Urvashi : heart touching short story

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Urvashi

Urvashi

She was not an ordinary woman. But it was her dream to live an ordinary life. A household lady cooks for her family, takes care of her children, obeys her husband, listens to her elder family members, follows some social rules made for household persons, practices some religious rituals in her everyday life. But Urvashi was not like that. She was not shy just like other ladies. She did not have to work hard like an ordinary lady does for her family. She did not have a family, a husband, a child. She had wealth, a big and well decorated residence, several workers, fame, but she had nobody who was her own. People admired her art, her performance, her beauty, but nobody ever felt that she also had a heart, she had her own emotions. She also needed love instead of just lust.

She was Urvashi. It was not her birth name, she was famous with this name. By profession she was a famous dancer of Lukhnow. People used to contact her in their social occasions to perform amazing art of music. The people from Royal court were her regular audience and there were plenty of rich citizens of Lukhnow who used to visit her regular performance. The kings of several states used to contact her in their recreation rooms. She was only 21 years old, well trained in Indian classical music and dance. There was nobody who could compete with her.

Sometimes, in the lazy hours of day time, she tried to remember her childhood in her village. She was a loving daughter of her father. Her elder brother also loved her very much. She could remember those happy days with her mother. Her father was a poor man. He  only had some crop-field and from that income of farming , he carried on all the expenses of the family. Once his educated brother tried to consume all his properties, but failed. Till then the relation between two brothers was bitter. One day the little girl was playing in the field with her friends. She was 10 years old then. When she was returning home alone from the play ground of the village, some people covered her face with a cloth and after a short struggle, she became unconscious by a sharp smell. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in this big city. She was imprisoned in a house and a middle aged cruel woman was her guardian. She lived there two weeks.

From there, another pretty woman took her along. She was kind-hearted and loved the poor little girl very much like her own daughter. She cried and appealed to be send back to her village. But nobody listened to her. 

One day she tried to escape from there. But she became puzzled into the heavy traffic and complex roads of the city. The cruel woman caught and beat her. She tried it for the second time when she came to the next house, but the pretty woman, called 'Gulabi aunt, didn't even scold her, instead she spoke with softness that, it was impossible to go back home. She too was trapped like her when at her age. Gulabi aunt named her 'Urvashi'.

Gradually Urvashi accepted 'Gulabi aunt' as her guardian and she became habituated in her new circumstance. She started to learn music and dance under Gulabi aunt and at her 18 years of age, she became famous for her perfection and her beauty. 

When she was 20, almost all  men of Lukhnow city was fond of her beauty. Among them, was an 18 year old boy who was blind to her. He was Brajesh. He was even prepared to die for her. It was fun for Urvashi. The boy was younger and was immature. So she treated him like a little boy. Brajesh even used to come at day time. Urvashi liked him. Because he could not even speak in front of her. He told about his feelings for Urvashi to her maids. The maids also took his childish behaviour as fun.

Brajesh wanted to propose his feeling of love to Urvashi everyday, but failed every time to expose his words to her. But Urvashi understood his feelings. But Brajesh was an young boy and he didn't even know  properly what 'love' is. She felt sorry for that boy, but it was not possible for her to encourage him to be a freak. After all she was not an household woman. It was not possible for an young boy like Brajesh to fight against the society.

One night, after her evening performance, Urvashi was taking some rest in her room. She heard some noise on the road. She came to her second storey veranda to see what was going on. But when she came, nobody was there on the road. So she returned to her room and felt a man with a sharp dagger pointed towards her standing beside the door. But when they looked at each other, he lowered the knife.

"Who are you? Why are you here at this time?" Urvashi asked without moving her gaze from the man's beautiful eyes.

"Ratnajit". The man was also lost himself  in her eyes. After sometime he said, "I need to go."

"When will you come again?" Urvashi asked.

"I don't know!" The man replied. "May be tomorrow; may be never."

Ratnajit left that house silently. When he was gone, Urvashi felt a strange feeling deep inside her heart. That night she couldn't sleep. Her consciousness was covered by two beautiful eyes.

Next evening she had to perform in king's palace. But she could not concentrate properly in her art form. The performance was not as usual that evening. After returning home, she waited whole night for Ratnajit. But he did not came.

In the morning Brajesh came with a news. He told, a man was caught by the guards of the king. He was an external merchant in the city market of Lukhnow. The guards caught him near Urvashi’s residence the previous night.

Urvashi became aware. She asked Brajesh, "How does he looks like?"

Brajesh described the man. Urvashi became sure that it was Ratnajit. She asked, "What did he do?"

"Nothing!" Brajesh said. "Actually somebody theft some precious ornaments  of the queen. The king ordered his security guards to find out the thief in four days. Otherwise he will give them death penalty. But the guards failed to find out the original thief, and so, they were seeking a man to represent as the thief. The merchant was new in this city. There is nobody, who can support him in the royal court. So he was their easy target. They chased him before two nights. He was vanished in this area near Urvashi’s residence. Next night they caught him and imprisoned him."

