 
The Oraon And The Divine Tree

A Novella By Ratan Lal Basu

Copyright 2011 Ratan Lal Basu Smashwords Edition

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[The printed version of the book under the Title "The Oraon and the Divine Tree", (ISBN-9789380197852) is available with ABHIJAN PUBLISHERS, Kolkata, +91-33-22573187, M: +91-9874653611]

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

The Author

Chapter 1

I

The giant mango tree stood majestically, towering above the bushes, thickets and other trees in the marshy land that spread undulating between the Rosemary tea garden and the Baikunthapur forest. At noon the shadow of the tree like an enormous umbrella sheltered from the sweltering sun the thickets and bushes of akchhatti, dheki-fern, kukurshoka, datura and host of other herbs and wild plants. The burrows and ground holes sheltered variegated rodents, venomous vipers, mongooses, ichneumons, jackals, wild rabbits, foxes, porcupines, jungle cats, leopard cats and civets.

In winter the swamp glistened with multi-colored flowers embellishing the trees and creepers, and the orchids dangling merrily from the branches of the trees; the air was suffused with the fragrance of flowers and the ambience encompassing the land reverberated with chatters, squawks, clucks and screeches of migratory birds – black-naked cranes, teals, francolins, goosanders, partridges, ibis bills, fork-tails, wag- tails, red-stars, pelicans and innumerable small birds.

In summer, the marsh went alive with buzzing of fleas and insects, melodious songs of cuckoos, parakeets, popinjays; ear splitting caws of crows and shrill squawks of peacocks. While the large ripe mangoes hurtled down from the lofty branches, children, women and men from the tea garden and nearby villages jostled and hollered to collect the mangoes battering down the bushes at the bottom of the tree.

During the rains water stagnated in ditches; fishes swam merrily in the crystal water, golden-frogs played their monotonous love-songs; the cormorants and herons got busy with fishing and at night the water lilies greeted the moon that shone merrily in the clear sky or peeped through the slits of the clouds like a newly wed bashful bride.

In the deep forest to the north and north-west lived elephants, Bengal tigers, leopards, wild buffaloes, gaurs (Indian bison), dholes (wild dogs), monkeys, wild boars, antelopes, barking deer, musk deer, chital, king cobras and pythons. The wild animals except the elephants and monkeys lived in deep forest and rarely invaded the marsh, the tea garden or the villages.

Before the onset of monsoons at times, stormy winds lashed the glade mercilessly uprooting many trees but the giant tree fought off the demon heroically swaying its bushy head like a vast mace and not a single branch could be broken off by the cyclonic winds.

The monarch stood defiantly dwarfing all the trees around and could be visible from the nearest railway station at a distance of two miles. The giant tree was there from ages and from whence no body could tell. The oldest man, the nonagenarian Palisanju Roy had seen the tree the same during his childhood and the tea garden records mention the tree at the time of buying the land that included this marsh.

It was a strange tree, a rare and endangered species – the mangoes were large, round and ruddy around the stalk while ripe and the fragrance was enchanting. The local people – Rajbonshis of the villages around and the madeshia laborers of the tea gardens – had never seen such a mango tree elsewhere and it was mysterious to them how a mango tree was grown amidst the wild plants.

The mystery shrouding the colossal tree inspired local people to invent fantasy stories and myths and the local people held the mango tree sacred being planted by deities. Expert tree-climbers could climb the vast tree easily and pluck ripe mangoes, but they dared not incur displeasure of the deities by such inadvertence and therefore, everybody had to remain satisfied with the ripe mangoes offered to them by the tree itself. The marsh, rich in floral and faunal resources, contributed to the living of local people by providing firewood, pot-vegetables, herbs, fruits and small games. It had also become a part and parcel of the lives and culture of them in various ways and got inexorably associated with pleasures and pains of them.

Boys and girls of the locality used to collect offspring of birds like mainas, cuckoos, doves, shaliks, parrots and parakeets from the nests and bird-holes in the trees. Monkeys at times feasted on the ripe fruits of the trees and naughty urchins derived great fun from riling the monkeys by throwing blobs of earth and snippets of twigs at them and the enraged monkeys used to return back the stuffs and chase the boys unleashing menacing clenched teeth.

The dusty road, that separated the tea shrubs from the marsh, branched out into the small villages of the Rajbonshi peasants and paddy fields and winded through the forest toward Siliguri town. At the corner of the road close to the marsh were small temples, made by bamboo wattles and roofed with tin or straw, of various gods, goddesses and grotesque apparitions. The Ganesh temple was the largest and was roofed by corrugated tin on wooden structure. Local people used to keep large flat vessels of burnt earth full of haria in front of the temple. The liquor was an offering to the elephant-god Ganesh but virtually it was guzzled by the elephants which happened to cross over from the forests. It was a treat to watch the tipsy mastodons wobbling along after drinking the rice fermented liquor. It was not known who had first initiated this custom but everybody agreed that this was an act of myopic vision. These elephants, residing at the fringe of the forest, got addicted to haria in course of time and at times invaded the villages in quest of the liquor damaging houses and killing people.

II

While the tea garden was established during the 1870s, the tree was still there. William Flintwood, the founder, owned a large farmhouse near London. Mary, his young beautiful wife, whom he called Rose-Mary because of her beauty, died of tuberculosis in 1870. This frustrated the young landlord who wanted to leave England forever and get engaged in some business in a far off country so that he could forget the painful memories of his demised wife.

Bill contacted a broker cum business consultant at the latter's office downtown. The broker told Bill that tea plantation in India had bright prospects and insisted that the baron buy tea garden land in India and venture into plantation business.

'I don't know how to buy such land,' Bill said.

The broker smiled affably and said, 'No problem sir. I've already got a lease for tea garden land from the Government of India. Now I'm in financial straits and cannot afford the initial investment needed to plant the bushes and found the factory. Furthermore, I'm to run this office here. I may sell the lease to you if you're interested.'

'Sure if the papers are okay.'

'I'll hand over all papers to your lawyer sir.'

'Then call on my house next morning. Here's my address. But I'm to sell my estate first.'

'I'll find the right buyer for you.'

The broker helped Bill sell out the large estate at a good price and only a part of the proceeds was needed to buy the tea garden land at the Cachar district of Assam in India. Bill requested a friend, the manager of a tea estate of Williamson Magor & Company in Assam, to enquire into the condition of the tea-garden land. The reply came and reading the first line, "No such land exists in reality" Bill got extremely agitated and without reading the rest of the mail he took out his car and rushed downtown to the office of the broker but was utterly dismayed to find the office closed and a notice dangling from the shutter "To Let." He went upstairs and met the owner of the premises and the man told Bill that his tenant had left leaving a note that he was closing down the office and the owner, therefore may let it out to somebody else. 'I'd already taken two month's advance from him and he was paying monthly rent regularly. So there is no financial loss to me. Some tenants are like this, there are honest ones though. I was cheated once and since then I've taken the policy to let out premises only after taking two months' rent in advance.' The man said with a shrewd smile.

In utter desperation Bill rushed to the nearest police station and was morbidly disappointed to learn that this man had a bad police record and now it was not possible for the police to hunt down the culprit as he had already absconded abroad bamboozling many innocent persons like Bill. The police officer commented gravely that it was inadvertent on the part of an educated baron like Bill to give away money to an unknown person. All the way home he pondered hard and could not make out how the cheat could manage to furnish the correct papers. 'Anyway still I've the rest of the money and I can do good business with it, but henceforth I ought to be cautious', he said to himself. Upon returning home he started reading the mail of his friend from Assam more closely and his hope returned as he ran through the rest of the mail. 'You, however, need not worry. Our company had similar experience. It is a gross irregularity on the part of the land department of the India Government to grant tea estate lands to brokers without verifying whether the land exists in reality or not. So, if you pressurize, the land department, to cover up the irregularities, would grant you any vacant land you choose for the desired tea garden. You better take trouble to come over here and I'll help you.'

'There is still hope', Bill thought. He right away booked seat in a liner for Bombay and, after long tedious journey in sea and from Bombay to Assam by several slow moving trains, he was almost exhausted when he arrived at his friend's quarter. He was compelled to take a few days' rest in the friend's quarter and thereafter his friend accompanied him to the Collector's office. A Scotch official with upturned moustache and affable manners suggested Bill to claim land near Siliguri of northern Bengal to the west of the Chawai River adjacent to the Baikunthapur forest. The soil of the grassy undulating land was, the official emphasized, appropriate for cultivation of Camellia-Assamica and the land could be well irrigated by channels dug from the large horse-shoe lake left by the change of course of the river. But he would have to go to Calcutta first and meet higher officials of the Land Department. So Bill hurried to Calcutta carrying the letter of the official at Assam and the Land Department at Calcutta immediately accepted Bill's proposal. With official papers he journeyed to Siliguri from where the local officials accompanied him on elephant to the land he had proposed. Over and above the thousand acres of high land, the government also granted him the adjacent marshy land bounded by the horse-shoe lake and the dense forest.

It took a few years to prepare the land, plant tea saplings and found the factory. The estate was named after William's wife 'Rosemary' and production started by mid 1880s. It was highly profitable, but Bill did not find any peace of mind. So he sold the garden to a managing agency house, donated all his money to a poor-fund and left for Tibet with a Lama in quest of peace.

Chapter 2

I

Sensation of thrill coursed through Nimchand Maheshri, shortened Nimu, as the large headline of the notice written in red ink flashed across his vision and he got closer to read the content. His wife Urmila had reminded him of the colored bangles before Nimu took the morning bus for Jalpaiguri town to pay monthly installments of his loan-repayment to the bank. So after bank job he took a rickshaw for the bangle shop at Kadamtala. The bare bodied swarthy shopkeeper grinned to welcome his old customer and spread out a heap of multi-colored glass bangles on the mat. Nimu selected twenty varieties and handed over the sample bangle for measurement and the shop keeper started selecting bangles of appropriate size from the spread out lot. It would take some time, Nimu thought and he stepped aside and his vision fell right on the interesting notice pasted on the wattle wall of the shop. He got closer and read the ad again and again. The wasteland of the Rosemary tea garden would be sold out and willing buyers were to call on Srimanta Banerjee at his office at Dinbazar between 12 noon to 4 p.m.

The ad triggered Nimu and he decided to meet the person right away and try for the land. The notice seemed to have been pasted very recently, but he should make haste before anybody else could get it. 'It is not too late', he thought. Nimu had learnt from his uncle, Meghraj Kalyani, a promoter and dealer of building materials at Siliguri, that the high road connecting Siliguri and Jalpaiguri through the forest, only a furlong north of the tea garden, would soon be constructed and clearing of forest had already started. So the price of land close to the road would soar to the sky in no time. Nimu, however, had no interest in land speculation. He had a plan to set up a saw mill on the plot of land.

The Forest Department had already started selling through auction saal trees, on either side of the planned road, to the timber merchants. Transport cost of logs could be reduced if they were carried to the Siliguri center after sizing in a local saw mill. Meghraj had emphasized that a saw mill near the forest would be highly profitable and Nimu should try his best to buy some land close to the site. The notice elated Nimu and he thought that the marshy land could be a good site for the saw mill. There were a large number of good trees in the land. Selling out the timber of these trees would cover the cost of clearing and filling the lowland. 'But who's this Srimanta Banerjee and would he agree to sell the land to me at affordable price?' Nimu said to himself. Moreover, some other buyer might have already booked it. Anyway he should at least try to explore the golden opportunity which had come his way like a gift from the heaven. So he resolved to call on Mr. Banerjee right away and try his luck.

Nimu received the packed bangles, paid the shopkeeper and hailed a rickshaw for Dinbazar. Then he returned to the shop and asked the shopkeeper if he knew the advertiser.

The shopkeeper smiled, 'Oh, he's the well known Gittuda,' he lowered his voice, 'the Gitttu mastan. You should know him. He's now the owner of the land.'

'Oh my god, it's Gittuda!'

Nimu rode the rickshaw in an ebullient mood. Gittu knew him well and if the land had not already been booked, he stood a fair chance. His father, Babulal Kalyani (like all business men of the Maheshri community he never used his family name while in business) used to pay every year a sumptuous subscription to Gittu's Kali puza at Maskalaibari and in return was protected from all the minor mastans and illegal tax collectors. Nimu was amazed to think of the high position Gittu mastan had achieved.

II

Gittu's father was a poor priest who used to eke out his living by performing rituals and puzas in the households and clubs around Maskalaibari and Raninagar. He was an honest person and could somehow get his three beautiful daughters married to educated Brahmins. Gittu, the only son, was the youngest of the siblings. From his very childhood, unlike his parents and sisters, he was notorious but his deceptive looks and smartness could easily befool anybody. He was fair, tall with sharp nose, luminous large eyes and wispy hair. He was more interested in body building, boxing and karate than studies and had been rusticated from school after he had assaulted a teacher in the exam hall. Thereafter he took to blacking cinema tickets at cinema houses in the town, formed a group of hoodlums and soon became a bully to local people. He helped a political party to rig elections and in return was protected by a renowned political leader from police complications. He initiated a Kali puza near his house and it was patronized by the political leaders and every year an MLA or minister inaugurated the ceremony. Many shopkeepers of the town and the adjacent villages used to pay heavy subscriptions for the puza and a considerable portion of the collection that was left after meeting the puza expenses was divided among the goons, Gittu appropriating the lion's share.

Soon Gittu gave up cinema ticket blacking and took to bootlegging and arranging illegal gambling. His income increased by leaps and bounds but he became a headache to his honest parents. His lifestyle injured the feelings of the dignified honest priest who with his wife became a permanent resident of an ashram at Rishikesh after bequeathing his house to Gittu.

