Story: Barnali Saha (née Banerjee)
A Tale of the Sea “…and as you read the sea is turning its dark pages, turning its dark pages.” - Denise Levertov, ‘To The Reader’ (1999)
The sea is an all-powerful, parlous entity. The careworn sea never sleeps, never stops howling – it never ceases to be dangerous. People since eternity have been overwhelmed by her gargantuan strength and her restlessness, but she never stops, not even for a while, to look back. She is ever-flowing. You and I seldom realize her power, but people living in propinquity to her are well aware of her presence. It was early morning in the small village of Hridaypur; the sky was decked in the soft vermillion rays of the morning sun. The sea birds flew over the restless billowing sea. The fishermen were ready with their boats, fishing nets and hooks. Babu Rajan didn’t want to go out that day. His son Mani had been sick for quite some time now; Babu Rajan had taken him the night before to the local doctor Mishra-ji. “He is very weak from fever. You should feed him well.” Mishra-ji had said after inspecting the boy. He had nodded his round, bald head twice before prescribing the medicine, which meant that the condition was pretty serious. But, you know in small villages like Hridaypur, where the fishermen’s daily food depends on their catch in the sea, you can seldom feed your family what you want. Babu Rajan remembered the one day when he had returned with the huge Raawas machhli, as big as a shark, and how excited Mani was seeing it. It was sold at a high price in the bazaar and Babu Rajan had bought his family a week of happy meal with that money. But then luck never favors you every day, some day you get a good catch, while on other days you may return with a bauble. It had been quite a tough journey for Babu Rajan, especially after his wife, Mala, had died early last year. Whenever Babu Rajan missed her, he would silently leave the house at night and sit on the beach and listen to the waves breaking; it seemed to him that he could listen to Mala in those breaking waves. Mala had malaria, a very common disease in Hridaypur, another monster like the sea that kills thousands every year. Babu Rajan had tried a lot to save her; he even took her to the hospital in the town after Mishra-ji had given him the last word. But it was too late. Mala gave in to the crepuscular charm of a dying day, and left Mani and Babu Rajan to the care of the sea.
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It took Babu Rajan a lot of time to cope with her not being at home when he returned. In the beginning, the house looked dull and drab. The grey walls looked unwelcoming; the kitchen didn’t smell of cooked fish and khichri. But life never stopped to flow. The mercurial sea went on hand in hand with the flipping time. Every day, Babu Rajan got up and left home at dawn, the sea never stopped her work and neither did Babu Rajan. “Amma, will you please take care of Mani until I return in the evening? He is very sick. Mishra-ji had asked me to feed him well, so I have to go and catch some fish and get his medicine and food, I will be back in the evening,” Babu Rajan asked Bela, a fisherman’s wife and his neighbor. “Of course, Beta, I will be home all day and I will stay with Mani until you come back. Your kaka has already left; why are you so late?” Bela said. “Amma, I didn’t want to leave Mani alone. He couldn’t sleep last night, his muscles ached and he groaned the whole night. I was afraid to leave if something should happen.” Babu Rajan said. “Oh! Beta, don’t be afraid, Hanuman-ji will take care of him. I will feed him and take care of him. It must be some kind of viral fever, don’t be afraid. I had talked to Mishra-ji after you had left yesterday. He assured me that there is nothing to be afraid of,” Bela said. “Really, Amma, you really talked to Mishra-ji! Why didn’t you tell me then?” Babu Rajan said. “Well, I didn’t want to come at so late an hour, so I decided to tell you in the morning. Now go, Beta, it’s getting late. You know, your Kaka was saying that there is a storm coming today… Did you know about it?” asked Amma. “Oh, come on Amma, the storms always come and go, I am not afraid of them. I will leave now and be back soon. Shukkriya, Amma,” Babu Rajan said and left. Babu Rajan met his friends, the other fishermen of the village, who were getting ready to leave the shore with their boats and canoes and their nets. “Hello!!” Babu Rajan yelled as he saw Kasim, his other neighbor. Kasim waved back in reply. Babu Rajan was already late, so he hurried up with this net and boat and set off quickly. The sea looked beautiful that day with gentle breeze touching softly on the face and soft waves. Babu Rajan looked at the sky; it was now a strange combination of pink and white and red all mixed up in the palette of the firmament. At times Babu Rajan felt so happy to be able to soak such heavenly beauty and today was a day of such a feeling of gratitude for Babu Rajan. For a moment, as he stood on his boat with the fishing net, he felt happy – he almost forgot of his sick child, his poverty and his dead wife. The seagulls flew over his head, there were seven of them and they made such strange পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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sounds as they flew. Often Babu Rajan had tried to understand their words, but failed. The boat sailed swiftly and Babu Rajan soon got busy with his nets. Kasim had already caught his first fish. “Lucky chap…” Babu Rajan thought and untied his net. “What time is it, Amma?” Mani opened his weary eyes and asked. Sharp sunrays were coming through the hole in the battered window. “It is almost noon, Mani; are you feeling better now?” Amma replied. “Yes Amma, I am feeling better. Baba had given me the medicine before he left. I am a little tired, that’s it,” Mani replied. “Were you awake when your Baba left?” Bela asked. “Yes, I got up and took my medicine and then went to sleep again,” Mani replied. “Ok, Beta, then take your food, I kept your curd-rice and machhli by the kitchen. Let me get that for you.” “Amma, I am not hungry now. Can you just sit beside me and talk to me? I feel better that way. You know Amma, you remind me of ma. I miss her so much!” Mani said. Bela’s eyes welled as she listened to Mani. Bela and Ramu had no children of their own but she always regarded Babu Rajan and Mani as their own kids. Bela remembered the day then Mala, Mani’s mother, had died. The boy had cried the whole week relentlessly. He even had refused to eat. It was Bela who finally could make the boy eat. “An unfortunate incident, very bad,” the whole village had said but few came up to help Babu Rajan’s family. She had been their friend in need; she was there for them during one of the hardest times of their life. Bela looked at Mani; his eyes were sunken and his fluffy cheeks looked hollow. The boy looked very sick and pale. Bela tried to console him, so she started talking about his mother. “You know, Mani, your mother was the prettiest bride in our village. Even the village Chief’s wife came to see her. She was beautiful; your father was a lucky man…” Bela said. The boy gave a cold sigh hearing about his dead mother. Bela stopped. They talked about the village, about the other fishermen, about Mani’s friends. Mani listened to the old lady talking. He felt good at heart. After an hour or so, Bela got up and fed the boy and asked him to sleep for some time, while she left for the bazaar. Mani was tired and soon fell sleep The sky suddenly began to look dark in the afternoon, black clouds surged in the sky and heavy winds began to blow. Babu Rajan had already had a good catch and was waiting for পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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another one when he looked at the sudden change in the sky. The dark clouds definitely augured of evil and the heavy winds added to that. The boat began to careen from side to side as the waves gushed past it. He looked around and found no one, not even Kasim. He was too engrossed in his thoughts for some time and hadn’t looked around. After a while, he saw Kasim and Abu Kaka far off – he shouted out to them. “Are you going back? It looks like a storm is coming,” Babu Rajan shouted but both the men couldn’t hear him in the roaring sound of the waves. Apprehensive, he decided to leave. As he was about to turn the boat, he suddenly felt that the bobber was being pulled under, so he dragged the net with a big jerk. It was a huge fish and Babu Rajan had to make quite an effort to pull it out. By the time he finished, it had started to rain. The sky now looked ominous, lightning flashed, the waves gushed on and rolled mercilessly tossing Babu Rajan’s boat. He tried to control the boat, but the winds were hysteric and tossed the boat mercilessly. The sky was more portentous now; nothing could be heard except the hissing sound of the strong winds and the thunder. The sea seemed mad, angry enough to cause horripilation in Babu Rajan. He cried out “Help!” but nobody answered. His friends seemed to have left. Under that dark and barmy sky Babu Rajan stood on his tossing boat and cried. Mani heard a commotion outside. He was now feeling better from a long day’s rest. He got up quickly and went outside. The sky that had been shooting strong sunrays looked jet black and the storm was raging in its full vigor. Mani had seen a number of storms before but never felt such emptiness previously. He strained his eyes and looked at the sea; it was slamming the merciless waves on the rocks. The deafening sound of the waves and the flashes of lightning were boding evil. Mani found a number of fishermen talking and all seemed pretty serious. He ran to them to see if his Baba was around. “Kaka, did you see Baba?” Mani asked one of his father’s friends. “No Beta, I saw him last with a big fish, I had called out to him several times before we left, but he never answered… The winds were heavy, so we didn’t wait long. I think he will be back soon,” the man replied. Mani went into the house and began waiting for Babu Rajan – Amma wasn’t around, too. Sitting in that dimly lit straw house, Mani felt that something bad was about to happen. He had that same feeling when his mother died. He looked around the house; the rain was now pouring more heavily outside. Mani couldn’t stay inside; he walked out and saw his neighbors leaving their homes. “Where are you going, Chacha?” Mani asked Kasim.
