Speed Post Babu

Disclaimer - The story is a fiction, an imaginary set of events and characters which has no basis on real-life individuals and their lives. Any similarity is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Hari was a clerk in the postal department. As a clerk, he used to sit at the front desk and attend to customers and satisfy their various needs. The needs would be from the savings account, postal monthly income schemes, and life insurance. But mainly he sat at the counter which handled Speed Post and hence he got the moniker 'Speed Post Babu'.

Hari had got the postal job after completing his graduate studies which were now the basic eligibility. But he was good at football and also applied through the sports quota which also strengthened his claim for the job. Finally, the one criterion for selection was his coming from a backward class community that had reservations for government jobs.

Hari's father was also from the postal department and worked as a postman. Hari got the pressure to join this job from his father. Because of the government job, it was secure and safe and protected by pension after retirement.

The people of the community where Hari belonged were friendly and helpful but there was one big drawback. They were very caste conscious. Everything would be fine and tolerable until the question of marriage and relationship mattered.

Since his school days, Hari had a female friend named Bijli. He had many friends both from the boys and girls but with Bijli it was special. Since the primary section, they were classmates but separated as they went up to higher classes. As higher classes didn't have coeducation facilities. Bijli liked Hari's behavior very much as it was unlike the other boys. He was very polite and helpful and very cheerful. Always with a smile, Hari greeted everyone and especially his friends.

Bijli belonged to the upper caste section of the town and came from a well to do family. Till a certain age the mingling of Hari with Bijli was tolerable but now after turning adults their hanging around together was a social taboo. But when cupid strikes two hearts then there is something which is uncontrollable that is love. Hari and Bijli both knew that they loved each other and was difficult to stay away. But they feared that their caste differences were a big hindrance in their relationship.

Bijli's family was very conservative and very strict. So now her movements were restricted and very guarded. But Bijli was very eager to both see and meet Hari. Theirs was a small town so whereabouts of one and all was known. So there was the danger of getting caught anytime. The life in the small towns are very patriarchal and women's lib is generally unknown.

Bijli was now employed as a teacher in the only girl's school the town had. She being an ex-student the authorities preferred her over others. Sometimes Hari used to visit her school under the guise of delivering letters and meet Bijli. This type of secret and binge meeting continued for some time. But both of them knew that this could not last long. They had to think out a strategy very soon or be separated for the rest of their lives.

Bijli's family was in a big hurry to marry her away. Grown-up adult unwed girls living with her parents were very inadvisable and matter for a lot of gossips. This was the psyche of the small towns. Plus her family had got the wind of her proximity to Hari, the boy from the family belonging to lower strata in the social hierarchy. If she committed any 'accident' by her closeness with that boy, it will bring a lot of social stigma to Bijli's family. Her parents were aware of the looming danger. So haste was the essence for the Bijli family.

Bijli's father was close to the local panchayat head Pyarelal. Pyarelal had a marriageable son Ratanlal. Both the family were 'Thakurs', a warrior class, a very prestigious caste in the small-town society. So a marriage relationship could be struck. But there was a catch. The Pyarelal family was very wayward and outlawed. Pyarelal had a long background in criminal cases. He had all the might and power that a small-town politician could wield. He had also a very bad name as far as a relationship with women goes. There were some cases of excesses with women. Many other of his cases went unreported due to the huge clout he enjoyed with the local police station. Like father, like son, his son Ratanlal was also not very innocent. He had also a few complaints against himself by some women.

So, Bijli's father Shyamlal was not very interested in this connection. But on the other hand, Shyamlal knew that as Ratanlal the prospective groom was a local boy, so after the marriage is solemnized his daughter Bijli would remain in the town. Shyamlal would be able to see his daughter whenever his family wanted. So this was a big gain. But the negatives were too many loaded against the groom's family. With reluctance and hesitation, Shyamlal started the negotiation talks with Pyarelal and family. Pyarelal being the Panchayat head was a powerful man. All the local administration muscle and money were at his command.

Meanwhile, Bijli let Hari know of the urgency of the situation. Hari knew that he had to make a decision quickly or forego Bijli for this lifetime. On the outskirts of the town was a temple. Due to the location, it used to be generally quiet and without much crowd. Hari and Bijli secretly tied the knot there. The priest of the temple solemnized their marriage and declared them husband and wife. The priest's assistant was the witness. Although married Bijli did not flaunt the 'sindur,' the proof of Hindu marriage of a woman, obviously to evade questions. But as the town is so small the news could not be kept secret.

On hearing of the marriage, Bijli's father Shyamlal and the would-be father-in-law of his son Pyarelal amassed their foot soldiers and went to the post office. There in the presence of one and all they provoked and threatened Hari with dire consequences if he continued his relationship with Bijli.