Gittu married Nirmala, the daughter of a respectable school teacher and the beautiful girl, by her love and strong personality, could soon bring Gittu under her command. Nirmala had fallen in love with Gittu at first sight and sought the permission and blessings of the would-be in-laws promising to mend their mischievous son. Gittu's parents were overwhelmingly impressed by her mail and rushed back to Jalpaiguri and arranged for the marriage right away. They, however, could not keep Nirmala's request to stay with them as it was no longer possible for them to return to the din-and-bustle of mundane life from the serenity of religious life in the ashram. Gittu loved Nirmala deeply and was faithful and at her insistence he gave up drinking and drugs. She earned the acclaim of many persons for her power to mend the notorious mastan, but bad people used to say that she knew witchcraft and art of bashikaran. Soon after marriage, Gittu dissolved his gang and started a partnership hotel business with a friend at Kolkata.

A few years ago continuous labor trouble over huge amount of unpaid salaries and defalcation of provident fund money had destabilized production at Rosemary tea garden. The company had bribed the trade union leaders to help them overcome the crisis. But the latter, notwithstanding their utmost efforts, failed to resolve the problem because of the adamancy of two labor leaders Ganesh Tirke and Budhu Ekka who had considerable command over the laborers. They refused to heed the leaders and Albert Bhagat, a Christian Oraon lawyer, took up the matter to labor courts. At the advice of the helpless political leaders the owners sought help of Gittu who readily accepted the offer and within a month dead bodies of Tirke, Ekka and Bhagat were found in the lower shoals of Tista River and the political leaders were prompt in hushing up the case. The police recorded it as a boat mishap. As a reward Gittu demanded the marshy land which he knew would soon fetch a very high price and the owners readily transferred the ownership right of the land to Gittu's name. Now Gittu had decided to sell out this land, buy the partner's share of the hotel with the proceeds and get settled at Kolkata where he would be free from the hangover of his misdeeds here and this would also please his wife and parents.

III

Notwithstanding jerks and jolts of the rickshaw along the broken road Nimu got engrossed in deep cogitation. How these worthless naughty people get high up the ladder of riches and social status! Should he follow the crooked path of Gittu or remain satisfied with moderate achievements that ethical living could ensure? But why should he follow the mischievous path that leads to disquiet of mind? The achievements vanish abruptly as they are gained. You move up fast by unfair means and fall down fast to hell, Nimu said to himself. His father had always remained honest and satisfied with moderate riches and this ensured him mental peace. He advised his sons and daughters to be righteous and religious. He narrated mythical stories of Ravana and Duryodhana and their ruin in spite of enormous prowess, and he also cited examples of present day wealthy but dishonest businessmen who had to suffer ignominy in the end.

Nimu himself had seen the miserable downfall of many nasty fear-rousing mastans. Vanta mastan

was once the terror of their locality. He was at first a taxi driver. He had joined the Naxalites and after fall of the Naxalite movement he used his past political stigma to terrorize people and gradually became the leader of a notorious gang. He got the patronization of political leaders and he was confident that no body could do him anything. He even cared a fig for the district Superintendent of Police. One evening, he was informed that a member of his gang had been beaten up severely by the rival gang. He could hardly guess it was a trap and he at once took out the motor cycle and confidently raced up to the spot alone and was beaten to death.

Similar was the fate of notorious Madhu, the son of a smuggler hotel owner. He was lusty and a menace to the girls of poor families. Nobody could do him anything as he used to bribe the police and help the politicians in elections. Once he broke into the house of a poor smith, tied the man with the cot and raped his young wife before his eyes. The police as usual refused to take up the FIR. The following month Madhu was returning home tipsy from the grog shop. When he came under the shadow of a large rain tree, he heard a whistle behind and as he whipped around he was beheaded by a chopper. After murdering the mastan the smith along with the blood-stained weapon surrendered himself to the police. Honesty is the best policy and crime leads to destruction in the long run, Nimu thought.

It was not at all difficult for Nimu to find out Gittu's office as the rickshaw puller knew it well and after alighting from the rickshaw Nimu in his simple attire and rustic demeanor hesitated to enter the two storied posh office.

Nimu looked un-smart in his gaits and never cared for his attires. He was the youngest son of Babulal Maheshri. Two of his sisters, one younger than him, were married to businessmen at Coochbehar and none of his three elder brothers, all of whom were brilliant students, had any interest in their family business. The eldest was a chartered accountant at Siliguri, the second a college teacher at Kolkata, and the third a lawyer practicing at Jalpaiguri court. Nimu was not good at his studies and did not like the school but he had keen business sense and liked more to work at his father's cloth shop. In the mid-term examination in history paper he was elated to find a question on Emperor Asoka which he had memorized the night before. However, while writing down the answer he mixed up everything and wrote stuffs like:

"Emperor Asoka used to dig up wells by the side of the highways so that passersby fall unawares into the pits........He had provided employment to many forest animals to the government hospitals........He had sent out Lord Buddha to Ceylon by a Boeing aircraft to propagate religion."

The history teacher read out the ingenious script in the class inviting uproarious laughter and making Nimu the victim of ragging by the batch mates. Nimu stopped going to school. Babulal, who knew that this son was not for studies, was happy, all the more so because he needed a helping hand in his business as he had already been inflicted with hypertension and gout problems. He arranged for Nimu's marriage to a girl from Bikanir and by the process got a good dowry that financed remodeling of the shop. Nimu soon took charge of the shop and his sincerity and performance was more than Babulal had expected.

At the time of marriage Urmila was a sixteen year old beautiful girl and her affable and ingratiating nature soon won the hearts of Nimu and his parents. She could make good achars and pickles and exchanged them with neighboring Bengali girls for lessons in spoken Bengali. Nimu soon started saving money to expand his business but he was very cautious. He avoided speculative business much in vogue among the young businessmen and he always sought business advice from his shrewd uncle who loved him like his own son. Recently his uncle had advised him to procure some land near the timber forest and start a saw mill. So, this opportunity was a boon for him. But would Gittu with such a posh office heed to his request? The thought made his heart sink.

IV

But soon he braced himself up controlling, by deliberate efforts, his trembling feet and palpitating heart and stepped into the premise. The well decorated office with upholstered sofas, swinging chairs and beautiful paintings with a large photo of goddess Kali and the spiffy girls at the counter made his hear flutter again. The girls, who were busy gossiping, squinted at the crass yokel with an oddly worn dhoti, a long sleeved crumpled shirt, pox-marked silly face and parted hair soaked with amla oil emitting offensive odor. The older girl with a large chignon and chiseled face asked gruffly,

'What do you want here?'

'I... I.... want to meet Gittuda, I mean, Banerjee babu," he stammered making the girls double up in laughter.

The parrot nosed younger girl stopped laughing and glowering at his shabby countenance asked,

'what do you want from sir? He does not give alms.'

Nimu dredged out a silly smile and said politely, 'no, no, I've not come to seek help. I want to talk with him about the tea garden land.'

The older girl raised her eyebrows in amazement, 'want to buy the land, have you any idea about the price? Okay, wait on the sofa. He's likely to come in half an hour.'

Finding him still fumbling the girl said harshly, 'I've asked you to wait, haven't you heard me?' Nimu dropped on the sofa awkwardly making the girls burst into uproarious laughter once again. He remained seated with drooping eyes trying to ignore the girls and soon his mind drifted along to religious thought. Can a notorious person like Gittu earn the favor of goddess Kali simply by hanging her photos on the wall and offering her puza and showbiz devotion? Babulal used to say that ostentatious devotion springs from guilt complex and fear of punishment for unethical deeds.

'Ar-reh Nimu, you're here?'

The lively address interrupted Nimu's thought and he looked up to see Gittu standing in front, spruce in green stylish trousers, bright checkered shirt, a beautiful striped necktie and haircut like a Hindi film star. Nimu stood up obediently in his candid way and said ebulliently,

'how are you Gittuda? I saw your ad about sale of tea garden land.'

'Come upstairs to my chamber.' He then turned toward the bewildered receptionists and snarled,

'why have you left him seated here and did not send him right over to my chamber?'

'Sir how could we know he's a V.I.P? He dropped in incognito,' the older girl mumbled.

After Nimu had followed Gittu upstairs, the older girl gasped, 'my god, how I could guess this simpleton to be someone important!'

The other girl said, 'these blood-sucking kaiyas are like this. They amass millions by deceiving poor people but move around like beggars.'

Nimu followed Gittu to his chamber through a swing door and the latter motioned him to a chair across from him. This room too had on its wall a large photo of goddess Kali along with a wall clock and photos of Ramakrishna and Rabindranath. On the costly glass cover of the table there were a small folding calendar, a pen case and a couple of cover files. Two large olive colored armoires close to the back wall, each with life size mirror on the shutter, gave the room a gorgeous look.

Gittu loosened his necktie, pulled it over his head and hung it on a hook projecting from the wall at the far end. He lighted a foreign brand cigarette by a Chinese lighter and queried, 'how is Kalyaniji?'

'Babuji has some gout problem and recently taking med for high pressure.'

'So you're now looking after the business?'

'Not exactly. Babuji sits at the gaddi in the morning and I help him and I do all outside jobs.'

'Now tell me if you're interested in the land.'

'That's why I've come here. Has any other customer already approached you?'

'I had just pasted the ad the day before yesterday. Only two or three have contacted me but none of them seem to be solvent parties. So if you're interested, we may proceed.'

'Certainly, I would buy it right away if the price is affordable. Are you the owner or broker?'

'I'm the owner now,' Gittu smiled proudly. 'I had helped the owners and they gave me the land as a reward.'

'What's your offer price?'

'Only ten lakh plus registration cost. Don't think it's too high. You must have heard about the highway and land at the place now is gold.'

'Oh ten lakh?' Nimu gasped.

'Considering future prospects, it's dam cheap. If I could wait a year I could have easily sold it at thrice the price. But now I badly need the money. If you simply keep the land and resell next year you'll get a lucrative profit.'

'Then why are you selling the land right now?'

'I badly need the money. I've a partnership hotel at Kolkata. The partner has decided to sell his share at ten lakh and not a single rupee less. If I don't buy it right now he would have freedom to sell it out to some outsider and that may create problem for me. Besides I like to be the sole proprietor and move over to Kolkata with my family as early as possible. You know political change is likely in the next election and this may put me to trouble here. So the earlier I leave North Bengal the better. Nimu, like an elder brother, I advise you to buy the land without delay. You could do highly profitable business in the growing township.'

Nimu hesitated a little and said politely, 'Gittuda, you know me well. Can't you fix it at eight?' Gittu smiled affably, 'yes I know you're a very candid and honest person and I'd be the happiest

person if I could reduce the price. But I badly need the ten lakh.'

'Okay, I'll pay your price. Now I don't have money or check book with me and I'll pay the necessary advance tomorrow.'

'No advance is needed. Your word is enough. Meet me this week with your advocate brother and I'll hand him over the preliminary papers for searching and all that. Better give my mobile number to Hemchand-da and he may talk over phone to me.'

The papers were all clean and there was no problem in registering the transaction. Hemchand and Meghraj lent Nimu a part of the money required to buy the land including searching, registration and other expenses.

Following local custom, work at the marsh was inaugurated by worship of the elephant god Ganesh, the serpent goddess Manasa and local apparitions. After the religious rituals, the laborers sang and danced merrily and thereafter haria was distributed among the laborers and they returned home tipsy. They did not forget to keep haria for the elephants in earthen vessels at different corners of the land.

At night, scores of elephants came out to drink haria potted in large earthen vessels and trampled the bushes and thickets, broke off branches of trees making the land look cyclone devastated.

V

The next day before clearing started, fume of an herb was spread to chase away the snakes. The laborers started chopping off the bushes and branches of trees with axes, choppers and sickles and clearing the ground with hoes and spades. The birds on the trees fluttered away in panic and the animals in the burrows took shelter in the forest.

The clearing started with much fanfare. The small bushes of fern, kalkasundi, akchhatti, datura and akanda could be easily rooted out and small branches of all the trees except the mango tree were all cut off and the bare trees looked like skeletons spreading out their bonny limbs awkwardly. The congeries of cut off twigs and branches were useless to Nimu and he gladly permitted the Rajbonshis of the nearby villages and madeshias of the tea garden to clear them off. Some took them for herbal use and some for fuel wood. Children hollered around and collected fruits of futki, akchhatti and telekucha and nests of birds. A madeshia laborer caught an ichneumon and took it along at daybreak for a good feast. Some snakes were also killed and madeshia laborers took them for eating after chopping off their heads.

At night, against the enchanting glare of the moon, the mango tree stood like a colossus, lonesome and morose, all his dear companions being annihilated mercilessly by barbaric invaders.

The following day, the laborers started felling the bare trees and the logs were carried off by open vans and small trucks to a saw mill at Siliguri. In a few days the lowlands and ditches were filled with sand carried by vans from the river bed and now the place looked neat and refreshed.

While making payments to the laborers in the evening, Nimu asked them when they would start felling off the giant mango tree. At this the laborers looked panic stricken and an aged Rajbonshi laborer took Nimu aside and told him the legends that had deified the tree and emphasized that no laborer of the locality dare fell it.

Nimu became flummoxed. How could he set up the saw mill with the tree at the middle? For the next few days he scoured through all the nearby villages but no laborer agreed to perform the sacrilegious job. Nimu too was impressed by the legends and while he related the stuff to Urmila, she too got panicked and suggested him to wait and resell the land after price increase. Nimu got disheartened. Would his long cherished dreams be shattered after so much toil? He thought it would be better to seek advice of Meghraj.

Meghraj assured Nimu that he would collect laborers from Bihar and Nepal through some labor contractors but it may take time. While Nimu mentioned the legends his uncle laughed and said, 'they are simply cock and bull stories fabricated by the rural folk'. He explained to Nimu that this was but a rare species of mango tree that grew at some remote areas of northern Bihar. The marshy land was a site for safari camps of the Raikut kings of the Baikunthapur estate and it was quite likely that the tree had grown from some mango seed thrown out by the hunters in course of their safari camping.