Urvashi was speechless. That afternoon she went to the prison with Brajesh to meet Ratnajit. The man was sitting inside the cell completely depressed. When he looked at Urvashi, his eyes flashed with happiness. But Urvashi was sad. She knew that, he was going to die as per the state's law. Then king would not listen even to her. Yet she asked the guards to leave him free, because he was innocent. One of them gave her a suggestion, "We need a thief to save ourselves. If you can arrange anybody else, then we can let him go. We have no envy to him."

When returning to her home by a horse carriage, she was very upset. Brajesh noticed her emotions for Ratnajit. He asked Urvashi, "Do you love him?" Her tears gave him the answer. It ailed him deeply. They both were silent then. When they reached at Urvashi’s door-step, Brajesh told her, "I never dared to tell you that 'I love you'. I love you more than anything in this world. I love you more than myself. You love that man. It is fine to me. Because I love your emotions too. You will get back that man. But I have a request to you, please don't forget me ever. Good bye my love."

Urvashi did not listened to him properly. Her concentration was in another thought. When Brajesh left, she entered into the house and announced to Gulabi aunt that, she was not feeling well and could not perform that evening. She spent whole evening and night into her room weeping and thinking a way to save Ratnajit's life. But she couldn't solve the problem.

Next morning, she was really ill, a maid came to her bed room and informed that a man came to meet her. She came to the sitting room and with a great surprise saw Ratnajit stood there. She was too surprised to speak anything. Ratnajit said, "Thank you very much madam. You are a kind hearted lady. You have saved my life. But I have to say you something. The boy, whom you sent there in my place, do not deserve death. Rather my death was better to me....."

"What? A boy? I have send a boy?" Urvashi was more astonished.

"Yes! That boy, who was with you the previous day." Ratnajit told her.

Now all the words told by Brajesh became clear to her. "Where is he now?" She asked with panic.

"Probably he is now in Royal court. The king will give him a death sentence today." Ratnajit informed her with a great sorrow.

"That crazy boy...." She ran toward the entrance door and caught a horse-carriage on the road. She was in her night gown, bare feet, uncombed hair. She told the cart driver, "To the Royal palace! Hurry up!"

When she entered into the royal court, the guards stopped her at the gate. But when they recognised her, let her go inside. There were a crowed of men from different classes. At the middle of the court room floor, Brajesh was standing tied with chain like an animal. The king asked him, "Do you have anything to say in your favour?"

"My Lord! I am the real thief. I have nothing to say anything in favour of me." Brajesh replied the king.

"Anybody want to say anything about him?" The king asked to the crowed. Then Urvashi came beside Brajesh and appealed, "I have to say something My Lord. May I?" The king gave her a sign to tell.

"My Lord! He did nothing." Brajesh surprised with Urvashi’s words. "I am that thief. I theft those jewellery from Honourable Queen's dressing room. He knows it. He loves me. So he is only trying to save me."

"Hmm! Fine! Where is those things now?" The king asked to her.

"I have sold them all in a hidden market." Urvashi lied.

The king now smiled a little and asked her, "Now tell me, what types of jewellery items were there?"

Now Urvashi felt uneasy. She stuttered and named some random items. The king then asked Brajesh. He also stuttered. The king told them, "So, none of you are thieves. Now tell me what's the matter? Why are you pretending so?"

Urvashi told all the story what was really happened. The king ordered the guards to free them and he seized those corrupted guards.

Outside of the Royal court, Brajesh asked Urvashi, "Why is your get-up like this?" Urvashi slapped him all of a sudden, "You crazy boy! Why did you do this? If anything happened to you? I was so scared. But God saved you." 

"It was you who saved me. But why have you came here and took the blame upon you? Were you going to die for me?" Brajesh asked.

"Yes." Urvashi replied with a red face. 

"But you told me, you love that man."

"I was wrong. Actually I love you. I have realized it when I came to know that you are in danger. I felt my world was getting dark. I felt like suffocated. Please don't do it again."

They were walking side by side. Brajesh held her hand softly. Urvashi turned back and saw it was not that 'funny', 'crazy' boy whom she used to know. Rather, he was a perfect lover who could die for her. Who was caring to her. Who was her own man. Brajesh kissed on her soft lips and said, "Promise".

An Eternal Song : short story

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An Eternal Song

Santali festival of Spring

The Santals are an ethnic group, native to Nepal and the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. Santals are the largest indigenous tribe in India in terms of population. Their life-style is very simple. They struggle against poverty and sometimes this struggle lead them to starvation. They worship 'Marang buru' or 'Bonga' as the Supreme Deity. 'Sohrai' is the principal festival of Santali community. Besides that Baha, Karam, Dansai, Sakrat, Mahmore, Rundo, Magsim etc. are important.
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Santali woman with her children

Spring comes with the presentation of colour in hills and the jungles of Jharkhand. The buds of flowers woke up after winter and bloom themselves to welcome the Spring. Butterflies also leave the shelter of caterpillar (God knows who informs them) and come to join in nature's festival of colour. Trees wear green dresses of new leaves. Various birds come to fill the air with chirping.

The Santals, who live in the lap of nature, also join in this festival. The Santali villages inside and outside of the jungle start their festival of flower "Baha". Men and women attire in their tradition clothes and celebrates the festival in joyous mood.

