QUEST Of MYSTERY By ---Ruhol Amin Part-1 of 7 It was the month of february-10. I got a pause after a long boring day of my study life & made a plan for a long trip with my friend Max to his grand mum’s home, a long distance from the city, and for so an escape from busy life, in a village named Rup-poor where there are no noise, crowd & modern equipment like electricity. We fixed a certain day for our travel & made a long trip by bus. After getting down from bus, we took a van (a vehicle pulled by man) for two kilo meters road after that we were to take a boat for crossing a small river. It was a small village which mostly calm, cool with no rout near that small river. Getting down from the boat, we had to walk for a few times and after a long struggle we reached our relative’s house. Grand mum came forward with a smiling face & accepted us cordially. The house was not very big but four separated soil made rooms. We talks with other members of the family to render our greetings and have our dinner together. I couldn’t sleep due to the excitement of new environment and told my friend for wandering beside the river. That was a full moon night, my friend Max become excited with my proposal and we took a cowboy of that house for our security and facilities since we don’t know the village very well. Part-2 of 7 It was very calm and quite night of summer, a light cool wind was blowing and we heard nothing but the sound of cricket & fox’s crying from distance. It was about 10 p.m. at night and there was no boat on the river due to the early sleeping habit of the villagers and it’s a common nature of village. I proposed my friend, ”it would be great if we could ride on a boat in this night” …. “I think so” –said Max. “If you allow I can manage a boat of my familiar boatman”-said the cowboy. I answered “it’s great, and then manage it”. I was standing alone near the river and my friend along with cowboy went to bring the boatman from his house I waited near about 15 minutes and saw a boat was coming towards me but I saw there were neither my friend nor cowboy but an old boatman wearing a white torn cloth up to the waist and the rest was bare. When the boat came near me, I told the boatman-“my friend sent you here!”.” Hmm…..”-a light sound came from the boatman. I climbed in to the boat with excitement & the boat started to run slowly. I was in the fantasy. Suddenly I notice that the boat is on the middle of the river. I ask old man the “when would my friend come?” He said nothing but was staring at me with a gloomy eye. I saw his red eyes like fire and I didn’t tell him anything at all. Suddenly he began shouting with rough and slang words and was watching the opposite side of river. A young girl was responding him hardly. I clearly understood that they are quarreling using rough language. In the meantime, I saw, the tide of water became heavier than normal. I was trembling with fear that the boat might sink. I could not utter a single word but watching the fight dumbfound. The girl was rebuking the old man from distance but she was not coming near the boat. All on a sudden, the old man stood with paddle to attack the girl & at that time the girl fled away. Finally the quarrel became stopped & the boatman kept me on my previous place of river bank. I offered him for payment but he ignored it by moving his head simply. After putting me he ran away with his boat and I did not ask any farther questions due to my fear. Part-3 of 7 I was standing alone again for near about 10 munities, my fear was rising gradually. Suddenly I saw my friend & the cowboy coming towards me and I got a little relief watching them. “Where were you for that much of a long time?, we are searching you to & fro”-Max ask. “Why? .... I was ridding the boat sent for me.”-I answer them. They become surprised & told-“we have not sent any boat because we didn’t find our boatman, that’s why we came back. I was sweating tremendously after hearing such type of words from my friend then I started to think-who this boatman was & why he hadn’t taken my money. My friend understood my situation & took me home immediately without telling a word. After reaching home, I narrated everything what I experienced with other members of the house. Finally we made a decision to find out the boatman from the area, where the boatman came from? It was at afternoon. We reached the area, a slum of fishermen, and see many huts made of the straw, some little children were playing with mud, few old men were gossiping etc. After walking for few minutes, we see some children & dwellers were watching us with a curious eye. We ask some people about that old boat man. First they understood nothing & few of them come forward and ask for details. I narrated all what had happened last night with me. After hearing this, one of the middle aged man ask me –“why you came to the river alone at night?”, ”ok…don’t fear, that old man was not a man but a spirit and it doesn’t harm anyone”-added the middle aged man. I was frozen after such words for a while. I requested him for telling us in details. Middle