Meghraj's argument was convincing to Nimu who returned home triumphant. I'm not going to set up the mill immediately, Nimu said to himself. I've already spent much of my savings to buy the land. Furthermore I'm to repay loans. So I cannot buy machineries for the mill right now. So I may wait until the Bihari and Nepali laborers from outside are contracted. Suddenly an idea struck him. Last month Urmila had painted her hands with beautiful tattoos. Nimu's mother Lakshmi Devi had paid the godna- expert madeshia girl Saiba a higher fee than usual. She, later on, told Nimu that the condition of the girl was miserable. Her husband Etwa had lost his job at the closer of the tea garden he used to work in and the company did not pay the dues of unpaid salary and provident fund. She had three children and old widower father-in-law. The husband and wife were now eking out living by performing odd jobs.

The recollection made Nimu ebullient and hopeful. He would offer unemployed Etwa the job of a permanent porter in the shop if the latter agreed to fell the tree and to come out of financial problems Etwa would gladly accept the offer for sure. Next morning he took a rickshaw for the shanty of the laborer.

VI

The shack with thatched overhanging roof stood on a small plot of occupied railway land. The rickshaw could not move along the narrow track leading to the house and Nimu had to walk over to the house and while he called the laborers name aloud, Etwa and Saiba came out with smiling faces revealing their ivory-white well-set teeth and were astonished to sea the rich Marwari at their doors. The children also jostled around their mother. Saiba who wore a red bordered white pandhat, the sari worn from above the breasts up to the knees with neck and legs bare, brought up a bamboo mora but hesitated to ask a rich Marwari like Nimu to sit on it. Nimu smiled affably to watch her embarrassment and promptly took the mora from her hand and sat right down on it. Then he went forthright to the job stuff. The faces of both of them were brightened to hear about the job and they were also a bit puzzled why shethji himself had come all the way over to their house to give the information. He could as well have sent for Etwa to his gaddi through some servant. Both of them, however, were delighted at the golden offer and thought that God had heeded to their prayers.

Nimu, however, was honest enough to disclose unequivocally the string attached to the offer and the reason why he could not find local laborers for the job. This made the faces of Etwa and Saiba pale. The tree was planted by the deities. How could Etwa fell down such a sacred tree? Saiba said unequivocally,

'Sethji, we are poor, but considering the well being of my kids I cannot let my husband fell a divine tree and incur the curse of the deities. You ask us to do anything else and we would oblige, but not felling the sacred tree.'

Utterly disappointed, Nimu made for the rickshaw and noticed Etwa's old father Dhanesh beckoning him from behind. He stopped short and Dhanesh coming close to him asked straight away, 'If I myself perform the assignment would you offer my son the job?'

'Certainly, but at this age, can you fell a vast tree?'

'Yes I still have the prowess. I'm the best axe-man around here. I've lost strength with age no doubt but I could compensate with skill and technique.'

'Have you seen the tree?' Nimu queried.

'Hundreds of times,' Dhanesh smiled. 'I'd been an employee of Rosemary garden and used to see the tree everyday. Then there was labor trouble and I was among the retrenched. Fortunately my son then got a job at another garden. Now he too has lost it.'

'But people say it's a divine tree.'

'I don't buy it. Dharmesh and Singbonga reside in saal trees, not in mango trees. Moreover, my wife was a Birshait Munda and their family influenced me to become a Birshait in faith and since then I don't subscribe to the tribal superstitions. I, however, stick to the basics of sarna to love nature and plants.'

'If you love plants, how could you kill a vast tree?' Nimu said jokingly.

'You know the thieves, sponsored by the politicians of the ruling party, are destroying the entire forest. What additional harm could be done by felling an isolated mango tree?'

'Better consult your son and daughter-in-law before taking final decision.'

'No need. I'll do the job anyway if you promise my son's job.'

'Then come to my gaddi tomorrow and I'll take you right over to the spot.'

Chapter 3

I

The afternoon before the felling Nimu, Babulal, Meghraj and Dhanesh congregated at the spot. Meghraj scrutinized the tree from all sides and pointed out that the tree after a vertical rise up to fifteen feet or thereabout had arched distinctly to the north-east and the largest branch containing most of the minor branches had spread in that direction. Meghraj emphasized that if the trunk of the tree was cut halfway through at the opposite side of the inclination, the enormous tree would crumble on its own weight. Examining intently everyone subscribed to the view and Meghraj drew two parallel semi-circles with chalk to pinpoint the region to be cut through.

The ground encircling the tree was slushy even after stuffing it with sand and they felt that it would be necessary to construct a cemented platform around the tree before the felling commences. Bricks and cement were carried by vans from Meghraj's shop and sand from the river bed and the mason constructed a strong platform encircling the trunk in a few days. The felling was to start on an auspicious day. Meghraj had already brought along the almanac and after close inspection of the book, he selected the auspicious day for felling and Dhanesh and Nimu wholeheartedly accepted his choice.

It was early dawn on the auspicious day when Dhanesh with his axe arrived at the spot. Nimu had rented a part of the storehouse of grain of a Rajbonshi landlord at a village close to the tree for night-stay of Dhanesh. Nimu stayed in the upper storey for the night before the felling started and came to the spot before day break along with Dhanesh. Biscuits and other dry food were stored in Dhanesh's room and he took some along for breakfast. Lunch would be sent by his men, Nimu told. Cocks in the villages crowed to greet the onset of dawn and streaks of mellow light made their first onslaught on the nocturnal darkness. Dhanesh requested Nimu to take rest and Nimu told that he would make occasional visits to see if Dhanesh encountered any problem and he also told the latter not to exert too much and perform his task with ease as Nimu was not in much hurry.

Nimu left and the eastern sky became brighter as the onslaughts of light swept away the dollops of darkness congealed in the crevices of the forest and the bushes and everything around were now distinctly visible. Dhanesh took up his axe, examined the handle, cleaned the head with a napkin and as he looked up he became morose to behold the lonely tree standing alone in the cleared land. He put down his axe, genuflected and muttered with folded hands:

'Forgive my friend; I'm doing this cruel job to save my son, daughter-in-law and the kids.'

The morning breeze wheezed through the thick foliage and Dhanesh could hear the deep sigh of the giant tree that swirled around and faded into the distant forest. After the first sign of senescent debility Dhanesh used to sit at the bottom of the tree and was amazed at the affinity between them, the loneliness and sense of abandonment of old age. He used to tell the tree the nostalgic stories told by his father and in his delusive distraction could hear the tree telling its tales from its century long storehouse of experience.

II

A large squirrel scurried down the trunk of the tree and perched fearlessly on Dhanesh's arm, looked up with its round deep eyes at his sad countenance and then glided down his body raising a tickling sensation and started feeding on the crumbs of biscuits scattered on the cemented platform. Its beautiful large tail was scrubbing the floor like a hairy broom. It finished eating and then hurried up the tree and lost in the deep foliage. Soon the secure den of the beautiful squirrel would be demolished. Dhanesh felt a sense of guilt.

His mind drifted back to the past, to the tribal life of Santhal Pargana and beyond to the war with the Turks at Rohtasgarh. His grand father Somra Oraon, a poor Kurukh, was a menial at a village near Deoghar of Bihar and like all other tribal menials, lived from hand to mouth. Sitaram Bhagat, the intrepid boy who had left home in quest of fortune, came back and brought good news of bright future in Bengal and Assam for all the Kurukh youths. His extravagant attires, stylish gait and smoking of foreign cigarettes made the gullible young ones trustful to his stories of opulence, highly paid and dignified jobs in tea gardens in northern Bengal and Assam – brick-built houses, delicious food, the fatherly treatment by the employers and the prestige and dignity there. He raised hopes in the hearts of the hitherto morbid Kurukh youths and ignoring the note of caution of the Pahan and the elderly Kurukhs, they started enlisting their names for migration to Bengal and Assam. Visit of an Angrej (English) sahib, his assurances in broken Hindi and Bhagat's English conversations with the sahib removed all the doubts from the minds of the cautious ones and they too queued up for enlisting. Thereafter, agents from other companies started pouring in, competing with each other with stories about prospects of the laborers in their respective gardens.

Most of the youths recruited by the agents of different companies belonged to the Kurukh tribe. Santhals and Mundas had long been settled in agriculture and it was at first difficult to lure them to a distant place. The wives of the married ones accompanied the husbands as the agents assured that female workers would also be needed for plucking tea leaves but pregnant females and ones with young children were discouraged considering the difficult journey.

III

The initial enthusiasm started fading off as soon as the difficult journey on foot, carts and at times packed-up trucks, commenced. They were well guarded by the goons of the company, who checked the list from a register in the temporary tents set up after they had halted at the end of day's journey. Many coolies fell sick on the way. Some tried to flee averting the strict watch of the goons but were apprehended by the police and forced to return and the goons whipped them and forced them to drink their own urine. The chief agent read out the contract form on which each of them had put their thumb impression and read out the Hindi translations of the relevant legal provisions and explained to them that it was a punishable legal offence to breach the contract by fleeing away. After learning about the contents of the forms they had blindly given thumb impressions on, out of enthusiasm to get lucrative jobs, many of the youths repented but there was no way back now. They felt they had been tricked into a horrible snare.

Occasionally, the sahibs of the companies used to come to inspect if everything went on well. Some Kurukhs died on the way. While Dhondro's wife died he wanted to return home but the cruel agent did not permit. After they had reached Shakrikali ghat of the Ganges, it was found that many of the conscripts had died on the way and a large number were sick. Still the laborers enjoyed the crossing of the river in packed up steamers and they offered pranam to the holy Ganges; some enjoyed the sight of the commotion generated in the water by the gigantic wheels of the vessel. From Manihari ghat they were packed up like cattle in an Assam bound train; the sick ones were dropped at Siliguri, Udlabari and Alipur Duar to be sent to the adjacent gardens and the rest to Assam.

Somra was among the former. Upon reaching the gardens, shabby dwellings, low pay, long hours of tedious work and ill treatment by the managers and coolie sardars and flogging at the slightest fault made them realize that they had been deceived. But now they had no way out. The chowkidars always kept strict watch on them so that they could not escape and even if their watch could be averted, it was difficult to reach the rail stations. The gardens were in remote places close to the forest and far off from the localities. The nearest railway stations were ten to twenty miles away and the adjacent forest was infested with tigers, leopards, elephants, wild buffaloes, wild dogs, wild boars and venomous snakes. Some coolies attempting to escape into the forest were killed by wild animals.

Like the other entrapped Kurukhs, Somra had to accept the new life in the new world far away from the peace and quietness of Chhotanagpur and soon like the other coolies he got accustomed to the new life. The adjacent forest was free from restrictions and they could hunt in the evening or collect firewood, herbs and ground potatoes. This gave them some pleasure of transitorily getting back to their life at their homeland. Dhanesh's father was born at the tea garden shanty and a Rajbonshi dhai (nurse) from the nearest village five miles away helped the delivery. His mother was very sick and anemic after child birth but soon recovered and joined her job of plucking tea leaves. While working she used to tie the child with a piece of cloth on her back.

Chapter 4

I

Dhanesh remained obsessed with nostalgic memories of the past for some time and his trance was broken by a raucous noise of a peacock. The peacock, when it unfurls its plumage with the onset of rains to invite the peahen, is the most beautiful bird, but its raucous crowing is the most loathsome. He hastened to pick up his axe and admonished himself for wasting time with idle thoughts. Dhanesh felt that he would have to start the felling anyway as there was no way back now. He hastily drank a draught of haria and shook off all hesitations to strike the bark hard and an agonizing shriek of pain from above the branches subdued the thud made by the axe at the contact with the hard crust of the trunk making the birds around flutter away screeching. It was no illusion he thought and he picked up fallen down leaves of the tree to clog his ears to escape the panting of his age old friend. With a few more strikes he could remove the bark and the reddish juice dripping from the cut appeared like blood to befuddled Dhanesh. 'It's not simply a tree but something humanoid,' he thought. I'm to kill him anyway, but it should be painless. I have to do something to palliate his pain and stop bleeding. 'Wait my friend, I'll medicate you and you'll be free from bleeding and pain.' Dhanesh said aloud, put down his axe on the cemented platform and made for the bush skirting the forest. Many times whenever he had cuts or bruises he administered some herbs and the pain and bleeding subsided instantly and the wound did not take much time to heal. From the bush he picked up leaves of dholkalmi and a creeper. He mashed the two herbs together and applied the liniment after cleaning the reddish gum dripping from the bark and commenced felling again.

The thick bark was to be removed first and then the difficult part of the work would start. He started removing the bark cutting along the lines drawn by Meghraj. The thick bark was hard and it took a long time to be removed and Dhanesh did it carefully and part by part. Gradually the barks were removed from the area in between the two parallel circles marked by chalk and the bone-like inner part of the trunk was laid bare. Now he would have to strike harder to negotiate with the bonny inner part and it may be very painful to the tree. Dhanesh cleaned the spot and smeared it with the herbal liniment again. 'The glue is also soothing to pains of wounds', he muttered to himself. The sun was now high up and the tree cast a large shadow against the sun. Dollops of cirrus were visible through the crevices left by the foliage of the tree. Dhanesh looked up and imagined the clouds to be vehicles of the gods who were looking disdainfully at the heinous betrayal of Dhanesh of his tree friend. He felt sad but he had to do it anyway to save his son, his daughter in law and the children. He got some solace by arguing that the curse would befall on him alone and not on them. They were always against this dastardly job. Dhanesh thought. No, they won't suffer for his sinful act; he thought and felt an inner comfort. But was it justified to indulge in sin to help dear ones or anybody else? But now there was no way back and he had to fell down the friendly tree anyway.

