him at his plantation work. He inquired of her and came to know that she was jeweler Jayaram’s daughter. One day she asked if she could assist him at his work in the plantation. He replied on one condition that she should accept her fair share of the produce once it materialized to which she gladly agreed.

The officer came to know that Jinu had a small plantation around his house. Somehow be didn’t like it but also couldn’t do much about it. Jayaram paid a visit to Jinu and saw the bunch of 4 bananas with a golden hue kept near Krishna’s idol. Oh! how marvelous a sight and so golden, said he after tasting the one from the bunch offered to him by Jinu. Can I have one more..Why not sir…take two, one for Tulsi too, smiling at her, who was standing at the door. The much pleased Jayaram had never had such a tasty fruit and he expressed the same while having it. Sir, my Krishna’s prasadam is always like his love. The more you love Him, more sweet will be your offering to Him and so, his prasadam in return. Being a devotee himself, Jayaram was no doubt thrilled by Jinu’s company. He and his daughter became frequent visitors. One day Jinu revealed to Jayaram, his wish to marry Tulsi. But Jayaram first decided to put Jinu to the test before he could approve his request.

Krishna

Jayaram asked Jinu. This bunch of mini kadali that you offer to Krishna daily…can you show me the plantain which yields such sweet bananas to you. Jayaram was sure no plantain could yield a bunch daily, in fact not more than one in its lifetime and with Jinu having not more than a dozen odd plantains, there seemed to be a mystery about them which he wanted to unravel.

Jinu was in a fix as to what he should say when an old woman came that way and asked for some ripe banana as food to be given. Jinu said I can give you some rice and vegetable but I doubt I can give you a banana at this time as it was well last noon and his kadali prasadam could yield real banana only before noon based on his experience.

The old woman laughed a bit loudly, much to Jinu’s and Jayaram’s consternation. You call yourself a planter? There, yonder. I can see a bunch of fine kadali. Jinu rushed to his garden and much to his surprise there was one ripe kadali bunch awaiting them. He took it down and gave to the woman. No, I don’t want all of this, maybe you can give the better share of this to your guest here, smilingly pointing at Jayaram. Saying so, the woman took leave.

Jayaram was a bit disturbed and left with a perplexed mind. The next day he sent Tulsi to bring a bunch of fresh Kadali. Tulsi came in the morning as was her wont, to Jinu’s house, prayed to Krishna, took two of the prasadam kadali and there were only two left for the day. Father has sent me for a bunch if you could provide it. Jinu at a loss went to the same tree and there, lo another bunch of ripe bananas was waiting to be taken down.

This went on for a few days. Jayaram came on the fourth day himself and examined the tree. There was none. He was going to win he thought when another woman appeared asking for something to eat. Jinu asked what he could give her. Don’t bother I will go inside and take what I need. She went inside and was not to be seen for sometime. Both went in to see her feasting on a bunch of freshly plucked kadali. Jayaram was at a loss of words and failed to understand what was going on. He asked Jinu from where this bunch came when Tulsi appeared in the doorway saying I plucked it in the morning before you two had even got up and kept it here.

The woman had her fill and after blessing Jinu and Tulsi and laughing at Jayaram went her way. It was a matter of a few weeks time before Tulsi and Jinu got married on an auspicious day.

The village officer couldn’t sleep on many a night as he could hear someone pounding on the closed door. The noise from the room where he kept the golden Kadali, the disturbance from the roof as if someone heavy was trampling upon the tiles…the fearful shadow behind the curtains, the poor sight of his wife already at her wits end when she could not see the golden fruit anymore, now out of sight behind the closed door of the cursed room. It was just a matter of time before the officer too went mad after he saw the room ransacked, one day, by some robber and the golden Kadali missing…

The treat

Pravin and Raju both had to go to Matunga this week for some purchases. The roasted ground coffee at a wholesale shop had popular reviews so Pravin thought of adding it to his list of items at his shop. Raju used to visit Matunga where he got his medical supplies from a supplier there. So on a Friday, they decided to shut their respective shops and made off to Matunga by train.

On getting down Pravin hurried to Bhimani Street to get his coffee and Raju took a cab to Maheshwari gardens area to place his new orders and hand over his check payments. It was a brisk walk for Pravin across to the shop selling varieties of coffee and with the ground coffee aroma, he thought he would swoon down in ecstasy. He made a few purchases from different varieties the shop had to offer and asked the shopkeeper to pack them up while he would go around the market to fish for other unique South Indian items that were on offer.

