Ganeshrao stretched his legs and sat in the chair. Every now and then he looked at those who entered the door and those who came out of it.
God alone knew, among all these people when his turn would come....
Just then he sensed that there was a mild commotion in the hall. Some people had got up and some were craning their necks to see who it was. Some others were doing ‘namaskar’.
Who is he? Could he be the Minister ?
He saw a fair, tall and well built man making way through the crowd.
Now, who’s that man?...
The person entered the door unhindered to meet the Minister. No one stopped him. After he went in people returned to their seats.
“Who was he?” Ganeshrao asked the man sitting to his right.
The man seemed surprised. “What? You don’t know him?”
Ganeshrao sheepishly shook his head to indicate his ignorance.
“He is Madhukarrao. Minister’s special man. Or you can say he is Minister’s right hand.”
“Oh..I see..”
To Ganeshrao’s left, a man wearing white pyjama-kurta was reading a newspaper. He looked at him and stretching his arms to shed the precipitating laziness, exclaimed, “Who knows how much time it would take?”
The man looked over his newspaper and, holding it still open, asked, “Haven’t you come just now?”
“Yes,” Ganeshrao admitted.
“I am coming here for the last two days…but I haven’t yet met the Minister. Sometimes the Minister is not here and sometimes, though the Minister is present, has no time to meet people,” the man said knowledgeably and went back to reading his newspaper.
Ganeshrao was disappointed. For a moment he felt like getting up and walking away.
But how could he … it was absolutely necessary to meet the Minister.
If not for myself, at least for the sake of son’s job.
Sitting in the chair his thoughts raced into the past. He remembered that about 20-25 years back he had pursued just like this to meet this man or that. And even after taking so much pain, he was posted to an obscure village.
Will the same thing happen again?....
It was more necessary to avoid the transfer now than it was then. For, then, he was young and could easily withstand hardship and discomfort. As he kept thinking, he began to recollect the days of his youth…........
..... The bus was snaking along the bends and twists of the ghat-road. Ganesh was sitting near a window. Next to him was a villager. To avoid feeling giddy because of the turning of the bus this way and that, he tried to concentrate on the greenery of the valley outside. He glanced at the fellow passengers riding along in the bus. Some were dozing and others were chatting among themselves. The passage between the two rows of seats had several commuters standing. Some held the back rests of the occupied seats and others held on to vertically fixed rods. Making his way through the crowd, the bus conductor went to his own seat. Someone was occupying it. The conductor merely looked at him and the person occupying the conductor’s seat got up and vacated it for him. The conductor sat and, putting his hand inside his bag, took out a paper and a pen. Next, he tucked the pen on his ear and opened the folds of a crumpled paper that seemed worthy of throwing in a dust bin. Then, with one hand he looked at the serial numbers of the un-punched tickets and with the other began to note them down on the paper. This he did with such great ease as if he were especially trained for it. Otherwise it was not only difficult but near-impossible to write on a sheet of paper unaffected by the continuous bumps of the bus.
Once again, Ganesh fixed his gaze on the greenery outside. His thoughts once again began to run wild....
In spite of trying his best to avoid it, the time had now come when he had to face it. For five long years he had worked as a clerk on daily wages in the court at the taluka. During this period he had got married. Now, after putting in efforts for five years Ganesh was appointed as a gram-sevak. Though a graduate, he was forced to work as a gram-sevak. Even that job had not come to him easily. He had gathered recommendations from several persons; he had pleaded and begged them and even secretly paid amounts … only then was he able to get the job of a gram-sevak. After getting the job, there arose the problem of posting. Ganesh wanted a posting in a village within a radius of 4-5 km from the taluka. Once again, he gathered recommendations, he pleaded and begged and he also secretly paid money. He did all these. Yet, what he wanted to avoid did happen. He did not succeed in getting a posting in a nearby village. Perhaps, the pressure he had exerted now was weaker than the one he had brought about earlier for getting the job. Finally, seeing no alternative, he had accepted the posting to village Ujni which was about 50 km from the taluka. Today was his first day of going there.
Complete novel - Honey - A story of a feminine power
Re: Complete novel - Honey - A story of a feminine power
The bell rung by the conductor startled Ganesh and brought him back into the present. The bus had stopped. He looked out. The bus had not yet reached Ujni.
