A PART DIED THIS MORNING- Short Story by Anupam J.

A PART DIED THIS MORNING-Anupam J.

A PART DIED THIS MORNING

(Written For TOI WRITE INDIA)

 © Anupam Jaiswal

Anubha looked at that silky, blue scarf in such a way as it was the only thing on earth she longed for. She would have asked for the same, if had been given a chance to choose one. She never expected that kind of a gift from Chetan.

Chetan was a typical businessman and an accomplished virtuoso, at his trade, but not of the emotions as emotions were not of his trade. His heart was pumping the red hot blood in the same passion as all hearts in the world do but, perhaps he didn’t have a heart at all; he was heartless.

She was expecting. She was so happy that day that she slept with the blue silk scarf in her hand, though he was not there with her, his gifted scarf was.

It was for the first time in last eight years when he gifted her something and she forgot all his sins.

**

It was a bright sunny morning. She was sitting in the starbucks café, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. She was looking at the roses bloomed in the garden outside the cafe.

Suddenly, she felt something, she felt the first kick of her baby inside her belly, and she ran her hands on her belly to find out what that was. It felt like a butterfly inside and was tickling her. She almost screamed with joy, a sensation ran down through her spine experiencing a wonderful feeling. She dialed Chetan’s number immediately.

He was in the conference room and his cell was continually ringing but he didn’t pick the call. She tried so many times and probably was trying for the last time, he picked up this time.

“Dear, busy with the clients from UK, will call you later”. He disconnected the call, without waiting for reply.

Anubha felt like crying, but she couldn’t. She left the café that very moment and headed towards her home.

She had a mixed feeling, one was the calling of life and the other one was the scariest feeling, she had been trying to put in the ground, but  it surged occasionally, the feeling of left abandoned.

Chetan had finally succeeded in pushing her away totally; his unintentional deeds absolutely amputated her from his life.

She was not able to cope with the emotions she was carrying inside her, she wanted someone to share her feeling with, and she needed Chetan that moment because no one else could substitute him, but he was not there. The only thing she had with her of him was that blue scarf he gifted her & the baby inside her, who kicked her again. At least thrice she experienced that wonderful feeling.

It took almost eight years of her life but definitely she felt contended that moment. Though the life didn’t give her the chance to feel so contended, but this time she was.

**

He returned home early that night, he was looking serious. They both had dinner together without exchanging a single word. After dinner, he sat in the drawing room beside her, but she moved to the terrace. It was so cold out there; the icy wind was blowing passionately almost piercing the souls of that night.

He followed her.

She was sitting there on the swing chair, her body froze there and her face turned ash white; He also sat there with her and said,

“Dear, it’s too cold here, please come inside.” She didn’t react;

“I was so busy today; I couldn’t properly reply to your call.” He tried to convince her.

She was listening silently, but said nothing.

“Anubha, please say something, please tell, why you called me? I tried to call you later but your cell was switched off.”

“Chetan, for how much bucks you have traded your emotions? She silently exploded but her voice was colder than the ice.

“I’ve been waiting for you since we married; please tell me, did I make a mistake falling in love with you? I did all for our marriage.”

“I stood against my family, I left my job, I even waited so long for the baby, I loved you but, I was left abandoned.” “I tried hard, I tried to make myself understand, that you will be back to me someday, but it never happened.”

“Sometimes I feel like killing you. It seems as if I have to live my life alone, so why don’t we part our ways forever”?

Chetan said nothing; he constantly listened to her only.

“Chetan, I want to be with you, please keep all your business away for some months, please ask Bhandari to take care of your business.” Be with me at least for a few months.

“OK”. He looked serious, “I will try to do exactly as you want, I will meet Bhandari tomorrow, and I will try to charge him with the tasks which keep me away from you”. It may take few days but, I will be with you for sure.

Chetan clutched his hand, in between her hands. Her hands were colder than ice.

“Today, our baby kicked thrice in my belly, I wanted to share this feeling with you but you were busy with your UK clients.”

“Chetan, I am your wife and I deserve your attention, more particularly at this time.

“I am pregnant and need more attention, love and care, not from the nurses and doctors but from you. I am not able to manage it all on my own. Chetan try to hear the voice of life, its calling you.”