Hari felt very humiliated and sorry for this stigmatized position in the town. Bijli desperately wanted to see him and console him. But they could not meet. Hari that night did not sleep due to the humiliation and kept thinking. At daybreak, he hit upon an idea. He went to the Post office and gave a request for a position in the post office some 100 kilometers away in a tribal area. There was a vacancy that was known to Hari. But due to the location of the post office being in the tribal area the vacancy was not filling up. Very soon Hari got the position and shifted there. Before going as he couldn't meet Bijli he sent her a speed post telling her that he would be back soon and take her away with him.

Meanwhile, Bijli's family decided not to wait and started discussions to take the marriage talks to the next level with Pyarelal and family. Ratanlal, the groom was very happy with the prospect of marriage with Bijli. He had seen, met and talked to her and found her to be a good companion. His father Pyarelal had other designs on his devilish mind.

Pyarelal was the most misogynistic and egocentric person in that town. He had enjoyed and devoured many a woman in his life. As the law for the crime against women was not strong those days, Pyarelal got away cheaply many a time. Also as his victims were poor, he showered them with money to keep their mouth shut.

This time during many talks regarding marriage to his son he had seen Bijli and felt greed and lust for her overpower him. He had not tasted fresh and young body for many years. He was overcome by uncontrollable greed. Pyarelal devised a devilish idea. One day he sent his private vehicle through his trusted driver to pick up Bijli from her school on the pretext that his son Ratanlal wanted to meet her. The driver then picked up Bijli and drove her to the Pyarelal's farmhouse a few miles away from the town. Little did Pyarelal know that Ratanlal was visiting that farmhouse on a different agenda of his own.

Being obscured from his father's view he saw from his room that his father's vehicle had brought Bijli to the farmhouse. Ratanlal got suspicious and decided to secretly observe the events to unfold. From his hideout, he saw Bijli being shown into the private Chambers of Pyarelal. He heard Bijli asking questions to his dad's confidants. He heard that very soon Ratanlal would come to meet her. Ratanlal thought so this was the ploy. Bijli had been dragged here to meet Ratanlal who had desired to meet her. Ratanlal took guard and waited apprehensibly for the events to unfold.

Then he saw his dad appear and from his glance, Ratanlal could make out that all was not well. His dad had a very wicked and menacing look in his eyes. Pyarelal had come to enjoy a great 'feast'. His servants brought in a tray with some drinks and glasses. Ratanlal observed that his dad was looking at his menacing best. He needed to protect his future wife from this wicked beast. Ratanlal was ready to take the plunge. He could see that Bijli was still ignorant of the great danger she was in. Bijli came close to her future father-in-law to touch his feet and enquire about Ratanlal. He remembered how many innocent women in the past had become his dad's victim. As a small boy, he had grown up seeing these incidents unfold in front of his eyes.

But this time he found himself to be at the receiving end. In order to protect Bijli from his father's lust, Ratanlal was beside rage. He armed himself well to punish the devil. Slowly he saw from his hideout how his dad pounced on Bijli and lunged at her clothes to unrobe her. Ratanlal could not hold on to himself any more and came out of his hideout armed with an iron rod procured by him from the house. He could hear Bijli shout out for help and saw her kicking out with all might to protect herself as Pyarelal was in his act. Then all of a sudden Ratanlal lunged the iron rod with full force from behind on his father. The rod must have hit hard and squarely because with one hit Pyarelal was out and had fallen to the ground. Bijli quickly gathered herself and her clothes together and ran out. There was a huge commotion and people were running here and there.

Somehow Bijli managed to get away to safety and reach her house. The events that had occurred were soon spread throughout the town like wildfire. Pyarelal was hit on the head and was taken to the hospital in an unconscious state. He never regained consciousness and died a few days later due to internal hemorrhage. Ratanlal was arrested and jailed. Soon he was tried and sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for a crime for an assault of physical violence not amounting to murder.

Bijli's marriage talks never took off. Her family felt being made the unnecessary victim and stigmatized. Fresh marriage talks could not take place as many thought that Bijli had been compromised. Her family was also now not wanting to keep her as such a bad name had fallen upon them. Now she penned a letter detailing all that happened to her and posted it to Hari. Hari then wrote back inviting her to take a trip to his little place. Hari mentioned how he had become friends with the local tribes there and how they were very helpful to him.

Then one day writing a short note for her family and keeping it on her table for her relatives to read, she took the train to meet Hari, her friend, and love. Hari welcomed Bijli at the station gladly accompanied by his tribal friend Munda. Munda was the son of the tribal leader. Hari and Munda had become great friends.

Bijli was taken with respect and put up at the women's quarters of the tribes. Soon she would take charge of the newly opened school in the tribal belt. Hari had already become very popular as the 'Speed Post Babu'. He was also very actively involved in their community programmes. Very soon Hari and Bijli set a date for their marriage. Bijli's father and family members tried all their influence to stop the marriage. But the tribal friends Munda and gang stood guard till the marriage of Hari and Bijli was complete.