Pravasi Became Nivasi

It was six am. Young girl Surabhi was surprised to see an unknown young man in the backyard garden of her farm house. Seeing his face, anybody can say that he was in great trouble. 

"Who are you? Why are you hiding here? Do you know it is an offense for an unknown person to hide in someone else's property?"

"Madam, I am a tourist. My name is Hemant Chaturvedi from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. I am a nature lover and photographer. If you truly  love nature you will find beauty everywhere. You are living in such a place, where beautiful things surround you. I would like to visit all the nature spots in twin towns Pavanpur and Raghavpur."

She was observing him very closely. He had tilak on his forehead and neatly combed the hair. He was wearing a kurta and pajamas. He had a backpack bag to keep all the items of his requirements.

She thought he may be a good guy.

"Okay. Why are you hiding here like a thief?"

"Madam, I am not a thief. As soon as I got down at the Raghavpur bus stand early in the morning, I started to walk towards the 'Preeti Tourist House' to stay for a couple of days. But to my surprise, a group of three middle aged men just finished the burglary in your farmhouse and moved fast on their motorbike. I shot a video running one minute with my mobile camera. One of them saw me and alerted others to catch hold of me to destroy my mobile. I managed to escape from them and hid in your garden. 

"Oh! Fine, you did a great job."

"Dad, where are you? Come down quickly," She called her dad.

Her dad Sudershan Sirdesai, a retired ex-serviceman came down.

"Dad, in the wee hours today, burglars came to our farm house and fled away with booty. This man has  shot a video and he may be useful as an eye witness to the burglary. Let us go and see what has happened?"

 Both went to the spot along with the tourist, where the burglary took place. The Steel Age safe was opened with duplicate keys.  Gold and cash kept in their bag throwing the documents and the empty packets on the floor. The tourist showed the video of burglars on his mobile. It was difficult to recognise them as their faces were covered with clothes. Though one guy did not cover his face, it was difficult to recognise him. 

Sirdesai dialed police inspector Vikram Nayak.

"Vikram, I am Sirdesai."

"Yes sir!"

"This morning my house was looted by thieves."

"Sir, come to the station."

They straightway went to the police station along with the tourist Hemant and lodged an FIR and forwarded the videos of burglars to the police inspector's whatsapp. The case was registered. The official assured Sardesai that the culprits would be nabbed soon."

Dad and daughter had a sigh of relief. Police detained the tourist Hemant for further inquiry as he was an eyewitness.

After checking his bag, Vikram asked,

"Hemant,  are you a nature lover? What type of nature lover are you?" 

"Yes Sir, I am an activist, conservationist, ecologist, green panther and preservationist. Last year, I obtained a M A degree in first class."

Police inspector was impressed to see the books penned by him. His way of talking,   attractive personality and dareness to shoot the video.

"Hemant, your video clip is really useful."

"Thank you sir," said Hemant.

Sirdeasai and Surabhi were seriously discussing the theft. After one hour Sirdesai's mobile was ringing.

He asked,

"Who is speaking?"

"Sir, I am Vikram. Congratulations! All the three culprits caught with the booty. Come here and take possession."

 They left for the police station. Inquiries with the thieves were going on. It was really a surprise for Sirdesai that one of the thieves, Nag, was a faithful worker in the field for the last thirty years. All the three culprits accepted their crime and surrendered whatever they had stolen. The thieves were kept in the police custody. Following due procedure, Vikram handed over the bag containing gold and cash to Sirdesai. The entire episode of burglary, recovery and arrest of the thieves was over just within six hours. 

"Hemant, you did an excellent job by helping the police,"said Sirdesai lovingly, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Surabhi was overjoyed and said,

"I love you Hemant."

"I too love you Surabhi."

Sirdesai blessed them to get married.

"Dad, how can you take such a big decision without giving me an opportunity to express my personal views."

Hemant intervened and said,

"Sir, Surabhi is right."

"Okay Surabhi, let us know what your opinion is?"

"Dad, my only condition is that this pravasi should become nivasi."

Hemant got up and said, "Your condition is accepted wholeheartedly. I accept all your conditions to become your life partner."

There was a humorous situation for sometime.

After one month Surabhi tied the knot with Hemant

Pravasi became a nivasi.