 “Sorry Anubha” He repented. “I will make arrangements by tomorrow; I will be with you very soon.”

Though he had to leave for UK next morning, he couldn’t muster courage to say that to her. He kept mum.

“How did you find that gift?”

“It was awesome Chetan, but I need you, you are my precious gift, you are the person I loved like anything, please be with me, I can’t manage this alone.”

After an hour on the terrace, they were chilled to the marrow.

He held her hand and took her inside.

**

She woke up and looked at the clock, it was about 3 AM, feeling thirsty; she walked to the kitchen and tried to quench her thirst. She put the glass aside and picked up a knife from the recently brought cutlery set.

The knife was shining like anything; it seemed that it had never been used. She started moving towards bed room but she didn’t put the knife aside, it was in her hands.

She went straight to the bed and stabbed Chetan thrice? He opened his eyes in pain and found a fountain of blood near his ribs, but could do nothing except showing her his shocked eyes.

***

She sat in Starbuks café, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf.

Though she carried that scarf with her, but was not paying much attention to it. She was sitting alone in the café. Suddenly Chetan appeared outside the window, he was bleeding like anything, and it seemed that someone had stabbed him in his stomach with some sharp object.

She got scared, he was asking for help, she rushed outside the café, held him and took him inside the café, she picked up her scarf to wrap the wounds, and suddenly the blood stained knife fell down from the scarf.  She looked astonished! Though Chetan was in pain but he too looked stunned! At the same moment two boys entered the café; looked at her and Chetan, the knife was laying there on the floor.

“Catch her, don’t let her go.” One of them shouted. “She stabbed him”.

She gushed to the ground and became unconscious there. Her pulse was running like a superfast train but she was able to hear her heartbeat clearly.

This was the moment she awoke from her dreams, she got scared, and started looking for Chetan, he was not there, she found a piece of paper at the table which Chetan left for her, she took that.

The bell rang, she looked at the clock, it was quarter to 8 am, Beny had come.

She felt at ease.

**

Feeling the pain in his ribs, He too awoke from his dream. The passenger beside him nudged him due to his snores. He was thinking of the dream, he woke up from. It was scary. 

He was not able to believe whatever he saw in his dream. He saw, she killed her with a sharp shining knife, while he was sleeping. “Huh! She can’t kill me like this”. He murmured. A strange sensation ran down through his spine.

 He was in the plane to UK. He was feeling guilty. He could not tell her that he had to leave next morning for three days.

He left a note for her, there on the table.

“Dear, I couldn’t tell you, but I have to leave by now, something very important has to be done. I will be back in just three days. Please take care of yourself, I called Beny to take care of you until I come back, when you wake up in the morning, she will be there with you. Take care, love you so much, and see you soon.”

The plane was about to land but, he kept sitting there, thinking of her and the dream, where she killed him stabbing brutally his stomach.

Plane had landed in UK. He went to the Hotel Renaissance BR, where his meeting was scheduled after one hour. He joined them in time for the meeting and did the paperwork for which he came to UK.

His flight to India was in the morning and he had nothing to do except staying in the hotel. He slept and had that scary nightmare again this night.

**

They both were experiencing the two sides, two angles of the same dream. But in both the dreams his killing was a common factor. He dreamed that Anubha killed him brutally with a knife, and she dreamed that he was bleeding and dying in her arms.

Very soon he was in the airbus to India; He was analyzing the dream he had in last two nights. He was so busy with these thoughts that he couldn’t guess that when the plane had landed in India. He reached home, he looked determined. He went straight to her, she was sleeping, he put his ears to her belly to listen to the voice of the baby, he looked keen to feel the feeling she experienced that day and could not share with him. Suddenly he sensed the movement inside her belly, he started crying with joy.

She woke up, and looked at him in amazement.

“I have ground you down, made you cry but you didn’t say anything. I was so busy with my business all the time which was not needed in fact but, I have just handed over the charge to Bhandari. I made you suffer for eight years but now it won’t happen anymore, not for a single moment. I have left it all behind and have come back to.” He repented and looked determined.

She held his hand in between her hands, and asked him to sit there with her. She hugged him tight and they bawled together. She was missing him so much since that dream, as never before. She had her life back, finding him near her.