“How far is Ujni?” he asked.
“Still far off. Take a good nap. I’ll wake you when we reach it.” The villager sitting next to him replied.
How can anyone sleep when the road was full of pot holes and the bus-ride bumpy? He wondered.
“Don’t bother about the bumps….imagine that you are sleeping in a cradle… that someone is swinging.” The villager.
Ganesh looked at the villager in surprise. He had rightly read his thoughts.
The villager turned his blank stare towards the road ahead.
Ganesh once again got immersed in the world of his memories....
He was settled well in the taluka. He had got married and also had a son.
Vinay. Such a sweet child!
Mother also was very happy that his first child had turned out to be a boy.
He was finding it unbearable to leave his family behind and come here to work. But there was no other go. It was not possible for him to bring his wife and son to this village. Just that year he had got his son admitted to a K.G. class. In this village there was no KG. There also was no other proper facility of schooling.
It was necessary to make this sacrifice for the sake of his family’s welfare.
At one instance, the bus slowed down, took a right turn and, leaving the main road, got on to a make-shift road. As the bus began to run on the rough road, its bumps became more severe. Ganesh sat holding the back of the front seat. He craned his neck out of the window.
Outside, farm-hands were watering lush green fields. Somewhere, amidst them, a glass-like transparent thick jet of water was gushing out of pipes fixed on wells. Small thatched huts dotted the fields and flocks of birds swirled in the sky under which scarecrows stood to cleverly deceive them. He got lost in the landscape of the fields and totally forgot the severely bumpy bus ride. Truly, life was so beautiful in villages. But then, he saw lean, skeleton-like dark human figures carrying heavy loads on their heads, scurrying alongside the road which changed his impression of life in a village.
Suddenly a mild commotion broke out among the commuters in the bus. Thick clouds of dust arose on all sides of the moving bus which had now entered the limits of a village.
“Now, it will be Ujni,” the villager sitting next to him said.
The thick cloud of dust entered the bus through its windows. Hurriedly Ganesh tried to close the window near his seat but the window pane refused to slide. He tried hard. By now dust had formed a thin layer on his face. The villager sitting by gave him a smile.
“It is no use, Sir. It has got stuck because of the dust and the soot. Just like us. You, too, better get used to it. It will make your life easy.”
Gaensh silently looked at the villager and without a word sat down giving up his attempt to shut the window pane. Suddenly an awful stench reached his nostrils through the open window. He took out a kerchief and held it to his nose. The villager saw this and once again gave him a smile. The bus was passing through a stretch of land that was used by village men and women to defecate. From the windscreen, Ganesh saw people squatting to answer nature’s call getting up one after another, as they saw the bus approaching. It seemed as if they were standing up in reverence to its arrival. As soon as the bus entered the village, small groups of ill-clad, dirty children began to run after it. On the other side, packs of stray dogs also ran haphazardly after the huge moving body of the bus. It seemed that the arrival of the bus had infused a new life in the otherwise dead village.
“It has come..it has come..”, shouting happily, people who had assembled on one side of the road, welcomed its arrival.
Possibly those people had to catch the bus for an onward journey. The driver, mischievously, took the bus much ahead and stopped far from them. People began to run after the bus. The flocks of ill-clad and dirty children and packs of barking dogs were already running after the moving mass. The people now running after it made an amusing scene.
When the bus halted, people who wanted to get down and those who wanted to get in, all crowded in the door way. Ganesh thought that he could get down once the crowd fell into some order.
But no one was prepared to take it easy. Those outside were anxious to get in and those inside were pretty eager to get down as quickly as possible. Some people from outside clung to the windows like monkeys and threw their caps or cloth-bags to reserve seats. Ganesh watched this chaos. When he saw no indication of the chaos getting reduced, he too began to disembark. As he was getting down, his attention was drawn to a window. A man struggling outside was crossing the limits of decency. Perhaps not having either a cap or a cloth back to reserve a seat, he clung to the window and hanging precariously, he placed his leather footwear on a vacant seat. Ganesh was annoyed. He was also amused. As he made his way through the crowd, Ganesh felt suffocated. Somehow, pushing and shoving, he managed to get down. When he stood out, his head was dishevelled and clothes had developed wrinkles. His neatly tucked shirt had also unevenly come out at the waist. He felt better when, standing in the open, he took a deep breath. He stood for a while. Next moment, the huge mass of the bus moved away raising a cloud of smoke and dust.
