Stranded… Found… Rescued!
“Our first intention was to run away, but somehow, we managed to hold on to our senses. Dheeru Kaka raised the lantern and in its faint light we saw…” Deenu paused again, and looked at the rapt expression of his young audience.
“What did you see, Kaka?” whispered Sneha.
“Jhimli… It was Jhimli sitting on the tree’s branch. I will never be able to forget the expression on her face – pure terror mixed with disbelief.”
“Oh… Thank God you all found Jhimli…” breathed Gauri in relief.
“Found Jhimli! Yes, that was good but the story doesn’t end here…” Deenu said mysteriously.
“No?” queried Somu.
“Nahin… Nahin… Not at all. Dheeru Kaka kept calling out to her but she wouldn’t respond. She seemed to be frozen, what’s the word exactly… ahhh… petrified,” Deenu said. “How would we get her down to take her home? She didn’t seem to be in the condition to come down on her own.”
“Ohh… All of you must’ve climbed the tree to get her down,” Jyoti surmised.
Deenu laughed, “I wish it was that easy, bitiya.”
“Why? You could see her. It was just a peepal tree. It’s not difficult to climb,” Gopi scoffed.
“Hmm… but this was no ordinary tree. It was ‘the peepal tree’ which everyone kept warning everyone about. Whoever in their right sense was going to climb it on an amaavasya night? Moreover, all the men there were wondering what had happened to Jhimli, how she managed to get on the tree when she had never climbed a tree before in her life, according to her father.”
The children now perceived a different angle and stared at the man before them wondering what had transpired. They waited with bated breath for him to continue.
“Then how did she come down, Kaka?” queried Sneha.
Deenu puffed his chest out and said with pride, “It was I who got her down.”
“You?” exclaimed the children in disbelief. “But, how?”
“Ahh… It was extremely difficult. Everyone drew back, hid behind each other. But I did it… I…”
“Deenu Kaka…” Jai said, not trying to disguise his impatience.
“Ahh… Yes, yes. I volunteered to climb ‘the peepal’ and bring the girl down.”
“Really? Wow… you’re so brave, Kaka. Then what happened?” Gauri asked.
“That I am! It wasn’t easy, I must tell you. I climbed up the tree quite quickly; I was much younger then. I tied my gamcha around my waist, put one leg on the gnarled trunk and pulled myself up. In no time I was abreast with the branch. I managed to get on to that narrow branch she was sitting on and called her name softly. She turned her head to look at me in fear. Somehow, I managed to coax her to grab my hand, pulled her onto my back and climbed down the tree. She was rigid with terror and it was a great challenge to reach the ground safely. Once we were down, her father hurried towards her and hugged her. We took her home. She was shivering and mumbling something about eating bread made from cow dung…”
“Bread made from cow dung?” queried Gopi. “What’s that?”
“I’ve no idea. But I guess… Jhimli was in a state of shock and was chattering incoherently.”
“What happened to her after that?” asked Sneha.
“Nothing much. We took her home. She was burning with fever. Her parents called for the pandit and did some puja and after a few days she was as right as rain again. But she never went back to that part of the jungle,” Deenu said hurriedly.
“Deenu Kaka, why do I feel that you’re hiding something?” Jai asked suspiciously.
“Hiding? Why… Why would I hide anything?” Deenu faltered. “What’s there to hide?”
“Deenu Kaka what are you not telling us?” queried Jai.
“Beta ji, there’s nothing to tell. Seriously!” Deenu Kaka grinned feebly and played with his gamcha looking uneasy all the while.
“Kaka, you’re so brave and strong. Did you make some mistake?” Jai asked slyly.
“Mistake? I made? Nahin… Nahin…”
“Then what is it that you’re brushing over?”
“It’s nothing. Just a teensy-weensy thing actually.”
“What’s the teensy-weensy thing?” Jai probed.
Deenu sighed.
“Jhimli, couldn’t speak for quite some time after that episode. Everyone said she was in shock. She would be startled at the slightest sound. She wouldn’t step out of the house once the sun began to dip over the horizon. The girl followed her mother all around the house all day long. She refused to stay alone for even a minute. Her mother attended to her with great patience and love. I remember her preparing all her favourite meals and even sooji halwa, urging her to eat and forget the episode. I’d also heard that sometimes the girl would wake up at night and begin crying. In fact, it took many days for Jhimli to calm down. And, when she finally started speaking… her mother gently asked her about that day…” Deenu Kaka hesitated.
“Yes?” Jai urged him on.
“Jhimli said that… that… there was a woman who had called to her from the tree.”
“A woman?” all six children chorused.
“Ahem… yes. A woman.”
“So?” asked Jai again.
“Nothing… I’ve got to go and check whether Sarpanch Ji requires me…” Deenu Kaka said standing up hurriedly.
“No Deenu Kaka, you can’t leave the tale incomplete like this… What happened then? Who was that woman?” Jai insisted.
“Beta ji… How to tell you? It wasn’t an ordinary woman. Jhimli climbed the tree happily intending to share her food. She gave her the chapattis and the chutney. And, the woman shared her food… cow dung cakes. She forced Jhimli to eat them, or she threatened to throw her down from the top. And then, Jhimli saw her long nails and her feet…”
“Her feet? What was wrong with them?” asked Gopi in a scared voice.
The children looked at Deenu Kaka who swallowed hard before replying in a whisper.
“They were backwards.”
The children stared wide-eyed in horror at the man sitting cross-legged before them.