At least, you could have told me. You don’t know what I have suffered. I dreamed that someone has stabbed you and I couldn’t save you, you were dying in my arms.

“What”! He looked at her in amazement. He remembered his dream but said nothing.

“Yes, please don’t leave me now.”

“I suppose I am just seeing things clearly for the first time. I was so busy with me only that I could not listen to the voice of life, which has constantly been calling me.”

For the first time in eight years, he let her know his feelings.

He felt a part of him, died last night. The illumination of the rising sun scattered across the room.

Written by

Anupam Jaiswal

09839224658

Acs.anupam@gmail.com   

MEETING THE AUTHOR OF "BY MISTAKE"

THE CALLING OF HALF SKY- Short Story By Anupam J.

THE CALLING OF HALF SKY

(Written For TOI WRITE INDIA)

 © Anupam Jaiswal

Close to the city of Paithan, in a small village called Sauviragram, which lay along the banks of the great river Godavari, lived a woman named Ilaa. Being cotton farmers, her family was well to do, but not among the richest in their area. It was the harvest season, and cotton had to be picked from the plants. The wholesalers and traders from Paithan would be arriving in just a few weeks, carrying gold and goods for barter. They would exchange what they carried for the cotton that the farmers grew. The bales of cotton had to be ready in time! Work was at its peak!

But Ilaa was not to be found in the fields. She wasn't working. Instead, she was sitting by the banks of the great river Godavari.

'I am sick of this!' she grunted loudly. ‘This is not the purpose for which I am here; I have to find the purpose of my life.’

She started throwing stones in the river, though she looked conscious, but she was not actually. She was so busy with her thinking that she could not sense the herd of bullock carts surrounding her.

The first caravan of traders from Paithan was about to enter Sauviragram.

The sound of ringing bells, coming from the bullock-carts, Interrupted her thoughts & she looked around, she saw that a big caravan of traders are coming, and a person was signaling them to stop. The caravan stopped there, that person was saying to them that they will rest there at the banks of river Godavari. She budged into the bushes, to look who they actually were.

The bumper crop of the cotton this year could easily be guessed, seeing the large number of traders of Paithan coming towards Sauviragram.

Though she was not on the fields but guessed, definitely, this time her father will get rid of his debts, and would be collecting enough gold for her sister’s re- marriage. She had an elder sister Idaa, who was a widow.

She never saw that big caravan, so she stayed there.

Traders were carrying with them, all they could bring to barter to get the maximum cotton, but they were not in hurry. She noticed that, there were some women & children also in the caravan.

She saw an old but a very graceful lady coming out of a bullock cart, she was somewhere in her fifties, but her face was glittering. Some person from the caravan indulged into some sort of preparation, some went to the river to catch fish, some went to the jungle to arrange woods, and some indulged into preparation of food.

She decided to stay there a bit longer, she was interested in knowing their culture, she was keen to know more about them and observing was the best mode at that moment. She crept near their tents.

Some of them were resting, some of them preparing food, children were playing there. After some time, food was prepared and all were instructed to join for lunch. She noticed, they all started sitting in row, a dais was placed in front of the rows, for the head of the caravan.

Almost all were sitting, but the dais for the head of the caravan was not occupied, yet.

She was curious to know, who lead that caravan.

Suddenly Ilaa saw something strange, that she could not believe. She saw that lady with the glittering face, reaching the dais & standing up there with a water pot in her hands. She started sprinkling water with some tree leaves on the persons sitting over there and chanting some shlokas. Ilaa could not hear clearly but, one thing clearly understood, that woman holds a very respectable place in that caravan of traders of Paithan.

After completing the ritual, the woman sat on the dais maintained for the head of the caravan & started the lunch proceedings, followed by the other members of that group.

She left that place & headed towards Sauviragram territory. She was thinking that, ‘why those traders came so early? As per the crop prospects, they had to come after a week or two.’

And who was that woman, who led the group of men?

She reached Sauviragram by the evening but told nothing to anybody except this fact that traders are coming.

She went to meet Idaa. Idaa looked tired after working whole day in the fields, picking cotton from the plants; she was sitting there on a rock.