II

A servant from Nimu's house arrived with the lunch packet consisting of rice, chapatti, achar, chilli and potato curry. Nimu had dropped word that he himself would come with dinner packet in the evening and examine the progress of the day's work. Dhanesh cleaned the cut off part of the trunk with dry leaves and pasted the edges with mashed kendra grass. This herbal grass prevents infection and is very soothing for wounds; even nasty bed-sores and gangrene had been cured by this grass. But what was the need to administer palliatives to a friend whom he was going to kill? Was it sheer hypocrisy? No, he thought. He was simply trying to make the killing as painless as possible, Dhanesh argued to himself.

Dhanesh ate with relish as he had rarely the opportunity to take such rich food. They could not afford such costly food, and in the household jobs the food served to the menials were always of low quality, even worse than the food they themselves prepared. But Nimu was a different kind of person; even Bengali babu's were not so kind to the menials and servants. The master sahib was saying that day that he had never seen an honest Marwari like Nimu; he was like a lotus in the dunghill, the school master had emphasized. He was right, Dhanesh thought while smacking the rest of the nimbu-achar.

Resting a while after lunch, he started his unpleasant work again, now much slowly as the crumbs of the hard timber were jutting out like splinters at each stroke of the axe and hitting his bare body. Nimu had suggested him to cover his body with a cloak he had bought exclusively for the job and wear goggles but Dhanesh had declined. He was well accustomed to felling trees bare-bodied and his calloused skin could endure the onslaughts of the splinters but he should be careful that they did not hit his eyes. The sun now had dropped down behind the forest ahead and the birds started returning to their nests in groups, screeching and edging out wavy lines against the murky sky.

Nimu came with cakes for snacks and for dinner, chapatti, dal, cabbage-curry and mango- achar. He was amazed to see the neatly cut opening on the trunk of the tree and he was all praise for the aesthetic sense of the madesia axe-man. Dhanesh explained to Nimu his subsequent plan. He had already removed the hard bark of the tree and part of the bonny inner body and next day he would cut deeper. Nimu told him that he was highly satisfied with the first day's work and he would come again the next evening. He should have come in the morning and noon, but he was hard pressed with other works at the gaddi and outside. He also made it clear that his visits were simply to encourage Dhanesh and not for inspections as he had full confidence in the honesty, responsibility and dexterity of Dhanesh.

III

The gloomy red sun dropped down into the west and Dhanesh dug a hole at the north-east corner of the land and cremated the detritus of the bark covering them in dry saal leaves. Returning to his room, he took his dinner and dropped his tired body on the mat, fell asleep in no time and transported to the mystic land of dreams. He found himself seated beside an old man in a vast grassland. The puckered splotchy skin of the man suggested very old age, may be many centuries. Dhanesh felt it must be the mango tree and tears rolled down his cheeks. The old tree-man smiled and said,

'Don't cry my friend. I've already traversed through centuries and I have no desire to live any longer. I'm grateful to you for offering me the opportunity to do the sacred job of sacrificing my worthless senile life for a noble cause, to save a family from ruin. I have lived through ages and now can't recollect the farrago of things I've encountered in this long life but now an incident comes vivid to my mind and this is more interesting than stories you read in books. Today I'll tell you the funny story of the naughty leopardess and this would soon do away with your moroseness.

These large cats you know live in deep forests and at times invade the human habitations to hunt cattle and even children. But this time a leopardess settled at a bushy ditch close to my trunk to protect her cubs from their father who if found alone would kill and eat the small cubs. This is the custom of the cats. There are also other ferocious beasts around and therefore the leopardess always kept close to the cubs, breast-fed them and lived on small animals, rabbits, rats, birds that could be found close by. She became very weak and famished at first. The eyes of the beautiful cubs opened in a few days and now they could move out and play, but their mother always kept strict watch so that they could not go to the jungles and endanger their lives. Soon they learnt to climb trees and now their mother could go out for hunting and kill deer and other larger animals for the family. It was exhilarating to watch the games and mock fights of the cubs. They liked to play hide and seek on my branches. People of the locality do not kill or harass mother beasts and so they abandoned the road alongside me and took another road for going to places lest the leopardess attack apprehending they would do harm to the cubs. Some, however, were intrepid enough to offer goat flesh to the mother and the cubs and they watched, with amazement, the leopardess and the tiny ones devouring the flesh.

After some time the mother left with the cubs into the deep forest. None of them except the smart one who was a deft climber returned again. The naughty one was a female and she liked to swing from and sleep on my branches at night and I enjoyed the hug of her pulpy body. She soon grew into a full fledged leopardess and still she never liked to trespass into the villages and human habitations. She used to come to me at night, played for a long time and then slept on a broad branch. She climbed the highest branch in moonlit nights and watched the views around. She hunted rabbits, rats and birds in the bushes and trees around. Sometimes she harassed the small animals by chasing them simply for fun and letting them go when they were panic stricken and exhausted and thereafter she laughed loudly. I once admonished her, "why do you harass the poor animals for nothing?" She replied, "it's an interesting game." She, however, learnt a lesson very soon and it was very funny.

It was a moonlit night and a wild boar entered the land losing its way and started moving hither and thither to find the way out. The leopardess, who was then swinging in a lowly branch, noticed the boar and jumped down and started laughing and chasing the panicked animal. Noticing the large leopard after it the poor animal got more confused and started running aimlessly and after some time its back got stuck on a closely knit cluster of trees. Our heroin started closing in with a majestic style, frightening the boar with clenched teeth and grave roars and the latter having no way out unleashed its spear-like sharp fangs and started running toward its adversary in a last bid to save its life. In a moment our bullying heroin turned back and hastened to climb up my branches. I was amazed to feel the flutter of her terrified heart and started laughing aloud. She said angrily, "why are you laughing like a fool?" I retorted smiling, "you always rejoice frightening weaker animals and now you have a good lesson being frightened by a smaller and weaker animal." She protested, "not at all, my running and climbing is just a part of the funny game." "May be." I laughed aloud again.

She got angry and started scratching my barks with her nails, tearing off leaves and breaking off small twigs. For the rest of the night she did not return. But the next evening she came again and said politely, "sorry for my rude behavior."

One night she disclosed to me her plan that she would steal a calf from the cowshed of a villager. I cautioned her, "don't do this; it may lead you to trouble."

"No trouble at all; the wattle walls of the shed are brittle and at night when nobody is around I can easily steal the calf and I hope the soft flesh would be excellent."

"No, you should not do this; don't incur the enmity of the humans, they are dangerous. If you are on their right side they are the most benevolent friends but if on the wrong side, they are the cruelest enemies."

She laughed out loud, "dangerous! They are the weakest animals."

"Weakest physically indeed, but they have heads which none else have. They have poison arrows and I've seen a new weapon, the fire-club that emits fire with a thud and can kill even an elephant."

She didn't believe me and stole the calf and devoured it. Then men from all the villages came out with clubs, spears and bows and were frantically looking for the cat who, sensing trouble, had already fled to the deep jungle. Then came a white man with the fire-club and planned to wait on my branches at night to kill her. Fortunately the stage for the hunter could not be prepared that night and when the cat came to sleep I told her the situation. She had already been terrified to see the prowess of the weakly humans and fled into the deep forest and never came back.'

Chapter 5

I

Next morning Dhanesh rose before sun rise, brushed teeth with a veranda twig, mashed down to make the end the tooth brush, and smeared his burning palms with the juice of an herb. He heard the clucks of the cocks while he reached the field and in the barely visible light of dawn observed that a thick crust of gum had accumulated in the three inch deep opening cut out by him the day before on the trunk of the tree. He cleared the gum and was satisfied that no more bloodlike juice was dripping. Now the bonny part had to be cut off and it would be more painful for the tree. 'I should administer some anesthetic', he muttered to himself. He picked up leaves of bhang grown at the edge of the forest and rubbed the cut with the juice. 'This is a good anesthetic and would lessen the pain', he said to himself.

He checked up the axe carefully and found that it was o.k. Now the sky had become brighter and screeches and chatters of birds made the ambience lively. The forest was still dark like a high wall with serrated top. He struck the bonny part of the tree and the continuous contact of the sharp edge of the axe with the trunk made a series of monotonous sharp sounds that echoed in the forest and snippets of timber started assailing the bare part of his body. He changed his earlier decision and wore the spectacle with large glasses given to him by Nimu to protect his eyes. He muttered addressing the tree, 'I've administered anesthetic and hope the cutting is no longer painful for you.'

Morning breeze started blowing in the high up foliage of the tree and Dhanesh felt as though the tree was whispering, 'yes my friend, your medication is marvelous. I don't feel anything but the thrust of your axe.'

Dhanesh continued cutting faster and splinters of wood started hitting his body mercilessly. The sharp edge of a fragment hit his chest hard and he felt blood oozing out. Nimu was right; he should have covered his body too. Dhanesh realized that old age had left its mark on his strength and power to endure. In his youth he could ignore the cuts and bruises made by splinters of timber. Only bathing afterwards was problematic as contact with water used to cause sharp pain all over the body. But no infection or suppuration followed as the herbs smeared all over his body could cure the wounds in a day or two. But now it was different; his old worn out body took much longer time to recuperate. Dhanesh went back to his den to put on the shirt and the cotton monkey-cap given him by Nimu. These would cause tickling and irritating sweating but he had to protect his body, face and forehead. The breeze now swirled through the top of the tree and Dhanesh felt as though the tree was chuckling to observe his queer appearance.

II

Dhanesh started cutting again and now the onslaught of the detritus of wood did not create any problem for him. The unaccustomed garment, however, caused him some uneasiness at first but he was soon accustomed to it as he went on slashing the hard bonny wood of the trunk like a robot and his mind drifted back to the past, the history and the legends of his forefathers who had been deceived into the slavery in the tea gardens. There was nobody around except the tree and Dhanesh who split himself up into two – the tree and himself – the tree questioning and he replying.

'Now tell me some new story. Where is your homeland my friend?'

'My grand father came here from far away Santhal Parganas.'

'Then you're a Santhal I suppose.'

'No, we are Kurukhs, known as Oraons and the Rajbonshi's here call us madesias and the Bengali babu's call us dhangars. No body knows our ancestral land which is shrouded in myth and mystery. My forefathers believed that long long ago our Kurukh race used to live in the mythical land Rohtasgarh. Mundas of Chotanagpur call us Oraons which means nomads who have traveled many places and who do not have any land of their own.'

'Why did your ancestors leave Rohtasgarh?'

'That's a lengthy story.'

'Tell me the story. This would lessen your drudgery of the hard work.' Dhanesh went on cutting the tree and relating his story to the tree.

'While I was young India had already won independence from British rule and the government had passed new laws protecting the interests of the tea garden laborers. Most of the laws were violated by the planters but at least one thing had changed, the serfdom of plantation laborers had been completely abolished and tea garden laborers could move anywhere now and give up garden jobs if they liked. Many of them were retrenched because of occasional crisis in tea business and took to agriculture or became menials in households or free casual laborers. I happened to get admitted to a school and could continue studies up to class six. My Bengali friend at school Mihirbabu, a brilliant student, continued studies up to the highest level and became an inspector of the tea gardens, a high level government officer. He was a nice person and could recognize me while visiting our garden. He told me that he would visit Chhotanagpur soon and if I accompany him I would get the opportunity to visit my homeland. I was thrilled at his proposal and the manager granted me one month's leave with pay at his request. The managers obliged to the request of the inspector without any hesitation as he knew well that any adverse report from the inspector about violation of plantation laws would put him to trouble.

As soon as I arrived at Chhotanagpur the doors of a completely new world opened up before me and I was amazed to discover the difference between my lifestyle and language from that of the Oraons of Chhotanagpur. In fact, like all the Oraon plantation laborers in north Bengal, I was born and brought up amidst a mongrel culture of Oraons and Bengalis. The language I spoke could be comprehensible to the local tribals at Chhotanagpur but it appeared funny to them. But soon I made friendship with many Kurukhs, Mundas, Hoes and Santhals there. I enjoyed their festivities and music which I had heard about from my father.

It was the year of Jani Shikar, hunting by tribal women to celebrate their victory over the Turuks (Turks) whom they had driven out from the Rohtasgarh fort twelve times.'

'Tell me please the story of the battle with the Turuks at Rohtasgarh.' The tree seemed to be keenly curious.

Dhanesh continued, 'There are many accounts of the incidents. That happened long long ago and nobody knows the exact incidents. Many folk-stories have been created about the battle and the myths, which were handed down from mouth to mouth, have changed in course of time because of interpolations. The most interesting account is like this.

The Rohtasgarh fort where our ancestors lived since time immemorial was defended by the most invincible fort and according to the Hindus, it was founded by Rohtas, the son of Harishchandra of Hindu mythology. The Turuks came from a distant land and invaded India and the Sultans captured Delhi and established their kingdom in India. Now they wanted to expand their kingdom by subjugating the independent states. They realized that in eastern India, capturing Rohtasgarh would give them tremendous strategic advantage. So they rushed with their force to capture the fort but observing the invincible fort and prowess of the Kurukh warriors they fled. Then the spies of the Sultan found a Kurukh whore at Delhi and promised to pay her a lucrative amount if she could inform the Turuks about the weaknesses of the Kurukhs at Rohtasgarh. The whore informed them that during the Sahrul and Karam festivals all the Kurukh males get drunk with haria, the rice fermented drink. Karam is held during the rains and disadvantageous to attack at that time. So they decided to invade the fort at the time of Sahrul in spring.'

'Tell me something about your Sahrul festival,' the tree implored.

III

'Hat...hat...hat......'

