Year: 1995
Place: Trivandrum/Thiruvananthapuram
Dear Blog,
I was in III standard and went to school in van, but one day was very special which I will never forget in my life. My van came very late to pick me up from school, very very late, but I was happily playing with my friends, their bus was also late. Suddenly one of the attenders came and told us that “Hartal/Strike/Bandh” has been declared and there will be no bus services. I just couldn’t understand why would they declare a “Hartal” in the afternoon, if they had said it in yesterday’s news my parents would have noted and I would be happily sitting at home instead of coming to school. The attended took few of us in an auto to the “Attukal” campus, my sister’s school, my school has only till IV standard, and informed us that we will dropped home via auto or van once all the children's from our school van got there.
We reached my sister’s school, she was in VI standard, she doesn’t come via school bus, she takes the private or government bus to come to school. I found my sister, told her about the “Hartal”.
Sister: “Do you want to walk home? No body is sure when the next bus will come, some say after 6 PM the buses service might start, it is only 4 PM now.”
Me: “How long should we walk?”
Sister: “I think our house is 10 KM from here, I saw a board while coming to school the other day”
I did my mental calculations, 10… I know I comes after 9… I know ones place, ten’s place, hundred’s place, thousand’s place… teacher taught me thousand had three zero’s. But ten only had one zero, so 10 is less number. So should I walk? if I don’t walk I will be missing the cartoons…
Me: “10 sounds less… but what if we don’t know the route?”
Sister: “I come by bus daily so I know the route well… I even walked once home before… it will be adventures like the ‘JAI HIND’ movie”.
“JAI HIND” was one of the super cool movie I have seen as a kid, the hero goes on a amazing journey through forest, escaping many traps to catch the bad guys! I was a big time fan of the movie… I used to enact the movie with my cousins as if we are going on a big adventure in the forest. The word “Adventure” probably might be the biggest and coolest word I knew back then. My sister probably knew by mentioning the movie name I would agree for any “adventures” plan.
Sister: “I also have 20Rs with me, we can buy chocolates or ice cream and eat it on the way the home.” By now I was a sitting duck! agreed for the adventures walk home.
We started walking, being a responsible sister she held my one hand, on the other hand I was carrying my “Lunch bag”. We kept talking about the movie and the adventure we can have on the way home. I was happy that I decided to walk, I was not entirely sure about the way but I trusted my sister to take me home. We crossed another primary school, which was empty and locked. I was wondering how they went home so early, it would have been great if I had no school tomorrow also. Will they declare “Hartal” tomorrow also? I hated going to school. We crossed the school compound and reached a junction, my sister held my hand tight since we had to cross the road.
My eyes fell on a person crossing the road, on the first look I couldn’t make out if the person was a “he or she”. The person had long hair, wearing a “lungi" and a shirt which was very dirty and was on bare foot. And strangely the person a had perfect “Namam” on forehead, its a “V” shaped tilaka. I was wondering why would a person so dirty have a perfect “Namam”, the person crossed the road and was shouting at someone, my sister’s standing right next to me tightened her hold on my hand. I kept staring at the person who was inching close to me, out of no where, the person lifted the right leg and kicked me!! right on my heart!! It was such a powerful kick that my hand slipped out of my sister’s hold and I started stumbling, but luckily I didn’t fall.
I didn’t understand what was going on and because of the kick I was now few feet away from that person and my sister was now standing right next to that person now. That person had a murderous look, I heard my sister shout “Run… Run… Run…” I didn’t wait any longer, I turned and started running and immediately the person started following me. Just then I struck me, that person was probably “Mental” and that is why my sister held my hand tight. With lunch bag on one hand and bag on shoulder, I ran as fast as I could, all shops were closed, road was empty, I had to hide somewhere.
I heard the person shout: “nee aanu ende kochu ne konnathu…! Ninne kollathe vidu illada…!”(You killed my kid..! I’ll kill you!)
So the person was a “SHE”, her voice confirmed it and I have been kicked by a lady mental. But hiding was on the priority list now, I crossed the primary school which I saw on the way, the gate was locked, I stood there… If it was a hide and seek game, this was the most stupid place to hide, I wouldn’t even call this hiding, I was standing next to a wall in which the gate was welded in… “SHE” just had to move her eyes to the side to see me… I could hear her voice coming closer… My heart beating louder than “her” voice… If only I could find a better hiding place… If she found me here, another kick.. I am gone.. no where to run from here… I heard her voice again… I saw her… I held my breathe… she was looking straight… I prayed “don’t turn.. don’t turn..”. Any sane person would have noticed a boy standing with a lunch bag sticking to the wall like a lizard looking scared to death… but she was “insane”, so she kept walking straight and crossed me… I didn’t wait for a second, started running in the opposite direction towards my sister, I was afraid what if “she” turned around and chased me again, my sister was in the same position when I was kicked but she looked very pale…
Sister: “you okay?”
Me: “Yes…!”
We realized move quickly away from that place would be best for us, suddenly people appeared from no where and surrounded us… I was the STAR of the occasion! Everybody was asking me if I was fine… I kept nodding my head.
A person said to my sister: “aa prandhu chavatumpol ee kochu vizhatheathu naanaiyee… prandhukalgu abara shakthiya… ee kochu thhaalzhe vizhathaal prashnaam airikum keto…!” ( it is good that this kid didn’t fall down when that mental kicked… Insane people are very much stronger than normal people… if this kid had fallen down then things would have been very bad..!)
My sister looked at me hearing that, I was not sure if I should give her a proud boy face or strong boy face or start crying, but I just looked back her. People who gathered had managed to get us an auto back home… The entire journey back home we both spoke about how I didn’t realize that person was mental on the first look and how my sister who was standing next to that mental and screaming to me was untouched. I kept asking “Why me?” but I till now I don’t know the answer. Being a responsible sister, she instructed me to tell a revised version of the at home, a story which had no “JAI HIND” inspiration in it.
MORAL: If you see a mental, make sure you make WAY for them!
