Guilty Conscience of an Auto Rickshaw

Mantri Fame, As I confirm the place's name

My mind starts playing a game; to game or not to game

Clock is ticking, time more or less the same, it's just a game

As I start belching thick black flame, I wonder, why no shame !!

PS: My first _real_ shot at poetry, written as part of a warm-up exercise during one Write Club Meetups

Black Magic

Where have you been ??

Sorry, I got late.

But where did you go ??

somewhere close by.

Where ??

I had gone to watch the magic show by PC Sarkar, the great magician from Bengal.

What ?? You didn’t even tell me.

You would have said no anyway, what was the point in asking ??

This is ridiculous. How can you go to a magic show without even asking me ??

I had some real fun.

What fun, Mona ?? What is wrong with you ?? You should know, he is no magician, he is a conman. You get it, a conman.

No Raj. The Bengali magic is for real.

I don’t buy.

You will…someday.

That will be the day, Mona. Not in my lifetime at least.

Forget it. You must be feeling hungry, so am I.

                                                    -----

Kala Jadoo...Kala Jadoo... Aaiye Aaiye..Appke Shehar Mein Pahli Baar…Bangal ka Asli Kala Jaado...Aaiye Aaiye…The announcement was to be followed by a sweet sound of dumroo..Darrr…Darr…Aaiye Aaiye....

As I looked around, tried locating the source of this voice, I noticed a decent gathering, making its way to a corner. It was for a magic show. Black Magic…From Bengal…Not Any More. I will expose him in front of everyone. Let me grab those "front-row" seats. How will I catch him, if I don’t stand close enough ??

At the center of all this, I saw a young boy in his teens, who was proclaiming himself to be the practitioner of Black Jadoo. Hmm Not Bad..But poor boy, your story is soon going to over. You will regret doing a magic-show in my town.

The show started with few routine tricks, as you would expect out of a run-of-the-mill Magic-Show. The handkerchief turning into a bird. Goldplated coins raining from vaccum….Must be sleight of hands, I quipped. While people around me clapped, I was not impressed. My mind was fixated on his hands and gestures. Suddenly, the magician announced “The show is almost over. I am now going to try my last magic. I promise, it will blow your minds. Are you all ready ??” Yes, we are, The chorus followed his voice and everybody started clapping in anticipation of what would come.

The magician hand-picked a person from the crowd and claimed that he would turn him blind by applying black-magic and then revert him back to normalcy, again with help of Black Magic. Everyone was awe-struck. He is going to make somebody blind and then restore his vision. Must be the dreaded Bengali Kala Jadoo !!

He started chanting abracadabra with a magical wand in his hand, looking into the person’s eyes all this while. The effect was instant. The man became blind in a flash. The magician proudly announced the person has become. He is blind. You all can test it yourself.

Let me test him. I told to myself.

How many ?? I raised my hands, with my little finger hidden underneath my thumb.

I can’t see anything. He complained.

Must be lying …I kept my thoughts to myself.

By now, everyone else, except me, was convinced that he was blind.

Now I will revert his eye-sight, the magician announced. The audience had their heart in their mouth. Can he do that ??

Oh Yes, He can !! The same chore followed. And his vision was restored, or at least proclaimed to be so by the great magician. A round of applause followed.

Folks, now it is your turn ?? Any one want to experience Black Magic first-hand. His tone was surprisingly strong for a performer inviting his audience on stage, as if he was throwing a challenge to them.

To my utter surprise, nobody volunteered. I thought, there would be a flood of people willing to experience Black Magic first-hand. No one. This was my chance to prove that he is a cheat. A golden opportunity indeed. I promptly raised my hand.

So you want to give the Black Magic a try. The magician took a good hard look at me and tried confirming my intentions.

Yes.

Are you sure, you want to give it a try.

Yes. 

Are you really sure ??

Yes, I am. I was getting annoyed at his questionnaire.

I hope, you are aware of the consequences ??

What consequences ??

See, there is always an element of risk involved.

What risk ??

There is a remote chance that the magic will fail. 

Fail, What do you mean ??

You may become blind for the rest of your life.

I am fine. I firmly stood my ground. 

Some people did get scared. I could hear them whisper “There is no guarantee that the Black Magic will succeed ?? What if the magic fails ?? His eye-sight will be gone, really ?? But, I was not unfazed by his failure. After all, I was praying for his failure, wasn’t I ??

Ok, fine. As You Wish. But let me repeat, there is a remote chance of you loosing your eyesight permanently. The magician made a last ditch attempt to convince me, not to try Black Magic.