“How far is Ujni?” he asked.
“Still far off. Take a good nap. I’ll wake you when we reach it.” The villager sitting next to him replied.
How can anyone sleep when the road was full of pot holes and the bus-ride bumpy? He wondered.
“Don’t bother about the bumps….imagine that you are sleeping in a cradle… that someone is swinging.” The villager.
Ganesh looked at the villager in surprise. He had rightly read his thoughts.
The villager turned his blank stare towards the road ahead.
Ganesh once again got immersed in the world of his memories....
He was settled well in the taluka. He had got married and also had a son.
Vinay. Such a sweet child!
Mother also was very happy that his first child had turned out to be a boy.
He was finding it unbearable to leave his family behind and come here to work. But there was no other go. It was not possible for him to bring his wife and son to this village. Just that year he had got his son admitted to a K.G. class. In this village there was no KG. There also was no other proper facility of schooling.
It was necessary to make this sacrifice for the sake of his family’s welfare.
At one instance, the bus slowed down, took a right turn and, leaving the main road, got on to a make-shift road. As the bus began to run on the rough road, its bumps became more severe. Ganesh sat holding the back of the front seat. He craned his neck out of the window.
Outside, farm-hands were watering lush green fields. Somewhere, amidst them, a glass-like transparent thick jet of water was gushing out of pipes fixed on wells. Small thatched huts dotted the fields and flocks of birds swirled in the sky under which scarecrows stood to cleverly deceive them. He got lost in the landscape of the fields and totally forgot the severely bumpy bus ride. Truly, life was so beautiful in villages. But then, he saw lean, skeleton-like dark human figures carrying heavy loads on their heads, scurrying alongside the road which changed his impression of life in a village.
Suddenly a mild commotion broke out among the commuters in the bus. Thick clouds of dust arose on all sides of the moving bus which had now entered the limits of a village.
“Now, it will be Ujni,” the villager sitting next to him said.
The thick cloud of dust entered the bus through its windows. Hurriedly Ganesh tried to close the window near his seat but the window pane refused to slide. He tried hard. By now dust had formed a thin layer on his face. The villager sitting by gave him a smile.
“It is no use, Sir. It has got stuck because of the dust and the soot. Just like us. You, too, better get used to it. It will make your life easy.”
Gaensh silently looked at the villager and without a word sat down giving up his attempt to shut the window pane. Suddenly an awful stench reached his nostrils through the open window. He took out a kerchief and held it to his nose. The villager saw this and once again gave him a smile. The bus was passing through a stretch of land that was used by village men and women to defecate. From the windscreen, Ganesh saw people squatting to answer nature’s call getting up one after another, as they saw the bus approaching. It seemed as if they were standing up in reverence to its arrival. As soon as the bus entered the village, small groups of ill-clad, dirty children began to run after it. On the other side, packs of stray dogs also ran haphazardly after the huge moving body of the bus. It seemed that the arrival of the bus had infused a new life in the otherwise dead village.
“It has come..it has come..”, shouting happily, people who had assembled on one side of the road, welcomed its arrival.
Possibly those people had to catch the bus for an onward journey. The driver, mischievously, took the bus much ahead and stopped far from them. People began to run after the bus. The flocks of ill-clad and dirty children and packs of barking dogs were already running after the moving mass. The people now running after it made an amusing scene.
When the bus halted, people who wanted to get down and those who wanted to get in, all crowded in the door way. Ganesh thought that he could get down once the crowd fell into some order.
But no one was prepared to take it easy. Those outside were anxious to get in and those inside were pretty eager to get down as quickly as possible. Some people from outside clung to the windows like monkeys and threw their caps or cloth-bags to reserve seats. Ganesh watched this chaos. When he saw no indication of the chaos getting reduced, he too began to disembark. As he was getting down, his attention was drawn to a window. A man struggling outside was crossing the limits of decency. Perhaps not having either a cap or a cloth back to reserve a seat, he clung to the window and hanging precariously, he placed his leather footwear on a vacant seat. Ganesh was annoyed. He was also amused. As he made his way through the crowd, Ganesh felt suffocated. Somehow, pushing and shoving, he managed to get down. When he stood out, his head was dishevelled and clothes had developed wrinkles. His neatly tucked shirt had also unevenly come out at the waist. He felt better when, standing in the open, he took a deep breath. He stood for a while. Next moment, the huge mass of the bus moved away raising a cloud of smoke and dust.