The naikey (the priest) performs a ritual in this festival. A kula(a flat container made by bamboo skin) with flowers and leaves of the shaal tree is offered to a Jaherthan (the altar) and devotees pray to "Jaher Ara", the god. After performing the rituals, the naikey along with others goes from door to door with the kula to bless everyone. People in the household, in particular young girls or women, offer food to the naikey. The naikey's feet are washed with water as he is welcomed by a family. After performing the rituals, the second part of programme start with dances, songs and archery practice.

The shaal forest was ringing that afternoon with the bass sound of beating 'dhamsa'. It was sending message "Everybody come into the festival ground". Mungri, a 16 years old girl was preparing herself with flower ornaments to go to the dance floor of festival ground. Her mother was helping her. Other girls, who were her friends, came to call her. When they were leaving, Mungri's mother reminded them to go and offer flowers to Bonga. The girls agreed with her and continued walking.

When they reached at Bonga's sacred place, a group of boys were also there offering flowers to the Holy Deity. They were carrying madals with them. They were from their neighbourhood village. When they became face to face, Mungri's eyes stuck upon a boy among them. He was probably 17 or 18. Dark skin, sharp physique, wearing a green cloth, a garland and a cloth-belt around head with flowers and green leaves. The boy was also gazing at her while going with his companions. Other girls watched it and laughed in unison. Mungri became embarrassed and then joined with her friends to Bonga.

When they reached on the festival ground, the elder women already started the 'sereng' (song) of Baha parab. The girls placed brass container with leaves and flowers on their head and started their traditional dance. Mungri saw that boy beating madal and looking at her frequently. The whole community was enjoying the festival with their traditional music, food and mahua (an intoxicating liquor made from flowers of mahua tree). A wave of pure bliss overflowed the shaal forest.

When Mungri was returning home that night from the festival ground with her friends, thrilling tunes of cuckoo were echoing the nocturnal atmosphere in shaal forest. Though the full moon enlightened the world with it's silvery moonlight, they were carrying some flared sticks to walk through the jungle at night. The girls heard a footstep behind them. When they turned round to see what was it, they found that boy from the festival ground appeared to them and slowly handed Mungri some spring flower silently with demur. She accepted those flowers from him. They both were speechless, looking at each other. He had love in his eyes. She had shyness in her gesture. The cuckoo was thrilling them. Her friends were silent. It seemed that the earth had stopped it's movement.

The boy was returning to his village. Other boys of his group were standing in a distance with patience. Then one of them called him, "Sagun! Let's go! We are already late!" The boy returned to this world and unwillingly followed his companions and disappeared into the shaal forest.

Mungri returned into her consciousness when a friend pulled her with them. They were also late.

Mungri's father works in a coal mine as a labour. After the hard work of whole day, he use to drink 'haria'(a native alcohol

Santali village

famous among the tribes) and usually spend whole night under a tree. Sometimes he spends all his daily income to buy haria.

She had two elder brothers. They don't work and spend the whole day wandering into the forest and playing wild tunes in flute.

So her mother works hard to feed the family. But her works are not stable. Where they live, there is not much facility of jobs for an illiterate Santali woman. Sometimes she works in the crop fields of the farmers, but it is a seasonal work. Sometimes she works in local timber factories. She works hard, but the remuneration is very low. She can't manage to fulfil the daily necessities. Permanent insufficiency is one of her inseparable companions, it never leaves her. Poverty drives her from morning to night outside home in hard works. So, Mungri manages all the household works by herself at home. She maintains the room, cooks, serves food to her brothers, and when her mother returns home she takes meal with her. Then her mother carries lunch for her father and goes to work from there.

Santali old women

Festive season means no more hard work and only enjoy the contiguity of the community. But when the festival arrives to it's end, the daily routine pulls them into the harsh track of the monotonous life. Again they work hard to live. But Mungri's life was no more monotonous. A new episode of life was opened for her. Sagun started to come and meet her daily into the shaal forest and on the hillocks. He played his tunes with his flute for her. Her days became colourful with him.

After the spring, summer came with fire into the air. All the water tanks dried including the small streams. It seemed the sun became mad. There were no job for Mungri's mother. The timber mill were closed for uncertain time. The crop fields were dried as well. She tried hard to get a job, but failed. Then hard the days of starvation began.

When the family was suffering the hard days, an agent from Assam Tea Estate came to their village with a proposal of a job in the tea garden. Mungri's mother accepted that proposal. Though Mungri's father opposed it, but she didn't listen to him. At least she can feed her children there. Instead of that, some other families from their village were also accepted that opportunity.

One afternoon Mungri met Sagun to say 'good bye'. They both were speechless, holding hands. There were tears in Mungri's eyes. Sagun's eyes was filled with pain. An inflammatory sensation was burning his eyes and was obstructing his breath. When she was returning home at evening, Sagun was no more able to hold on his tears. He told Mungri, "We shall meet again. Don't forget me." Mungri wept and came back to home to be prepared for long journey.

