Behind The Dark Lane

Mehendi hailed from a family, of folk artists. Her father plays music, and her mother dances during the festival. They lived a simple life and survived as agriculture labor, during the offseason. Though the family was battling with poverty, drought Mehandi still lived like a princess in their family.

With time people started to migrate to the city, both agriculture and folk were getting out-dated.

With the advancement in entertainment, people started watching movies in their hands. Slowly the corporate and retail industries pace destroyed the small retailers and folk artists. Mehandi and their family left the village in search of work. The city was too busy to care for others.

Getting a job to make a livelihood was difficult.

Mehandi’s father Bola dreamt of educating her, though all of them worked as a rag picker.

They stayed on the platform and lived happily, with the money they earned.

Bola:" Mehandi beta, this doll for you, you need to go to school soon."

Mehandi: "It’s fine papa, don’t struggle, happy to be your daughter."

Bola: "stop, accompanying me. Tomorrow lets meet the NGO uncle and discuss your schooling."

Mehandi:" Papa, its time to sleep. We need to go to work tomorrow."

They were sleeping, all of a sudden there was a huge noise. People nearby were screaming.

Mehandi was rubbing her eyes, and her hand was full of blood. She saw a luxury car was standing next to her, and it ran over the people who were sleeping on the platform. It was Sakshi, the daughter of a famous industrialist. The police patrol came to the scene and arrested her.

In one night Mehandi’s life turned. She became all alone.

She was taken care of by other rag pickers, but most of them were strangers for her. She had to face the reality of life.

The people were asked to vacate the platform, the Justice finally came in action, for rich it gets delayed, but not for the poor.

The kids moved to other places and kept themselves away, from the eyes of the patrol.

Being a lonely girl, she suffered a lot, but she learned from experience.

One day Mehandi was having her food, the thrown away bread and some stuff from the nearby fruit seller. A dog was sitting nearby her, it was wounded, and was starving. Mehandi gave the bread to him, and she left the place with hunger.

Days passed, Mehandi grew up. Sleeping alone in the platform, was not safe for her, she used to hide her identity as a girl, and used to sleep in boys dress with fear, whenever their rag picking friends were not present.

One day, some rogue saw her and took advantage of her loneliness. They chased her as a group, some people watched, and others were busy with their mobile, social gossips. She asked the help, but none were ready to help her. She ran into a dark lane, with a flickering street light, and the rogues chased her with a sense of achievement in their bike.

There was a scream.

In the dark lane:

The light was flickering, Mehandi hid her self behind the dustbin.

At that time, Sher Khan and his friends enter the scene.

A true man, humanity disguised in him. In a sense, he is Sher indeed.

They bit each of those rogues and chased them to death. Sher Khan and his troops kept her secure, Mehandi lives a simple life, not alone with her new family and friends.

The act of Sher-Khan and friends became a trend in social media, which neither Mehandi or Sher-Khan cared, and none cared to learn from Sher-Khan on unity and humanity.

She does rag picking in the day time and attends schooling with the help of an NGO at night. She studies hard, and hopefully, she realizes her father’s dream.

Sher Khan and his friends fight among each other on roads and people used to throw stones at them. They stood up as a team when it came to showing love and gratitude. A lot needs to be learned, from Sher-Khan.

Probably, gods as well share the same message, even an angry goddess needs a lion and guardian need not be a human always.

Some blessed with parents, but for other friends like Sher Khan alone is enough.

They may be a stray dog but bounded to love and gratitude.

Where animals, trying to radiate humanity, by suppressing animality, humans are following it in reverse order.