Talberia

The Fight

     The scorching Sun made her head hurt. It was almost end of June but there was no sign of rain. The red soil looked angry and the trees looked dead. A lonely crow demanded something from her which she could not fathom. It was a long walk from home to their tea stall near Talberia lake. There hasn't been any tourist in the past four days, but today was Saturday and some city folks are likely to visit. Baba is usually in a foul mood when there are no tourists. It gets worse when there are tourists but they don't buy anything from the shop. Priyanka prayed for some business today. Tourists to Talberia lake were usually from Kolkata or Jamshedpur. Kolkata people spoke Bengali in a weird way. She has to ask Baba for the meaning of some of their words. Recently she learned that that city folks call a guava as "piyara" instead of "karatu". Baba always asked her to steer clear of the city folks and speak to them only when required. 

     Priyanka missed her own village on the banks of Kangsabati river. She had school back then, but now she misses it. She was 6 when Baba got a job as a gardener in Rimil Resort in Jhilimili forest and moved there. Ramesh took Priyanka with him to help with housework. There was no school near Rimil Resort; it is in the middle of the forest. She made few friends among other workers and enjoyed her stay there. Baba lost his job at the Resort during Covid. She was secretly happy that they can go back home. But Baba said that there was no home anymore, and they moved to the nearest village. Baba build a small shack with bamboo and plastic and started selling tea. Some people came for a drink or two, but no one paid any money. Baba said that it was the price they had to pay for living in the village. Mostly they survived on muri and alu chorchori. Then Baba fell ill with fever. The villagers suspected Covid and asked us to leave the village. We lived under a banyan tree for a while but there were no water source nearby. So, Baba decided to move near the Talberia lake. Priyanka liked the serenity of the place. She liked to swim in the placid waters of the lake. Ramesh taught her to fish. Sometimes she had to sit still for hours before a fish caught her bait. 

     With the tourists gone, the place was completely deserted. Almost. One day there was a boy not much bigger than Priyanka who told her to leave the lake. He claimed the lake to be his own, and hence he didn't allow her to swim in it. She stood her ground. He kept shouting "I am a boy. Go away or I will teach you a lesson". She replied that she was a girl and she would teach him a lesson instead. Suddenly the boy stepped forward and slapped her across the face. She was taken aback, but quickly retaliated with a firm punch to his face. They grabbed each other and tumbled to the ground rolling over each other. They kept fighting for a while, Priyanka always having an upper hand. She was thin and wiry, but stronger than him and more agile. Finally the guy gave up and fled. That was the end of it.

Act of God

    The Covid curse lifted and tourists started visiting the lake again. It was December and the Sun was kind. Along with tea, they served pakoras, biscuits, and other snacks. Business was good. Next day was Christmas. Baba said that it meant there will be a lot of tourist, even more than Sundays. In her excitement she forgot to pee before going to sleep, and woke up with wet bed in the morning. It wasn't much of a bed, just a rag of cloth. She went to the lake to wash it. It was already 9am and tourists had started to come in. Baba was busy at the shop. A bunch of kids were running around wearing identical red caps with white border. A big fat man was also wearing the same hat, along with a large red gown. He had a flowing beard too. There was something funny about him. She realized that his beard was made of cotton and his fat belly didn't seem real. 

     She was at the tea stall when the group of red capped tourists hopped onto the motor boat for a joy ride around the lake. Abdul Majhi was starting the engine. They was very puzzling to her. How could they enjoy the beauty of the lake with the noise of the engine sputtering black smoke all over the place. When she swam in the lake she loved the sound of the water, the sounds of the birds, the movement of the ducks. Anyway, it was good for business. The water on the stove started to boil; she was about to sprinkle a handful of tea leaves when the sound of the motor-boat made her turn. The sound was different, something was wrong. Abdul kaka looked pale, he was frantically throwing water out of the boat with a bucket. Water was getting into the boat and into the engine. Soon the engine gave out, and boat started to sink. It was about 200 meters from the shore. People started jumping into the water to swim. The big red man stripped his gown and jumped in with the smaller child in his arms. The bigger one stayed on the boat. He was screaming wildly for someone to help him. None of them could swim well. They are all struggling, but the big man with the child made no progress at all. They were swimming in the same location. He would soon exhaust himself and drown with the child in his arms. Priyanka jumped in the lake. She caught hold of the child and turned. But the big man didn't let go. In a state of panic, he grabbed her hand. With all her strength, Priyanka planted her heel in his nose. He yelped in pain and let go. Priyanka reached the shore with the child. Baba tied a thick rope on a tree trunk and swam with the other end in his mouth. He dived in the water to pull up the big man, and handed him the rope. Priyanka was at the boat just as it was about to capsize. She saved the other kid too. Abdul kaka, baba and Priyanka pulled out all the tourists. Many had lost consciousness and had their lungs full of water. They had to pump their chest to bring them back to life.