Raju luckily was able to place orders, without wasting time on the supplies he needed for his medical shop. He circled the Maheshwari Udyan as he loved walking and soon he was at the Asthika Samaj Temple on Bhandarkar street, went inside and offered his prayers and came out and continued walking towards the Matunga market. He had to find out Pravin fast. They had decided upon the post office as their meeting point exactly two hours after they had parted their ways.

Raju paused as he passed the flower shops on the western side of the street, went into one of the shops that sold meetha paan. Took it and dumped it into his mouth. He loved this paan (sweet betel) from this shop and made it a habit to have one on his monthly visits to the place. Slowly chewing and savoring it, he walked gulping down the contents and was soon at the meeting place where he waited for Pravin near the letter box.

Before long, Pravin walked with two big bags that seemed heavy for him to manage by himself and gave one to the tall and well built Raju. They both walked slowly to the Railway station which was a few hundred metres away. That’s when Raju realised he was hungry and it would be good to visit the Irani restaurant that invited them, a few steps away.

Being a Friday and that too around 11 am there were not many customers in the rickety wooden chairs surrounding a few marble topped tables at the shop. There was some old Hindi song playing on the radio which appeared to be a prized possession of the Irani gentleman sitting at the cashier desk who had a welcome in his eyes as they stepped in. Some part of the shop had the sun streaming its shine and therefore our chaps decided to take position at a table in the shade and below one of the three ceiling fans which to the observant Pravin appeared as old as the gentleman smiling at the desk.

What would you like to have, Raju? asked Pravin as both of them placed the bags down. I would go for a toast omelette with special tea. I would settle for a veg cheese omelette. They placed the order with the serving boy who appeared at their desk from  nowhere. Where was he when we came in? We didn’t notice him, a smiling Pravin asked. Raju looked at the young chap and gave the order and asked him to make it fast, if he wanted a generous tip. He disappeared just as he had appeared, into the kitchen. Pravin tapped his fingers on the table to the music and looked around. Raju was a bit engrossed looking at the medical supplies order copy in his hand.

A poor man walked in, a bit fidgety, placed himself at the far end on the sunny side and drank a cup of water from the water container kept on the table. He took a couple of currency notes and a few coins from his pocket on the table and went through the menu kept on the table. Pravin was watching the person closely now. It appeared there was nothing he could buy except perhaps a cup of plain tea. He went through the menu once again and made quick calculations by looking at his scant store. With moist eyes he placed an order for plain tea and waited for it.

What Raju, you are looking at those order forms and keeping so quiet. It is time to have a small celebration today. What’s the occasion, a gleaming Raju asked. Not because Pravin was a miser but very rarely his grocer friend gave treats. You don’t know? Come on, it is my wedding anniversary he proclaimed as he stood up while making a bit of a show with his hands spread. He walked across to the cashier and loudly said cha-cha today is my wedding anniversary. Mubarak ho beta. What can I do for you? asked the old man at the desk.

Please serve a cream roll and a coconut cake on my behalf to all others sitting here. And yes, a special tea too. The Parsi gentleman looked around. There was only a poor man sipping tea at the other occupied table. Alas! If only a few more customers had come that time of the day, he would have sold more cream roll and cakes!

The Ants and the Snake

Once, there lived scores of  ants in an ant hill. They had built the hill over years of labor from the mud on a slope away from the paths men frequented. It was a desolate place with a lot of shrubs and grass. Not many creatures frequented this way except for one who had lost the way and therefore their location was not known to many.

Their fort was well protected by the myriads of soldiers in the nearby vicinity who were ready to pounce on any intruder or predator including some men who wanted to bring it down whenever they chanced this way. Soldier ants and the regional chiefs co-ordinated every hour and discussed the weather and the wind which were also a risk to their stronghold. From the ground, for tiny them, the hill looked as tall as a mountain which might take an hour to climb, even for the swiftest among them.

The Queen had to be protected at all costs. If there was an invasion and the commander in chief thought they and the fort would not be able to survive the onslaught, there was a small army kept within the palace to transport the queen to a safer destination in minutes. For that a couple of forts at a distance were already prepared and maintained daily. The food and water rations were stored at appropriate locations at various places in and around the hill for the army of ants. Special squads were sent far to detect any smoke or bush fire that might pose a risk to their lodgings.

