AQAAB
Eight
"No-no, not here...no...oh girl, what you doing? Oh, no...man!"
The boy poured some more drink in the old man’s clay pot from the bottle. The old man looked at the girl with his timid eyes and kept drinking. His eyes had reddened. He was taking hiccups in between. The boy came near him and grabbed his arm to take his pot clutching hand closer to himself and filled the pot again up to the brim with the foamy liquor. The old man blinked his eyes and looked at him with a little smile and affinity. The boy was standing with such alertness as if letting the old man drink satisfactorily was his only job.
Now the old man was not paying any attention towards the girl. He was indifferent to what she was up to. The boy supported the old man to make him sit on a bedstead nearby. He did not want to sit but the boy put pressure on his waist as if he wanted him to sit there.
The water that was flowing in front of them looked more like a canal or a drain rather than a river. It was hardly twenty-five or thirty feet wide. Only in this part of the jungle, the river was so narrow but a just little bit ahead it was wider. Its width was the same a few steps back as it was a few steps forward. In this part, the water took a turn to form a narrow stream. When the same amount of water flowed from such a narrow space, its speed would increase. This flowing water looked like a glacier of clear water. It was very deep here.
Wearing a heavy overcoat from head to toe, that long white-bearded old man had reddish skin and was heavily built. It was hard to imagine about his work here in the forest. But seeing an old bedstead and a stool near a small shed, one had to imagine forcefully that he lived here only. This house with a small door and an even smaller window resembled a cabin instead of a house. The window was closed for many days. The door looked as if it opened only once in a while. The old man was wearing heavy leather boots.
Seeing all these belongings of the old man, it looked as if he was on government duty, but it was not only difficult but impossible to figure out that what was there in that secluded corner of the jungle surrounded by numerous trees that needed a watchman to look over. The old man spoke a few words in English in his heavy voice but he did not know the language. Whatever he said consisted of one or two words in English and the other words belonged to some other language.
On this side of the water, there was a dense forest with tall colourful trees but on the other side, there were no trees. That field of white sand looked as if it remained covered with snow most of the time of the year. After a few kilometres of treeless field, a range of mountains started which kept getting taller. After the first row of mountains, one could still see the snow on the peaks. The glow of peaks even in this darkness perhaps indicated that the full moon was near. Or it was a night of the full moon itself. Everything could clearly be seen in the moonlight but only on that side of the river. On this side, only thick forest and closely grown innumerable trees could be seen.
The old man’s overcoat had deep pockets. Even from the outside, they could be perceived as filled. It was a possibility that the old man was given a revolver or similar kind of weapon because if he was on duty in this secluded place then he was surely not left unarmed.
Anyway, it did not look like there was a bag or a chest with him. Whatever he had, was there in his pockets. Built at some distance, that home or office or whatever structure it was, looked closed with a door that belonged to a bygone era. If the stuff kept in it had to be taken outside in an emergency then it would take the old man at least five to seven minutes. It seemed as if it could open only by some sorcery or pushing with beastly force. So if the old man was there for some work then the equipment/weapon that he needed could only be in his overcoat’s pockets. Nothing could be said about the back gate of that cabin from here.
The old man told the boy that he used to bring a large waterhen’s meat covered in leaves to eat and sometimes heated it by igniting a fire in a small heater. It was obvious that the heater was not electric and it was possible to ignite a fire only by putting wood, paper or dried bark and lighting them up with a match. To save himself from all this work, sometimes he ate cold meat. Though he also received some little birds here. The summer season lasted for just fifteen days here. By summer, it meant that there were no pieces of ice in the flowing water. He called it summer and recalled it for the rest of the year.
The old man hadn’t tasted liquor for the last seven days. He could visit his village only once in every ten to fifteen days and would then bring liquor from there. On the other days, water with small balls of ice was his beverage. This used to be his liquor and lifeline.
There was no possibility of any kind of fish in this cold water. Only in the fifteen to twenty days of summer when the water was free of ice, did some small fish appear. It was not easy to catch them but the old man was as cunning as the fish. Sometimes he did catch them. Those nights were celebratory for him.
Sometimes it would be two days before the old man saw a human being. Barely someone came there. Sometimes a shepherd who had forgotten his way, sometimes those who hunted waterhen for a living and sometimes a few mischievous kids. Once or twice in a year, some young people arrived there rowing their boats, practising for water sports. When they came, the old man got some good things to eat and drink.