The noise made Dhanesh return to the real world and turning around saw Tiken, the Rajbonshi peasant boy on the back of a large buffalo leading a group of buffaloes.

'Are you going out for grazing?' Dhanesh asked.

'No, I'm taking them to the lake. You know they like water and mud. I've heard you talking to yourself just now. You feel lonely cutting the tree alone I think. I would be glad to be by your side while you work but the naughty buffaloes would move freely if I don't keep watch on them and it would be difficult to hunt them out if they enter the jungle and also leopards may attack them in the forest. Why do you wear this funny dress?'

'They protect me from splinters of wood while I cut the tree.'

'They are costly I think.'

'No doubt. Nimu babu bought them for me.'

'May I wear the goggles?'

'Sure.'

Dhanesh put off the goggles and handed it over to the boy who had dismounted from the back of the buffalo.

'Whose buffaloes are these?'

'Cheltu Roy's.'

'I think you worked in Sital's farm.'

'He no longer needs me and also he behaves roughly with the menials like me.'

'I know Cheltu; he's a good man I've heard.'

'Certainly and he never cheats about payment.'

Dhanesh hesitated and then asked getting closer to the boy 'Do you think I'm committing sin by felling this sacred tree?'

'Not at all. I don't believe that trees could be planted by deities. I could have felled the tree myself as it meant a good job at the Marwari's gaddi, but I don't have the skill, nor the strength to fell down such a gigantic tree.'

'Every one here has deep faith in the myth. You seem to be the first one in the locality to differ. But how come a Hindu boy like you does not believe in these things?'

'My father was a communist and he taught us not to be superstitious. He joined the Naxalites you may know and was killed by police in the jail. Oh ho, the naughty buffalo has strayed away toward the jungle.'

The boy returned the goggles and hurried unleashing his long stick toward the run away buffalo, chased it back to the line of the buffaloes again, rode on the back of the largest one and left along with the herd. The sun was now up and everything around looked bright. The breeze blowing harder now made a hissing noise in the foliage of the tree. No body was around and none was likely to come this way at these hours. Dhanesh continued his story.

IV

'I've not myself seen the Sahrul festival as the Kurukhs at tea gardens do not observe this, but I've heard about the festival from my father.

The Sahrul festival is a flower festival and it is held in spring as then the saal trees are adorned with blossoms. The festival begins with the puza of the village deity who, the tribal people believe, protects them from all hazards and brings prosperity to them. The puza is performed by the Pahan.'

'Who is the Pahan?' Dhanesh asked shifting himself to the role of the tree.

'He's the priest of the Kurukhs. In the evening before the worship of the gods the Pahan fills three new earthen pots with water. Next dawn, the Pahan bathes, puts on new clothes (kacchha dhaga) and examines the water levels of the earthen pots. If the water levels remain unchanged, it's a sign of good rains and prosperity. On the other hand, decrease in water levels portends hazards like drought and famine.

After checking up the water of the pots, the Pahan gets ready for the puza and his wife washes his feet and seeks his blessings. Then the Pahan along with the devotees proceed for the sarna or jaher.'

'What is sarna or jaher?'

'This is the saal tree in which the supreme invisible god (Singbonga of the Santhals or Dharmesh of the Kurukhs) resides according to tribal faith. There is an interesting folklore about the discovery of the jaher deep inside the forest by the tribal people.'

'Tell me please the story.'

Dhanesh stopped talking as he felt uneasy with the airtight outfit inside which beads of sweat were dripping down his body. It would no longer be necessary to wear the dress for the rest of the day, he thought. A furrow had been cut by the axe. The uneven ends had to be smoothed out to enable further strikes by the axe. Dhanesh put off the goggles and the robe, rolled the robe neatly and stacked it into the Hessian bag. He then picked out the large chopper, bent backwards and started smoothing the uneven furrow on the trunk after drying his body with a towel. He resumed the story.

'Some tribal people, while resting under a tree in course of hunting in deep forest, started discussing about the abode of their creator, the Supreme God. But they could not come to a conclusion and eventually decided that they would send an arrow high up in the sky and abode of their creator must be at the place where the arrow drops. They sent the arrow in the sky and it traveled down on a saal tree inside the forest and since then the saal tree became the place of their worship of the Supreme God.

Now let me get back to the Sahrul festival. After reaching the jaher with the villagers, the Pahan offers three chickens of different colors – the first one for the Supreme God, the second one for the village deities and the third for their ancestors.

While the Pahan performs the puza rituals at the jaher, the villagers start singing accompanied by various percussion instruments like tumdak, madal, dhol, kartal etc. Then some males lift the Pahan on their shoulders and proceed towards his house while other villagers follow them singing and dancing. As soon as the procession reaches the door of the Pahan's house his wife welcomes them and receives her husband by washing his feet. The Pahan then offers saal flowers to his wife and all the villagers as tokens of love brotherhood and friendship. This is followed by the 'fool-khonsi' ritual in which the Pahan adorns every tribal house with saal flower.

After the rituals haria-prasad is distributed and the villagers drink, sing and dance for weeks to celebrate the festival gorgeously. However, in earlier times the female Kurukhs refrained from drinking while all the males used to become tipsy with haria.'

V

The sun was high up into the mid sky now and his story telling was interrupted as Nimu's man came with the lunch packet. After lunch he leaned against the trunk of the tree. He felt very tired and drowsy.

'No, I should not rest now; only a little work to clean the rough edge is left and Nimu babu would be unhappy if he finds me sleeping before completion of the days' work.' He muttered to himself and resumed clearing off the edges with the chopper and got back to his story.

'The whore gave the Turuks every detail of the festival and assured them that in course of the festivities all the male Kurukhs would remain completely soused and incapable of resisting the invaders and they need not attach much importance to the weaker sex. So the Turuks planned to attack the fort during the Sahrul festival and capture it while the male Kurukhs, being drunk, would be incapable of fighting.

During the next Sahrul, all the Kurukh men were dead drunk at midnight and the women were ready to go to bed after their children had slept. All of a sudden they were startled by noise coming from outside the fort gate. A leader of the women called a young girl, expert at climbing trees, to inspect what was going on outside the fort gate. The girl climbed at the top of a tall tree and was bewildered to notice a large number of Turuk soldiers approaching the gate of the fort. She immediately rushed back and alerted the leader who right away blew her conch shell and the young girl started beating a drum. This was the signal for the women to assemble near the house of the leader. Those who heard the sounds started making similar signal and soon all the women congregated outside the house of the leader. The leader told them about the impending danger and ordered them to get prepared to fight the enemies in soldier's uniforms with weapons. The women left and started getting ready according to the directions of the leader.

In the mean time the Turuk soldiers were trying to break open the gate of the fort. The passage leading to the gate was narrow and hilly and so only a few soldiers could approach it at a time. Some women soldier's rode the tall turrets and through the holes started shooting arrows at the Turuk soldiers trying to approach the gate and they were immediately killed being hit by the arrows soaked with snake poison. Then the Turuks started backing out and women Kurukhs getting out of the fort through the secret openings started chasing and killing them mercilessly and ultimately all the defeated Turuks were compelled to give up the hope of capturing the fort.

The same incidents were repeated twelve times. Then the Sultan consulted the Kurukh whore again and the woman informed him that the Kurukh women too get drunk during the Karam festival. The time was not, however, suitable for the attack because after the rains the fields become muddy and difficult to move across; but this time only the fort could be captured without any resistance from the Kurukhs. The Turuk soldiers were trained to fight in the muddy land during the rains and planned to attack this time during the Karam festival.'

VI

His work for the day was now complete and Nimu was likely to arrive within half an hour. So in order to avert sleep he leaned against the tree and continued his story in a stentorian tone. He turned himself into the tree and implored, 'please tell me something about the Karam festival.'

He assumed the role of Dhanesh again and began to explain the Karam festival. 'Karam is a festival held during the month of autumn on the eleventh day of the phases of moon in the Bengali month of Bhadra (at the beginning of September) to worship the Karam god. The flowers, fruits and wood required for the worship are collected by young men from the forest. They enter the forest in groups accompanied by drum beats, songs and dances. During the festival the households plant in front of their houses karam trees which are symbols of good fortune. After the worship the entire locality becomes festive with dances and singing accompanied by loud percussions. During the Karam festival the young girls celebrate Jawa festival expecting good fertility and prosperity. They offer germinating seeds (symbol of fertility) in a pot and water melons (symbol of son). Both males and females take haria and get tipsy during the festival.

So when the Turuks attacked for the thirteenth time during the Karam festival the drunken men and women could not resist them and they fled through the secret outlets and the Turuks could capture the fort without any resistance from the Kurukhs. Thereafter my ancestors traversed various lands and ultimately arrived at the land of the Santhals and Mundas both of whom accepted the Kurukhs gladly and in a friendly way.'

'So you see that too much drinking is not good.'

'You're right.'

'What else did you do there besides learning about your ancestral festivities?'

'I enjoyed roaming around across the hills and into the forests. In course of my sojourn something interesting and very important for the rest of my life happened. I came upon a Munda girl and soon we fell in love with each other.'

'Oh, very interesting! Tell me please how it happened to come about.'

The sun dropped low to the west and its crimson glow was visible through the branches of the distant trees. He noticed Nimu's car and stopped talking to himself and decided to keep his love story for the next day.

VII

At night Dhanesh at first had a dreamless deep sleep. He felt aching all over his body because of continuous hard work for the last few days. He got up and went outdoors. The wind was humid indicating raining somewhere nearby and Dhanesh felt chilly. He made water, took a drink of water and went to bed again covering his body with the robe. He looked out the small window and watched the crescent moon peeping through the slits of the sooty cloud that now had covered almost the entire sky. Lightning tore through the sky in a serrated line and the following rumble shook the house. Dhanesh shut down the window binding the wattle shutter with the coir rope attached to it and after going to bed he soon fell asleep. He found himself climbing a steep barren and lonely hill along a narrow causeway and he came to the mouth of a dark cave. An irresistible force drew him into the cave and he saw the old tree-man beckoning him. The old man now looked very sick and he tried to say Dhanesh something but could not utter anything. Dhanesh felt sorry for him and his guilt consciousness returned again. It's he who has done all these to the tree, he thought. Then he discovered himself at the edge of the hill and his feet skidded on the crags and he started falling into an endless dark pit. He was struck with horror as his fall continued with an accelerated pace. Then he was relieved to find himself in his own bed as his sleep broke and he felt feverish. From the dripping sound on the tin roof of the house he realized that it was raining. There was a strong wind that made the rain gush on the wall of the room. Dhanesh felt shivering as droplets of water started seeping in through the crevices of the walls of the room. He got up to collect tattered pieces of canvas heaped at the far end of the room and covered his body with them. He remained awake inside the heap of canvass, shivering with chill and the frightening rumbling of thunders, the monotonous noise of rain on the roof and the whizzing of the wind continued unabated.

He felt a bit delirious and his head got clumsy and fragmented imageries of his childhood started racing through his puzzled brain. At last exhaustion put him to a dreamless sleep. He woke early at the right time to go out for the work as his instinct alerted him on time. It had stopped raining but the sky was still cloudy. Dhanesh left bed but felt feverish and a bad headache. He decided to postpone the day's work and hoped he would be fit the next day. Nimu came very early and he too decided against the work for the day. He took Dhanesh in his car over to the gaddi and sent for an herbal doctor, their family physician.

The Rajbonshi herbal doctor examined Dhanesh carefully and himself undertook to prepare medicine – juices of tulsi, amruli, mutha, basaka and thankuni mixed with honey in specified proportions. He told that the medicine would soon relieve the fever but he would have to take a few days' rest to recuperate fully. Dhanesh wanted to start work right from the next day if it did not rain again, but Nimu advised him to take at least a week's rest. Etwa and Saiba wanted to take Dhanesh home but Nimu decided to keep him in the gaddi at least till the fever and headache were gone.

He felt better toward the evening and reminisced about his love and marriage with Sita. He again got obsessed with his fancied world and visualized himself talking with the old tree-man who now looked sick and emaciated. Dhanesh looked at him with tearful eyes. The tree-man smiled and said, 'cheer up and tell me your love story.' Dhanesh mopped the tears and returned to the love story again.

'At Chhotanagpur, Mihirbabu remained busy with his official works and I used to roam around. One day while walking down a hillock, I noticed a girl at the bottom trying to pluck flowers from a domba tree full of white bunches of flowers. The flowers were beyond her reach and she was jumping up again and again in a funny way to get hold of the flowers but failed each time. As soon as I came close by she was alerted by the rustle of dead leaves and turned around. To see me she smiled and I thought I'd never seen such charming smile. "Hi man, I've not seen you before. Where have you come from?" She asked in Santhali.

I felt my hands and feet shaking in nervousness. I mumble out, "I've come with a Bengali babu, a government officer from Bengal. I work at a tea garden there."

She giggled and said, "oh, then you're a chamcha (a stooge). I'm Sita, a Munda girl and you?"

Her voice was so enchanting that I was not at all offended at her calling me chamcha. I plucked up courage and replied "I'm Dhanesh Oraon."

"Chamcha Oraon, can you pluck some flowers for me?"

I felt myself fortunate being asked by her to pluck flowers for her.

I immediately leapt up and broke a large branch with many bouquets of domba flowers. Tearing out one bouquet I handed over the branch to her. She was very glad to get the flowers and started looking at them closely with great pleasure. Something happened to me and I suddenly became bold and tucked the bouquet in my hand into her chignon. She turned her mysterious looks at me and ran away giggling loudly sending tremors into my heart.

At night I could not sleep for a long time. Again and again the beautiful girl, her enchanting voice, her charming smile and giggles and above all the looks of her eyes started invading my thoughts. I tried to convince myself that she's a Munda girl and I ought not to entertain such thoughts about her but I could not resist.

