SHASHIKANT DUBEY
Shashikant Dubey was reading his transfer letter. He couldn’t believe he would be transferred so soon; it hadn’t even been a month since he joined the school. The children of his school had just begun to warm up to him and he loved being with them. Shashikant had been the best student in school and a topper at Allahabad University. Shashikant’s father, Ravikant Dubey, was a pujari, a priest at the temple. He earned his living by performing poojas of all sorts for his subjects. He was very well respected in the town because he wasn’t greedy at all like his compatriots; he was well known to perform the rituals in the lowest cost possible. He would say, “God doesn’t need your money, he needs your sincerity. If you pray to him with a sincere heart you do not even need to perform these rituals. These rituals are only an excuse you give to yourself to lessen the guilt of having ignored him for so long. So go back and connect to your God. I’m only a medium to remind you and reset you on the path towards him.” Also, he did not look like the other priests who were potbellied and proud of their huge bulging stomachs. Ravikant Dubey laid a lot of stress on physical fitness and practiced yoga early morning before he got ready to meet his Lord. He had infused the same spirit in his son. Shashikant’s mother Bimla Devi was very well educated but chose to stay at home. She was the one to infuse him with secular and philanthropic spirit, so as he grew up, he was very clear that he will choose a profession that will help him somehow uplift the people around him. Growing up he was not very how he would do that, but sure enough as grew he found his true calling. He decided on becoming a government school teacher, so he is able to able to serve even in the remotest areas and make his contribution however little it may be; and now they had already transferred him. The letter stated that he had been appointed as a teacher in a small village in the foothills of Himalayas. The previous teacher had run away and never returned. No one knew the reason why he left unannounced. He was found in his hometown refusing to rejoin service and unable to provide any coherent answers. He said he didn’t remember anything of that place.
It had been two months since he left, and no one wanted to go to this small village. When Shashikant thought of the little children in the school and how they must be suffering from this ordeal of not having a teacher he knew he had to go immediately.
“It gets very cold here, even in summers, so get enough warm clothes.”
This was added as a footnote in the letter, but Shashikant wasn’t sure how much would be enough. He had been posted to a government school at Kiari, in the hills of Himachal. He had to take a train, then a bus and would have to walk a few miles before he reached the village. The phone number and name of the caretaker was given.
Shashikant bought what he thought would be enough woolens and set course for his new place.
ABODE OF GODS
It had just rained, and the air was crisp and fresh, the mountains greener than before with the mystical fog embracing them. Shashikant was still lost admiring the scene when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned around to see a short stout man with scanty beard and receding hairline.
“Namaste saabji! I am Kalu; you must be the new teacher.”
“Oh, hello. Good to see you.”
“I’ll carry your luggage; can you please carry these umbrellas. The heavens pour anytime they like,” he smiled his toothless smile. This was just the beginning of many wise cracks that Kalu would be dispensing over their time together.
“Your house is here in Kiari, the school however is about a six kilometer further up. It’s a steep incline so we will walk there tomorrow morning.”
Shashikant kept walking, absorbing Kalu’s information and the surroundings. As they took a turn to the right Shashikant just stopped, his mouth agape at the splendor. The mountains rose high kissing the azure skies, the fog that had surrounded them was rising up and revealing, a hidden treasure; the orange hue of dusk coloured everything golden. The mountains were covered with huge deodar trees about which he had read in his books. The peaks of the mountains still had snow on them even though it was the beginning of October. Shashikant was mesmerized; it all appeared to be a painting, a picture he had seen hanging on the walls of expensive restaurants of Allahabad. “Chaliye saabji, we’ll get late, we should reach before it gets dark.” It became clear to Shashikant why Himachal is the abode of gods.
Kiari was more of a hamlet than a village, few houses, a temple and fields. He hardly saw any people outside at this hour; the vehicles seemed to have disappeared after he had walked about a kilometer from the bus-stand; few bikes he saw parked outside some homes.
Kalu walked holding the luggage which he refused to share even after a zillion entreaties by Shashikant who was embarrassed to be walking with just two umbrellas.
The house was well maintained by Kalu; it was neat and clean with everything at its proper place. As soon as they reached, he promptly placed the luggage in the bedroom. The house had a slanting slate roof and thick mud walls like most houses in Kiari. There were two rooms and a kitchen. Kalu served him hot tea and biscuits and told him he had prepared hot water for his bath and the he disappeared again to make dinner.
The night was peaceful, in fact Shashikant found the silence deafening, plus that heavy quilt was something he would take time getting used to.
After breakfast the next day they began their climb to the school. They passed near the temple where near a bend Shashikant saw a track going up into the forest. “Is this the way up to the school,” he inquired.
Kalu hesitated, “it is the shorter route through the forest, but the track is muddy and is dangerous during rains. We will take the longer route, you can see the entire village, the road is cobbled, and the incline is less too.”
