Paradise Won

There is nothing original about this story for it is taken almost verbatim from Kafan written by Munshi Premchand about ninety years ago. All I did was to juxtapose a few things in line with the changing times of today. The stories of great masters like Premchand are timeless and can fit in anywhere for dates and locations may change but the human mind and the inherent character of men, as brought out in their stories, remain the same….there has hardly been a true ascent of man.

It was late evening and two men, in shabby clothes and dishevelled hair, were seen sitting under a tree by the road side. They did not have any shoes on their feet and were merrily eating mangoes and chatting.  They were oblivious to the bad looks which the people passing by were giving the ugly duo.

Bapu, what is wrong with the world? Everyone seems to be in hiding. We hardly see crowds on the roads. The shops are all closed and no one goes to the market. Everyone seems to be afraid of the ailment except us. We are living the way we have always lived….free, with no fear. We go where we want to, we eat what we get and sleep when we feel tired….is this a sickness that people get with money and comfort? Apne paas na paisa aata hai aur na apne paas bimari aati hai….

Sukhi beta, you are absolutely correct. You speak like a true philosopher. I wish I could have sent you to high school and college for some education and you would have become someone great.

Let it be Bapu, for education of the books never did anyone any good. Neither have the people become any better nor the world a better place with education. So I am happy the way I am. Apne ko sabse hai pyaar, kisi se na nafrat aur na koi bair, aye mere yaar!

Sukhi, these mangoes taste good even though they look bad. Some seth sahab would have thrown them away by mistake into the dustbins thinking they have got spoilt. We were lucky to have put our hands into those bins early morning. Why don’t you take two of these for your wife who is expecting her first child. She has not been keeping well for some days. Why don’t you go and see her once? I will wait for you here.

What is the point of going now? She just doesn’t want to eat anything and since morning has been breathless and wailing. I can’t see her in that state. Neighbours were saying she is infected with the illness of the rich folks. How did she manage to get it? Maybe, while working in rich people’s houses, she must  have got it. Her fever is not coming down as well. I covered her nose and mouth with three masks. It will be complete protection for her and us. She will not get infected any further and we will be spared listening to her loud cries….ajeeb naari hai….na khaati hai, na peeti hai…bas roti hi rehti hai.

Arrey Sukhi, do you realize what you have done? You must have put the three dirty masks that we picked up from the kachra yesterday on her face, she will get suffocated and die. Go quickly and help her out!

Sukhi was worried that his father would eat all the mangoes alone if he left the place. So he stay put.

Bapu, why do you worry so much? She will not die so easily. We have seen so many days when there was no food in the house, when there was no roof over our heads and hardly any clothes to wear, yet we have survived. We are not like the rich and the lazy people. And even if she were to die, we will have one less mouth to feed. It may sound bad, Bapu, but the phrase ‘ the more, the merrier’ does not apply to us.

Sukhi, I think the police-wala will arrest us if we sit so close to each other. Just move some distance away. I have seen posters saying social distancing of do gaj. Ha ha ha…How can there be any distancing between family members…..we do not have any social circle so then this should not apply to us. But still let us keep away by two feet from each other.

The two stood up, stretched their arms towards each other and settled down, at what you might say, at arm’s length. They also strapped up two masks apiece over their faces….one on top covering the nose and the other on the chin leaving their mouths open to enjoy the juicy mangoes. With the juice dripping down on their masks, a host of flies came around but the two did not bother to shoo them away. They were too busy eating and outdoing the other in the number of mangoes eaten.

After finishing the fruits, the father and son got up and started walking towards their house. On a moonless night, there was no way anyone else could have found their house which was motionless and dark inside. The two men looked at each other in amazement….it was strange that there was no sound coming from their hut. The father made a gesture with his eyes to the son who slowly walked into the hut. In no time, he rushed back.

Bapu, she is all cold. Her eyes are popping out and her hands are hanging out of the charpoy. I think she is dead!

The father and son sat down outside their hut and started beating their chests with their arms, crying out loud…their crying could be heard over quite a distance…..

