Two sips of water

I was in Mumbai for last three years to make my dream come true. In these three years, I did not take a single step towards my home town Churu (Rajasthan) because the work of a scriptwriter in the film industry is full of complications and business. Throughout the day sit in front of the computer screen and type the script and when got tired drink a cup of tea and start again. By the way, I dreamt this. It was my main motive. I didn't know what the main changes happened in my village in these three years. My maa usually called me in 15 to 20 days. My friends started to calling me an arrogant because I couldn't take their calls. Only my friend Vibhu who used to call me once or twice in the month and showed his anger. According to him, I had become a robot.

One day as usual I reached at my rented house at around 9 o'clock in the night. Suddenly my phone rang. My mother's number was displaying on the phone screen. I had not called her for the last 9 days. Maybe today I was going to be scolded by my mother.

" Hello!"

" What is this, Guru? Why have you not been calling me for last nine days?"

" Sorry! maa, I got an opportunity to write a script for a serial so I could not be able to call you. Sorry! "

"Enough!, Enough, Guru. Renu is going to marry 5 days later. Will you be coming to the village?"

"Maa, please.."

"Do not make the excuse, Guru. She accepts you as her real brother. She was saying that if you will not come then she will not marry. 

"Really!"

"Yes! and you know she is very possessive about you."

"Ya! I know. O.K. I will try my best."

" You have to come, Guru."

This time my mother was not requesting to me. She ordered me. She cut the call then I was started to pack my luggage.

Renu is like my real sister. We had grown up together since childhood days. We studied at same school. She was selected as second grade government teacher and I....

I got involved in the job of a script writer. After Packing my luggage, I looked my watch and it was around 10 o'clock. The flight which would go from Mumbai to Jaipur was at 4:00 in the morning. I immediately booked the ticket online. After putting my other necessary things in the bag, I laid down on the bed to getting some rest. I also booked a taxi so that he would leave me the airport in time. Within a short time, my pupils started getting heavy due to fatigue. But I definitely knew that I had to get a flight.

After three hours I presumed that someone is calling me from downstairs. When I looked outside the window in a semi- latent state, I saw that the teximan had arrived. My eyelids were still heavy due to incomplete sleep. I couldn't see clearly. I put my luggage into a taxi and started journey towards the airport. I did not knew when I got the flight from the airport and reached to Jaipur. After all my sleep was still not completed. I took a bus to Churu from Jaipur and slept again on the seat to complete my sleep. Although I did not remember what was happening in the bus during my journey.

" (Are! Bhaya uthano koni ke gadi Churu bypass per pahunch gee hai?)

"Don't you want to get up? The bus has reached Churu bypass." The bus conductor said to me in a Shekhawati accent. I picked up my luggage and got down from the bus in the semi-illusion state. I was surprised when I looked around. Outside of the city, the area was completely changed now. The sky was looking hazy. It was around 4:00 in the evening but the sun was heating still. The roads were heating like a furnace. My throat was dried due to thrist. I looked here and there in search of water but no source of water could be seen anywhere. I was outside the city. There was no shop. In such a situation it was difficult to get a water bottle. Finally without drinking water I started waiting for the bus which was going to my village. .

After 20 minutes the same old known bus was coming from the main road of the city. I gestured to stop the bus. There was only five to six passengers sitting in the bus. I hardly put my luggage into the bus. I couldn't able to open my eyes completely due to lack of sleep. I was also suffering by thrist. The bus started again. I looked around in search of water in the bus because I was very thirsty. But in the bus there was no one who had a water bottle. I sat down again in disappointment. The bus was going towards the village in slow speed. Hot wind was coming from the broken window. I was surprised when I saw outside. In these last three years the climate had changed a lot. Here in the past Rohida and Khejari trees were seen in abundance in the fields. But now only the few trees were there.Green trees were chopped down in many fields. It was the month of June but not a single piece of clouds were seeing in the sky, not a single straw of grass. There were no human beings in the field. I was sad to see all this. There were no rains because a lots of trees had cut down in last three years. I thought , If the process of the cutting green trees was not stopped in time the results will be terrible. But what about the people! They simply thought about their own benefits. Humans exploit nature without any entrance or thought. This was the reason that once the state used to get good amount of rainfall.Today the sun was blazing. The land was heating like a furnace. I was looking outside. Suddenly the bus driver put the leg on the break. 