You have to constantly look into my eyes, while I chant my mantras, get it.

Yes, go ahead.

With a resigned look, the boy started chanting all those mantras. I was standing very close to him, his fist occasionally touching my belly, as he waved his magical wand. There was no impact whatsoever as a result of his innocuous chanting, at least I didn’t feel anything. But, a close look at his torn clothes and miserable condition started making me drowsy. A glance at his empty stomach, squeezed almost to the back, was making me loose my eye-sight. As I looked deep into his wet eyes, I was blinded by the light coming out of them. I was becoming blind. Yes, I was becoming blind.

Mona, you were right. The Bengali Black Magic is for real, it works..It works.

When You ..

When you crossed my path, it changed my path
When you looked at me, it changed by looks
When you shook my hand, it shook my mind
When you spoke to me, it changed by voice

When you were absent, I felt absent
When you were present, I still felt absent
When you waved good-bye, I felt the waves changed
When you finally went, I felt the world changed

A Looser Who Won

I am backing out.

What ?? There is no going back. A yes is a yes.  I have already paid 2000 Rs to Zafar. Gaurav is also contributing 1000 Rs.

Ok, fine. I will pay the rest. I know, My promotion treat has been long due. Raj was poked enough number of times for his treat, so as to concede defeat.

This treat would be one of its kind, a treat no one else would have given to anyone.
May be (pause). I have not been to many treats, So how would I know ??

Yes, let’s make this diwali night memorable for all of us. A night, I am sure, we all will never be able to forget in your lifetime.

As his moped left a trail of thick black smoke, Raj kept staring at the circles formed by it, wondering if it were a noose, tightening around his neck. He used to be a good boy, in fact in his college days, he was so dumb, a special award was constituted to honour people like him. And, today he is going to get a bravery award for something, he would never imagined even in the wildest of his dreams. Trin.. Trin.. Trin.. Raj was woken from slumbers by the all-too-familiar Nokia ringtone.

Hey Raj. Happy Diwali, man.

Same to you man.

What are doing on Diwali ??

Nothing special.

Come over, I have few friends gathered, after bursting crackers, we plan to drink. You want to join ??

I don’t drink, man. What will I do ??

You can have some Fanta, man. Come over.

Ok, I am in.

Chetan was due to come back by 9. A glance at his wrist watch gave Raj some relief, It would be another couple of hours, before we will have our surprise. Raj is sure, he will be back in time. 

Are there any more crackers left ??
No dude, we are all done with crackers.

I am feeling hungry, man.

Let’s order some chicken. Chicken goes along very well with Red Wine.

Sure.

The chicken arrived in no time. There was a KFC outlet very close. Who are these people, working even on Diwali nights, delivering happiness to their customers. Raj felt very sorry for the delivery-boy. This world can never be the same for the rich and the poor. Raj wished him Happy Diwali with a cosmetic smile on his face and offered a generous tip. Inside the room, everybody was busy pouring lemon onto their glasses of Vodka.

No fanta for me. Raj almost screamed, taking everyone by surprise.

Why ??

I want to drink.

Really ?? Dude, this is not Red Wine. This is Vodka, the real wine.

I want to give it a try.

Ok....

The first sip induced a burning sensation near his threat, but Raj somehow managed to swallow it.

Not Bad, Raj. I had vomited my first sip, you did a lot better.
Second sip onwards, Raj started enjoying the taste of Vodka.

Another glass for me.

Are you sure ??

Yes, I am.

No body knew, what occurred to Raj on that fateful Diwali night, but he kept on drinking, as if there was no tomorrow. There was something heavenly about Vodka. Raj can only vaguely recollect a Russian story from his school days, when a farmer was made aware of beauties of Vodka by an imp. Though, it was just a story and the imp just an imp, Raj somehow felt imp's presence in that room, as if he was talking to him. Remember...After first glass, you all will become fox ...

Hey, Raj. Don’t you want to go home. We are done with drinks. Raj's body was being vigourously shaken, but Vokda magic was not going away soon.

I don’t think, he will wake up. Let’s not waste time.

We had a great time today, hadn't we ??
Ya, man. Raj turned out to be a dark horse. 
What is the time ??
It is already well past midnight.
No wonder, I am feeling sleepy.

All of them were now lying one after the other, just like pigs in a pool of mud (After 3 glasses, you will become a pig). Suddenly, the infamous Nokia ring-tone made its present felt.

Shit, man. What an irritating ring-tine ??

Must be Raj.

Raj was not known for his taste of music, but this ring tone was too bad, even by his standards.

Hey, Venkat.
Is Raj still there ??

