Life

He got down from the over stuffed bus and started on the dusty track which led to the village. His heart rejoiced as his feet touched the ground where he was born. The cool breeze and the warm sun, flooded his mind with the memories of his childhood.

He jumped from the bullock cart and started racing on the same dusty track, his school bag bouncing against his legs. From behind he could hear Hari scream "Wait for me you cheat! See how I will beat you in the race. Ram is a cheater! Ramu is a cheater", chanting he sped past Ram. Hari had got rid of his bag, Ram too threw his bag and increased his pace. Soon, they were neck to neck when Ram pounced on Hari and they both fell on the soft green grass under the old mango tree, and broke into a small playful wrestle.

He smiled and quickened his pace, the village did look a bit different. His eyes fell on the mango tree, it was bare, and its trunk had turned ghostly white. He slowly walked to the tree and touched the trunk, the ground under the tree was barren and dry. The temple bell was ringing in the distance, he looked at his watch, it was 12 noon.

The wrestling boys suddenly came to a stop when they heard the temple bell ring. Both of them gave each other a naughty grin and ran to pick up their bags before they fled in the direction of the temple. The temple pandit, an old man, who lived alone and was the caretaker of the tiny village temple of Lord Hanuman, was performing the afternoon aarti. The two boys hid behind the walls as they watched the pandit perform the puja. They waited for the pandit to walk to the river Ganga for the aarti, as his daily ritual. As the pandit slowly descended the stairs, the two boys sneaked into the temple and stole the laddoos offered to Hanumanji. The pandit had forgotten to carry his kalash and started climbing the stairs when his eye caught the two miscreants. He started waving his laathi at the boys and ran after them, the boys fled giggling as the poor old pandit followed them. But he soon gave up, as he was left out of breath and his legs started hurting. The boys then slowly walked towards their home munching on their laddoos.

He walked towards the temple, the temple bell was still ringing. As he climbed the temple stairs, he observed that the temple too had aged, its stairs were partially broken, the walls were dull and looked as if they would collapse with the slightest push, the hinge on which the bell was suspended was also loose. The pandit performing the puja was a young man, in his early thirties. The pundit offered him the prasad, and before he could talk to him, the pandit left and walked towards the river. He sat in the temple to rest and ate his prasad. He looked at the walls, there were cob webs all over the place, the floor was not smooth but eroded. There were plants growing in the crevices developed in the walls. He finished his laddoo and walked towards the village.

The two boys, reached the bridge on the river, they washed their hands in the river and continued on their way home. Their houses were situated on the opposite sides of a tiny pond. They bid each other good bye and ran towards their respective homes. Ram's house was bigger than Hari's. Ram's house had a well from which most of the villagers took water. They had the most number of cows and bullocks in the village and Ram's favourite cow was Shayama, because she had recently given birth to a very cute calf, who Ram's mother said was his. He had named the calf Chikku, because of his brown colored skin resembled the skin of a chiku -a fruit. His grandfather was seated in the varanda puffing hukka. He ran to him and threw his bag next to his grandfather and gave him a hug. His grandfather said "Go, go, first go and have something to eat, you must be hungry." He ran to the well and washed his hands and feet, then ran to his mother in the kitchen. He hugged his mother tight, she embraced him and wiped the water off his face with her aanchal. Then she quickly served him food, and started talking to him and waving a hand held fan at the same time. She asked him about his day at school and the usual. After he finished his lunch, he ran to play with Chikku. Then he heard his mother call him from inside and told him to sleep for a while, and he could play with Chikku in the evening. He quickly ran to his room and jumped on the bed and soon was fast asleep.

As he walked to the bridge over the river, he saw that, like all the other things, the bridge too had become old and was weak. He looked ahead the pond was completely dry. Then he slowly with a slight fear in his heart, gathered the courage to look in the direction of the house, but what he saw, completely shocked him.

The once beautiful house was reduced to rubble. He walked towards it with a heavy heart. The well was completely dry, and filled with dry leaves and dirt. He turned and walked towards the place where once the cow shed used to be located, there was nothing left. He walked towards the kitchen, the wall had collapsed exactly at the place where once the chulha (earthen stove) was located. He turned towards a room.

He got up from his bed and rushed outside. He climbed the stairs adjacent to the door and went to the roof. He looked in the direction of the setting sun and instantly his face brightened and he screamed "Baba!" A man walking on the road, lifted his head up, immediately his face broke into a smile and he waved. Ram, rushed down the stairs, and ran outside the house, his mother screaming from behind "Ram careful!" Ram ran and clinged to his father, his father lifted him up and placed him on his back, while Ram bombarded him with questions, "What did you get for me baba? Did you find the toy bullock cart which we had seen at the fair?" His father kept nodding and smiling. They reached home and Ram climbed down his baba's back, looking eagerly at him. His father reached in his bag and gave Ram the toy, he screamed with joy. Taking the toy in his hands, he ran towards Hari's house, who was already outside hearing all the commotion Ram had created.

The room was beyond recognition, the walls had given way and the roof had caved in, the place where once the staircase was situated was now a mere pile of rubble. He sat on a stone, the afternoon sun was bright and he felt very tired and thirsty. He reached for his bag and removed a bottle of water and took a sip from it.

Ram came back panting in the evening, after playing with his friends, which he did everyday. He was thirsty, he washed at the well and ran to his mother. He knew that she would be ready with a glass of chilled sweet lassi for him. She handed him the glass and he drank it at one go, his mother smiled and said "Drink slowly beta".

He walked towards the rooms, where there were bedrooms in which baba and ma used to sleep. The walls were partially damaged and the roof had gone, while the floor was a complete mess.

Ram hid behind the room and casted intermittent glances, through the window, at the room inside. His mother was searching for him, under the bed, behind the trunk when suddenly she saw him peeping through the window. He darted towards his room but his mother was quick and grabbed his shirt. Both of them couldn't stop laughing, tears were rolling down his eyes, because of the laughter, as his mother playfully punched him for being naughty.

The wall, with the window, was still intact. Not exactly intact, but it was in a better shape than the rest of the walls. He walked over to the window, walking across the room was difficult as there was too much rubble, he almost slipped with each step.

After dinner Ram helped his mother prepare the bed for his grandfather. Then he climbed on it and waited for his grandfather, when he came, he said "Dadaji, I want to hear the wolf and the prince's story tonight." His grandfather grinned and after settling in his bed, started telling the story. After the story was over, he kissed his grandfather, and ran to his parents room. His parents were already in bed, but were awake. He jumped on the bed between them, his father patted him on the back and his mother gently stroked his head. Soon he fell in a deep, peaceful sleep.

A bottle rolled out of his pocket, he picked it up. The bottle contained sleeping pills, he had to take them daily, he was so dependent on them.

A tear rolled down his eyes as he stood there, amongst the remains of his good old days.