A SHORT STORY FROM PAST MEMORIES

A SHORT STORY FROM PAST MEMORIES

                                                                                                                                        March 25, 2011, Friday

I lived in Delhi from April 2008 to September 2011. Robin was one of my close friends and we spent most of time together those days. One day he insisted me to go his village with him to attend the Naming Ceremony of his nephew. We planned the trip together and reached his village, Maduli (15 kilometres ahead from Bhikyasen, Uttarakhand) in the morning of the day 25 March, 2011.

It was a wonderful journey from Delhi to Maduli. It was situated in hilly areas. As it was starting of summer there was not so cold. Robin introduced me to his family and locality and then we went to the dark room where we enjoyed two or three mouthful of red wine beneath a hanging lamp tied with the ceiling hook. In the courtyard, the naming ceremony of the infant was going on and I could hear the traditional pahari songs which mostly used to be sung in Birth Ceremony. Panditji already had announced the boy’s name ‘Divyanshu’ before we attended the ceremony. I congratulated his parents by giving a sagun envelope for the baby and left to visit the village with Robin.

There I met a new friend named Pankaj who was pursuing his graduation. He treated me so well. In the evening, returning to home we saw an old lady asking for food and shelter for that night. She was wearing saree and might be belong to a good family. All the matter I came to know that she was mentally disturbed and helpless. I didn’t know where she came from and where her family lived. I asked Robin and Pankaj to provide her food and shelter. They agreed. But Robin’s home was much far from there. So we decided to make her arrangement somewhere else.

Robin knew a man Dr. NPS Panduri who lived just couple steps down from the road. We took her to his house and fed her well there. Mr. Panduri lived with his only son in the house of one room and a kitchen. So we took help of another old lady (Ammaji) who was his neighbour and lived alone in her double storey wooden house. At first she refused to allow her stay there but after a long discussion and requests she agreed to give her shelter for that night. But there was a condition. She wanted one of us also to stay in her house that night as she was afraid of the mentally disturbed lady.

Pankaj and I decided to stay there but Robin had to leave for his home as there was a lot of pending work to do after the ceremony. Ammaji led us to her house and arranged for our stay. The old sick lady had slept then we went to Mr. Panduri’s house. There we enjoyed music and his singing. He was a good Harmonium player. We discussed on social issues, studies and such more topics. Mr. Panduri gave us a motivational speech like every elder person gives to his younger. It was a fantastic experience of my life to help that lady and to spend my time with those strange and heartily known people.

After sometime we went to the bed in Ammaji’s House and slept well whole night. After having morning tea, the very next day we met Mr. Panduri again. He took the responsibility to send that lady to her home and praised us for what we did last night. As I had to leave for Delhi that morning we said goodbye to both Mr. Panduri and Ammaji and thanked them by touching their feet (Charan Sparsh).

I never met those people again in my life but I could never forget them. After all they were my family that night.