Next afternoon, while I approached the hillock my heart fluttered to see the girl seated under a saal tree. I thought that if I go along this way she might think I was after her and take me to be a bad person. So I turned around to climb along a different track, but I was startled to hear the girl calling me, "chamcha, where are you going? Come here."

In a moment waves of ecstatic sensations invaded me. With palpitating heart I traipsed close to her and she giggled and said right away, "you're afraid of me I suppose, and that's why you were diverting your way to avoid me. And why should not you? I'm such an ugly girl."

I replied smartly, "who says you're ugly? You look like the chando (moon)."

She looked up, raised her eye brows and said sarcastically, "so you say these things to all your girls?" "I've no girls."

"Really! Married?" "No."

"Oh what a bad luck for the silly girls at your place! They have failed to recognize the prince. Now chamcha-prince why do you roam around like a fool in an unknown place? You may lose the way and enter the forest. There are wild boars in the jungle, do you know?"

"I don't bother. In the forest at our place in Bengal, there are tigers, leopards, elephants and other dangerous animals."

"So you seem to be a hero too. Chamcha-hero, would you mind if I like to be your guide in this new land. I'll show you caves and beautiful springs."

"Are you joking?" I could not believe my ears. "Not at all." The girl now looked serious.

Since then I started visiting places with her and soon we started liking each other. She was the first to disclose that she had fallen in love with me. While I mentioned about the caste difference she told that unlike the Santhals, the Mundas do not impose any restriction on marriage of Mundas with Oraons. Moreover she told that her father was a Birshait and therefore did not subscribe to the tribal superstitions and caste rules. Then she became serious and said, "we love each other and that's all and why should we bother about others? I expected some more courage from a chamcha-hero." I felt ashamed at her admonishing and remained silent looking at the ground.'

'What is Birshait?' The tree asked.

'Birsha Munda was a savant and from his very childhood he realized that illiteracy, superstitions and harmful religious rituals were at the root of miseries and disunity of his tribe. He felt a deep urge to propagate a new religion based on logic, brotherhood, rule of rational law and love for animals, plants and human beings irrespective of caste and creed. He explained to his tribesmen that superstitions and most of the rites in the name of religion were meaningless. They were but inventions of rich people to exploit the poor and these were the root causes of the sufferings, disunity and poverty of the Mundas. Soon the majority of the Mundas could realize the essence of the new religion which they named Birshait religion after the mane of its initiator and they started accepting the religion. They thought Birsha was an incarnate of the creator and called him bhawan (god).'

'I saw your wife Sita when you two used to sit under me and talk of your love, family, future and many other things. She was a very charming and sweet talking woman. Now tell me the story of your marriage with the Munda girl.' The tree implored.

Dhanesh continued, 'when I proposed to marry Sita to her father he gave consent right away and asked me if he could proceed to take preparations for the ceremony. I told him that I had to consult my parents who lived at a distant place and requested him to accompany me along with Sita to my place. He replied that it was not possible for him and his wife to travel to Bengal and he could not let her unmarried daughter go with me either. So if I wanted to take Sita along I would have to marry her first. This made me sad and thoughtful and I sought the advice of Mihirbabu. He advised me to marry Sita and assured me that he would convince my parents about the situation that had prompted me to marry without consulting them. He also expressed his wish to bear all expenses on my behalf for the wedding.

So the marriage ceremony was held in the tribal way with songs, dances, rituals and drinking of haria. Sita and all her family members shed tears while she left her family and homeland with me. Later on in course of travel she looked very happy and jovial. She had never gone before out of her place and every thing she came upon raised her curiosity. Whenever I failed to answer any of her queries she would approach Mihirbabu and say in a jovial voice, "please tell me what it is. This chamcha knows nothing" and she would stare at me smiling as though I was a joker and it gave me immense pleasure.

My parents were very happy to see Sita and soon with her dexterity in household works and charming behavior she won the hearts of my parents. She still called me chamcha when alone. I too called her chando.

One day a funny thing happened. Sita liked to adorn her chignon with flowers every morning. There was a wasp-nest in a flower plant which she had not noticed and as soon as she tried to lower the bough she was stung by a wasp and she ran right over to me. I got puzzled to see her running in panic and thought it might be a snake and while she told she had been stung by a wasp I could not help laughing aloud. I had been stung several times while collecting wasp-larva for fishing and it was a trifle. But my laughter made Sita angry and she started crying aloud and abusing me. My mother came out and admonished me for my cruel behavior to the soft girl. She extracted the sting with a needle and treated her daughter-in-law with lime and herbal medicine. Soon she was relieved of the pain but did not talk with me for a few days.

My parents became extremely happy when Etwa was born. A separate room of bamboo wattle was constructed at the corner of the courtyard of our coolie quarter and a Rajbonshi dhai (nurse for childbirth) was hired for the delivery. The child was named Etwa as he was born on Sunday. Mihirbabu and a Rajbonshi landlord, who loved me, bore all expenses for the parents of Sita to come over to our place to see their grandson.

My old parents always remained occupied with the upkeep of the child and Sita could soon join her job of plucking tea leaves. My father died when the child was eight and my mother followed him after two years. Then after a few years when Etwa was fifteen, Sita came back from work at noon with severe pain in her head. Etwa informed me of her ailment and I hastened to my house and found her almost senseless and vomiting. I immediately called the garden doctor who advised after examining Sita closely that she should be immediately moved to the town hospital. I accompanied her to the hospital at Jalpaiguri town with the garden doctor and the Rajbonshi landlord. The doctors there could not do anything and her consciousness did not return. The afternoon next day she opened her eyes and expressed her willingness to the attending nurse to see me and Etwa. I went in and holding my hands she said, "look after my son" and closed her eyes never to open again. Etwa was now grown up and he had his new world with his friends and with Sita's demise I became utterly lonely in this vast world.'

'Why alone, was not I there to give you company?'

'Yes, yes. You were then my only true friend.'

'Every day you used to sit beneath me, talked about your wife and sobbed out of grief. I felt sad and could not find any words to give you solace.'

'My lone friend, you too would perish soon simply because of my selfishness.'

Chapter 6

I

The next day Etwa and Saiba came with Nimu and took Dhanesh back to their house in spite of his unwillingness. In Nimu's car on their way home, Saiba pleaded to her father-in-law, 'baba, new labors are coming from Nepal and Bihar and they may do the rest of the job. You've done the best part and you may now take rest. You're old and have become sick. Sethji would give us the jobs after the pujas even if you hand over the work to other laborers now. So why should you take the drudgery of felling the tree?"

Nimu too requested Dhanesh to handover the rest to the new laborers. But Dhanesh said, 'no I myself would do it till the tree falls down.'

Dhanesh felt he cannot let his friend be killed by others. They would certainly torture it to death. Let the tree die at his hand painlessly and peacefully.

Meghraj and Babulal, too, suggested that the rest of the felling to be done by new laborers from Nepal and Bihar but Nimu who had felt the emotions of Dhanesh decided against it and told them that Dhanesh would fell the tree only in the morning hours and thereafter he would work in the gaddi.

One day Gittu came to the gaddi to meet Babulal and Nimu. He was soon leaving for Kolkata. He had sold the house here and rented a house at Kolkata and arranged for admission of his son to a school there. He had already purchased the share of his friend and was now the sole owner of the hotel. Gittu wished to see Dhanesh and Nimu took him to the latter's house. He presented them with garments and toys for the children. He said, 'I've heard of a chemical that makes the wood soft and cutting easier. You may look for it at the chemical stores. I don't know exactly the name of the chemical, but the shop keepers or distributors must know.'

Nimu looked for the chemical at the chemists' shops at Jalpaiguri town, but no body could give any information about it. Eventually Meghraj learnt from a whole seller that such a chemical was available at Kolkata and he might arrange for it if order was placed. Meghraj placed order and paid the advance right away and the whole seller, after talking over cell phone with the distributor at Kolkata, told that the chemical would arrive by a fortnight by transport service.

II

Durga puza came close by. Nature too got ready to greet the goddess and her family. Fields wore the snow-white shawl of kash flower, sthal-padma trees got adorned with deep pink large flowers, air got suffused with the enchanting smell of shiuli flower and the deep blue sky with rafts of white clouds made the atmosphere joyous.

Durga puza is the greatest festival of Bengal. During the four days of the festival, not only the Hindu Bengalis, but all classes of people irrespective of race or religion get hilarious and enjoy the gorgeous festival.

Hectic preparations were going on for the puza at the major clubs and houses of rich people in the Jalpaiguri town and adjacent areas. Bamboo and wooden structures were erected to construct the large pandals imitating not only the famous Indian temples but also the architectural monuments of other countries. Orders were placed with the technicians of Chandannagar for lighting displaying mythological stories and current incidents. All the vendors and owners of footpath stalls and shops were busy replenishing stocks to cope with the heavy demand during the puzas. Priests, drummers of dhols and dhaks, sellers of flowers and puza materials, the owners of makeshift stalls selling fuchkas, toys, balloons, egg-rolls and other stuffs were happy expecting brisk business. Cloth and sari shops were busy selling garments and saries and tailors had to declare in writing that they were unable to take any further orders. Children were gathering around the workshops of the potters to watch the progress of construction of images of the gods and goddesses.

Schools, colleges and other educational institutions would remain closed for a month and this made both the students and the teachers happy. The entire Bengal became festive and joyous.

Nimu told Dhanesh that work would be resumed after the puza and so he could take adequate rest. There would be heavy rush in the cloth shop and Dhanesh would help his father sell garments to the innumerable buyers buying new puza garments. In the mean time he expected to get the chemical from the Kolkata distributor.

Like other years, Etwa and Saiba got temporary jobs at the house of a local businessman. Their puza would be more gorgeous this year as the two sons of the businessman had returned from America. Every morning Etwa and Saiba went to the house with children and return at night with delicious Bengali food. They had presented Etwa a dhoti, Saiba a sari and the children shirts, pants and toys. Descriptions of Saiba, Etwa and the children of the well dressed educated relatives of the man, about their manners, food habits and English talks like the sahibs made Dhanesh spellbound.

A large television set was installed at a local club and Etwa and Saiba watched every evening T.V. shows at the club. Dhanesh never liked this and he reminisced how this cinema machine could spoil human minds and destroy family peace.

After retrenchment from the tea garden Dhanesh had a whole time servant's job at a Bengali family of a bank clerk. It was a very happy family and the boy loved Dhanesh very much. He enjoyed the boy playing with his beautiful and magic toys. His books were full of beautiful pictures – of humans, their houses, animals, birds, insects, fishes, frogs, fruits and flowers. He used to take the boy out to the tea garden, river, lake and the fringe of the forest. One day the boy was elated to find a large frog in their kitchen garden. He insisted on catching it but Dhanesh explained that it had family and children and so it should not be captured.

'How would you like your father being held captive?' He asked the boy.

The boy smiled and said, 'yes I now understand and henceforth I would never catch frogs or any other small animals or birds.'

The boy showed the colored picture of a large frog in his story book and read out the story, of a large Golden frog who was blessed by the fairies and had become the king of the frogs. The story of the quarrel between a tiger and an elephant and the amicable solution by the sage god Narada was also interesting. Dhanesh also used to entertain the boy with the folk tales of the Kurukhs.

Time of Dhanesh with the happy family passed on merrily helping the couple and swapping stories with the child. But soon ominous things started casting dark shadows over the family. A neighbor bought a television set and being insisted by the lady and his son the babu also bought one.

This cinema box became the root of all trouble. So far the lady loved her husband and son and was satisfied with whatever she got. But now after seeing costly garments, posh houses, cars and luxurious durables in the box she started demanding these things from her husband. If the husband said, 'with my income how can I afford these things?' she would say sarcastically, 'then why have you married me?'

They started quarreling every night ignoring the shrieks and cries of the child. Things became so difficult for the child that one day he left home and his uncle informed the parents that the child would henceforth be staying with him.

One noon, when the babu was at office, a fat bald man with a large pot belly came to the house and the lady welcomed him and took him to the bed room. They got nude and played the husband-wife game. The dirty game went every noon since then. From their talks, Dhanesh learnt that he was a rich contractor and he had a wife and three children. He promised to the wife of the babu to buy new house for her. Every day he presented the lady with costly saries, cosmetics and beautiful jewelry. One day the lady poisoned the babu and eloped with the contractor. At first the police had harassed Dhanesh but a local influential landlord pleaded him non-guilty and soon the two culprits were arrested and charges against Dhanesh were withdrawn. But he became unemployed once again.

Chapter 7

I

Puza started with all its fanfare and gorgeousness. Dhanesh used to sit alone in his house after work at the shop and in the quiet evening at the tree shaded place, his mind drifted back to the past. A large puza was held in the house of a rich Rajbonshi farmer near the tea garden and Dhanesh along with Sita frequented the house during the festival. While Sita did household works in the house, Dhanesh with a Rajbonshi friend Sisir master, teacher of a primary school, used to go out and sit close to the giant mango tree. The field near the mango tree had become white with kash flower and there were plenty of pink

sthal-padmas dangling from the projected branches of the large tree at an adjacent house. Dhanesh occasionally picked up some flowers for Sita who liked to wear them on her chignon.

One day Sisir killed a large stork by his catapult and they had a good feast at night.

When Dhanesh was amazed to see the image of the goddess and her family with two sons and two daughters, all on their carrier animals – devi Durga on the lion, Ganesh (the elephant god) on the mouse, Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) on the owl, Kartik (the military chief of the gods) on the peacock and Saraswati (the goddess of learning and knowledge) on the swan – and the mighty demon Mahisasur fighting with the family of the goddess. He asked about the meaning of the images and Sisir told him a long mythical story how Mahisasur had captured the heaven and to protect the gods of heaven goddess Durga had emerged and killed the horrible demon.

