Satya Narayan Sardar
‘Grandpa, grandpa!’ Sailesh approached.
‘What happened?’ The grandfather asked.
‘Adhik Lal grandfather is found dead in his house this morning.’
‘Really?’ The grandfather looked with astonishment at Sailesh. ‘Did you go there?’ he asked Sailesh.
‘Yes. I heard and when I went there, I found people gathering in the house.’
‘What about his sons? Have they arrived?’
‘Not yet. People were talking that Adhik Lal grandfather had been drunk last night and even the house maid also was not at home. His dead body was found on the floor when Sushma, the maid, went there this morning.’
‘It is really a bad destiny of such a person.’ The grandfather murmured.
‘Such a person? What do you mean grandpa? People were passing negative comments about him. But I have just noticed him to be a prosperous person in the entire village.’
‘But behind his prosperity, there’s a long story.’
‘Long story? What do you mean grandpa?’ Sailesh asked.
‘Well settle down there. Let his relatives come. Till then I will tell you his story.’ The grandfather said.
‘But grandpa, this is not the time to listen to the story.’ Sailesh said.
‘I know. But some stories are there to be narrated in proper time. Otherwise, it can have no values.’
Sailesh remembered that his grandfather had never told him any story about the villagers. He also knew that Adhik Lal Chaudhary and his grandfather were the village mates. But his grandfather had not been as rich as Adhik Lal. Due to some negative comments of the villagers, grandfather’s astonishments, and Adhik Lal’s lonely life, he decided to listen to his grandfather. The grandfather was in late seventies and due the access physical labor in the early days, he looked very old. The wrinkles, deep dark eyes, and thin hair justified his struggle in his days.
‘An honest man can never be reach overnight.’ Grandfather started. Sugam Lal, Adhik Lal’s father, migrated to this village when Adhik Lal was very young. Sugam Lal Chaudhary began to work in Munar Gahadar’s farm as a peasant. Munar Gahadar was very rich person with huge area of land. Adhik Lal’s wife started making local alcohol. Munar Gahadar was fond of alcohol. So, immediately he got attached to Sugam Lal’s family. Munar Gahadar, being the landlord of the village and fascinated to Sugam Lal’s family, he provided small piece of land for their settlement.’
Sailesh forgot the village scene and indulged in grandfather’s narration. After a short pause, the grandfather continued.
‘Sugam Lal and his wife got an idea. They decided not to ask money for the alcohol nor physical labor he did in the field. They planned to provide as much alcohol as Munar asked. They began to keep the record of alcohol delivery. They were not honest enough to keep the fair record. They started adding more and more quantity and multiplying the amount. They didn’t ask the money for the alcohol for months they provided. Eventually, they went to Munar Gahadar with the bill he had to pay to Sugam Lal. Munar Gahadar, without looking into the amount, used to say. ‘Take that small piece of land.’ With the same trick, Sugam Lal and his wife had been able to get enough land to run their family smoothly.’
The grandfather started coughing. Sailesh knew that he was willing to smoke hookah. Sailesh managed hookah with kankad for the grandfather. As the grandfather started smoking hookah, he felt relief and comforting himself, he continued.
‘Since morning to late night, Munar Lal kept drinking. Unexpectedly, one day, Munar Lal passed away. The legacy of all the property came upon Kamal Gahadar. He not only inherited property but also drinking habit from his father. Adhik Lal and Kamal became intimate friends. There were some more friends of Kamal in the village. But he only enjoyed the accompaniment of those friends who drank alcohol with him; supported him; appreciated him and stayed all the time with him. I also was one of his friends. I could notice how he had been in wrong friends’ circle and how he had been spending the property. Time and again, I advised him not to do so. But he ignored me. Even he stopped talking to me for sometimes. Adhik Lal, with his father’s conspiracy, began to capture Kamal’s property. Kamal Gahadar’s wife Sumanti always urged him to be away from wrong accompaniment and think about their children’s future. Kamal told her that they had had enough property for their children. Sumanti said that if he kept spending property as he had been doing, the poverty was not far away.’
The grandfather took a break and starting smoking. Sailesh kept concentrating on grandfather’s narration. He was wondering that how that had been possible. How much money they charged for alcohol and what the price of the piece of land was. Collecting the memory, the grandfather continued.