On one side of the mound, a couple of rats burrowed their holes and decided to stay put there. Since they didn’t mean harm to the inhabitants of the fort, they were not attacked. In a few weeks time, a snake that meandered that way, chanced upon the rats stay. It decided to make an attack on the fortress. It circled the hill, crushing many soldier ants who tried to bite the intruder as he wriggled upon their ramparts and made a run to the many holes dug by the rats. The rats ran into the bushes and disappeared.

The snake thought of pitching his tent in the hill though every day he met some resistance from the soldier ants who were dead against this slimy creature putting the fort at siege. Daily hundreds of ants died or got injured from the snake’s movement who used to go in and out as if he owned the place.

A group of children from nearby homes who had thought of making this place a playground for their vacations, cleared some of the bushes and the grass. At first they met high resistance from the ants but who then retreated to the fort lest they meet with lethal consequences from them or their parents. Every day they started playing games metres away from the ant hill which was well hidden among the bushes.

The snake also was aware of the children playing at a distance but ignored them as they didn’t seem to threaten him. Oblivious to him, he continued dealing deaths and injuries to the ants on his meanderings. The ants sometimes irritated him but for the cool comfort of this mud hill, he could tolerate them till the rains arrived.

This could not go on for long this way. The snake has to be driven out and the children too since they might wreak the hill if they ventured into the bushes, thought the commander in chief. He sought a meeting with the queen and the elders group. I don’t know why the queen persists with this group of elders. They just pamper her, eat and drink and while away their time. And the queen calls them worldly wise. I, in my lifetime haven’t heard any wise words from them except citing issues with the way I operate!

The meetings with the queen and her group of the advisory board was either short or a long drawn out affair. There were times when he was dismissed in minutes and days when he used to sit hours and get audited on his actions. But this time it would be different. He would strike terron in their hearts and ask for more batallion and thereby increase his stature while trying his best against the snake and the children.

The court was already assembled as he stormed in with his bodyguards and took his seat. After the initial customary greetings they came to discuss the safety of the fort. The queen cast a glance on him which was a signal for him to voice his concern. He gave a lengthy speech often trying to embed fear in the group if immediate steps weren’t taken to get rid of the imposter snake and the children.

We will make an attack on the snake with 5000 soldiers and another 10000 would be needed to drive away the children. He made his point and sat down. That is the size of our full army including those who guard our backup forts. One of the elders remarked and continued. We cannot put at risk losing 15000 of our men sending them on a mission where there is a feeble hope of winning. But we can’t stand idle when daily we lose hundreds of our soldiers. This way we would lose either way before the rains, said the commander trying his best.

The queen asked of the eldest ant in the group. Is there no other way, Sir? The eldest closed his eyes as that was his habit while trying to arrive at the solution. After a couple of minutes he opened his eyes and said that there was one. Tomorrow morning nobody will bother the snake.  Let a hundred soldiers march back and forth every day morning until further orders to the eastern fort which is the nearest to the children’s play area. Let the queen be shifted tonight to the western fort deepest in the bushes. Let us abandon this fort tonight and let the remaining thousands assemble at the west until further orders with the queen.

What do you have in mind, asked the Queen. Your majesty, the queen, you must have faith in me but the strategy will be disclosed later. Please arrange to issue necessary orders since we have to act on this immediately.  The Queen made the orders and put the commander and his deputies into the act. They murmured a bit as to what good would come of this but they obeyed the orders to the word for that was how they were brought up.

The next day morning, the snake woke up to see there were no ants to disturb him. He peeped out of the hole. Yes there they are, he was amused but at the same time curious. They are all marching to the smaller ant hill. Why would that be? Maybe the rats are there after running from here. No, they would never come within 100 metres of me. He surveyed the other parts of the fort. Yes the ants have made a transition to their new place. But why?

The question came to him again and again without an answer. Then a fear crept into his mind. The weary ants, did they sense any danger here for them to abandon this well built fortress. The children had come today but only two of them were there. He could dodge their eyes and quietly scramble into the smaller ant hill and see what the ants were upto. He wriggled quickly towards the play area and that is when the children saw him go into the nearby ant hill. When they realised the danger they fled towards their houses raising an alarm. The chain of ants were asked to stop the marching and asked to immediately get back to the western fort as soon as they saw the snake at the eastern fort.

All the ants were at the western fort and asked to bide their time till further orders from the commander. All were looking at the play area and getting bits of information from the few sentries posted  at the gates. There was a lot of commotion when a group of people came running with sticks and a bag. They destroyed the Eastern fort in a minute to unearth the snake who made a run to the central fort but was beaten, caught and secured in a bag. Some of the men came into the bushes and found the towering but now deserted ant hill and destroyed it also and went back. On the way back they were heard rebuking the children for selecting this area for their play.