When I looked up, I came to know that the bus was standing on the link road bus stand. My village was almost 1 kilometre away from that bus stand. In such a situation I had to go on foot. I was the only one who got down from the bus at bus stand because the rest of the passengers were from other villages. It was around 5:00 in the evening but I was still feeling the heat of the sun. My throat had also much dried up due to thrist. For this reason, I took some steps quickly towards my village home. I wanted to go to a water tank for drink water but after looking at the condition of the water tanks from a distance, I realized that those were dried up due to no rain. There was no water in them. Heavy bags on the Shoulders, tiredness of the travelling and thrist causing difficulty in reaching my house. After sometime I reached my village Chaupal. Most of the trees had dried up in the village Chaupal. The water tank of Chaupal had also dried up. A crow sitting on a dry branch of a tree was eating a piece of Roti. The piece of Roti was also dry. Some cattle in the village's Chaupal were looking very weak. It was a evening time but there was no Movement in the village Chaupal and streets. I was suffering by thirst so I took some quick steps towards my home. After some time, I reached at my house. Jhumal our (cow) was not there. All the rooms of my house were locked. I thought maybe maa and Baba both would be in Renu's house because the guest had started coming to her house.

I took off my bag and started searching for water in my house. No water pot was seen in the courtyard. The lad of Water tank of our house was also locked.

I had no other way to go to Renu's house. I put my luggage in the courtyard of my house and started to walk towards Renu's house. I reached Renu's house after some time. When I opened the main gate of the house, I saw there, ten to twelve women were singing Rajasthani songs. They were covered their face by veil. My friend Vibhu was chatting with my other friends who were standing near a wall of the house. Two guests who came to Renu's house were talking on the cot lying in front of the guest room of her house. My maa and baba were not seen in the courtyard  of the house. I was in bad condition due to thirst and fatigue. I couldn't see anything clearly. No one noticed my bad condition. I called Vibhu from the main gate to get some water.

"O! Vibhu… Vi.... Please give me some water. ”

After hearing my voice, Vibhu turned towards me.

"Hey! guru... you…," Vibhu said looking at me with some pleasure. He ran and hugged me. I needed water more than his hug.

"You have forgotten us? ” Vibhu snorted.

"No! n... Please Vibhu give me some water." I said again.

"Ok! Ok! I am bringing it now. just wait brother. You have to sit here on this cot."

My feet were tripping due to fatigue and thrust. I could see everything blurry. By the time, I sat on the cot , my remaining friends had also arrived.

"How are you, Guru? " Ankit asked.

 " I...I'm fine." Due to thrist, my words were stuck in my lips.

"Vibhu! please bring some water quickly.", I said in some anger.

"Hey! Shyam, it is empty. There is not even a single drop of water in it," Vibhu said after opening the lid of water tank.

I got disappointed after hearing this. My other friend Ankit said after seeing my face, "Hey! Wait, I bring it. "

" Please bring it quickly. I am dying by thrist." I forced again.

"Ya! Ya! I'm bringing it. " he ran towards the other water tank. He tied the bucket with a rope and threw it inside the water tank to drain the water. I was watching him carefully. Now I could see everything blurry.

"Shit! ,Shyam... bucket fell inside. Please, you bring some water from inside the house. "

Ankit's words disappointed me. Shyam went inside the house in hurry and filled a jug with water and started running towards me.

"Hey! Shyam, Son give me some water. I haven't drunk water till now," said a guest sitting on the cot which was in the courtyard of the house. He took the jug of water from Shyam which he was bringing for me. The guest started drinking water. Perhaps he did not look at my condition.

There, I was in bad condition from thrust. I was feeling very weak and helpless.

"Maa! O .... Maa! I am thirsty. Please give me some water." I called helplessly to my mother in the hope that my mother might be inside. Hearing my voice, Mother came running from inside the house with a pot of water.

Other women also came out of the house after hearing my voice. I was helplessly watching my mother coming towards me. Suddenly, her foot collided with a brick lying on the way and she fell down with a pot of water.

"Maa!" I woke up and shouted out in a loud.

I was hearing a sound like p...p... on my ears. When I rubbed my eyes, I realized that I was asleep on the sofa. My phone's alarm was beeping. My face was sweating and my throat was dried due to thirst, my whole body was trembling due to a strange fear. My heartbeat was still beating fast. I ran towards the freeze in search of water. When I opened the freeze, I saw a water bottle in it. I quickly opened the bottle cap and attached the bottle to my lips. First a sip then the second .. then the third… In this way I emptied the entire bottle. Even after that my thirst did not quench, so I opened the second bottle and started drinking water.

"Oops! " With a long sob I wiped the sweat of my forehead. My thirst was now quenched.

I could not believe that the water for which I was screaming in a dream a few moments ago was in my hands now. There was only two sips of water left in the water bottle, but I was thinking that if this too ends one day, what will happen to this world?

I wanted to know the answer to this question but suddenly I heard the sound of a horn of a taxi. When I looked down from the balcony, I came to know that a taxi had already reached to leave me at the airport. I picked up my luggage and sat in the taxi. However, that dream was still in my mind.