Re: Complete novel - Honey - A story of a feminine power
After the fine dust and smoke settled down Ganesh looked around. He took out a kerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. With his fingers he tried to brush his hair in place and attempted to flick dust away from his clothes. In the shade of a tree that stood outside a cowshed a few people were sitting on an old log of wood. Some of them were smoking beedis and others were inhaling chillums. All stared at him as though he had landed from an alien planet. Perhaps a neat person wearing a shirt and trousers was a rarity here. Ganesh walked towards them. He stood near a villager who was crushing a bit of tobacco on his palm. With his right hand the villager gently clapped on the tobacco crushed on his left palm and then blew off the fine tobacco particles. Next, he picked a pinch from the remaining crushed tobacco and pulling in one of his cheeks carefully placed the pinch of tobacco between his teeth and inside of the cheek.
“Where is Sarpanch’s house?” Ganesh asked the villager.
The villager got up from the old log of wood and stood up. Ganesh waited for his reply. But instead of answering him, the villager began to make vigorous signs with his hands. Just like a dumb person. Finally, shoving Ganesh a little aside, he spat out the juice of the tobacco that had filled his mouth and said
“A guest of the Sarpanch?”
“Yes,” Ganesh nodded in reply.
The villager quickly snatched the bag from Ganesh’s hands and said, “Follow me”.
What a helpful person....
I ask him to show the way and here he is carrying my bag and leading me to the destination....
Ganesh thought and began to walk behind him.
“You have come from the taluka, haven’t you?’ holding his dhoti up with his other hand, the villager asked.
“Yes,” Ganesh said.
Has the Sarpanch sent him to receive me?...
“Did the Sarpanch send you to receive me?” Ganesh could not help asking.
“No. But Sarpanch’s guest is the guest of our village,” grasping the reason behind Ganesh’s asking, he answered.
“Our Sarpanch is the pride of our village… whatever development has taken place here … it is because of the Sarpanch…. Earlier even bhoormal did not come here.”
“Bhoormal?” Ganesh didn’t know what it was.
“Oh, that means…. , your bus,” he said letting out a hearty laugh.
He continued to talk further. “Once a similar thing happened…. My aunt’s nephew brought a bride from the city… they were decent people… they performed the marriage with great pomp and show…. Even the groom’s people were impressed…They had also invited me to the wedding… The entire lot of people sat together for meals. Poor bride, she began to serve. As she was serving the liquid saar to her husband, he said, “Bas”.. the new bride turned pale and began to look here and there for the ‘bus’ which her husband had mentioned. However, she had not stopped pouring the liquid saar into her husband’s plate. My uncle’s son is short tempered… he shouted at her… “Bas..Bas”. The poor girl got scared. She thought her husband was asking her to sit and obeying him she sat down, right in front of him.
Ganesh burst into a loud laughter. The villager also joined him.
“If you see her now … you won’t believe that she had come as a bride from the city … My aunt’s nephew has trained her well .. Now she happily goes to the field.. to water or to pluck… “ he turned to Ganesh and said.
Ganesh looked at him and smiled.
“Your talk is very interesting. But, Oh, I forgot to ask your name.”
“Sada. My name is Sada.”
“Sada? Meaning always? You must be always chatting like this that is why they must have named you Sada,” Ganesh said jocularly.
“Why do you make fun of this poor man, Sir?” he said blushing.
While walking they began to cross a vast open ground.
“The village has its bazaar here. On bastarwars.”
“On bastarwars?”
“Meaning, on Thursdays” he said with a smile.
“I see,” Ganesh said glancing at the vast ground. Bastarwar? … Could be the corrupt form of Brihaspatiwar, that is Thursday,” he thought.
Then Sada began to lead Ganesh
Through a couple of narrow lanes and by lanes. At one place they came across Hanuman’s platform.