aged man took us under a large banyan tree, we all sat there and the man started telling the struggling story of that boat man. Part-4 of 7 The name of that old man was Rajesh, he was a poor fisherman. Besides him, there were other two members in his family, his wife Radha & his only daughter Sukla. That family was strongly conservative Hindu. They were clinching the prejudice of their religion. Rajesh used to go for fishing about every day and work from dawn to dusk. In the afternoon he used to go to near local market for selling fishes he caught from the river. Basically he lived by fishing. In the evening, he would take his boat and transport people from one side to another of the river in terms of some money as his extra income. The day was passing happily. His daughter Sukla is beautiful and nimble in nature; she studied up to class five but did not continue it due to the poverty of her family although she was a good, attentive and intelligent student. That’s why she used to do household work and in her free time she wandered with other girls of the slum. Sometimes she used to go with her father for fishing. One day a young boy Arif came to Rajesh for buying some fishes. “Is there any man in this house”-Arif uttered loudly. After telling for several time, Sukla came out of the room and told -“father has gone to river, wait for some time, he will come back very soon”. Sukla gives him a mat, made of leaves of date juice tree, from her room to sit on it. Arif was staring at the face of Sukla at a glance but did not say anything and enjoy the emerging natural beauty, a soft smile with the blue eyes of dark ash colored eyeball. He thought that he might fall in love with her at first sight. He was in the dream of other world………… Suddenly a harsh sound draw his attention –“hey…….Sukla, take a dish & water to clean the fish”, -Rajesh come and tell. “Yes father ... Coming……..” –Sukla answers him mildly from her room. Rajesh ask Arif turning around –“hey…. When have you come?” “My father sent me for some fishes” –a soft answer from Arif. Arif is the son of Rahim Miya who lives in the village named Shampoor near the fishermen area. He buys fishes from Rajesh very often, it may be called, and he is a regular client of Rajesh. After putting fishes, Rajesh ask Arif many questions regarding his father. During their discussion, Arif was searching Sukla from the corner of his eyes and that’s why, he did not talk much but a little answer –“yes/no” for the questions of Rajesh. However after taking fishes, Arif started to leave with his discontented mind of love for Sukla. From that day Arif would come to Rajesh’s house regularly to meet Sukla for the excuse of fish whether his father order or not for fishes. Part-5 of 7 In the meantime, Arif’s frequent coming a soft staring made sukla weak and compelled her to fell in love. One day Rahim mia was going to market leaning to the side of the river and saw Arif and sukla were roaming near the river at afternoon putting hand over hand. That scene was much more bittering to Rahim mia, a man from strong conservative Muslin family. But he did not tell anything at that time. After returning from market, Rahim mia asked arif about the girl, Sukla. And they began bargaining which continued up to midnight. But there was no definite solution. Arif was strongly determined to marry that girl although they were two persons from two different religions. Rahim: Why do you want to marry such a girl? She is from Hindu family! Don’t you know it’s totally going to be a blasphemy like sin? Arif: How could love be a fact of conflict between two religions, love is a divine gift bestowed by Allah himself, have you forgot? Rahim: Oh! I know it would come! Ok, then just remind that you can only marry a girl who belongs to your religion and there will be no exception possible according to our holy Quran, at least I believe this much you know for sure. Arif: Father!!! Even if I do something like that you just can’t stop or punish me because in this case you have no right to do so, and this rule also assured by our religion, you know that? I think you remember the verses “you can’t manipulate the people of other religion neither can they be forced. “And also this one “Only Islam is accepted to Almighty, who is unique and creator of those things which are tangible and also for the intangible too.” Rahim: Fine, I consider that you can make a friendship and maintain a good relation to communicate with others and that’s it. But you can’t marry her or even love her in that way? Arif : Listen………you know, our prophet Mohammad (sm) the last , most favorite and the messenger for the whole world, is familiar to all as the best man lived on earth ever for his best manner and attributes. He even married women came from other religions after making them Muslim. Rahim: Shut up, stupid………you are not the prophet. Don’t you know? She is a daughter of a fisherman, simply low class. My social status will be labeled off in no time! How can I handle that?