The Rush.
“And thus they have low economy!” the geography teacher finished
the paragraph …. I had dug my head in copy to take notes so did most of the
students in the class! At a glance one would suppose our class is the most
studious class of the school and the teacher is the best one…. But believe me
we are not, most of us get sleepy in this particular class, we are just eager
to get pass marks on the answers scripts and also escape humiliation from
parents and the teacher in front of us is the not the best but just better than
the other one.
I heard a slow whisper. It was not the teacher’s voice. It whispered
with my name….. I raised my head, curiosity withheld me it was the physics
lab-assistant! (Many boys had a crush on her but not me!!)But why call out my
name. The teacher spotted me out. This has never happened I never got called
out for anything in the middle of the class. I stood up. She said that my brother
has come to pick me up as my grandpa’s ill!
Grandpa!!! What the
hell! How did he….. He isn't supposed to be……
I took my bag and slowly followed her out of the room; she
led me downstairs where I saw my bro. I was shaking in my boots all the way. I
asked him “What happened to whom??” but he didn’t say a word.
The woman instructed me to go to my class teacher who was
taking class in the third floor to inform him that I was leaving the school. I
went to him to the third floor and with my half choked voice told him that my
brother has come to… he came out half hearing that and I pointed towards my
bro. My bro said in a loud voice (so that he can be heard from the 3rd
floor) that he had to pick me up because our grandpa’s ill! He said it’s ok and
I can go if my bro writes a letter saying that he is here to pick me up (we
never go out of formalities!) I came down slowly and saw that my bro is already
in the school office getting started on the letter. I came in and stood beside
him. His hand was visibly shaky. He finished the four lined letter and came out
and fortunately the cycle keeper was there so I didn't have to wait to take out
my bicycle. I got up on my cycle so did my bro and paddled towards our home.
“Now can you tell me what exactly happened!!?” I finally
said.
“Chorda’s dead!”
he said and I waited for him to complete the sentence. “You are not supposed to
tell this anybody at home. They have informed mom and told her to take dad and
leave…..we are going to Amta!”
I didn't say anything
more……..
Two days earlier:
“But I have holiday on this day so I can manage this!!” I
said “NO ! not in time……” my dad chocked a little “I said no and that’s final we should be
together at this point of time…..” I couldn't say anything more.
Our trip to Amta was cancelled due to my bro had to join
college at that time. I wouldn't have cared but I had a exam at tuitions which
I didn't wanna give and I thought that I will gap it off by this tour!!
Any-ways I went to my bro and said “why do you have to join
college so soon! Can’t you just help me miss the exams!!?”
He gave me his sarcastic eye look “You know I can’t do that!
And you also know chorda’s condition….”
“Ya I know,but...”
He had been ill for many days now he had been admitted in a
hospital a while ago and was discharged but had a stroke just the night he came
back…..so he had to be carried again to the hospital. He had been unconscious
since. Doctors have stated his condition to be critical.
Present time:
We reached home, put our cycles and entered into the room,
it was a mess. My mom made an excuse that my grandpa’s ill.
“We had to leave before they come back.” My mom said in a
whisper.
I quickly changed and took some clothes to wear over there
as I didn’t want to be in my grandpa’s pajamas again! I took my wallet and the
school bag which was now stuffed with my clothes (me & bro always carry a
bag). In the meantime my cousin came back she has got the news (my chorda was her elder brother). She saw
us going out, fought her tears and wished us a safe journey and told us to take
care of my dad.
We came out of the
house and waited for an auto rickshaw. Hopefully we got one. We reached the
station soon and boarded the train and we were off to Amta.
I just couldn't get my head straight… one hour ago I was
reading Bangladesh’s economy and the next thing you know my cousin’s dead and
I’m rushing to my grandpa’s house to save my dad from another cardiac arrest!