The platform was well raised. There was a huge banyan tree near it and near the tree there was a water sump erected by the Water Supply Division.
“This is our village’s platform, Sir. The banyan tree gives a good cool shade. Not only people but also dogs, cats and cattle rest here.. in the shade of the banyan.”
“Looks like your village has got water taps,” Ganesh said looking at the water sump.
A couple of naughty boys had climbed the water sump and were playing on it.
“No, not taps, Sir. … Just a sump. At times, during summer, they fill it with water attracting a huge crowd.”
Just then a large red fruit fell from the tree. A couple of children ran for it. One of them quickly laid his hand on the red fruit and began to make faces at other children. The boy then partly opened the fruit, cleared it of the numerous little insects, and before anyone else could snatch it away, stuffed it in his mouth. Seeing it Ganesh felt nauseated.
“It tastes very good, Sir. You must also try it once,” Sada said noticing Ganesh’s displeasure.
Sada skirted the platform leading Ganesh further. The lane now had become much narrower than the earlier one. On either side, the narrow lane was flanked by mud houses that were swept clean with cow-dung. Among them was a small provision shop. On both sides of the shop there were raised platforms made of slabs of stones. Several groups of men sat on them. Some were smoking beedis, some were preparing chillums while others were merely chatting. As Sada led Ganesh everyone began to look at him. Ganesh also looked back at them. While looking at them Ganesh saw a person sitting at the cash counter of the shop who took him by total surprise. She was a young, pretty woman. He was surprised that such a young and pretty woman should sit behind the cash counter of a provision store, that too, in such an underdeveloped village. Now he could understand what had made people flock to the shop as bees would towards a honeycomb. The getup of the woman managing the cash counter would have put even a city girl to shame. Her fair golden skin, long hair, natural-pink lips, as if she had applied lipstick, and her well powdered face. Only the three dots tattooed on her chin seemed a little out of place. She wore a pink sari and a blouse with alluring short sleeves. The short sleeves instantly drew attention to her fleshy and fair arms. Ganesh could not resist the temptation of pausing and giving her another look. The woman looked like a rose blooming in a jungle of cacti. But one thing he couldn’t help noticing was that at least from the way people sitting on the platform watched him, she, too, ought to have glanced at him. But she was wholly engaged in attending to the customers and giving instructions to the servant. Perhaps she was merely pretending to do so. There was a charming indifference in her behaviour. However, as a man, Ganesh did not like that a woman should ignore him. That, too, when he was looking at her. His male ego was hurt. Frankly, Ganesh was quite handsome. Though married for five years, several pretty women still fell for him. Gathering himself he began to walk behind Sada. The two walked further. Ganesh tried to brush off his thoughts. But he felt insulted and a strange restlessness filled his mind.
“Where is Sarpanch’s house?” Ganesh asked the villager.
The villager got up from the old log of wood and stood up. Ganesh waited for his reply. But instead of answering him, the villager began to make vigorous signs with his hands. Just like a dumb person. Finally, shoving Ganesh a little aside, he spat out the juice of the tobacco that had filled his mouth and said
“A guest of the Sarpanch?”
“Yes,” Ganesh nodded in reply.
The villager quickly snatched the bag from Ganesh’s hands and said, “Follow me”.
What a helpful person....
I ask him to show the way and here he is carrying my bag and leading me to the destination....
Ganesh thought and began to walk behind him.
“You have come from the taluka, haven’t you?’ holding his dhoti up with his other hand, the villager asked.
“Yes,” Ganesh said.
Has the Sarpanch sent him to receive me?...
“Did the Sarpanch send you to receive me?” Ganesh could not help asking.
“No. But Sarpanch’s guest is the guest of our village,” grasping the reason behind Ganesh’s asking, he answered.
“Our Sarpanch is the pride of our village… whatever development has taken place here … it is because of the Sarpanch…. Earlier even bhoormal did not come here.”
“Bhoormal?” Ganesh didn’t know what it was.
“Oh, that means…. , your bus,” he said letting out a hearty laugh.