Yes, he is (pause) but sleeping.

Really ?? Tell him his surprise is here. What is he doing there ?? Would not he want a taste of his surprise ??

No man, he is drunk and fast asleep.

Even though Venkat's voice was loud and clean, Chetan tried adjusting the volume of his handset and requested Venkat to repeat his words

Drunk and Fast asleep.

Almost in disbelief, When did he start drinking ??

Only today.

Really.

Poor chap. The surprise would be here only for a night. He missed out on some real fun.

Next morning, when Raj reached his flat, he was informed of the surprise and the opportunity missed. It is better to be a clean pig than a corrupt human. Raj won’t get the bravery award, as planned earlier. But he is not sad. He has not won many awards in his life, but this was one award, he was happy loosing. 

As Raj readied himself for an important meeting in office, Chetan’s voice was still echoing in the room, You looser, You looser ...

MukhiyaG

I don’t know why people always mistook him for being a hard-nosed person.When I got close to him, I felt he was more like a coconut, hard only on the periphery, but very soft deep within. May be, people never got too close to him to find out his true colours. Though, he was very neatly dressed, as would be a village-chief, there was nothing flamboyant about his looks. A cream-colour dhoti along side a translucent, somewhat oversized, silk-kurta was probably doing justice to his body. A turban was sitting atop his head, reminding me of a character in a Rajasthani play, I witnessed in my college days. I am not good at guessing numbers, but he looked to be in his early forties. But, I was soon proven wrong, when I noticed the black spots on his face, reminding me of times when vaccine for chicken pox was still elusive and being developed. My mother used to tell me rich people never grow old, looking at him, I felt she was right. May be, Rich people know how to defy their age and time.

I had heard from my friends that he hardly opens up in front of strangers, so I was taken by surprise, pleasantly though, when he offered his hand. Those were probably the hardest and roughest hands that I ever had a handshake with.

I know, this is not the ideal time to ride the train, today being cattle’s fair in neighbouring villages. So along with human beings, you will also have goats, sheeps, calves as your company. But this is now how it usually is. You should give this train another try.

Though, it was stinking inside the compartment, somehow, his kind and empathetic words made me forget the stink for a moment.

Hey, don’t tie the cycle to this window, can’t you see, I am sitting in this compartment, he was shouting at the top of his voice, as he announced his arrival.

You could have taken a bus or a boat, why did you choose this jam-packed train, MukhiyaG asked me.

Where else you can ride for free ?? I promptly replied.

MukhiyaG burst out laughing. I appreciate your honesty. Not many people from town are like that.

MukhiyaG had this wrong notion of people, living in cities, to be mean and dishonest. I don’t know what he saw inside me, but he started opening up in our conversation.

Do you live in town ??

Yes, I do. Why did you come to the village then ??

I am returning from a pulse polio drive in neighbouring village.

How about you ?? I asked back.

What will I do in town ?? I am a damn villager. Only once in my life before, I have been to town, when I went to drop my daughter. You know, there are no colleges in village, so I had no other choice, but to send her to town. Today is the second time, I am going to town. My daughter wants me to see her new campus, her new hostel, her new college building, her new life.

The discussion was becoming more and more personal.

But why did you send her for further studies ?? The moment, I uttered those words, I felt like crossing the line. I wish I could take back my question.

See, Girls at my daughter’s age are being married off, some of them have even become teenage mothers, but I wanted my daughter to be different. I want her to set an example for others to follow. Girls are not meant only to be homemakers and baby-generating machines.

Very brave. MukhiyaG was living up to his billing of a fierce communist warrior.

Which college does she study ??

R.S.M College.

Is not that too hi-fi a college ?? I have seen boys and girls roaming around freely holding each others’ hands. Aren’t you afraid your daughter will forget her roots.

No, not at all. I have infinite trust in her.

I hope, your trust remains intact, I kept my thoughts to myself.

If you don’t mind, I want you to introduce to my daughter.

Sure.

Will she be there at the station ??

Yes, she should be waiting for me.

As the train crossed the last unmanned signal, I knew, the end of our journey was near. I pulled out the glasses out of my short’s pocket, MukhiyaG adjusted his turban and stood motionless.

Oh man, people have already blocked the door. How will I get down ?? MukhiyaG was increasingly getting worried.

Don’t worry, I will help you. And the train will stop for nearly 5 minutes, so we have enough time. I tried calming MukhiyaG nerves.

The train came to a screeching halt. People started shrieking, almost crushing the cattles seated next to the toilet. MukhiyaG eyes were scanning the platform, searching for his beloved daughter.

                                                  To Be Continued ...