Jhimli’s tale !
The next day the children were back at their own home very early in the morning with their mother and Sarpanch Ji’s wife. Deenu and Jeetu had carried their small belongings as the house was ready to be lived in. There would be a puja at around 11 a.m. and then a meal for the village priest and the nearest neighbours.
Savita Kaki had already set about preparing the prasad and soon Shambhu Maharaj would take over and prepare the simple meal planned – aaloo sabzi and puri with boondi laddoos. Deenu and Jeetu had decorated the house with garlands of marigold flowers and leaves from the ashoka trees. The neighbourhood women hastened to and fro extending a helping hand where ever required; the entire scene buzzed with activity.
Soon the pandit arrived and began preparing for the puja. The hawan commenced; the scent of burning wood, and other sacred fire ingredients offered in the sacred flames purified the air around. Sounds of hallowed mantras resounded, filling the home shut for years with blessed promises of hope, growth and success. The meal which followed renewed and strengthened previous ties as Lata and her children were welcomed back.
Jai and Sneha made friends with the children of the neighbours. They sat playing a game of marbles under the trees in the courtyard after their meal while the elders chatted away inside the verandah overlooking the courtyard.
“Will you let us play in your courtyard?” asked Gopi, a nine-year-old boy.
“Of course, why not? We’ll play together,” Jai said.
“We used to play here before you came back,” said Jyoti, a seven-year-old girl. “And, we used to bring our food and eat it here in the shade, like a picnic.”
“We can still do that,” said Sneha.
“Did you go to school in the big city?” asked another boy called Somu.
“Yes, there was a school, not far from our home. We both went there,” Jai answered.
“You’ll be coming to our school now?” queried Gauri.
“Maybe. Amma hasn’t said anything as yet,” Sneha replied.
“Children, Bhojai is calling you both to seek pandit ji’s blessings before he leaves,” Deenu came just then to call them.
“Alright, Deenu Kaka.”
Jai turned to the other children and said, “We’ll be back in a moment. Don’t go away, we’ll continue the game. Come, Sneha.”
~ ~ ~ ~
“We’re back!” called Jai, running across the courtyard, followed by Sneha.
“Let’s resume the game. We were just beginning to wonder how long more you both would take,” Somu said.
“I’m bored of playing marbles now. I think we should play something else,” Gopi suggested. “Let’s play sitolia.”
“It’s too hot to run around and play any games at this time of the day. Look at the sun shining so brightly,” Jyoti said, looking up at the rays coming through the leaves.
“Then what are we going to do?” Gauri asked, throwing off her chappals and standing barefoot.
Jai looked at Deenu squatting on the chabutra near by and grinned.
“I have an idea,” he said. “Deenu Kaka…”
“Yes, beta ji?”
“Deenu Kaka, can you tell us about any adventure you had?”
“Me? Just now?”
“Yes, Kaka. Tell us something exciting!” Sneha seconded.
The other four children looked at each other questioningly.
“Arreyy… Deenu Kaka has had many awesome adventures. You must listen to them,” Jai enlightened them.
“But Deenu Kaka only has weird stories to tell. They’re simply far-fetched. Just made up!” pooh-poohed Jyoti.
Deenu’s face fell and he looked forlorn. He said, “There… there… What did I tell you both?”
“How do you know? Have you ever heard about them?” asked the kind-hearted Sneha, standing with her hands on her hips.
“Everyone in the village knows, Deenu Kaka makes up stories. My parents say he’s a little crazy!” Somu said.
“Enough!” Sneha put up a hand and snapped. “Deenu Kaka narrates the most amazing adventures. If you don’t want to listen you can go… otherwise sit down with Jai Bhaiyya and me… because we both are definitely going to enjoy a delightful afternoon of an amazing narration of an even more amazing encounter Deenu Kaka had.”
The four children looked at the little girl and sat down quietly. Jai grinned. His sister was a little spitfire when she got annoyed.
“Deenu Kaka, please tell us something thrilling…” Jai said, sitting down cross-legged.
“Yes… Yes… Very well, beta ji. I will, I will…” Deenu said, puffing up his chest with pride.
The trees waved their branches overhead gently. They too seemed to be listening earnestly.
“So, long back there was this girl Jhimli in our village. Some of you may know her, she’s Dheeru Kaka’s daughter. Now she lives in a village, about two hours journey away from here. Dheeru Kaka in those days had a huge herd of goats.”
“What colour were the goats, Deenu Kaka?” Sneha asked, her chin resting in the palm of her hand.
“Bitiya, they were different colours like - brown, white, dark brown…”
“How many goats did Dheeru Dada have?” Somu asked, taking an interest.