‘The drinking habit worsened Kamal. He could not know how much property he had registered Adhik Lal.’
‘How can that be possible to register such area of property, grandpa?’ Sailesh inquired.
Neither Kamal nor Adhik Lal consulted us. Adhik Lal just took as much advantages as he could. Whoever tried to convince Kamal, he ignored them.
‘Then what happened grandfather? Sailesh asked.
‘What happened should I say? Within few years, all the properties were registered to Adhik Lal. Kamal’s wife could do nothing but watched her destiny. She saw all her property going away from their grip. She frequently asked Kamal to think about their infant children: Ashish and Ayesha.’
Grandfather took a long breath in despair.
‘Where are Ashish and Ayesha right now grandfather?’
‘Have patience. I will tell you everything.’ Grandfather asked for another kankad. Sailesh went to fill the hookah. He returned blowing air into it to keep the fire on. As the grandfather started smoking he felt a bit ease and continued the narration.
‘Well, nobody could stop Kamal. He got completely dived into drinking habit. Eventually, except the house, nothing remained. But still he kept asking for alcohol. One day, the house also was sold. Whatever money he got selling the house, he took and went towards his in-law’s house with his wife and two children.’
‘Grandfather, I got a curiosity’, Sailesh asked. ‘What about?’ The grandfather looked at him.
‘Actually, did Kamal Gahadar not have anything except the house at last?’
‘Oh! Sorry, the old age has made me forget. Actually, Kamal had had a number of cattle. As he had to pay huge amount of money, Adhik Lal and his relatives took all the cattle to their shed and said that he would release only when the entire due amount is paid. Kamal could do nothing. His wife kept crying hitting against her chest. We gathered there and requested him to return the cattle but Adhik Lal did not change his mind. Eventually Kamal told Adhik Lal to return at least a cow but he denied. Saddened Kamal took his wife inside and locked from inside.’
‘What about Ashish and Ayesha, grandfather?’ Sailesh expressed his curiosity.
‘They were very young and could do nothing. They followed their parents and went inside. We, the villagers could do nothing but only watch the scene. For several days, we did not notice Kamal Gahadar in the village.’
‘Days passed; weeks passed; months passed. One day, Kamal sent for me. I went to him. As I went there, I found him in tears. I could do nothing but only console. He said that he had decided to leave the village as there was nothing left except his house. I asked where he would go. In response, he said that he would go to his in-law’s house and find some apace there. He could not stay in the village because those properties which belonged to him; had been Adhik Lal’s fortune. It would better for him to leave the village and live somewhere else.’
‘Grandfather, were Ashish and Ayesha not sent to school then?’ Sailesh asked.
‘Though they had to but were not.’ Grandfather clarified.
‘What happened to them, grandfather?’ Sailesh asked.
Grandfather cleared his throat and continued.
‘Well, after some months, Kamal sold his house and whatever money he got, with it, he left the village forever. For several years, we could know nothing about him. Later we learned that he learned carpentry and began to work with a neighboring person. Although the children were sent to school but could not continue their education because we heard a bad news that Kamal Gahadar passed away on the back home falling in a ditch as he was fully drunk and no one was with him to support and take home. His dead body was discovered the next morning.’
Sailesh took a long breath and was about to ask but he stopped.
‘What happened to both of you? Someone has passed away in the neighboring house and grandfather and grandson are chatting in here.’ The grandmother shouted at both of them, ‘He’s very young and I am too old to assist in the rituals. Let his sons come. They will do everything’, the grandfather defended.
‘They have already arrived and debating about the properties’, the grandmother gave an angry look.
‘Why are you angry with us?’ The grandfather asked. ‘I am not angry with either of you rather at those useless sons. You know everything’, she looked at the grandfather.
‘OK, let me go there.’
The grandfather stood and moved towards the scene. As he reached there, he noticed that the eldest son was shouting at his brothers but they also were debating and arguing that the funeral procession could not be done until and unless the property was well divided between them. The grandfather could do nothing but kept watching.
Bewildered Sailesh kept watching from the distance thinking about the loneliness of Adhik Lal. What he had done for the property and what his sons had been doing there for the same. Sailesh was really sorry towards Ashish and Ayesha and their destiny.