Indomitable Kanu

When imperious, wayward, willful (parties with corrupt, narrow-minded, deceitful, and insincere(so much so that they run after their very own comfort and privileges) it becomes a matter of curiosity to all that what may happen. They can bully, intimidate, pressurize, subjugate and brainwash people from a child of three years to an adult of seventy years of age or the range can be wider.

The question is whether as near one and well-wishers how does one avoid being targeted, unfairly treated, and victimized. Maltratreatment if endured for a long time may lead to getting inhumanely exploited even by the remotest known to us. This is because of the humiliation people develop due to prolonged periods of unfair treatment.

So the million-dollar question is how to get out of such a situation and not accept it as our 'lot' or fate.

One such story is of Kanu Tudu the cane furniture maker. Actually, neither Kanu nor his parents own anything. They are simple tribal village dwellers of Kuapara. They work to earn a livelihood by selling their labor asset. Kanu has an elder sister, Sona and a younger brother Borai and a younger sister Padma. Mother Kalidasi works as labor gathering wood for fuel fire at Shivram Gosai's godown. Father, Chundu, remains busy all day at his little farm that has a cow, two goats, and some 5 hens.

Sona has also started taking up family financial responsibilities. She has started working in the paper mill situated at the village suburb owned by Kailash Manjhi, a respectable, lettered and honorable tribal of the place, along with Keshab Patra, a notable nontribal residant. Kanu's father Chundu had a distant relative on his maternal side, Sukul Manjhi, living in the city, Bokaro, working and educating his children there. Sukul is a graduate with a comfortable income working in the Steel Plant as a line engineer. Kailash Manjhi happens to be his paternal cousin.

Remembering Kanu, it happens that Kailash and Kanu's father Chundu are distant relatives.

Coming to nontribal people of the village, Bimal Sordar is a notable person, who has at least one member of his family in almost every generation, as a member of village Panchayat (village council). Bimal's father himself being 'village Pradhan'(head of the village) for a short period of time. Others are Soumitro Maity, the village head, or Pradhan, Vishnu Gorai the owner of the most prominent village grocery and Medical shop. Vishnu has a bad reputation preferentially selling merchandise to the villagers as prompted by Bimal. Vishu was indignant of the fact that the tribals bought medicines at half the price allotted for the purchase, as most of them had the very low income to procure medicines as well as other stuff at the prices at which they were sold in the market. Mostly the poor tribals became the 'left outs', which really was a disadvantage for these tribals in case of medical crisis. What was more unbearable was that Soumitro Maity too was used to take Vishnu and Bimal's side, conscious of the consequences of going against such people who have a considerable amount of presence and stature.

This became the reason when an argument broke out between Kanu and Vishnu the day his little sister Padma met with a fire accident. The little girl, to prevent her brother Borai from running into the well ran so fast that she could not see the still burning heap of leaves under its ashes and fell on it, which had severely hurt her left leg leaving behind terrible and painful patches of burns on her leg.

Vishnu wanted Kanu to wait as he was already serving two other customers who had come for an all-purpose antiseptic and decongestant. It seemed to Kanu, Vishnu was busier in chatting with these two customers than selling medicines.

Kanu repeatedly interrupted them explaining his sister's situation was an emergency. They slyly rebuked the urgency in his voice and manner. He was only delivered the necessities after a few people who happened to be his neighbors and accompanying him all the way, showed themselves inside the shop. They chose to stand outside the shop all this time while Kanu was procuring the medicines, lest they crowd inside the shop.

All was well by now. The Padma was admitted to the local Government Healthcare Centre, her injuries well nursed and medicines administered. The sum total of the medical cost was a couple of thousand with transportation, medicine, and dressing aids for the wounds included. This was no trivial matter for a poor tribal family like that of Kanu's family.

 Future is uncertain and there always remained a chance of additional expenditures taking into account health issues and social issues that added to the matrimonial, education costs of the children, loans and debts sought occasionally accruing to lenders. Chundu, Kanu's father, was considering all this, thinking with a bidi( indigenous cigarette) lit in his mouth, all the more in the light of present family expenses borne for Padma's recovery. He discussed these issues with his wife Kalidasa and his children. So it was decided, in order to bring in some relief to the financial concerns of the family, Sona, their eldest daughter would work at Kailash Manjhi's paper mill. Younger children for their better future would be put under Sukul Manjhi's guardianship at Bokaro city, receiving school education, as recommended by Kailash.

  There is yet to unfold. The village had an interesting character, Bichchu Sordar, Bimal Sordar's son. Bichchu was a twenty-one yet old young man, living out his family status and stature, with a bleak amount of contribution towards his material life, except for increasing the hardships of his fellow villagers and anyone related to the place even remotely.