The same day evening the queen had assembled a quick meeting to discuss future plans and congratulate everyone on the turn of events in their favor. The elderly advice had saved them from daily casualties and impending doom. They put up plans to build a big fort after the rains. Till then the queen and her army would continue their stay at the western fort as per the meeting minutes. If only they had asked for elderly advice earlier, many more lives would have been saved, some soldiers were heard saying to each other. The commander wiser from this experience now understood that Every problem with our enemies may not have a military solution always…

The Caretaker

Vinu came up to the cinema booking counter. Gasping for breath, he requested ” 2 tickets please“. It was the fifth day the new movie was playing at the theatre. Reji at the cash counter asked him “All alone today?” to which he replied ” she is not keeping well“. Reji gave the change back but before he could ask why two tickets, Vinu had vanished into the crowd.

A few days back while coming from the weekly market hosted by the neighboring town, Vinu was getting worried as he still had 2 long miles to cover before he could reach the fields where his village was. It was getting slightly dark although the rising moon seemingly bigger than usual, heralding a full moon night comforted him. The next 15 to 20 minutes would be treacherous, he thought. He was also thirsty and cursed himself for not carrying a bottle of water on him. He had heard a few stories from the villagers about these woods and they came to him now, he hurried almost breaking into a run. This was the place where robbers used to trouble weary travelers and the poor villagers who went this way to the weekly market. In the morning, he had gone with Hari and Shyam, but they had returned back early, he had said he would be right behind them, but had lost a lot of time in the market loitering around all the stalls making those several item purchases which was asked of him.

“What is the hurry comrade, are you afraid of the darkness or is it that you are carrying something valuable that you don’t want to share with us?” came a whispering voice at close quarters. Very soon a hand on his shoulder and a knife placed on the other prompted him to turn slowly. There were two of them with handkerchiefs tied around their mouth. “You are a good lad. Let us relieve you of the burden that you have carried so far safely to us. Now will you run across the fields to your home where your people would be worrying about you. Tell them your goods were stolen here and they will believe you, since this is not the first time it has happened“.

Vinu, of 15 years although a brave lad, started crying. How could he face those who had given money to his volunteering for small purchases on the eve of the festival. Dinakar his wealthy neighbor had gifted him 50 extra rupees for bringing his ordered goods. How he and Vimla, his childhood friend had planned to see the new movie that would be shown in the theatre with this prize money. Now as he walked alone crying thinking about his impending loss of face on his arrival back home, he hated going home and decided to stay put in the woods. The fear of the woods and the thieves had vanished. How one fear, the fear of facing them all had become the primary one and banished all others out of his mind.

What if he loitered around and found the robbers den and recover his goods if they had let their guard down. It was not only easy but risky too if they saw him or sensed his motive. A second meeting would turn out to be a sour one and mighty unpleasant. “What can I do alone against the might of two grown up thieves. Who knows if there are more of them in the den. Oh if there was some goodness in the forest let it come now to help me out“, he cried out to no one in particular but hoping that someone in the dark woods might take pity on him.

“What are you doing here at this time of the hour. Don’t you know that I frequent this path on the new moon day and why are you crying“. The harsh tone suddenly changed soft. Vinu looked up to see a goddess form standing in front of him. “Who are you?”, in all innocence, he asked. “No I am not that
which you are thinking. I can assume any form I wish and to you I would look like how you see me now. I am the caretaker of the woods here. I see that no harm comes to it and no one disturbs the sanctity of these good old trees. Now can you tell me your story that made you cry?”

Vinu recounted all that he had experienced in the last hour and how his hopes of seeing the movie with his earned money seemed to have dashed to the ground. “Don’t worry about the movie now whatever it is. Let me handle your case. How do you want your goods back. Do you want to smoke them out or drown them all“. “No, no.. Nothing of that, just let us go and get my goods and if they see us, can you frighten them out of your magic prowess which I assume you must have“, he paused looking at her.

The smiling spirit said, “So be it. Let your imagination run wild but keep holding my hand firmly so that no harm comes to you. At the forest shrine at the outskirts, a lot of your villagers had come to me with complaints for the past few months. Some of them have given me small presents and promised
more if I can get rid of these gang of thieves”.