Kali puza was held a few days after the Durga puza and all the houses were adorned with earthen lamps. To escape the earsplitting sounds of the crackers displayed by the jubilant puza goers, Dhanesh and Sisir used to seat in the calm and quiet atmosphere under the mango tree and sitting in darkness under the star studded new moon sky they told each other stories of various ghosts – mamdo, jamdo, kal singh, lakchera, beuderang, skandhakata, petni, shakchunni, nishidak and others. Many people in this locality used to fabricate stories of their fearful encounters with the ghosts but Dhanesh and Sisir had never come upon any of them.

Most of the stories were, however, sheer fabrications and lies. Some of the stories, however, had some truth in them but what the victims had been terrified by were later discovered to be the shadows of trees, forest animals or pieces of cloth carried by air to the spot.

Streams of incidents and stories started flashing across the mind of Dhanesh. In course of long association the mango tree had become an integral part of his life. Most of the people associated with his past were no longer in existence, but the mango tree as the evidence of his past was still there. The mango tree had been associated with so many golden moments of his life. It would soon perish along with the nostalgic past of Dhanesh. He felt morose.

Chapter 8

I

Work resumed after completion of the puza festivals. The bottle containing the chemical had arrived in the mean time. Dhanesh broke the seal of the bottle, poured some chemical in an earthen pot and returned the bottle to the servant who had brought it.

The distributor had sent along a brash to apply the chemical which was irritating and harmful for the skin. Dhanesh cleared the dirt from the chink on the trunk of the tree and started applying the chemical to the spot and in a moment the tree shivered as though in pain. Dhanesh stopped short. The noxious chemical was painful for the tree, Dhanesh felt. He rubbed the chemical out and smeared the paste of Kendra at the place. But what could he do now? Nimu would query in the afternoon about the progress of the work and if it was found to be slow Dhanesh would have to explain which might sound funny and superstitious to Nimu. He had to find some alternative. Suddenly it occurred to him that the black deyo ants apply its spit to make wood soft before boring it. He knew the ant hills, but for this large cut on the trunk of the tree thousands of ants would be needed to get adequate chemical from their spit. He thought of an idea. The soil of the anthills may contain their spit and may work if he applied the soil from the anthill at the spot. Why not have a try, Dhanesh thought.

He searched at the lowland near the lake and found an anthill of the dayos. These ants do not have stings, nor poison. They only bite with their hard jaws and it may bleed mildly but no pain remains afterwards unlike stings of the poisonous ants. Dhanesh broke off a piece of the anthill with a twig and thousands of ants came out as the broken chunk fell apart. Dhanesh drove away the ants with the twig and picked up the lump of soil. He watered it from a ditch and applied the clay to the cut of the tree. The tree did not react, i.e. it was painless. Now Dhanesh started cutting and he felt the clay had made the wood soft. He was elated to find that his guesswork had worked.

II

Next morning Nimu and Meghraj came to examine the progress of the work. After thorough check up Dhanesh said that the tree was not yet in a condition to fall down; a few more days' cutting may be necessary to reach the condition when the tree would crumble on its own weight. Dhanesh resumed work after they had left.

He looked at the water course close to the forest and memories of many sad incidents came up his mind. He remembered how he and Sita used to roam at the fringe of the forest along the bank of this sandy stream that originated from a marshy land deep inside the forest and flowed down into the larger Chawai River. The bed of the stream was about twenty feet wide but except in rainy season only a narrow line of water cut through the bed of silvery sand on both sides. That was a holiday and they were traipsing barefooted along the sandy beach. Long grasses with violet bunches were dangling from both sides of the raised bank. Sita lowered a grass to pluck a bunch of flower and in a moment she jumped backwards as a venom-less large snake moved away through her parted legs. In panic she bumped on the chest of Danesh, clasping his neck hard and Dhanesh felt her fast heart bits. He hugged Sita hard and in a moment wild passion took possession of them and they went into frenzy lying on the sandy river bed. Then Sita got up, put on the sari and ran away giggling.

One day they crossed the stream and walked to the northern side of the horse-shoe lake. This place had now become tree less but his father told that in earlier days this side of the lake was covered with dense forest and wild animals used to drink water from the lake. There were plenty of leopards at that time and at times they used to invade the villages killing the cattle, goats and even human beings. Now the place was free from the menace of the leopards and they could sit safely on the velvety grass that covered the bank of the lake. Sita wanted to move down the gentle slope and touch the water of the lake but she returned because of slushy ground. Sita was curious to learn about the olden days and Dhanesh told her the sad story of the hunter he had heard from his father. The incident happened close to the place where they were seated now. There were then tall saal trees here which had long been cut off by the timber thieves.

A notorious leopard was invading a village close to the forest at night and killing cattle. It was very intelligent and smart and the villagers with all their best efforts could not do anything and as the village was very close to the forest their night watches failed. Then a hunter from Siliguri was invited to kill the leopard. He was tall and muscular and his intrepid and swell gaits assured the villagers who now were confident the leopard menace would be over in a few days. The man was an expert shoot and had hunted many ferocious animals. So it was a very simple task for him to kill the leopard. But the god of fate had something else in mind. In fact we humans are helpless and at the mercy of he hands of the unknown, Dhanesh thought.

Two platforms with timber were prepared high up on two adjacent tall trees at the fringe of the forest. The larger one was for the hunter and the smaller one for his attendant who would focus a powerful torch into the eyes of the animal whenever it would come near the bait at the bottom of the hunter's tree. Strong lights make animals befuddled and motionless. A small goat was tied as the bait to the trunk of a tree clearly within the range of the rifle of the hunter. The leopard came at night without guessing that it was trapped. As soon as the leopard took hold of the goat with his teeth, the servant focused the torch into its eyes and it got transfixed. The hunter then made the gun ready, but his gun did not work after several trials. Then he got impatient and in anger threw down the gun and the shot was fired as soon as the gun touched the ground and the torch fell down from the hand of the servant. The leopard at first ran toward the deep forest but came back soon, climbed the tree and killed the helpless hunter. The attendant climbed down after the leopard had left with the body of the hunter and alerted all the villagers who came out with whatever weapon they got close at hand. A large group of villagers invaded the forest with kerosene torches, clubs and choppers. Being chased by the mob, the leopard left leaving behind the half eaten corpse of the hunter.

The sun had now gone further down and turned red and shadows were lengthening. Sita after listening to the story with rapt attention looked panicked and insisted Dhanesh to return home notwithstanding his assurances that no leopard was likely to come to that place and attack them. She got up and made for home. Dhanesh tried to stop her and she started running. Dhanesh could catch hold of the corner of her sari and she rolled down on the sand as he pulled at the sari. She got up and started giggling and running again with only the bra and the underclothes. But at last she got tired and surrendered to the passionate love of Dhanesh and the orgy of the two robust tribals went on for hours. They rose up and walked leisurely for home when the moon had gone high up in the sky and Sita felt embarrassed for the cut in her lower lip as it would be difficult for her now to appear before her in laws. She started admonishing Dhanesh for not being careful but Dhanesh laughed away the allegations and tried to grab her again but this time she could push him down and run away giggling.

Sita was lively and passionate but always liked to tease Dhanesh before surrendering and this game intensified his passion and gave him immense pleasure. But she was no longer in this world. Where had she gone? Who knows! Dhanesh felt the salty test of tears dripping down his cheeks.

III

Nimu as usual arrived with lunch packet and insisted Dhanesh to exert less and work only in the morning. Dhanesh arranged his bag and accoutrement and made for the temporary residence after Nimu had left.

The sun went down the horizon sprinkling glimmer of orange on the clouds around. A large bird came down from a tree. These birds are called ratichara. They look like storks but because of photophobia they do not like moving around at day time when they sleep and like the owl and the bat they roam around collecting their food at night.

At night after an hour's dreamless sleep Dhanesh had fragments of incoherent dreams: He and Sita are at the Jalpesh mela organized to celebrate the Shivaratiri, the great festival in the name of Lord Shiva. Thousands of people are jostling, merry making and buying dainties, children are hollering and Rajbonshi devotees dressed as Shiva, Parvati and other gods and goddesses dancing and playing gajan songs. The background dissolves into a vast field engulfed in dense fog and he hears the meek voice of Sita and sees her silhouette beckoning him. He runs toward her but she vanishes in the fog and Dhanesh discovers himself sitting on a terrace in front of the old tree man who is now too sick to talk and the scene again changes and he finds him again with Sita watching the bishahara-pala eulogizing the serpent goddess Mansa and again he finds themselves standing on the hanging bridge of Karala at Jalpaiguri watching the bhasan (immersion ceremony) of goddess Durga. Hundreds of boats carrying the images of the goddess from the town and adjacent villages are floating on the still water of the river and in the semi-darkness the boats lighted by lanterns looks like floating dots of light. The bank of the river gets congested with thousands of visitors and the place becomes joyous with hollering of children, dancing by the young ones and makeshift shops and peddlers selling balloons, toys, tea and dainties. More and more people now flow into the bridge which now starts swaying frantically at the weight of thousands of people and all of a sudden the chords holding the bridge snaps and the bridge with Dhanesh and Sita collapses.

His sleep broke at this moment and for the rest of the night he could not sleep. His mind drifted to the past, reminiscing the nuances of his association with the tree from his very childhood. The moribund old man in his dream was none but the tree and it was going to die simply for the greed of Dhanesh. He felt sad and hollow.

Chapter 9

I

Next day Dhanesh started his work early in the morning. He had already cut deeper into the bony part and it was not likely to be very long when the tree would show signs of crumbling. Now he was really at the point of finishing his last friend. Was he somehow responsible for the death of Sita too? Was it his sin that caused her death by a mysterious fever? His mind once again drifted to the memory of Sita.

One day when he had asked Sita to accompany him, she smiled shyly and said she was not feeling well and asked him to bring ripe tamarind from the tree close to the lake. Dhanesh got worried and asked what had happened. She did not reply and his mother came out and intervened, 'she is alright. Go bring the things she had asked for.' All the way to the lake everything appeared mysterious to Dhanesh. He sat beneath the bushy tamarind tree and started to reason out. At last he realized that his mother did not like her daughter in law to roam in the fields. There were mischievous spirits that might take possession of her. This occasionally happened in this area and ojhas were to be employed to exorcise the evil spirit from the body of the possessed female. He should have been careful about this and should not have taken the risk to take out Sita to the field and the forest, he thought. Good luck that she was still safe. Dhanesh thanked his mother for being aware of the possible danger and intervening in time.

He climbed the tree and plucked a bagful of ripe tamarind for Sita. Early next dawn his sleep broke and he heard Sita retching on the verandah. He was asleep when she had gone out opening the door. Dhanesh jumped out of bed and hastened to the verandah and was worried to find Sita retching and vomiting. It was steel dark and how could he find a Doctor at this moment? He ignored the strong nasty odor and got close to Sita. She had now recovered and asked Dhanesh to bring a bucket of water and then started giggling. He got angry and said gruffly, 'what the hell do you laugh for? I don't know how I can find a doctor in these hours and you are bristling with joy!'

'No need of calling the doctor.' He heard the harsh voice of his mother who had come out with a bucket of water. 'Idiot, don't you understand what has happened?'

Now everything became crystal clear to Dhanesh and he got exited and felt strongly to hug Sita notwithstanding the vomits and the nasty odor but he had to resist as his mother was there, washing Sita. So he was going to be a father. His joy knew no bounds and he started singing and dancing forgetting the presence of his mother right outside the room.

Soon Sita returned to the room wearing a new sari and she fell into his arms and kissed him hard. She took her mouth to his ears and said, 'I'm going to offer puza to a Hindu goddess praying for a son. Mother has also given permission. So this noon accompany me to the temple of goddess Sasthi in the town.'

II

Nimu came in the afternoon with some Nepali and Bihari laborers. Examining the tree intently, Dhanesh explained to them that cutting of one or two more hours may be needed to make the tree fall down on its own weight. So the next day would be crucial. The most urgent thing would be for Dhanesh to move quickly to a safe place before the tree crumbles down. The tree may break off from the uncut trunk and hit Dhanesh or it may roll down on its own weight after falling and crush Dhanesh. So it would be an urgent necessity for Dhanesh to run fast to a safe distance with the slightest sign of the crumbling of the tree. Meghraj and Nimu were busy consulting the elderly Biharis about how to monitor the signs of the crash. Dhanesh himself, however, was carefree as he knew that his friend must give signals before falling down. He simply felt overwhelmingly morose and empty.

The laborers were overwhelmed by the stupendous job done by the old man only in a few days. It could have taken them months to do the enormous job. They talked among themselves that adivasis (tribals) have god gifted prowess. One of them commented that their unbelievable strength comes from simple living, honesty and from taking secret herbs.

Nimu discussed with the laborers the subsequent tasks after the tree crumbles down. If the tree remained attached with the trunk by the thick bark, it was to be isolated carefully and then the small branches were to be cut off. Thereafter the large branches and the main body were to be pieced, the main tree and roots uprooted and the timber transported by truck to the saw-mill at Siliguri. So a vast amount of work remained and it might take about a month or so. Nimu asked the labor leaders that they might bring more laborers if it was necessary but the latter replied that it was not required. His men here could finish the job properly.

Chapter 10

I

Four months after pregnancy Sita decided to sleep in separate bed and told Dhanesh not to do anything that may harm the child. Dhanesh too was ready to hold his passion for the sake of the child. Sita played a naughty smile and said, 'if it is to unendurable for you simply go to Rita.' She giggled and escaped into the room of his mother. He wondered how she could learn about his affair during his adolescence. His mother had for sure the indiscretion to tell her or some wicket woman must have done the mischief. Could it be the spoilt lady herself? He wondered.

