Bholu!
“Bholu… is a crafty one. He’s a real badmash! He keeps flitting around from place to place within this area. Sometimes he’s here, sometimes he’s there. He loves to tease. And, he does love to laugh. Bhagwan Ji… he is a one for giggling,” Deenu said, looking around.
“See, I told you there’s a naughty child who hasn’t gone to give exams. He’s playing truant. Wait till I get my hands on him, I’ll teach him a lesson,” Jai said smashing his right fist in the palm of his left hand.
“Jai Bhaiyya, what if he’s older than you? You mustn’t get into any trouble. Amma won’t be happy,” Sneha looked at her brother in concern.
“Huh! As if that would stop me? Older than me or not, he must be taught to behave himself!” Jai insisted. “By the way how old is he, Deenu Kaka?”
“No idea. Some say he’s a hundred years old; some say he doesn’t exist…”
“A hundred years old?” exclaimed the two children, shocked.
“Yes, but many don’t believe he even exists!”
“What do you mean, Deenu Kaka?” queried Jai curiously. “Who are you talking about?”
“Bholu, the bhoot.”
“Bhoot?”
“Yes, Bholu is a ghost.”
“A ghost?” the children yelped in alarm.
“Yes… he’s a bhoot,” Deenu nodded in satisfaction at their expressions.
“What nonsense!” Jai said after a moment. “There are no things as ‘ghosts’. Stop spreading such stories, Deenu Kaka.”
“Stories? I’m spreading? There you go like everyone else. And, here was I thinking that you two are different from others…” Deenu shook his head in despair.
“Deenu Kaka, ghosts are not real,” little Sneha said feeling sorry for the big man.
“Pooh! Not real? Then who broke your sand castle? How did the mangoes fall?” Deenu asked, hands on his hips.
“It… It… must’ve been the wind,” suggested Sneha.
“The wind? And what about the giggles you both heard?” Deenu questioned.
“Well…” Jai said, at a loss for words.
“Exactly! That’s what I’m trying to say. There’s no explanation for the things you experienced. It’s Bholu, the bhoot who decided to prank you.”
“Great! Then where is he now?” Jai asked jumping up from where he sat and looking around.
“Do you think he’s going to wait here for you?” Deenu queried in surprise. “He has many things to do.”
“Like?”
“Like… chasing the goats, pranking the women who go to the fields or the river, teasing the children while they return from school, curdling the milk…” Deenu began counting on his fingers.
“Why would someone do such things?” queried Sneha in surprise.
“For fun!” replied Deenu Kaka.
“For fun? Is Bholu a child that he’ll do such lame things?” asked Jai with a scoff.
“Of course, Bholu is a child. But he’s a bhoot and loves making mischief like children,” Deenu said firmly.
“He makes such a ruckus and, still no one believes that he exists?” Jai asked, crossing his arms.
“Yes…”
“And, only you know that he is there,” persisted Jai.
“Well… yes. But… now both of you know too. Right?” Deenu looked hopefully from one to the other.
“We can’t say…” began Sneha.
“Deenu… Jeetu… Where are these two? Come here quickly. Bhagwan Ji! It’s getting late. We have to go back home and there’s so much to be done still,” called Savita loudly.
“Coming Hukum,” Deenu replied, hurriedly standing up and slipping on his chappals. He gave the children a mysterious look before rushing off.
“Jai Bhaiyya, do you think Deenu Kaka was speaking the truth?” little Sneha asked.
“Can’t say, Sneha. We’ll have to find out,” Jai looked up into the branches thoughtfully.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Amma…?”
“Yes, Sneha?”
“Are ghosts real?” Sneha queried as they lay under the glittering canopy of the night sky.
“Ghosts? Where did you hear of them?” Lata asked looking at her daughter.
“Deenu Kaka told us about Bholu,” Jai said turning onto his stomach and gazing at his mother in the dark.
“Bholu?”
“Yes Amma. Have you heard of him? Deenu Kaka was saying he’s a hundred years old,” Sneha inched closer in her mother’s arms.
“Hmm… When I got married and came here, I did hear some stories but I never paid heed to any of them,” Lata said thoughtfully.
“So didn’t you experience anything in all the years you lived here, Amma?” Jai asked.
“Not that I can remember anything strange. But why all this talk of ghosts and Bholu? Deenu Bhaiyya is famous not only in our village but in the nearby villages also for such stories. Don’t take him too seriously,” Lata said with a soft laugh.
“But Amma…” Sneha began only to be interrupted by Jai.
“Amma, which story are you telling us tonight? Jai asked brightly. He shot a warning look at his younger sister to keep quiet about this matter.
“Hmm… who’s story you want to listen to?” Lata asked and laughed.
“How about the princess who laughed and her laughter broke like pieces of glass?” Jai said turning on to his back and staring up at the stars.
“No Amma. Tell me about the crocodile who ate jamuns,” Sneha said tugging at her mother’s arm.
Lata laughed, “Alright… alright… I’ll tell you both the stories. But first I’ll tell Sneha the story. Do you mind, Jai? She’ll fall off to sleep otherwise.”
“No Amma. It’s good for me. I’ll get to hear two stories,” Jai said happily.
“Very clever of you, my dear boy. So… long- long ago there lived a monkey in a huge jamun tree…”
“Amma? Do monkeys live in jamun trees only?” queried Sneha.
“No Sneha. They live in trees of any kind but they raid fruit trees for their meals. They even visit houses sometimes. Now that we’re in the village you’ll see them jumping on trees or hanging around temples,” Lata said caressing her hair.
“When will we go to the temple here, Amma? You said there’s a very old one where you and Papa were married,” Jai asked sitting down in the dark.
“Yes Amma. When will we go to the temple?” queried Sneha playing with her mother’s glass bangles.
“Let me speak to Savita Kaki tomorrow.”
“Great! Amma… What happened to that monkey?” Sneha chirped happily.
“Which monkey?” Lata asked in surprise.
“Amma? Have you forgotten?” Jai questioned incredulously.
“Amma… you’re beginning to forget things…” groaned Sneha.
“Really?”
“Yes, Amma. Weren’t you telling us the story about that monkey who lived in the jamun tree?” Jai reminded her mischievously.
“O Bhagwan Ji! These children are terrible! Save me!” Lata laughed out loudly.
Both the children giggled as their mother set about tickling them.