Soon they started their new life in Assam Tea Estate. Mungri and her mother got job in the tea garden. They plucked tea leaves there with other women of various tribes. Her father got job in the tea factory where they processed the tea leaves. Her two brothers had no job there instead of roaming around. They got a hut to live just beside the tea garden. But the remuneration was also very low.

Life was very restricted here. The garden manager had recruited some people, who were known as 'Sardar', to watch over the labours. The workers had lost their freedom. A little delay was punished by whips of the Sardar. Even the women was not out of the whip's range. They had to work like animals tied with chain.

After whole day's hard work, they returned to their hut. Some people of their ghetto  sang their tradition songs. They missed their community life of the natural habitation. But they tried to keep their social practices by heart. They came from different places and different tribes, but here they lived like a single community. They sang together the wild music of the jungle. When they did so, they felt the jungle God 'Bonga' there, pleased on them. Sometimes the music continued till midnight. The spirit of jungle changed the atmosphere of the tea estate.

When a Santali or Munda boy piped his flute at the night, Mungri found herself back into the shaal jungle with Sagun. She could not able to concentrate on any house hold work that night. The memory of those days with Sagun compelled her to spend a sleepless night. Memory of swinging together into the jungle swing, laughing and running together on the rocks and hillocks attracted her back to their native land. Though there was no way to go back.

In this way, they spent there three years. Then suddenly the tea estate collapsed by a huge loss in market and closed for an uncertain period. The workers waited some day, but when they saw no sign of open it, they got prepared to return home.

It was the end of winter. After returning in home land Jharkhand, Mungri became very happy. She met with her friends and went to Sagun's village to give him the good

Santali village

news, but saw some of the huts of that village was empty. Sagun's hut was one of them. She became upset. She returned and asked her friends about Sagun. They didn't know anything about him. But they heard that some families from that village went to the city for job as labours of construction site. May be he went with them.

That year the festival of spring was colourless to Mungri. Though the beats of madal and dhamsa, fine tune of flute, traditional songs of Baha, flowers of shaal trees, thrilling notes of cuckoo were as usual into the jungle and hills, but Mungri found no spirit in it. Festival of pure bliss made her cry.

The first day of festival started with the colourful flowers of spring and the rituals. Mungri's mother prepared her for the festival ground as usual with flower ornaments. When her friends came to call her, her mother reminded them to offer Bonga some flowers.

All the girls were walking silently. They were sympathetic with Mungri. Arriving at Bonga's place, they offered some flowers and prayed for her. The southerly wind of spring carrying the fragrance of flowers. A tune of flute was ringing the air. Mungri kneeled down in the front of Bonga and started to cry loudly. Her friends were trying to ease her. But her eyes was overflowing with tears continuously.

Suddenly she felt a gentle familiar touch on her shoulder. Instantly she stopped crying. She thought that it was a dream. But when she turned back, it was reality. It was Sagun himself. She jumped on him and clung him tightly. She started again to cry louder.

Sagun brought some flowers for her. When he returned home that day of festival, he heard from his friends that Mungri came back and she was searching for him. He did not wait. He was impatient to meet her. Without taking any rest, he went to Mungri's home. There he met her mother and came to know that Mungri went for Bonga's sacred place. He came here and met her.

When Mungri became easy with her repressed emotions, Sagun handed her the flowers which he brought and kissed gently on her forehead. Mungri's face changed into purple  as she became shy. The girls laughed in their natural way. Mungri turned round from them to Bonga, and saw the God was also smiling.

She felt the festival of spring was no more colourless.
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The Puzzle Game of Life

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The Puzzle Game of Life

Life is not a smooth way to walk. You may think that you are successful in life, well established and secured, so you can spend the rest of your life in peace; you are wrong. May be you are leading your life in your own way, difficulty comes from the out of blue. You will discover that everything is out of order; and whatever you used to think , in the new situation they are good for nothing.

My name is Rohan. I am 35 years old married man. I have a son, who is six years old chatterbox and a virtuous wife. I live with my parents under the same roof. I am loyal to my wife. But, at present I have a great question mark on my loyalty. This question mark has become as a challenge towards my peaceful life. I don’t know how to overcome it. I don’t know what I have to do. I love my wife very much. I don’t want to lose her and my son as well.

Sneha was my best friend from the primary school. Her father was a friend of my father. So, from very childhood we know each other. We are almost same aged. We went to same school, same college. I had a lot of friends in school, but she was special to me. Because she could feel my each and every emotions, mental states, way of thinking. She knew me better than I did. So, we were best friends even in that hard time of adolescence. She had not any girlish emotion like other girls. May be for those reason, our friendship was very strong. We used to play indoor games together, bunk college classes and go to the movie. Even when I practiced football or cricket with my school team, she used to wait for me and after the practice we returned home together.

I know you are thinking that we were a sweet pair of love-birds. Well ! Let me say; everybody around us thought that, even our parents were not exception. But they were wrong. We were just best friends. We had no feeling like love-birds to each other. Even, in my request, she had introduced a lot of her friends with me to chose a girl friend. Thus I met her and felt what is the meaning of “Love at first sight”. I was in love with her in the very first day and I felt that the vice-versa is also happening. I was 19 then and she was 18. Now I am 35 and she is my wife. Still now we love each other as those days when we were floating on the sea of first love.