Bichchu had taken upon him the job of playing and feeding the village stray dogs and occasionally training them to bully people taking the route for commuting. He had chosen the location of his job very wisely. The place was the short but broad junction road that lay at the junction of the three roads. One would lead to the village marketplace and Government postal and revenue-aid offices. Another led to the Public Healthcare Centre. The other conveyed to Transport Facility for busses and other small public vehicles like taxi, auto-rickshaw, rickshaw for long-distance transportation and Kuanpara Railway Station.

This young man's fine face contorted to such a repulsive level while intimidating others, that it can inflict the sense of unease to anyone and quite throw any woman out of her poise. One such incident occurred with Sona which Kanu's family took very seriously that almost changed the family's fate.

One Friday morning, Sona was on her way to work at the paper mill. She was taking the way of the road that led to the market on foot. Bichchu stood on the connector road as usual feeding the drag dogs leftover hand-made chapatis of last night when he saw Sona coming. He knew it well he better not physically cross the way of a tribal girl otherwise the village would be on fire of verbal arguments and physical fights. Instead, he instructed the strays with his well self-trained gestures and body language to attack the girl. Sona was out of her wits when the animals targeted her and ran with all her might till she could find a nearby tree and climbed on it.

When Sona did not return till late in the evening her family was worried. She used to come back by the afternoon when the sun was still in the sky but about to set.

It was getting dark. Along with some neighbors, Chundu and Kanu set out to find Sona. Kalidasi remained back to comfort their other two children, Borai and Padma. At last, the villagers found Sona clasping the betel nut tree. The girl was asked to climb down the tree. After she did that, people all at once in their tensed voices asked her to narrate the reason that resulted in such confusion.

Sona explained everything in a quivering voice, her body still shaking. Villagers were angry and demanded an explanation.

For now, they went back to their dwellings as it was getting darker After some time it will be an uphill task to find their way home through the village roads. There was a single lamppost situated where the road ends beyond which their huts lay. At night when dinner was over, none of the male members sat to enjoy their 'mohua' ambiance. Instead, all sat together for a conscious meeting as to what to be done. After a few hours, it was decided to let the village head be informed of a less intense version of the incident but warn of consequences lest such occurrences show up in the future. They were doubtful of how people like Bimol Sordar would react. People like Bimol almost dictated the Government's Panchayat bodies. They even had their team of rowdies who can even set their homes afire.

Even Soumitro Maity, being Panchayat Pradhan was afraid of Bimal's movements.

Kanu grew angry with the decision. The next day he took a day off from his work and reached Kailash Manjhi's residence. On his way he found Bimal's miscreant army scattered here and there. They were keeping an eye on the villagers lest they may put up a fight, all heated after the incident. Kanu managed his way through the shrubbery jungle off the road. He enfolded himself with mud from the sides of the pond and crawled some of his way which had no trees or shrubs to hide behind. Sometimes he climbed the trees and waited till it cleared up and the men scattered away. Ultimately he reached Kailash's house. Kailash at first dismissed him thinking him to be a beggar. Just then Kanu introduced himself as Sona's brother and explained that he had a reason to come there in this state. He narrated Kailash's last day's incident and how Bimal's rowdies are guarding the ways outside their dwellings at some distance.

Kailash was irritated and concerned. He along with some other literate and well situated tribal members, nontribal people of his acquaintance, neighbors, and Kanu visited Somitro Maity. They urged the village Pradhan to do something about the matter assuring him that everyone was with him. It was decided that an armed Guard from Government quarters would be placed at the connector so that such a law and order dilemma can be avoided in the future. This was to be done by coming Tuesday, as Sunday came in between, the day when all offices remained closed. Monday was the time taken for the paperwork that needed a higher Government authority signature for the allotment of Guard. When Kanu came back home, some of his neighbors praised the courage he had shown. Some were apprehensive of the consequences of his actions.

Whatever the situation remained, the next morning, Chundu accompanied by Kanu visited Kailash again. They explained to him the uncertainty pertaining to family security they can have in the future due to the incidents happening in their lives for the past few days. It was best according to Chundu if Kailash would recommend, to send his two younger ones, Borai and Padma, to the city to experience a better life. Kailash assured them all necessary arrangements would be made and requested his cousin Sukul to take care of the children.

.... It is almost a month now since Padma and Borai left for Bokaro. That fine evening Chundu was enjoying his bidi just outside his hut as his mind was measuring the certainties and uncertainties of life that lay ahead of them.