The Body Snatchers

Abdul struck his beard meditatively. Life had become very difficult for him since the Corona Virus Pandemic. Who could imagine that even his business,, which was that of a Body Snatcher, would come to a halt! He had been attached to the Lower Circular Cemetery for the past forty-five years. He was able to earn a neat twenty thousand every month. But now there was no demand for the bodies, as the students did not require the body parts for dissection, and the professors had no need of cadavers for demonstration, as there was no one attending classes. For the last two months his wife had been complaining that they were getting tired of having only potatoes and rice for every meal. They had almost forgotten what a spicy beef curry tasted like.

One of his old associates was Manoj Desai. He too had been his business partner for now nearly four decades. He was a happy-go-lucky person. But even he was of an acrid mood since the pandemic had ushered in. He had started snapping at Abdul without provocation though both of them were staunch friends. It was not possible to be in an amiable mood with no coins in one’s pocket. Manoj was known to be unflappable. His stocky figure, protruding belly, and moon-like face marked him out as a friendly person.

The third in the lucrative profession was the ‘Chowkidar’ of the graveyard, the guard as he was in those days called. His name was Mustafa. He was hand in glove with Abdul and Manoj, because without his support the other two could not have carried on their nefarious deals. He was also the Go- in- Between, the hospital and the Suppliers of the corpses. He had been the chowkidar at the graveyard for the past fifty years and had made friends with all the birds and squirrels which were also residents of the cemetery. His hair had prematurely turned silver and he looked quite an imposing figure because of his physical dimensions. He was six feet tall and his chest size was fifty-six inches. The guard pretended not to see when the body- snatchers accomplished their assignments in the cover of the nights.

It was the much –hated pandemic that diverted all the dead bodies to the ‘Dhapa’ area, where the dead bodies were siphoned off, put into gunny bags, transported by the Corporation trucks to the mass grave where they were unloaded and covered with soil in dug –up pits. Now there were no natural deaths. Those who were Senior Citizens or had co-morbidities happened to contract the Corona Virus and invariably were sent off unceremoniously in the gunny bags. Before the invasion of this virulent, devastating virus, all such deaths were brought to the Lower Circular Cemetery to be buried. Their business was sorely affected by Covid-19, and they sincerely hoped that Science would discover a vaccine against the virus soon. The Guard shook his silver head in dismay, and lamented about the present state, when hoping against hope, they looked out in vain for a dead body to be buried. Over and over he reiterated that he had not seen such bad days in his long span of service at the cemetery. As for Manoj he had found an alternative means of earning ;for he could not let his children starve. As soon as the relatives, in due honor and respect for the Departed, came and deposited exotic flowers at the grave and left, he would pick the flowers up and sell them at the intersection of the main roads, where passengers commuting by cars, were delighted to buy them, as they felt they were getting the flowers cheap!

So it happened that one day when three of them were sitting on the marble slab of one of the graves, and lamenting on the hard times, they saw a cortege arrive with a motorcade of many plush cars. It was as if they had spotted an oasis in a desert! Their spirits rose and they rushed towards the most welcome future resident of the cemetery! The dearly Departed Dead was laid to rest with due honor .The coffin was lowered and the soil was heaped onto the pit, covering it .Then the relatives left, dabbing their eyes and sobbing.

Night descended. The three accomplices shook hands and greeted each other in ecstasy; after a long time they were hoping to earn a lump sum. There had been a requisition for a cadaver for an on-line demonstration, but there was dearth of supply. They got their spades and shovels and started their work with jest. Layer after layer of soft soil they scooped out. It would not be incorrect to say that there was song on their lips, and happiness in their hearts. The shovel hit the wood of the coffin. Gingerly they opened the casket. The corpse came into sight. The gentleman was of middle age. How he had met his untimely death was a matter of conjecture. His eyes were closed as if in peaceful sleep but his complexion had taken on an unhealthy pallor. As soon as they had lifted the body, the closed eyes opened and round orbs stared at them in anger. “What are you doing to me?” shouted the body in a garbled slurred speech. The body snatchers stepped back in terror.” Give me an explanation, why did you put me in that pit?” the figure staggered up in rage. The three body snatchers had never had such a blood-curdling experience before. They became deathly white, or to be more correct, ashen, as blood seemed to have been drained out of their bodies with fear. They shook like dried leaves in a typhoon and fell on their knees. The figure stood broad and tall and shook his finger angrily at them. “Do you know who I am?” the figure enquired. “I now remember that the drug peddlers had forced me to take some white powder, which had made me dizzy and I had collapsed. The doctors could not have got my pulse, and must have certified that I was dead. Now I am coming to understand the whole situation."

The figure stood erect and peremptorily ordered the three body snatchers to line up. He bellowed loudly in an official manner, “I am the Commissioner of Police, (Crime Branch), I have caught you red –handed stealing corpses. You are under arrest!” The three looked at each other in mute resignation and did what they were told to do. This was the tragic end of the story about the Three Body Snatchers.