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Arun Gode

Tragedy

4  

Arun Gode

Tragedy

Spinning top .

Spinning top .

5 mins
418



                    There were very limited toys for the children in India just after independence. There were marbles, stickball, kho-kho, kabadee,and spinning top. Spinning top was the oldest game in the country in which top would be made of mud instead of wood. Its nomenclature is Bhavara and lattu in Marathi and Hindi respectively. A boy from elite family made friendship with other sub-town boys. He was used to play with them various games. He was fond of playing games with them. He was the youngest in the family. He had three elder brother and a sister. All his elder brother had been learning either in high school or college. They were always busy in their study or house work. Youngest brother would go to school like his all elders brothers. He had many school friends. Though he was brilliant, but he wasn’t interested in study like his elder brothers and sister. There was complaint from family members to their father about him that he would spend time in only playing games instead of study. His father wasn’t so worried about him as his academic performance was up to the mark. He would stand either second or third in the class. Hence he was pleased with his school performance. He would be cold shoulder towards complaints. Being youngest in the family, everybody loved him.

                    Since he was very much interested in different games and spending time, so he had a sound health. One day many friends were playing a spinning top on the surface of big sanitary tank in stead of on ground. They were playing on that surface so that spinning top should maintain a longer duration of rotation. There was big crowd over the tank surface. There was his senior friend just staying stone’s throw from the venue. He had also come for playing top. He had an art of spinning top in the air and collect soon on his palm in the air. He was also interested in learning the same art. He started making practice to learn the same art as practice makes the man perfect. His senior friend wanted to give him some clue as in the past. 

                   He handed over the spinning top to him. He was playing the spinning top and teaching him how to manage it. He was standing at safe distance from his senior friend. While teaching him, unfortunately top was left from his control during playing. Top hit directly to his friends left eye whose nail penetrated in his left eyebrow.  He was wounded by top. All of sudden, the blood started coming from it. He covered his eye with piece of cloth

and covered by palm. The blood started flowing continuously from the injury spot. All the boys shouted that his friend had broken his eyes. This news was delivered to his home. He was taken to the doctor. Doctor examined that blood wasn’t coming from the eye but due to wound on the eyebrow. He cleaned and put some medicine over it and covered his complete eye with cotton pad. He told family member that his eye just saved by little margin. He gave him some medicine and suggested them to show his eye to the eye specialist at earliest. His father took him to the eye specialist in the nearest city. He had checked his eye. He said there was no wound or damaged to outer structure of eye. But there might be some infection to eye due to injury in eyebrow bone .He had asked for X-ray of eyebrow. After examination, he noticed that there was some deep crack in the bone. He was of the opinion that it would take time for reunification. He gave some medicine for fast recovery. He would be single eyed boy from two eyed due to flap on his left eye till recovery.

                 His elder brother was very annoyed with his friend. Every body blamed him that he had made him blind. His friend was very rudely beaten by his elder brother. He didn’t protested as he felt guilty himself. His friend used to go out for every work in front of his home. He wanted to see his friend but couldn’t meet him due to fear. He was also interested to meet his senior friend as absence makes heart grow fonder . When he was recovered from the injury, he himself wanted to talk with his senior friend. But he would avoid talking with him. After few months, he asked his senior friend why he didn’t talk with him as long absences, soon forgotten. He told him that his brother had beaten him very badly and warned not play with him again. He said to him that it was of no use crying over a split milk. Thereafter they used to talk and play as usual. After few months his junior friend went for higher education to another city to make his career. Though his senior friend  was very strong bodily, but he was very poor in study. He had chosen his own track for making money to survive over the land. He shifted to some unknown place for his job. Junior friend couldn’t meet him thereafter. He might had forgotten him for ever as out of site, out of mind.  He wasn’t in his life thereafter, but spinning top injury sign on his left eye bow always would remind his friend till his last breath whenever he used to see either into mirror or some of his lovings would inquire about scar. Then he would have to narrate complete story of incident by recalling old memories of his friend. 


 


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