Smoke Arises; The Whole Night!

“Today, while the cattle grazed, I dived near the deep river-pothole and also enjoyed swimming”.

It was his habit to perform the adventurous stunts and share them with his colleagues. It was not uncommon for him to remain on the outskirts of the village, till the silky black curtain of heavenly skies gets unfurled on this worldwide stage. The said cattle shepherd, Alak Doobe, celebrated for his sincerity and hard work, was also considered to be a loyal servant by his master. He often tried to serve his master to his best. And many a time, he won a coin more than his other mate servants would do, as others would just complete the suggested assignment. As usual, anyone who’s been successful at something must know that he will definitely make someone else unhappy, or angry. Many a time, some of his colleagues were jealous of him, that he’s dearer to the master than others. More often, his master would entrust his personal work to him like taking his favorite cattle to graze. For, he always took great care of the cattle.

As usual, that day too, the dawn promised the villagers a fine sunny day. The shopkeepers burned incense sticks in their shops and cracked coconuts before the portraits and idols of Gods. Peasants stepped down the fields and potters designed new potteries. The maidens stepped out to get water for their daily use. The cattle followed their shepherd Doobe to the grassland on the outskirt of their village.

“Son, where do you take them today?” the postman uncle asked Doobe.

“I’ll make them graze today near the public well, before the village temple”.

“Fine. But do not dive into the river from height and don’t climb that skyscraper- pine trees” the postman uncle advised and proceeded to distribute the letters.

Doobe marched forward, followed by the cattle herd.

When the sun reached his height, Doobe took shelter below a big banyan tree and was about to have his food. He could see the maidens drawing water from the well were going back to their home, one after another. By then, he saw a teenager, not among the set of water drawers, moving aimlessly. He could see some scratches on her face and arms; her torn clothes and a sack full of twigs and other litter on her shoulder. It took no time for him, to learn that she was a psychic-patient. Before he could show some mercy on her, she collapsed there due to giddiness. He attempted to provide her some water and helped her to regain consciousness. 

“It was then when cupid might have aimed his arrow between the two” some believed.

He really felt sorry for looking at her. Her pale-mauled face and her timid celestial voice made him fall in agony. Her doe-eyed charm enthralled his joyous heart. So he took her to his master and pleaded him to provide her proper treatment.

“You’ve never put down any of my humble request, My Lord. Please do provide her good medicine” Alak begged. 

He need not have begged so much. If it were others, the master could have refused. But this humble request was from his dear servant, which dropped his heart between the devils and the deep sea. Undoubted Kind Master heartily accepted Alak’s request, “Of course! my son” he said and made the doctors provide her proper treatment.

“She might, once, had eye-witnessed a catastrophic phenomenon and slowly underwent schizophrenia”, the psychiatrist reported, “we’ll provide the initial treatment, and then frequent outings might help her recover herself and later she could be cured completely”.

Master blinked for a moment and a scintillating idea flashed across his mind. In order to bring it into the light, the master ordered Alak to take her also for an outing along with his cattle. Alak, at once, flew on the cloud nine but being hesitative, acted innocence with a pounding heart.

“I can’t, my master”

“Are you suffering from Agoraphobia?” his master asked, “then why can’t you?”

Unable to overcome his master’s command, Alak stepped forward with his trembling heart, “As you wish, master”.

From then onwards, early dawn, he was followed by both; cattle and the psychic girl. There was no need to feed each strand of grass to each of the cows. Thereafter, the entire day was celebrated merrily.

“My heartbeat gets lost in your heartbeat,” he said to her but received no response.

Back in time, Alak had to keep an eye on the cattle alone, dizzily. For him, the girl had entered his days like a God sent boon. To her, he was like a pole star- guiding the route missed sailor in the wandering bark. Else, she should have wandered along the entire village, hungrily and many times, even without water. And now, Alak was sharing her food, water and also her happiness. Most of the villagers believed that both were made for each other.

“I feel like flying high in these winds… Or shall I swing with these clouds… I’ll unite the skies and the earth” he sang alone in the wide grasslands, merrily. The balmy easterly breeze joined him.

Of course, the true pleasure will cast its intoxicating spell on them, those who attain it. Gradually, she avoided undefined murmuring and started to speak fluently, but only with Alak. Later, he learned that her name was Supriya, daughter of Mr. Shrinivas, a prestigious landlord of the other village. When Supriya had undergone schizophrenia, he had refused to accept her as his daughter.

“... and from now onwards, she’s no more my daughter” he had then blazoned.

One day, while both were out at the landscape, a little Cherub painted a bridge of seven colors on the sky.