As I said previously that life is not a very smooth way to walk. If life gifts you a beautiful presentation in a particular crossing of this way, it will surely take something off from you for the cost of that presentation. I got love of my life, but lost my best friend.

I was too busy in my new world to notice that I was not paying much attention to Sneha. At first a little rift grew between us and as time passed this rift increased. When I became aware about this, it was too late. After graduation, Sneha went abroad for higher education without saying me ‘Good Bye’. I knew about it from her parents when I met them in a family get together after three months Sneha left the country. A sharp feeling of pain covered me instantly. In that sleepless night I realised that it was my fault. I was so busy in my life and dating with my love that I even not met her three months long. It is very unusual for a best friend.

After that the struggle of the settlement in the life began. The whole Sneha-episode went down in the dark chamber of my mind. After her fathers retirement Sneha’s parents went to live in Delhi where she had settled down her life as a University professor. Sneha did not met me, even did not bother to contact with me after college life. She left her best friend without saying a “Good Bye”.

Last week I went to a wedding party of one of my college friend. After 10 long years I met Sneha. She has changed enough to recognise as my once best friend. She has developed her personality as per her profession. At first she started to avoid me in the party. But I forced her to speak with me. I asked about her husband. She threw a strange expression to me which was neither pity nor sorrow, and with a fake smile she told me that she is happy to be a single woman.

It was uncomfortable for me. She is not Sneha, who was my best friend. That expression with mixed emotion is totally unknown to me. That fake smile to me is quite unnatural for her.

After the party, when I was returning home, I asked her, “Why were you left me without saying a Good Bye?” She did not answer me. Though there was no need to say anything. We were out of the marriage hall going to the car parking zone. It was a moonlit night. In the bright moonlight I saw tears rolling down her cheeks. Instantly the whole matter was clear to me as that shining cloudless sky with full moon.

Her painful expression is killing me still now. She was sensible about all of my emotions and mental states. But I even tot tried to understand her feelings properly. But it was not my fault. I had not same feeling for her. But now, I am puzzled with my feelings. What ever I used to think, everything is going wrong. My whole world has been changed. I am no more able to think straight. I don’t know what I have to do. I don’t want to lose my wife and son. I don’t want to lose my best friend as well.
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UpRooted : short story

short story

UpRooted

UpRooted : best short stories online

At the middle of the night Sunita woke up on her bed. Her eight months old daughter was sleeping just beside her. Whole village was silent except continuous barking of the village dogs. It seemed, they were alarming the villagers for something unknown. Sunita drew her sleeping daughter into her lap. She kissed her forehead. Since last month, her husband Manu went Kolkata seeking a job. So she had to live alone in her hut outside the village. Neither her family nor Manu's family accepted their inter-caste marriage. Due to this avoidance from both families, she had learned so much things at her twenty years of age. She gained much courage to live lonely outside the village.

Her father was a rich farmer in their village. She was only girl child among three siblings. She had two brothers, one older and the other younger. She grew up with caress of her family.

She met Manu when she was in school. Manu used to wait for her on the way after his school. He lived in neighbour village. They were almost same aged.

After finishing school Manu's father wanted him to join into their family business of carpentry. But Manu wanted to study more. His father was not agreed with him. Because he thought that higher study is nothing but wastage of money. Manu became stubborn and the relation became worse with his father. At last his father gave up and agreed with his son. But he clearly told that, he could not carry the expenses for his higher study.

Sunita took a hand fan and fanned her daughter. The weather was dull. After continuous heavy raining since eight days, the rain had stopped that night. The prosy sound of rainfall had been over. Instead of that, the sound of crickets and frogs filled the environment around the hut. An unknown blurred sound was also coming from a distance. The dogs were howling like wolves. Sunita felt, there was something wrong. She wanted to enquire what was going on. But she did not dare to leave her child lonely at the hut, or take her along into the darkness of outside. She could not decide what to do at that time. She hoped Manu was with her. So she was seated upon the bed steadily. Her memories of those days were making an uninvited crowd into her consciousness.

When her father pointed out her love affaire with a boy from separate caste, he stopped her going outside the home. But she became disobedient to her family for the first time. Her father and elder brother tried to restrict her but she never heard to them. The home environment was changed entirely. She knew about the rage of her father as well as her brother. She started to meet Manu secretly.

One day her brother caught them and the consequence was worst. The family of Manu was threatened by her father, and Manu's father did not tolerate that. He became very strict towards Manu and stopped his study to engage him in a job and started to find out a girl who belonged their own caste, for him to marry. Sunita's father seized her in her room. One night Manu knocked on her back window and they escaped from their. They married in a temple that night and started to live outside the village in a hut which was belonged to Manu's father's property.

Since then, both of the families declined any relation with them. At first Manu started to work hard in the village farms as a helper. But it was not sufficient. When their daughter born, insufficiency increased. So Manu had to go to Kolkata to find out a job.