They walked hand in hand and at every step Vinu kept looking at the face of the forest caretaker who had appeared to him as a goddess and also to assure himself that every moment of it was real. When the caretaker of the place walks with you why should one fear. The spirit said to him. “I will give all
what you lost, what will you give me in return”. “I will, I will…” nothing came to his head all the more because he wanted to gift something valuable in return. Lost for words, he put a question back. “Ask
me. What do you want me to give and if I am blessed , I surely will?“. “You truly are blessed little one, or else why would the wonder of time make us cross each other’s paths today. I will ask my gift when I have helped you with the return of your goods. Come on now, and as we walk, tell me all about the village, the villagers, the theatre and the movie that you intend to see”. Vinu though tired went on rattling everything he knew like a tourist guide that made even the spirit sigh and whisper, “How I wish to be a part of your sweet little village“.

They had come to a clearing in the forest where a few trees had met the axe and logs were arranged in a circle with a small fire lit at the center. The gang of four now were resting and one or two wandering off to sleep. “There it is! my sack of good things. Let me go and get it”. But the spirit
holding on to him said they will walk together into the ring. As they walked into the ring, there was everything that would warrant a fight. One of them noticed the lone Vinu and started laughing at which the other got up and started towards the boy with a stick. “Unless he gets a sound beating,
he will not remember to go home“. Vinu at the sight of the stick thought of running away but the forest spirit invisible to others held on to his hand and whispered to him that he would not be harmed. 

All of a sudden, a pack of wild dogs descended on to the place and started fighting with each other barking ferociously at the party of thieves who didn’t know how to contain the animals who had come uninvited. They beat a hasty retreat with the pack close on their heels. “I don’t think they
would come back here for a few days or so, and then I would deal them in my own way”. Vinu, all smiles, tired and famished thanked her when she picked a bunch of fruits from a tree which he ate in no time sitting on the ground. “Now pick up your sack and let me come with you till the outskirts in case you fall into another situation. Why don’t you come with me to the village, stay with us and enjoy the festivities? I will also take you to the Cinema and we can watch the new movie”. She smiled, “Good lad, I have a lot of work here, but yes, whenever you go to your theatre for the movie, have a seat beside you for me, so that we can watch it together. And make me a promise, you wouldn’t tell anyone what happened here and about me helping you”. Both of them hand in hand walked across the tall mighty trees spread out like a procession and the moon light so very bright peeped into the dense foliage lighting up their path to the fields. All the way back, Vinu was telling the spirit how glad he was to get out of the forest that night without any injuries, thanked her at the perimeter of the fields where she stood still, till his diminutive figure vanished into one of the houses.

When Vinu arrived that night, half of the village was awake looking out for his arrival and how glad they were to see him walking back across the fields, especially Hari and Shyam who had arrived earlier without him and subjected to a lot of scolding from the elders for not taking care of the boy on the way back. Heaping blessings on the boy and a lot of thanksgiving to the forest deity, they all retired to their houses. The next day, a lot of people came back for their goods and were glad to see him having picked the finest at best rates. But towards the evening, he developed high fever and was in bed for a few days, though now and then few came to enquire about his wellbeing especially Vimla.

After 4 days into the festival, the fifth day he went to Vimla’s house wanting to ask her out to see the new movie which had run for four days and might disappear on the seventh day. But it seemed he had passed on his fever to her and she was not all in a position to accompany him that day or the next. A sad Vinu, ambled across to the theatre all alone. At that point he remembered what the forest goddess had told him, she will come and sit beside him if he had a vacant seat reserved for her. With a rush of happiness coming back, he ran to the cinema and bought tickets for both of them.

The cinema hall was always packed during the Navratri festival, as most of the villagers was seeing it many times over; he hurried across the hall searching for the seats, as his eyes was getting adjusted to the darkness. He seated himself and waited for her. Within a few minutes, he sensed her hand in his, her typical fragrance but couldn’t see her because of the darkness. “So you came, just as you promised!“. “Yes, I never break my promise“, she replied in a sad way. The movie started immediately and Vinu was all eyes and ears into the movie and enjoyed it thoroughly. As the movie ended, he looked at the forest spirit, she was almost invisible, though he knew she was there. “Why cannot I see you now?” “You will, whenever our paths cross next time, but for now, you will have to content with my presence“. They walked out hand in hand just as they had walked through the woods. Vinu was silent, he had broken his part of the promise as he had confided to Vimla about the encounter in the woods. She bade him a whisper of a goodbye with Vinu hoping that they would meet in the near future, the dense woods willing…