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“You also should better hurry up and leave… The village folks are apprehensive that it’s going to be a dangerous storm and could kill us all by midnight. Ask your Baba to come with us; we are going to the town. Everybody is getting ready. You should better hurry up, Mani,” Kasim replied while his wife and kids got ready with their belongings. They were taking a small potli and some utensils. “But Chacha, Baba hasn’t come back yet,” Mani replied. “What!” Kasim was shocked to hear that Babu Rajan hadn’t come back in this storm yet, but soon he realized what could be the reason. He tried to control himself and asked the boy to come with them instead of waiting for his father, who being an experienced fisherman would be safe and sound. But Mani didn’t agree. “No Chacha, I better stay home. I will be fine, you don’t worry,” Mani replied and went inside his house. After an hour, the storm instead of abating became more ferocious. It strengthened with every passing hour; the sea howled like a mad man. Soon the village was almost empty; except for a few families, most of them left. Kasim and some other fishermen came to take Mani, but he wouldn’t go. The storm rapidly intensified and waves as tall as ten feet began to rise and crash. Mani was getting frightened as the weak house staggered in the storm. “Amma!” he cried out. But Bela wasn’t still around. Soon Mani discovered that he was probably the lone crusader in that island. Terrified, he didn’t know what to do. He decided to hide under the bed. It was getting colder and the winds were howling outside. The house vibrated with the motion. Mani prayed to god for his Baba and himself. Soon, streams of water gushed into the house. Mani jumped out of the house. In the rain he couldn’t see anything; it was very dark. Mani decided to run. But there wasn’t anywhere to hide, the trees were swinging from side to side, and it was more frightening outside because of lightning and thunder. Thunderbolts cracked with horrifying noise. Mani ran to his neighbor’s home, but everyone was gone. He couldn’t find Bela and her husband either. The sandy road was now flooded with water and Mani could see the tall waves smashing. He never saw the sea getting so mad before. In this darkness Mani prayed for the matutinal blessing of clear sky and gentle wave. Suddenly, Mani saw a huge wave coming vigorously; he ran for his life. It was difficult to run in the water but Mani had no option. He was already shivering in the cold, but he ran. Soon he reached a high land on the eastern side and from there he saw the wave breaking his home and their neighbors’ homes like a pack of cards. Mani began to shout, “Help, help, I am dying! Is anyone there? Please help me!” Nobody replied except the howling winds, so Mani ran again with all his speed. The waves were now getting taller and taller and smashed everything. Mani couldn’t find any mortal or immortal being around him, not even a cow or a stray dog. It looked like the hurricane was becoming more vigorous by night. Mani heard a crash and turned around, but he couldn’t see anything. He gave another loud cry and ran again. The পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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chthonic power of the hurricane being unleashed, it lashed everything on its way. Houses collapsed, shops broke and trees fell. As Mani ran, a tall tree fell just before him. He was saved by a jiffy. His mind stopped working, but he couldn’t stop. He suddenly felt his feet going numb. He hit something – it was a rock – and fell on the ground. He had already run almost an hour; he didn’t know where he was, he couldn’t hear anything, nor could he see anything except the lightning and the thunder, and sometimes the sound of the sea. He fell unconscious. The next morning the sun rose again, and the rescue workers came to the spot to clean up the mess caused by the storm. The sky was clear and the storm finally abated in the morning. The aftermath was pretty bad. Trees, branches, and other debris were on the roads. The roofs of broken houses were floating in the water and some dead bodies lay numb and cold along the shore. It was sticky and muddy. The sand glistened in the morning sun. The sea was now happy again; it was so calm that you wouldn’t believe there had been a storm the night before. The rescue workers were few, so they wasted a lot of time cleaning the muddle. One of them suddenly found a boy, across the street, lying unconscious. The doctor came and said that the boy was still alive, but he was terribly sick and his lungs were full of water. So they took the boy immediately to the hospital in the town. Mani lay unconscious in the hospital bed for two days. He woke up from his slumber on the third day; he felt an excruciating pain in his chest. The doctor came and checked him and said that he had survived one of the worst storms; however, Mani remembered nothing. He looked and saw Amma and her husband and two of his other neighbors whom the rescuers had found among the debris lying unconscious like Mani. Mani was happy to see them, but they were still asleep. Mani had thought that they all had left; he didn’t realize they were all parts of the same fate. “Did you find my Baba?” Mani asked the Doctor. “Not yet, Beta.” Mani’s eyes welled up as he listened to the doctor. The sea thrives on schadenfreude, she loves seeing people give in to her massive tenebrous existence, and Mani now realized that. Late that afternoon, Mani was asked to identify a body found on the shore. Mani rushed to see it – it was his Baba. “Baba, no, it cannot be you!” He cried. The corpse was cold and pale and smelled like the sea; it had been found early in the morning by a fisherman. Mani gave a loud cry on seeing it. The doctor and his attendants took Mani to his bed. It took Mani one whole week to recover his senses, but he decided not to give up, not to lose to the enormous power of the sea. He knew that now he had no family. But like his father used to say, “Mani, the sea is our life, she feeds us, she loves us and when time comes, she takes us back. We can never leave her, we are her children, we are born পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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fishermen.” Mani decided to stay in Hridaypur and start a new life as a lone fisherman. He decided to accept the challenge of the sea. Mani looked out the hospital window and saw some fishermen on the street selling their morning catch. He felt happy. Life, like the sea, never stops flowing, and now Mani understood the truth about life, about the sea. Glossary of non-English terms: -ji – suffix added after the name of a person as a mark of respect and/or affection; Machhli – Fish, or a dish made with fish; Khichri – kedgeree or hash made with rice, lentils and spices; Amma – Mother, or an older woman; Baba – Father; Beta – Son; Kaka/Chacha – Uncle; Hanuman – The mythological Hindu Monkey god; Shukkriya – Thanks; Potli – Small bundle.
Author Introduction: Originally from Kolkata, India, Barnali Saha (née Banerjee) presently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Creative writing, painting and photography are her hobbies. Contact:
[email protected]
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