Sunita enhanced the flame of the lantern. She never put it off at the night since Manu was out of home. But the bright light of the lantern failed to encourage her any more. She felt uneasy with the situation. When the dogs stopped their noise, the world became silent at once. Not entirely silent. The strange blurred sound was quite clear then. It was overflowing the sound of crickets and frogs. That sound was well known to her. It was the sound of water. It was the sound of river Ajay, which was far away from their village ; but not so far at that moment. Sunita felt helpless. She needed help, but Manu was not with her at that time. She could not expect help from the other villagers, because they were also in danger.

As time passed, the sound of water became more clear. Sunita heard previously from her grand father about fierce hunger of Ajay. Last time when it became a demon, she was not born. But she heard so many times about it that she clearly understood what was happening.

Quickly she made a decision. She had to leave home. She had to escape from Ajay. She gathered all the necessary things for her child which she could carry with her. Tied them with a cloth. Then tied her baby with her body tightly by another cloth. In the meantime she heard shouting of people coming from the village. When she completed her arrangement, she saw Ajay at her doorstep. She looked around the hut for the last time and prayed to God. Then she came outside into the water holding the lantern in her hand.

At first she thought to go to her home. There were her parents, brothers, old grandma. But initially she changed her mind. There was water all around the village just like liquid death spread it's trap everywhere. In that darkness of night she might fall into the pond. She could swim, but it would be dangerous for her child. The water level was increasing in every minute. The current of water flow was pushing her at the other direction of the village. There were paddy fields of the village farmers. The high road at the end of that field was a high land than the level of the village. Some people also coming from the village at that direction. With quick steps she started to go to the high road. The water was at her knees.

When she was half of the way, the water reached at her waist. She was lucky that the flow of water was at the direction of high road. She threw the lantern into the water, held her belongings on her head. Her child was safely tied with her body. Hurriedly she crossed the rest half way to the high road.
When she reached there, it was dawn. The sky was dull though the light of dawn appeared splitting that dullness. The people there who also came from the village, told that, they were not safe even in that high road. They needed to go to the school building a mile away from there. Those people were experienced in this matter by previous disasters caused by Ajay. They knew very well what was going to happen after one hour or two. The school building was probably a safe shelter for them at that time.

At first Sunita was out of breath. When she got normal, became upset for her family. An aged woman among those people told her to hurry up and go with them. No time to waste.

Sunita followed them and took a shelter into that school building. Many other people from other villages came there and when the ground floor and the first floor of the building filled with water they came to the roof of the building. From there they saw most horrible scene. It started raining again. There were water everywhere. Only tree tops were visible here and there. Dead bodies of men and cattle were floating on the water. Smell from the rotten dead bodies filled the air.

After two days of starvation, they saw some boats were coming. The rescuers came to them and gave them some packets of dry foods, some bottles of water and a large canvas to built a shelter on the open roof. They had rescued those people who had not a shelter like them. Condition of those people were very bad. Sunita was not feeling well. She was feeling like vomiting. Her daughter was crying continuously. Condition of others on the roof was not better than her. But they survived there with help of the rescue teams.

At last the water level decreased and Ajay returned back to it's own track. Sunita went back with other fellow people to the village which was totally vanished from there. No sign of any hut or the crop field there. Half-liquid mud had covered the land. Only the big trees were standing steadily. The rescuers prepared for them a temporary shelter near railway station. Gradually those people who had survived, came there. Sunita was waiting for her family. But neither her parents nor her siblings came there. She grabbed her daughter tightly and wished Manu would come from Kolkata shortly.

That night an older man in the camp started vomiting vigorously. The health care provider of the camp declared it as cholera. At the next morning several other people were discovered being prey of that plague. An old lady from their village told Sunita, "What are you waiting for girl? Grab your child and go from here. Hurry on before it's too late."

Sunita found that the old lady was right. It was totally foolish to wait there for Manu in that situation. She took her child and her belongings and escaped the cursed place and went to the railway platform. She waited there. A passenger train came which was going to Kolkata. She did not hesitate to buy a ticket and get into the train.

When the train reached Kolkata, she got down and found that, it was another world. Rush of people was just like the water of Ajay. While into the train, she thought that she would find out Manu. But when she found herself among the rush of people, she lost all her courage.

At first she thought to stay into the station premises. But the rail police drove her away from there along some beggars. Then she came to the busy footpaths of Kolkata. At first she was puzzled by huge market place, different types of cars, buses, trams on the roads, ever rushing uncountable people, the noise of the city. But as time passed, she became habituated with all of these. Thus she spent two years.

Now she lives underneath a fly-over in Kolkata Metropolitan. She met there other refugees like her who came from different places and live in same condition.

At the morning, she feeds her daughter who has grown up into three years old now. Then goes to work in a factory. she is sweeper there. She takes her daughter along with her. Then she goes to the market place to collect wastage of the vegetables and foods from the trash. Then comes to the shelter and cooks. At afternoon she goes to work as house-maid. When her daughter will be grown-up enough to stay alone into the shelter, she would find out a better job. She will admit her into a school. She is well determined to struggle.