We got on the train and started towards our destination. “The
wind started to blow faster...” my bro said facing the window. We (me & my
bro) consider bad weather to be great. It’s just so much fun! “Ya I noticed …”I
replied. “Why do all these bad things happen in this kind of good weathers!?”
then he started to give the list of the times when there had been bad things in
our lives in good weather. I turned away…..
One day earlier:
“His health just got worse …..But he came in conscious last
night…..he was asking for me...” I heard the whispering of my dad to mom….
“You don’t worry …. Everything will be fine ….. He will be
ok...” my mom replied
I was hearing from the back of the door …. After hearing
this I couldn't stand there I came back upstairs.
Present time:
I kept thinking how things didn’t go just fine…
“Do you know that girl…” my bro suddenly said.
“Do I wanna know her?” I said checking my stuff in my bag…
and also kind of showing no interest in hitting at this point of time.
“NO! Absolutely not ewww! ” He explained with a disgusted
tone “but she has been staring at us from the time we got up on the train!!”
“Oh really? Are we
that much of a looker! ” I felt the need to look up… “You were right…. I really
really don’t wanna know her! ” no matter how bad I need a girlfriend I still
got taste!
“Let’s go ask her if we are supposed to know her or not!” my
bro almost got up! I held him back, “have you lost your mind look by her side
she has got parents!! And we are with dad!! ”
“Come ’n they look like her grandparents!!” he added, and
they really did look like grandparents maybe they were her grandparents!
We looked at our dad once … he was a bench away and had his
head hung down…..
“Leave it …I don’t wanna get in trouble with that man by my
side!” he said and sat down with a great a thrust as if with exhaustion.
And there she was sitting there five benches away with a red
woolen hood staring at us for no particular reason (at least we didn’t find
any!!)
By the time we were in the train we were with dad’s phone to
listen to songs to cut the boringness of the journey and to minimize eye
contact with the red hooded girl, sometimes receiving calls from cousins and
telling them out where about and stuff and occasionally taking about the red
riding hood!!
The train halted at Howrah. We completed the first half of
the journey, now we just have to board another train to reach Amta.
We alerted dad and got down; me and my bro were going side
by side my dad little ahead.
I turned around a bit to see if I could find red riding hood
or not (just to keep safe!) I turned back again in the front direction.
“What?” my bro asked. “Nothing Ms. Weird is just behind us
and still in wonder gaze!” I answered
Over the next few minutes we found my mother, who was in the
ladies compartment all this time. She confirmed from us if he had suspected
about chorda or not, and then moved
on.
The girl was walking side by side with us but keeping a distance
(but still staring). Then on platform no. 8 she had to turn and we kept on
going. She was gone to the other side, and we were going, just like nothing
happened.
My chorda was the
one person who cared about others greater than himself. He was the person one
can depend on ...no matter what. He never took life seriously and nobody took
him seriously. He went where other people led him to he didn’t judge good or
bad…he just went for. They say you realize something’s importance when you have
lost it. Maybe that also happened this time. He was the man who taught both me
and my bro cycling, and also made me realize that the cycle never stops…losing
him would mean losing a large part of my family.
Epilog:
We reached Amta the horinam
had started. We are not allowed to take part in it as the recent family death.
We found out that my grandpa had really been sick and he fell unconscious and
had to be carried to the hospital a day before. My dad had to be carried to the
hospital as he also got too much sick thinking about what happened to chorda and receiving no good news and
only short messages from cousins which were of course lies. I myself got sick
of hearing the same lines in horinam.
I didn’t own a phone at that time so I had informed my friends at school that I
won’t be able to make it to school for the next couple of days from my mom’s
phone. I didn’t get time to take any books in the rush so I had to watch the
t.v all the days I was there but it was hard as the horinam guys kept singing the same line over and over again and
with loudspeakers! As my dad was in the hospital we didn’t find the need to
stay there so came back in a few days as soon as most of the funeral rituals
were over at our home.
Blogger’s Note: All the said events really did occur, there
may some altering of the events but they are real.