Ilaa reached her and narrated the whole story.

Idaa’s husband was a priest, and she learned a lot from him. She learned some rituals, studied Veda under his supervision. He used to believe that woman’s position was very much deplorable that time, he taught her the position of woman in Vedic age; he used to say that the position of woman shall be restored to the Vedic age where every woman gets respected and was treated equivalent to men.

So he gave respect to Idaa, but Idaa enjoyed that position & respect while he was living. And she was compelled to leave her husband’s house in just one month of his death and came back to her father’s house, where she was given a room, at the backyard of the house. She had to work hard in the fields to earn the livelihood for her daughter & herself.

 It’s amazing to know that a woman leading a group of traders which is dominated by male members. She must be belonging to the richest, Idaa said.

They both were discussing this whole night and slept.

Ilaa was a kind of woman, who, like many others, was unhappy with the condition of the woman in the society. Moreover, she didn’t like the way the woman was treated in the society.

The woman had a very subordinate role to the men, the woman supposed to obey the directions and order given by their husbands. They have nothing to do with the education.

The custom of Sati, prohibition of widow marriage, bigamy, polygamy were prevailing in the society, even divorce was in practice.

Ilaa grew up, listening the stories of the woman in the Vedic age, but in realty found nothing in her age. She wants to restore the grace of the woman again. She was very mush impressed with the ideology of Chatrapati Shivaji. Ilaa & Idaa both used to teach the girls & boys of the Sauviragram all they learned. But it was a secret among participants only.

Ilaa was very much impressed with the woman, she saw at the banks of the river Godavari.

Next morning rays of sun brought the traders of Paithan inside the Sauviragram with them.

Everybody was aware that traders have come, Ilaa & Idaa were very keen to meet that woman and looking for her in the group.

Traders were given a place in the Sauviragram, to fix their tent and establish their temporary accommodation, very next to the place allotted to balutedars, who already have reached Sauviragram, to get their return for the tools, equipments & assistance provided for the agriculture operations to the farmers.

Patil of Sauviragram reached there to welcome the traders and invited them to have lunch with him.

After lunch, Matrimaya, the head of the traders, apologized to Patil for not informing him about their early visit. She told that as it’s war time and traders safety is always at risk, as they can be looted any time in journey, So we decided not to travel to Sauviragram on the pre-scheduled time to keep our traders safe from attacks. She requested Patil to take her to the fields to see the crop.

Patil accepted her request and made arrangement for the same. Matrimaya told him that, yesterday she saw a girl there at the banks of the Godavari; she wished to go to the field with her.

Ilaa went to them and soon they left for the fields.

Patil arranged horses, but Matrimaya preferred to go through bullock cart.

So both Matrimaya & Ilaa sat into the bullock cart and left for the field.

I saw you when you were hiding behind the bushes, said Matrimaya.

‘Oh! I thought nobody saw me; I stayed there to know more about you people & your culture.’

‘I am amazed by seeing that you lead the group of men? How it’s possible? By which name I can call you? My sister Idaa is a widow and she had to leave her husband’s place within a month of his death, and I came to know that you are also a widow.’

‘When I saw you, I thought that I have reached in to the Vedic age.’ Women were respected and treated equally to the men in all spheres of life.

“Since my child hood I have seen the misery been suffered by woman in the society, it seems that their freedom is not possible now.”

“Both, my sister & I started teaching secretly at nights to the next generation of our village. I have learned from my sister Idaa, I started telling them that their liberty is in their own hand, I teach them about shivaji’s Philosophy.”

“Shivaji”, said Matrimaya, “yes he was the real hero, my father was in his troop, he was among one of his strategist. My Father used to make strategies for him.” I saw him once, I was in my childhood, he visited Paithan in 1679 with my father, and he was on the way to Jalna.

“Oh! Great.”

“You can call me Aai, my people call me by this name.”  

“You are right, liberty of women is in the hands of woman only, they will have to understand it, they will have to acquire all the skills which a man acquires, all the skills and have to lift the veil, act confident, work in co-ordination with the half of the society.”

“They have to show that they are not the slaves of men. They have their intellect too.”

‘When my husband died, I immediately took the charge of his estate & business, in his life time he taught me all the skills & business acumen.’