Still now her memories retraces her into the village, at her childhood days when she was a princess to her father and elder brother. Her brother did not want her to do any hard work at home. He even used to fulfil all her wishes as far as he could. When she collects wastages from the market trash, when hunger creates trouble in her intestine, when her daughter plays in the garbage of the city and tells slang languages learned from other children there, she wants to cry. When monsoon comes and waterlogs the city, the memory of Ajay shivers her entirely.

Still now she hopes, one day Manu will come to her and rescue her from this hell.
May be he is searching her too.
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The Tigress of Sundarban : short story

 Short Story

The Tigress Of Sundarban

The Tigress of Sundarban : best short story online

When she born, her mother died at her seventeenth for some complex physical problems. The old woman who was an experienced 'dhai'(in rural areas who helps women to give birth of child) handed her over to her father. In the interior rural areas, a girl child was not welcomed in the same way as a boy. But her father accepted her with his heart and soul. He named his beloved child as Reba.

They lived in a village at Sundarban Wild Life Sanctuary. The village was situated nearby the core area of Royal Bengal Tiger reserved forest. Her father was a fisherman. He had not much time to accompany her whole day long. He worked very hard from sunrise to sunset for earning their livelihood. Her grandma looked after Reba at the day time. She had to obey all the hard rules of that old woman. She was not permitted to go and play outside as her will except the afternoon. But whenever she got a chance she utilized that very well and ended with verbal and physical abusing. But when her father returned home at evening, she got her freedom. Though tired, he accompanied his 'princess' as best as he could. He even refused to marry second time. He was afraid that his new bride would not tolerate Reba.

In the beginning of her adolescence she was fallen badly for a boy Lokhai, who belonged in a woodcutter family in their village. She was unable to hide her feelings for Lokhai from her father's eyes. When Reba was sixteen, her father talked with Lokhai's father and arranged their marriage. Then Reba's father tried hard to collect more money to pay high amount of dowry to Lokhai's father. He started to go to fishing even overnight in the back water of Bay of Bengal. Everything was going smoothly. But, before the marriage, he died. A fierce cyclone took him away while he was fishing in the Bay at midnight. Lokhai's father arranged another bride for his son from the neighbour village.

Reba's grandma could not bear the agony of her son's death and she passed away just after a week of that incident. Reba's maternal uncle took her with him. He arranged marriage of Reba with a man who was a honey collector and wood cutter, lived in that village. The man was 20 years older than Reba. But he loved her very much. He was a nice person. He was honest and caring to Reba. Reba was living a happy life with him, though She could not forget Lokhai.

Shortly she understood that happiness was not for her. She had only sufferings in her fate. One night Reba's husband went outdoor to response in the call of Nature, but did not return. Next day his half eaten body was found in the river bank jungle outside the village.

Now Reba left nobody except her maternal uncle. Her uncle offered her to go and live with his family. But Reba knew very well that his economical condition was not even sufficient. She would be a burden for him. So she returned to her father's property and started to work hard for living. Even she started to go to the jungle to collect honey with the group of woodcutters.

Other villagers did not take it easily. At the first place she was a woman and secondly, she was widow. An widow, going to the jungle, with a number of non-relative men, in the same boat, for a week --- these were totally unexpected in a village society. So, Reba had to digest different types of pranks from the villagers. But she had no time to listen to them. She had to survive. There were nobody to help her.

Lokhai was a member of that group. Lokhai talked to Reba only in this voyage outside the village. While in the village, they pretended as strangers. Because Lokhai had his family and his wife. Parul did not like Reba just like other villagers. But Lokhai liked Reba since his boyhood. They were good friends. Reba used to play with the group of boys. When Lokhai's father told him that he had to marry Reba, at first he felt embarrassed, how to marry a childhood friend? He could not sleep that night. Plenty of thoughts were distracting him from the sleep. As time passed, he started to feel a strong attraction towards Reba. He started to think her as his perfect soulmate.

When Lokhai came to know that Reba's father died and his father selected Parul as his bride, he became reluctant but he had to marry Parul to obey his father's decision. Parul was physically and mentally sick. Her behaviour was mean. She misdoubted that Lokhai was in extramarital, illicit relationships with a number of women in their village. Lokhai's life became a living hell. He was suffering the consequence of his father's greed.

Parul heard a rumour that Reba tried to seduce her husband in the jungle. One day she met Reba in their village 'haat'(village market for once in a week). She started shouting on Reba's face ignoring the crowd of the market. With plenty of poisonous words she attacked Reba, " You pervert! Don't even try to penetrate my husband. Otherwise I will kill you. I will cut you into pieces and feed the dogs. You shameless widow! Go and kill yourself, so that the villagers can live in peace."

Reba didn't replied. She stood there, calmly listened all the shits. When Parul paused out of breath, she smiled and silently walked away. People, who were enjoying the drama, was disheartened by this 'sudden end'. They sprayed away again in the market in their own business. But Parul stood there speechless. She failed to hurt Reba. Instead of replying her, Reba smiled on her face. This silent insult was beyond her digestion capability. She wanted to attack Reba physically. But she had not gut to do so. Because Reba's physical strength was not unknown to her. Surely she would lose the game and that would be shameful for her in the middle of the market.

