After a longtime I am penning my memory .The galaxy of memories are unforgettable experiences of life ,some full of pathos ,some full of glee & mirth . It posits itself as paramount stations in meandering down memory lane which can't be side stepped .The present memoir's episodic hilarity gives a lesson in no uncertain terms , any change in status-quo invites turbulence & frenzy !
We had a washer man of middle age , wiry & willowy in physique , roving eyes , jovial by nature , ready to break in gesticulation on slightest of quizzing , not caring for whiskers for days , keeping unkempt short peppered hair , always accompanying a short stick which he always kept horizontally,whenever he talked to mother. My father had one pair of full pant & two pairs of bush shirt to mitigate his official duties ,so, mother was very particular in keeping his official attire well starched & ironed . Our washer man, more or less, daily gave his presence with requisite official attire of my father in the evening .
His living quarter was in mango groves which was on the other side of big pond near our designated house near big grassy field . Water of the pond was used by him for washing & open green grassy field for drying on make shift hangers ,which is common sight near every washer man washing his clothes . The mango grove around his living quarters was full of monkeys & he kept good equations with fellow monkeys in dealing with them who lived merrily on trees . After all human & simian race are to co-exist together !
Suddenly he made his absence & our discomfiture grew by days . We came to know after making enquiry ,he had scuffle with monkeys ,so, doctor had advised him to take bed rest to surmount the scratches on his body & his trauma inflicted by monkeys . After one month he appeared well harassed & tired look with his wife ,who was his companion in washing & drying the clothes . Mother was inquisitive to know his spoiled equation & bonhomie with monkeys . We got fits after fits of laughter by his actual narration of the event .
On the fateful day ,in the afternoon ,the hoard of monkeys came as usual to drink water in the pond & after drinking water they had the habit of indulging in some revelry . For this ,taking one or two clothes from make shift hanger to tease washer man & this was their chief display of revelry . Washer man effort of retrieving clothes from monkeys was always a arduous task ,but he accomplished it keeping good humor always .
For this, he always broke into antics & jigs emulating them . His jigs with his stick on both his shoulders with bent legs & many other gesture of foolery pleased monkeys immensely & they became magnanimous enough to return his clothes . our washer man had the propensity of gesticulation in expressing himself . His keeping the stick on both his shoulders with bent legs having peculiar gate ,interspersed with narration was regaling every body present .
On this particular day monkeys were playful with my father's shirt lifted from the hanger . Washer man lost his cool by seeing this audacious act from monkeys . How monkeys dared to lift sahib's shirt from the hanger ! It was beyond the comprehension of washer man for the moment & out of fit he ran after monkeys with stick in his hand . First monkeys were perplexed by such raging rebellion & ran towards mango groves . Washer man was following them with his middle aged wife in tow .
Lo & behold ! some robust looking buxom monkeys counter attacked washer man , caught hold him , dragged him to a tree . Monkeys completely overpowered him & further dragged him to the trunk of the tree keeping his legs hanging in the air . During this commotion , washer's man wife started screaming & crying for help. Her breast beating with shill noise of shriek made people aware of washer man's plight & rushed to washer man's rescue .But in the mean time washer man got umpteen rashes & was thoroughly terrified . Monkeys dropped him down from the trunk with a long whimpering thud !
When I think over the whole episode in retrospect , come to conclusion , any first sign of rebellion of any race is mercilessly trampled !
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| Washer man drying his clothes |
His living quarter was in mango groves which was on the other side of big pond near our designated house near big grassy field . Water of the pond was used by him for washing & open green grassy field for drying on make shift hangers ,which is common sight near every washer man washing his clothes . The mango grove around his living quarters was full of monkeys & he kept good equations with fellow monkeys in dealing with them who lived merrily on trees . After all human & simian race are to co-exist together !
Suddenly he made his absence & our discomfiture grew by days . We came to know after making enquiry ,he had scuffle with monkeys ,so, doctor had advised him to take bed rest to surmount the scratches on his body & his trauma inflicted by monkeys . After one month he appeared well harassed & tired look with his wife ,who was his companion in washing & drying the clothes . Mother was inquisitive to know his spoiled equation & bonhomie with monkeys . We got fits after fits of laughter by his actual narration of the event .
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| Mischiveious Monkey ! |
On the fateful day ,in the afternoon ,the hoard of monkeys came as usual to drink water in the pond & after drinking water they had the habit of indulging in some revelry . For this ,taking one or two clothes from make shift hanger to tease washer man & this was their chief display of revelry . Washer man effort of retrieving clothes from monkeys was always a arduous task ,but he accomplished it keeping good humor always .
For this, he always broke into antics & jigs emulating them . His jigs with his stick on both his shoulders with bent legs & many other gesture of foolery pleased monkeys immensely & they became magnanimous enough to return his clothes . our washer man had the propensity of gesticulation in expressing himself . His keeping the stick on both his shoulders with bent legs having peculiar gate ,interspersed with narration was regaling every body present .
On this particular day monkeys were playful with my father's shirt lifted from the hanger . Washer man lost his cool by seeing this audacious act from monkeys . How monkeys dared to lift sahib's shirt from the hanger ! It was beyond the comprehension of washer man for the moment & out of fit he ran after monkeys with stick in his hand . First monkeys were perplexed by such raging rebellion & ran towards mango groves . Washer man was following them with his middle aged wife in tow .
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| Mango groves |
Lo & behold ! some robust looking buxom monkeys counter attacked washer man , caught hold him , dragged him to a tree . Monkeys completely overpowered him & further dragged him to the trunk of the tree keeping his legs hanging in the air . During this commotion , washer's man wife started screaming & crying for help. Her breast beating with shill noise of shriek made people aware of washer man's plight & rushed to washer man's rescue .But in the mean time washer man got umpteen rashes & was thoroughly terrified . Monkeys dropped him down from the trunk with a long whimpering thud !
When I think over the whole episode in retrospect , come to conclusion , any first sign of rebellion of any race is mercilessly trampled !
It was nostalgic to read about those clothesline. We saw those near hospitals for drying hospital linen. About monkeys, sometimes hoards of monkeys would visit our locality. Once my mother left for some work leaving me responsible forthe of security of house. I somehow went to sleep. The monkeys ransacked the kitchen and ate less and damaged more. I got solid thrashing from mother for being reckless. I had also discovered that monkeys were scared of umbrella. And I would chase away monkeys with it.
ReplyDeleteI had great appetite of reading fiction .1st I was reading Hindi novels & looked toward English novels with greed ,gradually started reading English novels & now I like English novels authored by Indian authors. There is reason for it , they depict anecdotes of Indian landscape & mindscape & I feel indianness in their anecdotal description !
DeleteOne Amitava Kumar who resides in U.S.A. but writes good novels & fiction . He belongs to Ara Bihar . There was anecdotal detail about a monkey in his latest novel 'Immigrant ,Montana'
The story is of his maternal uncle who lived in Ara town . He was very boistrous & loud He kept a licenced pistol with him & was cleaning it in his room the morning, adjacent to a balcony on upstairs & his grand niece ,about two month old was sleeping in her cradle beside him . He went for some errand & a monkey, in the mean time scaled his balcony ,came in the room & started fiddling with loaded pistol . His maternal uncle,when returned ,saw the monkey posturing with loaded pistol ,keeping the hand on trigger . He was at his wits end , some time monkey was aiming at the sleeping child , some time on the hung photographs in the room & ultimately ,the monkey blasted his brain out by triggering it !
The anecdote narrated by author is how much true , how much false is another matter, but gives a goose bump ,because it is plausible !
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