He continued to talk further. “Once a similar thing happened…. My aunt’s nephew brought a bride from the city… they were decent people… they performed the marriage with great pomp and show…. Even the groom’s people were impressed…They had also invited me to the wedding… The entire lot of people sat together for meals. Poor bride, she began to serve. As she was serving the liquid saar to her husband, he said, “Bas”.. the new bride turned pale and began to look here and there for the ‘bus’ which her husband had mentioned. However, she had not stopped pouring the liquid saar into her husband’s plate. My uncle’s son is short tempered… he shouted at her… “Bas..Bas”. The poor girl got scared. She thought her husband was asking her to sit and obeying him she sat down, right in front of him.
Ganesh burst into a loud laughter. The villager also joined him.
“If you see her now … you won’t believe that she had come as a bride from the city … My aunt’s nephew has trained her well .. Now she happily goes to the field.. to water or to pluck… “ he turned to Ganesh and said.
Ganesh looked at him and smiled.
“Your talk is very interesting. But, Oh, I forgot to ask your name.”
“Sada. My name is Sada.”
“Sada? Meaning always? You must be always chatting like this that is why they must have named you Sada,” Ganesh said jocularly.
“Why do you make fun of this poor man, Sir?” he said blushing.
While walking they began to cross a vast open ground.
“The village has its bazaar here. On bastarwars.”
“On bastarwars?”
“Meaning, on Thursdays” he said with a smile.
“I see,” Ganesh said glancing at the vast ground. Bastarwar? … Could be the corrupt form of Brihaspatiwar, that is Thursday,” he thought.
Then Sada began to lead Ganesh
Through a couple of narrow lanes and by lanes. At one place they came across Hanuman’s platform.
The platform was well raised. There was a huge banyan tree near it and near the tree there was a water sump erected by the Water Supply Division.
“This is our village’s platform, Sir. The banyan tree gives a good cool shade. Not only people but also dogs, cats and cattle rest here.. in the shade of the banyan.”
“Looks like your village has got water taps,” Ganesh said looking at the water sump.
A couple of naughty boys had climbed the water sump and were playing on it.
“No, not taps, Sir. … Just a sump. At times, during summer, they fill it with water attracting a huge crowd.”
Just then a large red fruit fell from the tree. A couple of children ran for it. One of them quickly laid his hand on the red fruit and began to make faces at other children. The boy then partly opened the fruit, cleared it of the numerous little insects, and before anyone else could snatch it away, stuffed it in his mouth. Seeing it Ganesh felt nauseated.
“It tastes very good, Sir. You must also try it once,” Sada said noticing Ganesh’s displeasure.
Sada skirted the platform leading Ganesh further. The lane now had become much narrower than the earlier one. On either side, the narrow lane was flanked by mud houses that were swept clean with cow-dung. Among them was a small provision shop. On both sides of the shop there were raised platforms made of slabs of stones. Several groups of men sat on them. Some were smoking beedis, some were preparing chillums while others were merely chatting. As Sada led Ganesh everyone began to look at him. Ganesh also looked back at them. While looking at them Ganesh saw a person sitting at the cash counter of the shop who took him by total surprise. She was a young, pretty woman. He was surprised that such a young and pretty woman should sit behind the cash counter of a provision store, that too, in such an underdeveloped village. Now he could understand what had made people flock to the shop as bees would towards a honeycomb. The getup of the woman managing the cash counter would have put even a city girl to shame. Her fair golden skin, long hair, natural-pink lips, as if she had applied lipstick, and her well powdered face. Only the three dots tattooed on her chin seemed a little out of place. She wore a pink sari and a blouse with alluring short sleeves. The short sleeves instantly drew attention to her fleshy and fair arms. Ganesh could not resist the temptation of pausing and giving her another look. The woman looked like a rose blooming in a jungle of cacti. But one thing he couldn’t help noticing was that at least from the way people sitting on the platform watched him, she, too, ought to have glanced at him. But she was wholly engaged in attending to the customers and giving instructions to the servant. Perhaps she was merely pretending to do so. There was a charming indifference in her behaviour. However, as a man, Ganesh did not like that a woman should ignore him. That, too, when he was looking at her. His male ego was hurt. Frankly, Ganesh was quite handsome. Though married for five years, several pretty women still fell for him. Gathering himself he began to walk behind Sada. The two walked further. Ganesh tried to brush off his thoughts. But he felt insulted and a strange restlessness filled his mind.