“My happy days shall be here again, with no trace of sorrow” she whispered in his ears. To the response, he said, “Oh yeah! Then let’s together create a festival of joyous colors”. Those seven colors were also painted on both the hearts.

After a year or more, she recovered from schizophrenia and was absolutely normal. When she was asked about the catastrophic incident, which shocked her, she unveiled the entire incident.

“Those were the end of my high school days,” she said. Everyone could see bunches of raw mangoes hanging from the branches of mango-trees. After school hours, all the children used to pelt pebbles on the trees and satisfied their sour-greed on those raw mangoes. Whenever the farmers or the Sarpanchs came running, the children ran chuckling. The chuckles of children often greeted the masters. It was an everyday routine for the children.

One day, a tribal boy, unable to digest blaze of hunger, plucked a ripe mango from the tree. The boy didn’t know that the tree actually belonged to the upper-class Sarpanch. He always used to run behind the children and laugh with those of children. And his merry-men also enjoyed it. But, when one of his merry men learned that the tribal boy plucked a ripe mango, he and his infuriated men, threatened the boy with a ruthless accent. Unable to control their anger, they chopped off both the arms of the boy. And then she saw this raging scene... 

“Oh my God!” at once she screamed and went unconscious. Later, she regained. Gradually, the schizophrenic symptoms were reflected in her body language. And within a fortnight she had schizophrenia. 

2.

“Daughter, these are the common behavior treated to lower classes, nowadays. Humanity has no place in human hearts” said Alak’s master.

Her father, Mr. Shrinivas, when learned about his daughter’s recovery from schizophrenia, changed his tactics and summoned her to his home.

“My eyes longed to see you, my dear daughter” shedding the crocodile tears, he cried hugging his daughter tightly, “Don’t leave me alone again”.

“No Dad. Never” She made her headrest below his chin, and shed some tears.

Since both hearts were on the same track, their journey must reach their destiny. Alak felt a bit sorry, as she returned her mother and went for her further studies. She selected biology as her subject and earned a master's degree in psychiatry. During her leisure, she always came to meet Alak. Many times she also went out to grasslands, with him on the outskirts of their village. Both remembered that colorful bridge that had curved on the clouds. Hearts were warm; when friends meet. So, Alak’s was! Even after she secured a degree in psychiatry, both were sentimentally attached to each other.

His face was washed up with rain or two, one day she seemed gleeful. Her happiness reflected on his face.

“What’s good with you, my friend?” He asked.

“...and at last, now I am engaged to my college friend, Rahul. He’s a professional psychiatrist, also governs a psychiatry department of a well-known hospital in the neighboring city. And now I’ve got an opportunity to share the department with him...”

Nothing he could hear at that time. She left the place after a small talk.

Dark clouds of sorrow filled the wide dusk skies and cannon-roar thunder rolled out. An Autumn smile from his face vanished. Clouds started pouring. Old folk songs, he could hear from a distant shrine.

“You know what hurts the most? It’s when someone made you feel special yesterday but makes you feel like you’re nobody today” one of his colleagues had told him once.

“Men usually decide based on a woman’s look. But, a woman usually decides based on how she’s been treated” he had heard somewhere before. “But, what’s the wrong I did to her”

“My heart burns up and my soul smolders. You have just now caught my heart in a helpless state. The dark smoke arises in my eyes”, he cried silently, gripping a whiskey bottle with his fingers. The whole world seemed to be in a graveyard silence for him, while his other colleagues enjoyed what they had. “What happened to you, my son?” his master inquired.

“The smoke of yesterday is troubling my eyes” Alak answered and went outside. Master stood blinking at Alak’s changed behavior.

Following the night, it rained cats and dogs, with loud rolling thunders and scintillating lightening, which changed the dark night into mid-day... 

“The first euphoria, the first ecstasy, the love was new, and expectations new. What could I do with my state now? Oh! My Lord… my dear lord, tell me once” he cried standing outside the temple of his village, soaking in rain. He wasn’t permitted to enter the temple.

It’s hard to forget someone, who gave much to remember, isn’t it? Slowly, his sun of hopes dimmed its rays; waves of dusk unfurled in his days and finally, the sun got drowned. Once again those black silky curtains got stretched out on the worldwide skies as well as on his days. The puffs of dark smoke arose out of an old hut, the entire night. Alan suddenly underwent psychic disorder. Some days later the doctor diagnosed Alak and said, “He is suffering from schizophrenia” and advised Alak’s master to refer him to a celebrated psychiatrist, Rahul. The following day, Alak was taken to the hospital in the neighboring city and was sent to Rahul’s psychiatry department for his further treatment...

 

 

“This is not the story of discrimination, nor the story of adventures. It’s just a simple story of true love. Love, which gives pleasure to your life; may also take it away, very far from you...”