The affair happened when he was just fourteen and discontinued his studies. He had to attend a distant school at the town to continue further study and both Dhanesh and his parents decided against such expensive project. Rita was the second wife of an aged bank officer. After the death of his first wife when the old man decided to marry this voluptuous woman of twenty four his only son and daughter in law objected but he did not heed to their objection and married this beautiful daughter of a poor clerk. At this his son broke off relation and started residing at Siliguri. The old man could hardly meet the sex hunger of this robust horny lady and she had a few young lovers, all school boys.

After giving up studies Dhanesh started working at a grocer's stall on haat days when the pressure of customers was heavy. Fani babu, the husband of Rita came upon Dhanesh at the grocer's shop and asked him to clear the weeds in his garden. Dhanesh decided to start the job right from the next day and complete it before the next haat day after three days.

After he started the first day's work the babu left off for office and his wife started supervising the work giving him directions. Dhanesh kept on working without looking at the lady. The lady gave him some direction which he could not understand and looked up for clarification and was struck with high voltage current to find the lady devouring with her eyes his bare body. The loose end of the sari dropped from her chest and the vast boobs bulged out of the low cut blouse the and the flesh below the neck formed a tunnel. He could not turn his enthralled eyes from the rare spectacle. She said in an insinuating voice, 'what a good health you've! How old are you?'

'Fourteen.'

'You look like a man of twenty years.' She started laughing loudly but Dhanesh lowered his eyes in utter embarrassment as the lady was gazing straight at the bulge in his shorts.

She asked him to stop work for the day and receive payment from the drawing room. She disappeared into the bedroom and Dhanesh waited nervously in the drawing room. The lady suddenly came out with her boobs completely open and Dhanesh felt her tongue inside his mouth. She took him to the bedroom, rode on him and gave him the first experience with women. She told him that she was very much impressed by his gigantic organ and nobody else could give her so much pleasure as Dhanesh.

The work was completed in three days and after the third day's orgies, in which Dhanesh too played an active role, she told him that they should henceforth meet at a secret place, a lowland where a small watercourse met the river.

The secret game, however, was soon detected and Dhanesh was severely beaten up by his father and was confined in a room. An ojha was called to exorcise the evil spirit of the lady who was considered by them to be a witch seducing young boys and destroying them. Dhanesh had to go through torturous rituals performed by the ojha and after the ordeals he was too sick to move.

The assistant manager of the garden got an inkling that the coolies of the garden were conspiring with two Rajbonshis whose teenage sons were also seduced by the vampire lady. He apprehended that they might soon attack the house of the bank officer and immediately reported the matter to the Scotch manager who reported the police to protect the house and asked the babu to meet the husband and request him to send his wife out of the place immediately.

The man flogged his wife and sent her back to her parents' house at Haldibari, a distant town, without delay. He managed to get transfer to Calcutta and sold his house here. He did not take her back and she remained with her parents since then. Dhanesh heard that had she had got pregnant and was forced to take strong herbs to abort the embryo.

II

The recollections of his encounter of the horny lady made him excited at night and he could not sleep for a long time. He had to jack off several times to cool himself off. He knew that Rita used to visit a temple at a desolate place every afternoon. The place was about two miles from their place. A few months ago, right after his marriage, he happened to come upon this hussy once again in a mela. She had eloped with a Muslim contractor, much younger than her, from her parents' house and was now living with him at the nearest town. She looked intently at Sita and praised her beauty and said jokingly, 'I expected to be invited in your marriage.' She had grown a bit fatty but was still voluptuous at post forty. Her covetous glares at Dhanesh made Sita suspicious and after she had left Sita said, 'she is not a good lady. Was there anything between you and her?'

'How absurd, me having relation with an aristocrat lady!' He laughed away her suspicion but she was hardly convinced.

Her looks had convinced both Sita and Dhanesh that she was still infatuated with him. If he approaches her again she won't refuse, he thought. He felt he needed her badly and they might get back to the game once again and continue till Sita recovers from maternity. But this time he would have to be very cautious. If detected he would lose Sita forever. Should he take so much risk? He was in two minds. But next Sunday all his recollections of her company, her deep kissing, the gigantic steady boobs and her frenzied movements made him crazy for her and he left home and walked to a desolate spot behind a tree on the track from her parents' house to the temple.

She was at first terribly frightened when Dhanesh called her from behind the tree. Then finding Dhanesh her eyes brimmed with ecstasy. She surveyed around to find if somebody was there. Then she came down close to Dhanesh. Her eyes got transfixed at the bulge in his shorts and Dhanesh could not move his eyes from the protruding boobs. She had become fatty now and the heavy boobs inside the semi-transparent garments showed signs of loosening, but she now looked more voluptuous. She got closer and pointed at the spot inside, a small open spot covered by trees and bushes from the vision of the outsiders. They soon got into deep hugs rolling down on the ground.

It was dark when both were exhausted. They were still in each other's arms. Rita said emotionally, 'oh I always missed you for the last seventeen years. I have had many lovers of all ages but none is any match for you. After a long, time, I've got real satisfaction today.' Her boobs were now loosened and she had accumulated excess fat on the belly and waist but her butts were now more alluring. Dhanesh gently ran his fingers across the spongy butts and sucked the boobs gently. She went on, 'it's god's grace that we have united in right time. Your wife is at advanced stage and my man is out on a government construction work. Tomorrow you've your garden job. So meet me again at this place in the evening.' Moon rays were now showering through the foliages of the trees. They collected the scattered garments and she left after a deep kiss.

Soon after she had left Dhanesh got obsessed with guilt complex and all the way home vowed again and again not to cheat his loving Sita anymore. But next afternoon after he had returned home from work his desire for the hot woman got the better of him and he sneaked out of the house. He started walking fast for the thrilling union with the voluptuous woman.

He was engrossed in the thought of Rita but his thought broke at a thump close by and raising his eyes he found a ripe mango dropped from the giant tree right in front of him. A few more dropped at close intervals. He picked up one and the fragrance enchanted him. It was round, large and deep crimson around the stem. The mangoes had dropped on the cushion of the ferns and were not therefore bruised. Sita was mad for these mangoes ever since she had come to this place after marriage. Dhanesh picked up all the mangoes, packed them in a large aram leaf and started for home. Sita would be very happy to find the mangoes. He genuflected in front of the mango tree and expressed his gratitude to it for saving his soul.

He then confessed in tearful eyes to the Supreme God his great sin and implored for mercy and forgiveness.

Lying in bed in his temporary room, Dhanesh looked at the starry sky through the window and his mind got filled with utter loneliness. It was his fault that had caused the mysterious death of Sita. No god or goddess could forgive such a grave sin, to cheat the mother of his son being obsessed in lust for a nasty slut. Sita was not punished for sin. After death she must have been gone to the blissful heaven. It's Dhanesh who had to bear the agonies and pains. Now he was trapped into another sin, killing his last friend in this world. Now it was only a matter of a few hours and he would be left alone in the hellfire of friendless loneliness.

He fell asleep late at night and woke after only an hour's sleep. He could not afford to sleep any more. He would have to finish the killing as soon as possible.

Chapter 11

I

On the penultimate day moroseness mingled with physical weariness due to scanty sleep during the night before. He started cutting slowly with a heavy heart and his mind once again drifted to the past. Reminiscences of Etwa's birth and every nuances of his childhood became vivid as though they had happened only a few moments ago. Then he grew up and found his own friend circles. After the death of Sita he had come closer to Dhanesh once again. Then he was married to Saiba and became an alien to Dhanesh. His last friend in this world would perish in no time. Loneliness and sense of abandonment took possession of his soul.

After days' work Nimu came and examining the tree closely he agreed with Dhanesh that only a few more hours' cutting would be necessary.

At night sleep of Dhanesh was interrupted by fragmented dreams and the famished and sickly tree- man appeared in his dream again and again. It rained at midnight and the sky was overcast next morning. Dhanesh spent the pre-lunch hours at the gaddi and accompanied Nimu to Jalpaiguri in the afternoon.

The next day the sky was clear and work started late in the morning. One more day was needed as he had to cut slowly now. After the morning's cutting it was felt that the tree would crumble the next day.

At night Dhanesh had a bad dream. He was going to meet the tree-man at the bank of the lake for the last time, but while he got close to the place he heard an uproar and found large numbers of men, animals and tree-men had congregated around the moribund old tree-man. Noticing Dhanesh they thundered in hateful loud voice, 'shame with the betrayer, the killer, the dirty old selfish Kurukh.'

They ordered Dhanesh in menacing uproar, 'leave this place at once and leave our locality. You don't have any right to defile our sacred place.'

The hatred and anger in their voices and eyes frightened Dhanesh and his sleep broke and he found being drenched in sweat. He could not sleep for the rest of the night.

II

The next day, Nimu, Babulal, Meghraj and the laborers came early in the morning. The sky was murky and Nimu was worried lest the last day's crucial job is spoilt by sudden rain, but nothing happened. The sky remained gloomy and there was no sign of any rain. Only a humid breeze from the north greeted them occasionally as though it had rained at the hills. Dhanesh pasted the spot of the tree with his anthill-clay and started cutting. Everyone watched him with alert eyes. The tree may crumble at any moment. Every ten minutes Nimu stopped Dhanesh and asked him to examine the condition of the tree. They were all tense for the crucial moment that might come at anytime and might be unawares. Dhanesh was not worried at all, but he remained sullen in grief. The dream of the night before started assailing him again and again and he felt himself guilty. They were right. He was the betrayer, the selfish killer. An hour passed and there was still no sign of the tree to give way. Nimu asked Dhanesh to take rest. His father and uncle tried to keep Nimu free from tension. Dhanesh took tea and had some rest.

Dhanesh now started the final cutting. He knew soon he would get the signal and in fifteen minutes he clearly heard the whisper of the tree, 'move away my friend, I'm dying.' Dhanesh at once stopped cutting and hastily retreated back to a safe distance. Before Nimu could ask him what had happened, the creaking sound came from the tree drowning everyone into deep silence. The monotonous sound became louder and louder, the tree started bending and then came the earsplitting thud. The ground trembled as though in an earthquake, birds in the trees fluttered and animals in the deep forest started running helter-skelter in panic as though some natural disaster had befallen them.

Nimu, Babulal, Meghraj and the laborers applauded Dhanesh for the heroic job he had accomplished, but instead of being triumphant he looked sad and they took it to be due to long toil at his old age. There was joyous uproar among all of them and many people from the tea garden and the villages, who had been startled by the thud and tremor, gathered around the spot. Nimu now felt relieved and happy. The last obstacle on the path of fulfilling his long cherished desire had now been removed. He invited the local people to his gaddi next Sunday in a feast to celebrate the occasion. After they had dispersed, the laborers were served rich lunch in plates made of saal leaves. Dhanesh took his lunch packet along to be eaten at his room after some rest. Nimu gave him five hundred rupees and told him to join work at his shop from the next day. It was a simple job to assist Babulal at the gaddi in the morning shift. Saiba and Etwa came and insisted Dhanesh to go home with them but he told them that he would go home the next day after taking night's rest in his room here. Nimu suggested that his men would pick him up the next morning and take him right to his shop, where Etwa and Saiba had already been working.

After they had departed, Dhanesh went back to his room and to get rid of his moroseness drank a few glasses of haria and went into stupor. His slumber broke at mid night and he felt hungry. He took some food from the lunch packet and being stale it tasted sour. He came out of the room and walked toward the felled tree unmindfully. The sky was cloudy and mellow light seeping through the translucent clouds had made the ambience uncanny.

III

The tree lay prostrate like a colossal giant killed in a war. Dhanesh genuflected and wished the soul of his last friend rest in peace in heaven. He asked for forgiveness to the soul of the dead tree and the Supreme Lord Dharmesh for his mischief. He felt a deep sorrow coursing down him and devouring him. He sat at the place for a while. The judgment in the congregation in his dream was justified. Indeed he had no right to defile this sacred land. He went back to his room and came out with his belongings and the axe. He walked up to the Chawai River and threw down the axe which went down the water with a plop. Dhanesh crossed the river at a place where water level was shallow and took the narrow path to Ambari Falakata railway station. Following the rail track from there he would reach New Jalpaiguri station. Etwa, Saiba and Nimu must look for him frantically when they would not find him in his room next morning and for sure they would search Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri stations. So he should be in hiding for the day somewhere near the station and in the evening he would board the train for Patna, the capital of Bihar.

At Patna he would find out some job and after saving some money he would go out on foot for his last pilgrimage. Querying people on the way he would find out the path and one day he would reach Rohtasgarh the homeland of the Kurukhs.

The straw cottages scattered on the paddy fields rich with ripen crop were in deep slumber in the mellow light of the moon, bushes and trees looked like apparitions and Dhanesh felt he was walking across a mystic fairy land. He looked back. The dark forest looked like an enormous serpent girdling the lofty mountain brightened by the moonshine that escaped through the crevices of the clouds. He was leaving behind Etwa, Saiba and the children, memories of the old-tree and of his chando Sita. He felt terribly lonely and could not hold himself. Lightning tore the sky from end to end and the rumble made the world shake and it started raining and the tears of the sky mingled with that of Dhanesh.

###

The Author

The author of this novella is a Ph.D. in economics and professionally an economist but his passion for literature occasionally robs him out of the dry arena of economics to the world of love romance and adventure. From his very childhood his favorite hobbies included swimming in turbulent rivers during the rains, small game hunting, boxing, hill trekking and adventure in wild animal infested deep forests. Later on he gave up hunting and boxing considering them to be cruel sports. In course of his hill treks and adventures in deep forests he came in contact with various tribes, in the hills, the bottom hill forests and the adjacent tea estates and he could feel the heart bits of these honest and simple people. Dr. Basu may be contacted at rlbasu@rediffmail.com.

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