That night Lokhai was lying on his boat. The moonlight changed the river into silver stream of fairy tale. The jungle of the remote island of Sundarban looked like reign of death in the darkness. The stars were twinkling on the September sky. The fireflies were busy to copy them in the riverside bushes. The fragrance of wild flowers, the chirping of crickets, occasional melody of some nocturnal birds, the rustling sound of waves, gentle cool breeze from river were easing him. Parul was worst to him that evening. Ignoring the mosquitoes Lokhai closed his eyes. Probably he was sleeping. A gentle touch on forehead woke him up. At first he could not determine who was that. After a while he felt Reba sitting on the boat. Quickly he moved in a comfortable distance and carefully looked around. Then asked in a worried voice, "Why are you here at this time? If anybody see us then?"

"Let them see!" Reba replied in a gentle and calm voice.

"Have you any idea of the consequence?"

"Yes! I have a clear idea about it. But I am not afraid."

"But I am. We have to live in society. If anybody see us here together, you will be in greater danger than me. You are woman. The villagers will point at you all the arrows they have."

In an amusing tone Reba replied, "So you want to say that, they have some arrows left to target me?" She smiled.

"Don't smile silly. Try to understand what I am saying." Lokhai was serious.

"Ok! Now take the food. I heard you left home without having meal." Reba handed him a packet of food and a bottle of water.

"Take it with you. I don't need it." He reused the packet like a stubborn teenager.

Reba didn't reply. Silently she placed the food beside him and left the place.

Gradually they started to meet outside the village in the darkness of night. Lokhai liked her company. He had to tolerate Parul for the sake of family and society. Parul was a mentally sick woman. She hated everybody except herself. Probably her complex physical sickness leaded her to cruelty. She used to satisfy her desires by abusing others verbally. Lokhai was her prime victim. So the family life was a living hell to Lokhai. He found peace with Reba.

In their next mission the woodcutter team went to the core area of the reserved forest without any permission of forest department. They were habituated in this illegal trespassing. When they reached there, it was afternoon. The lower portion of the islands were under the salt water of up tide. Only the upper portion of the mangrove forest was visible above the water level. They stopped the boats in the middle of the river between two islands. They had to spend night there. Reba took shelter in Lokhai's boat.

In that type of situations at least one person of each boat has to watch over to both side jungle and on the water. Otherwise minimum one person's death is sure.

Among eight persons in their boat, Lokhai was selected to watch over the first half of the night. He was sitting on the bow of the boat. Reba came and sat beside him. Lokhai took a deep breath and said, "Go to sleep inside. We are not alone here."

"We have not done anything wrong." Reba whispered into his ears then smiled.

"Is not our relationship wrong? You and me, both are married. I have a family still now, you ought to follow some social rules."

Reba placed her head on Lokhai's lap. Then replied in a soft tone, "Social rules? There are plenty of social rules for the widow women. But when a man loses his wife, society has no rule for him to follow. I don't care about so called society."

"I know that!" Lokhai gently touched Reba's forehead. "But you should care about God and his rules."

"God has no rule for me."

"God's rules are good for us."

"Not for me. God has arranged for me only sufferings throughout my life. I lost my mother at the time of birth. At my sixteenth my father gone. You are my first love, but you went away from me"........ Reba wept after so long time. She could no more control on her emotions which were repressed deep inside since her father died. She was a strong hearted woman. She used to hide her feelings from other person. But Lokhai was not just an 'other person'.

"But it was not my fault. I had nothing to do." Lokhai replied wiping tears from her cheeks.

"I know that. Just think about my sufferings. A man in my uncle's village married me. He had genuine love for me. I also liked him, but couldn't replace him with you in the deep of my heart. One night he was killed by tiger. Now I am widow at my 21. The villagers prank me because I go to the jungle with a group of male companions to collect honey. But what can I do? I can't fast myself to hold an image of holiness as they wish. I am not born to impress them. I have left nobody who care about me. I have to protect myself."

"But God............"

"God gave me the body and desires to stay alive. Society has created some rules to bury those desires because I am widow. Now you are suggesting me to stay alive eating those rules?"

Lokhai had no answer. In the bright moonlight the tears were glistening on Reba's cheek. He swept those with his fingers. They both were silent.

Suddenly they felt a huge jerking in the boat. They turned behind to see what was happening. Death was standing there in its wet striped body. Within a second Lokhai's neck was inside the jaws of that devil. At first Reba was spell-bounded. But when the rest six members in their boat started shouting, she saw the devil jumped into the water with Lokhai's motionless body. Reba took a cutter from the boat and jumped into the river without thinking about it. Other members of their group were shouting to stop her. She heard nothing. She was following the last shelter of her life. She will never forgive 'God'.

The team members did not dare to go to the jungle at the night to rescue them. It is the reign of death. 

Next morning they went down in the islands and searched for them. But, neither they, nor their remain was found. They were not eager to enter into the dense forest. Because it is another name of suicide. They had to live and struggle against their poverty. So they arranged a prayer for their soul and went to another island to collect honey.

It is a common incident in the life in Sundarban.
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