Shashikant could not deny that. Kalu kept pointing and houses and naming the kids who lived there. The village had a small grocery shop, a post office and a dispensary. “So even on a bright day the children take this longer route?”
“Yes! The school only begins at ten. They walk slowly up, this route isn’t muddy and while coming back they have fun picking fruits and vegetables. Also, by the time they reach back their parents come back from the fields.”
Walking through Kiari was akin to being in the protected arms of a mother. After a long walk on a steep incline they reached the school perched on the top of the ridge on the mountain. It gave a spectacular view of the valley below with lush green fields and the majestic snow-covered mountains behind. Such a picturesque place thought Shashikant. Kalu had maintained the records well and he had kept the classes going, even though his learning was limited. Around the school boundary he had planted marigold flowers making it appear like a garland around the school. Shashikant quickly got busy with his work.
ATTRACTION
It had been only fifteen days since he arrived but it seemed to Shashikant that he had spent a lifetime here. Time seemed to be moving at its own pace. He knew now where the children lived, their parents, the shopkeepers, bus drivers, the post man and the occasional doctor who visited. The people too accepted him as their own, loving, trusting and all encompassing. The only sore point was walking on that winding road all the way up when a shorter route was in plain sight. He decided to try that track, as he wanted to reach early and finish the administrative work before children arrived. Kalu was not in agreement and said in no uncertain terms that he’ll not accompany him. This left Shashikant intrigued and aroused his curiosity. Next morning, he picked his umbrella and started walking.
The path was covered with grass now as people had abandoned it. It was a meandering path covered thickly by deodar and rhododendron trees, even the sun rays seemed to be fighting to reach the ground. Midway he saw a hut dimly lit; smoke was rising from the window allowing him to presume someone stayed there. He wanted to check but left it for some other time.
Just before he reached the school, he saw a beautiful pasture, full of flowers of all hues, lavender, yellow, white and pink reminding him of “jocund company.”
As he neared the pasture, he saw a girl lying down on the grass soaking the slight drizzle that had just begun. She lay with abandonment eyes closed. He went near her. She was the most beautiful girl he had laid eyes on. Absent minded he sat next to her. Her skin was radiant almost glowing; her clothes were wet and sticking to her. He was admiring her doe eyes, pointed nose with a nose ring, long black hair which she had braided and embellished with flowers, the sindhur on her forehead had trickled down with the water and given her face a reddish glint. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She opened her eyes after a while and met Shashikant’s gaze. She was unfazed, got up slowly and smiled at him breaking his trance. She didn’t say a word just walked away. On his walks to school, he started seeing here every day, picking firewood or collecting wild berries. They would smile at each other, till one fine day he decided to talk to her; he had never felt a stronger attraction.
As he approached her, she stopped and looked at him smiling her enigmatic smile. “Hello! I am Shashikant. I’ve joined as the new teacher. As you know I see you every day, I am attracted to you even though I can see that you are married. I think I am infatuated by you maybe I love I’m not sure.” He was acutely conscious that he was blabbering and wanted to stop; suddenly she came close to him and kissed him on the lips, a long passionate kiss. Shashikant went rigid and cold, he’d never kissed a girl before, he just stood there and when she broke off the kiss she was still smiling and not saying a word like before she left. He reached home playing the kiss again and again in his mind. He reached home and went straight to bed and told Kalu not to cook dinner. Kalu looked at him skeptically, “Did you by any chance..?” Kalu was cut mid-sentence as Sahshikant closed the door on him.
The annual school inspection was due and also the exams. He was very busy, but his rendezvous with the girl went uninterrupted. She never said a word, he didn’t even know her name, yet he wanted to meet her every day. She held a powerful spell over Shashikant whenever she was near. He couldn’t think of anything else; her kisses, her touch, her closeness and their bodies entwined was all he wanted, all other questions just vanished.
Finally, the inspection team left and it was late. Kalu and Shashikant packed everything. The sky was overcast with thunder and lightning ripping the skies predicting a heavy downpour, the icy cold wind piercing through the bones, but all Shashikant prayed was that she was waiting for him, her warmth. He left the rest of the things to Kalu and was in a hurry to leave. Kalu requested him not to take that route as the weather was packed, “Saabji, it’s dangerous to go from that road, besides today is amavasya.”
“So? You think I will encounter a ghost?”
“No! Something more sinister.”
“What?”
Kalu slipped a khukhri – a Gurkha weapon, into his hand. “Keep this with you, just in case.”
“Case of?”
“Animals, wild animals,” he looked away fast.
Shashikant kept it in his bag and rushed out. He was moving fast, with flashlight in one hand and umbrella in the other, his eyes kept searching for her……
The rest of the story available in my book “Kiss of the Wildflower and Other Stories” available on Amazon
This post is part of #BlogChatterHalfMarathon. You can read all posts at Blogchatter.
The wise old man who knows everything. Is he wise or he has a sinister secret? Come back to read more..
©Deepika
Deepika Sharma 