‘I used to sit with him in the meetings with the traders & businessmen. He always asked for my advice & appreciated my views. This gave me a lot of confidence and I succeeded & administered all his estate.’

“Nobody opposed you Aai? After all it’s a male dominated society.”

“Yes voice raised but had to be mum, because nobody had the skills as I had acquired about the business & trades, so no other could give any better option to run the estate as I had.”

“Oh! Aai, how did you manage all this?”

‘You also can Ilaa’. The only thing you have to do is that you will have to believe & take your actions forward. Work for your sisters, mothers who have been deprived of their basic rights from centuries. They need someone to help them; they need someone who can restore their glorious past of ancient Vedic age. I believe Ilaa, you can do this.

Take it as a mission & dedicate your life to this mission only.

Ilaa listened to her but said nothing. In the meanwhile, they reached the fields.

Bales of cotton looked like clouds on the earth. It seemed that the women had reached the mountains covered with snow.

Matrimaya inspected the whole area and thanked God for that bumper crop of cotton which she saw and found the crop exactly as described by her husband. “I am here for the first time” she said, “My husband used to say “I will take you along-with me to the cotton fields in Sauviragram. You will see that the fields are covered with the snow”. Now I can clearly see what he wanted to show me. Unfortunately he is not here with me.”

They both returned to the Village.

The traders stayed there for a week and completed the transaction. Ilaa’s father got enough gold this time and the traders got their cotton.

Bullock carts were loaded with the bales of cotton and the Caravan left Sauviragram; the evening was dusky red.

Ilaa couldn’t sleep that night; she was thinking of the words of Matrimaya.

Matrimaya casted an impact on her conscience, her words fired up Ilaa’s thoughts. Ilaa knew that she will have to go far with the activities she was carrying secretly and she clearly sensed that Matrimaya casted an impression on other villagers as well.

She noticed that the whole village was talking about Matrimaya.

She got up, and went to her father.

“Father I am not able to sleep today.”

“Oh! Come Ilaa, what happened? Is everything all right?” asked her father.

“Yes father”, Ilaa replied.

“Father I have to say something to you. Due to the blessings of goddess, we have got a bagful of gold and other goods we needed. We have got best we could have bartered in exchange of our cotton. But father, I want to say that please free Idaa & me. You have got enough gold, so please use that to free our land first. Idaa doesn’t want to marry again. Idaa and I decided to dedicate our lives educating others in the village and beyond.

 Father you know that a woman’s position in our society is lowly, they are kept separated from education which is their basic right. They have been facing discrimination by this male dominates society. So we want to help them stand on their own feet and secure a respectable position in the society.

We want our ancient glory back. You must have noticed that a woman like Matrimaya has single handedly established that it’s quite possible; what we just need is education and self dependence. I know the villagers are talking about her. They are really inspired by her and are appreciating her achievement.

I believe they will support our mission. The only thing left is your permission.

That moment, Idaa, who was standing outside, entered the room and said to her father, “Father please remember mother’s last word, what she said to you before dying” Idaa said.

“Father we have found the purpose of our life and are now waiting for your permission.”

He kept sitting for a sometime and spoke nothing. Then he stood up and came to his daughters.

I am proud of you and my blessings will always be with you in this great endeavor of providing the women a bright future, a new dawn, a new life.

The half sky is calling..

Written by Anupam Jaiswal

09839224658

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Peace

EK KALAM

From the current works of Anupam Jaiswal

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KEJRI-UDAY

Congratulations to AAP & Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, its very much right to say this time the word KEJRI UDAY.

Taking again the oath as CM of Delhi in continuity shows that the voters have chosen their agenda to vote for; they have chosen the aam admi to take care of them the same line on which Modi asked them for their vote representing him as a CHAI WALA.

So its good for our country that people are getting issue conscious rather than voting on false agenda thrown by the political parties to gain maximum votes and to form the government which cannot be removed for five years.

The winning of AAM ADMI PARTY shows a ray of hope to the people of India. Now they think that a common man can better understand their problems than a political man and they chosen Mr. Kejriwal rather than choosing political man.

Let’s see what will be the next step of AAM ADMI PARTY to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Delhi.