Hai woh mar gayi…hum ko akela chhod gayi…..hamaran kya hoga….hum toh lutt gaye, barbaad ho gaye…

Hearing their cries, a lot of people came out of their houses and realized what had happened. They heard the duo saying that they had taken so much care of the woman, given her all the medicines even though they did not have money, they had taken money from people for her treatment and now they were left with nothing. The neighbours knew that the two rascals were surely lying as they had never ever done anything for the house in all their lives, leave alone doing anything for the wife, who was the sole bread earner. They knew these two never had any money as all they ever did was to pick up trash from the bins and road side, sell the stuff they could, get some money which they would spend on themselves….country liquor and, lately, they had taken to drugs which had reached their small town. The kind hearted people still pooled in some money and handed it to the father asking him to arrange for a minimal funeral, something that all dead deserve.

When the neighbours left, the duo counted the money while still making crying sounds. In some time , they slipped out of the place and went to the two houses the daughter- in- law worked in and again begged for money for her funeral. Unwillingly, the people gave them money and asked them to use it for the woman’s funeral only. The duo started walking back to their hut…

Bapu, Binni is no longer alive, so why spend money on her funeral? Why not spend it on ourselves? If we used this to live and enjoy life even for a little while, surely Binni would feel happy in this world or the other. Think of it Bapu, the kafan to cover her will cost three hundred and the wood another thousand. Then there is the Brahman who will charge another five hundred and we will be left with nothing. Why waste covering Binni with a new cloth after death when she never got one when alive?

But, Sukhi, we still have to take care of her corpse? We just cannot leave her there rotting in the house. We will have to give her a funeral somehow.

They reached home. By now the people gathered earlier had all dispersed. The two wrapped the corpse in the bed sheet she was lying in; picked up the charpoy from the two ends and walked out into the night without making any sound. They walked quite a while till they came to Sarayu River. The charpoy with the corpse was gently lowered into the flowing water and in no time it was lost.

Binni is blessed. She will surely go to heaven. We immersed not her ashes but her body in the holy river and, surely, the gates of heaven will open for her. I do not think even she dreamt of such a beautiful end to her tragic life. She is truly blessed.

The two put their hands together and said a little prayer as the gushing water made a gusty noise on a dark night. As the prayer ended, the two men smiled at each other as they pulled out the money from their pockets…..they knew they had a fortune in their hands now.

Sukhi said…ik pal andhera, duje pal savera!

Bapu, you know the rich have to get themselves injected to get well from this illness that is terrifying them. For getting the injection, they have to use their mobile phones…..someone was saying that they are not getting the injections now. They have the money but no injections. But not us….ha ha….let us now use our mobiles for getting our injections which has no waiting, no scheduling….just ask and get….apna DoWin App kabhi fail nahin maarta….Do dose zindagi ke liye…

Hello, Barkat bhai….yes…we need 4 strong shots….two for Bapu and two for me and our vaccination will be over in one night itself. Yes…money is no problem…cash hai to aish hai….

In some time, a man on a two wheeler arrived at the banks of the river and handed over a parcel to Sukhi and the father gave the man the money for the same. They now sat on the ground and opened the parcel. Their eyes lit up on seeing the stuff….Barkat bhai  was the best for his stuff was always top quality. They used the needle in the packet and pulled out the liquid in the four small tubes. The father injected the son and then the son did the same to the father, twice over. They put their hands over each other’s shoulders and walked to Nandu Halwai’s shop where they ordered puri, chholey and rasmalai, not just for themselves, but for all those who were present there including the beggars….today they were feeling rich so the celebration ought to be big and inclusive.

The drugs, by now, had started having its effect as the two started laughing slowly and then with greater ferocity. Then they got up and started dancing and singing the old Hindi number….beedi jalaye le badan se piya…later changed the lyrics to …injection lagai le tu hum se piya….The others at the shop joined the wild dance with their benefactors as they saw the father and son making strange faces, making new moves now and then, rolling on the ground in complete frenzy. Then suddenly the older of the two stopped and pulled the son aside….

Sukhi, Binni will surely go to heaven for all the hardships she endured on earth but when you meet her there, she may ask why you did not get kafan for her on the last journey from this world….what will you say to her then?

Bapu, firstly, the two of us will never go to heaven for the sort of life we have led here. So, chances of meeting Binni ever again are as good as zero. More importantly, you tell me is this moment we are living in now not heaven….good food that we are having and sharing, good friends as company, dancing, singing to our hearts’ delight….Can it be any better up there? If we can enjoy heaven here, why go there….Gar Firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin ast….

SS