“There were about fifty of them. And, all of them had those sweet-sounding bells in their necks. You should have heard them tinkling when they walked down the roads…”
“What happened to Dheeru Dada’s daughter, Kaka?” prompted Jai.
“Ahh… Yes… Yes. Jhilmli would every day take them to graze in the forest at sunrise and they would all come home together before sunset. But that day… something unexpected happened. All the goats returned home but one and…” Deenu paused for breath.
“And?” queried Gauri.
“And… Jhimli...”
“What? Where did she and that one goat go?” asked Gopi.
“Ahh… Now, there was a very-very huge peepal tree near the old well. Jhimli would take her goats to water them there. Her parents had warned her never to go there at noon. And, if by chance she was there at that time she must not look up if she heard a voice calling her,” Deenu said, solemnly.
“Ohh…” the children breathed.
“On that particular day, a hot day… Jhimli was there at noon. She drew water from the well and poured it in the troughs nearby. It was all silent. Not a sound could be heard except the chirping of sparrows. And then… Jhimli heard a voice. It called her name softly… Jhimli who had just sat down to eat her chapati and tamatar ki chutney was startled. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone.
‘Here… up on the tree. I’m here.’ The voice called to her. ‘I’m very hungry. Give me something to eat.’
Jhimli who was a kind-hearted girl felt sorry. She forgot all about what her parents had told her and looked up…” Deenu stopped and looked at the attentive faces of the six children.
“Then what happened, Deenu Kaka?” Sneha asked in a hushed tone.
“The entire day passed, evening came… just before sunset, the flock reached home, terrified and disoriented. They were bleating wildly. Dheeru Kaka’s wife expected her daughter to follow with the kid that was so fond of her but when she didn’t even after half an hour, Kaka’s wife called out to him. He was busy repairing a few charpoys behind their humble hut. Kanta Kaki was worried, she feared something had gone wrong. When he heard his wife’s concerns, he called few men from the neighbourhood and set out to search for Jhimli…”
“Did they find her, Deenu Kaka?” Jyoti asked.
“Patience… patience… bitiya. I’ll tell you everything. I remember I was just returning from the fields when I saw them hurrying off in the direction of the forest. I thought something must be wrong, they may need help, so I hastened after them. The sun had just set and it was godhuli bela, cows were returning home. One could hear their bells tinkling and the clop, clop of their hooves…” Deenu Kaka said, staring in the distance. “Do you know this is considered an auspicious time of the day, Goddess Lakshmi is believed to visit homes and lighting diyas under the tulsi, peepal or banyan trees during this time brings prosperity…”
“Ohh… Is that why my amma lights a diya beside the tulsi every evening?” Gauri said thoughtfully.
“Yes… many people follow this practice,” Deenu said.
“But what happened to Dheeru Dada’s daughter, Kaka?” Jai asked impatiently.
“Yes… Yes… So, I followed them into the forest. They had brought lanterns with them. It was getting darker by the minute. Kaka and the others began calling out her name but there was no sound, only the crickets could be heard singing their endless song. A good many hours passed, the men were hopeless. They were talking about going back and returning in the morning when they heard a goat kid bleating, piteously. We all rushed in the direction and came to the clearing with the well and that old peepal tree. Dheeru Kaka shouted aloud calling his daughter’s name but there was no response. Just then, we heard a rustling in the bushes nearby and…” Deenu Kaka paused dramatically.
“… And?” the six children prompted. Their eyes round with curiosity.
“And, the kid jumped out. It ran straight to Dheeru Kaka and began bleating sorrowfully. The men started looking around, expecting to see the girl come through the bushes but… nothing.”
“Then? Then what happened? Where did the girl go, Deenu Kaka?” Gopi queried impatiently.
Jai and Sneha looked at each other and smiled. They knew Deenu Kaka could not be rushed. They had experienced his storytelling many times.
“Ahh… they called out her name several times but there was no reply. Dheeru Kaka suddenly happened to notice the kid was looking up at the branches of the peepal tree and was bleating miserably. He looked up with much trepidation and then stared, shell shocked…” Deenu Kaka’s voice dropped to a whisper.
The six children looked at him, swallowing hard, too terrified to ask him to continue, afraid to hear what would come next.
Deenu continued, “… when we saw him staring at something above our heads we looked up and were startled. A figure was sitting on one of the tree’s highest branches. I can never forget that feeling till date. My hair stood up on end and my heart began beating wildly. It was a dark night, an amaavasya. The night when evil flourishes.”
“Who… who… was that sitting in the tree, Kaka?” Somu stammered, terrified yet eager to know more.