-(he told it loudly outburst by rage) Arif: Yes……….now you have come to the point. The main fact is her class but not the religion and that’s the main concern of you. Upper class people treat lower class people as animals, not as a human. But exploit them for their interest and throw them right after that like a useless scrap. We need fish but who cares about the pains of fishing and the men who bear this for us. But an amazing matter is that people want to extract their personal gain for the subterfuge of religion in our society. Rahim mia sees, he can’t stop his son in this way. So he made a plan to restrain him by other means. Part 6 0f 7 Like other normal day Rahim mia went to the local market named shampoor for some chores. Suddenly he decided that he would go to the fisherman, he must have before him come for selling fishes. So he went to the fish market to find Rajesh and right after he found him. He ordered with a gloomy voice “Hey man I need to talk” Rajesh: Hey, brother. I think you need some very fresh one today. (Answered with a smile) Rahim: I know you sell fishes but recently I have come to know that you are selling your daughter with more interesting tricks. Rajesh: I can’t understand, what you mean brother. (Still has the polite face) Rahim: This can’t be understood by a greedy man like you. Tell me why you have planned to spoil my son along with myself with your witch daughter? Rajesh: Sir, I have realized the matter but trust me I don’t know anything about it. Rahim: It’s the first but so very obviously the last warning for you otherwise I will make a case against you, mind it. Rajesh could not say anything but staring with a faint face. Other fishermen were staring at him with an interesting but shocked approach and in no time they began to discuss the possible matter among themselves and their accumulated whisper converted into a uncatchable but profound noise which stings in Rajesh’s heart as a shell. Rajesh felt insulted like never before, he may be a poor man but the least he has, is the sheer honesty and trustworthiness which somehow holds the optimum margin of honor in his corresponding society. After returning home he asked his daughter about the issue. He scolded her using the roughest and most slang language he could possibly imagine and ordered her straightforward that she stop meeting Arif immediately and forget him as quickly as possible. On the other side Sukla didn’t even say a word but some drops of water stepped down through her chick quietly but no one was there to notice. Part-7 of 7 Since, hindering love is like setting more woods in the fire, the matter of Arif & Sukla is not out of this. Due to the restriction of more than thousands time, they tried to mingle each other. One day they decided to flee and leave this village forever. They fixed a day for this deed. It was a Sunday evening, Arif came to Sukla’s house and tried to knock her using different types of gestures so that Rajesh couldn’t get awaken. Sukla arranged everything according to their previous plan. Finally they came to the river and got into the wood made boat of Rajesh for leaving the area. In the meantime Rajesh saw, his daughter was not at home, he had been taking his eyes over is daughter so that she couldn’t make any occurrence against his rules. But all went in vain, Rajesh searched her to & fro but didn’t find her around the house. However, he ran to the river and saw, Sukla was on his boat with Arif in the middle of river. Then, in a hurry, he jumped into the water and caught them to the spot within a short time due to his strong, hardworking swimming body. After reaching there, he made a tremendous quarrel with them to hamper their launch. Rajesh jostled with them strongly but couldn’t cope with properly to deter them because he was alone. All on a sudden Rajesh made the end of story with a strong hit on the head of his daughter with the paddle of boat & she fall into the water then and there. Arif was perplexed for what to do. He jumped in to the water to save his beloved heart not thinking any more. He tried his best up to his own life but couldn’t. The two dead bodies were floating on the water before the eyes of Rajesh at a time. He became shocked and perplexed to see the terrible sight. Finally he committed to suicide and made the end of three lives at a time. After that day, Rajesh and Sukla both are seen quarreling in the river side. We were listening to the middle aged man about the tragic history of old fisherman and his daughter during a long time. Max and Cowboy fall a deep breath after the story. But I was greatly surprised that why the old man came to me? What messages he wanted to deliver me? Is it a protest or hate to society with silence? I have been thinking about it for a long time…and even today the question imposes is the same amount of brushing to me that I can’t move on. But I don’t find the solution yet but I have to …………any way……. Thankfully……. Ruhol Amin BBA(Finance & Banking) University of Rajshahi Cell- 01937014633
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:38:57 +0000
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