Chapter 32 The Chase

• A man was walking leisurely down the road. When Arunava asked where the nearest bus stop was he measured him with a mixed expression of surprise and irritation. 'No buses ply in this road. You seem to be a newcomer to this area. What happened? Your car broke down? Hmmm .. there's a mechanic who lives three kilometres down here. I can give you his number. But I need ..'Arunava knew what he needed. At other times he would've slapped him twice. Once for seeking bribe from a police officer and twice for talking too much without listening; but now in a remote place several kilometres away from Kolkata, in a devastated condition; he needed help desperately. He had tried to reach railway enquiry on mobile but could not. The internet had also stopped working. The man seemed to be a local from his accent. His torn clothes, sewed at places and a large jute bag on his shoulders told him that he was a vagabond, probably a ragpicker.. 'I want to reach the nearest railway station quickly. How far is it from here? Arunava took out a five hundred rupee note and waved it before his face.
• The man's eyes sparkled. 'Sir .. may I ask you something? Arunava nodded his head sideways meaning that he wanted no questions only answers. 'Well, we'll ..' The man hesitated for sometime. Then surprising Arunava started to cry 'I don't really know Sir'. Arunava left the man and started walking in opposite direction. 'Please give me some money Sir. I have to buy a house. I don't have a place to stay.' The man was pleading. What a first grade idiot, Arunava thought. From where does these specimens land before him? It was doubtful whether he could afford his meals regularly and here this man was dreaming of buying a house! Ranked at 102 out of 117 in global hunger index scale, 2019; India had performed worse than Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh - it's neighbours . There were millions of people in the country living on road pavements, railway platforms, grass fields .. just anywhere they could find place under the sky. These people hardly had access to two square meals a day. And this guy was dreaming of buying a house through alms. So funny!
• Arunava turned back to hand him the money anyway. 'Go find some job first. You can't buy a house in this way. Do you have a family?' Arunava asked. 'I had once Sir, but my wife left me'. The man replied distressingly. 'And why was that?' Arunava demanded. 'People say I'm dull-brained. So I couldn't carry on with my studies after class three. I was the youngest of my five brothers. After growing of age, a neighbour of our colony had allowed me to sit at his ration shop. Upon my father's request to learn to deal with customers. Later my father had opened a betel shop for me . 'What does your father do to earn a living?' Arunava interrupted. 'We own agricultural lands which we lease to the sharecroppers. But I didn't like doing business either. My parents had hidden the reality from my in-laws. After my parents' demise my brothers threw me out of the house. They even took away my shop. I know they would even cheat me of my share from the lands. When my wife came to know I was penniless she left me'. Arunava walked away briskly without further word. He had no time to lose now. Such stories weren't new to him. He had anticipated something like that right after meeting him. A car was coming from the opposite direction. But it didn't stop, despite waving arms. It had started to rain suddenly and as the window screens were lifted up, he couldn't see the driver. Several other cars, a truck passed by without stopping. The rain had turned into a downpour and nothing could be made out at a distance except white streams of water falling down relentlessly from the sky. After sometime as his eyes got adjusted he found a tall, pale, shadowy figure holding reins. There was some animal - a quadruped walking beside him. As the man came nearer Arunava found it to be a horse.