When a man would come there with a woman, the old man had to open his cabin for them, giving them privacy. He earned a little bit and spent the next few days happily. Then he could smoke white aromatic cigarettes rather than that cigar whose smoke smelled like a cheap cigarette. But such indulging days could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Every now and then, the old man’s eyes kept moving towards the bottle in the boy’s hands and seeing it half full, he tried to sip fast. He thought that the boy was lovely because he was not drinking himself despite holding the bottle. Otherwise, young boys pour less to others and drink more themselves. The boy stood there so the old man could drink.
The old man had checked the key in his overcoat’s pocket because even in his drunken state, he understood that after giving him liquor, the boy would want the cabin’s key. He had just seen the girl’s impatience. She had opened her jeans and was about to urinate in front of them. The old man barely stopped her and she went some steps ahead on one side of the cabin, playing with her open zip.
The boy continued making him drinks.
The secluded place which they had thought to be the old man’s rest house, was a country’s border and on that side of the river lay another country. One could cross this deep river and at a distance of a few kilometres, there was a helicopter service of the forest range. The helicopter made two or three rounds everyday in which one could go after buying a ticket, provided he had visa of the other country.
When the old man was unconscious, the boy and the girl crossed the border without making him a witness to this act. The old man did not know how did they cross the deep river themselves. Or if they took help of a fisherman from a nearby place in crossing it as per a pre-planned scheme. Nobody had crossed the border before without the old man knowing about it but he knew about the dangers. But the danger halves if one is sleeping while it comes.
Both of them entered Kyrgyzstan. They also took the services of the helicopter of the forest range. The large unit of the film ‘Singing Sea’ was on this craggy mountain since last two-three days. The shoot was going on in full swing. But one of the assistant directors of the movie received information on his mobile that a girl named Selina Nanda from the unit had checked out from the hotel. He was surprised. He walked towards his car looking here and there in amazement but stopped there while thinking about something. Selina had paid her bills but nobody knew that when, where and why did she go.
Through the trade papers, the news was leaked in media that Selina Nanda was fired from the movie ‘Singing Sea’. In some countries, the news reached in the form that Selina had left the film. There were speculations about the reasons. People believed that why would an actress take the decision of moving out from such a huge film and surely she was kicked out of it. There were guesses all around and Selina Nanda was on the newspapers and TV channels of the world again.
Whatever effect such news had over the others, but John Altamash was very happy in Beirut. What could be greater news than this that the star on whom he had invested time and money, was, again and again, finding a place in the headlines of the world media? In the national news of Lebanon as well, the news arrived that Selina Nanda had left the big-budget and multi starer movie ‘Singing Sea’. This happened because John Altamash was in Beirut since the last few hours and after his press conference in Lebanon, he was busy throwing lavish parties. This news which enhanced the prestige of Selina, was leaked by him.
When his luxurious car arrived with Selina Nanda, she was a bit upset that she did not have a separate room for her in the hotel but John had arranged for her stay in his suite. She felt weird but without expressing it, she joined Altamash in dinner.
When John Altamash was introduced with the boy who was with Selina, he did not pay any attention but he was shocked when Selina put forward a strange condition.
Selina was ready to stay in John Altamash’s room along with him but also declared that the boy would also stay with them in the same room.
Altamash kept listening to her with peculiar expressions.
Nobody had the time to think that how did those three people had spent that night together on a luxurious bed of a magnificent hotel. Altamash did not want to think about anything and he also did not have any energy left for it. But in the morning, they were refreshed. Though it was a nice morning for the whole city.
Selina and that young boy had moved to another hotel nearby where they received the information regarding the arrival of Seina’s staff. Though this locality of Beirut was away from all the hustle-bustle, it also had its fair share of lustre and commotion. The natural view was charming. John had arranged for Selina to stay there.
This was a lovely place amid nature because of which Altamash and Selina had selected it. Between the beautiful shallow flow of water, random placement of valuable but naturally round stones was making this place extraordinary and a rich businessman with a creative mindset had connected it to the luxurious hotel’s compound to make it a limitless jungle where gold rained. There were only a few people here but the whole scene was shining in such a way as if nature’s heaven had come to the earth.
John Altamash’s unit had settled a small city of the hustle-bustle of their own. But the evening after this lovely morning was dull.
When the hotel’s car dropped Selina near Altamash’s suite in the night, both of them were in bad moods. Altamash was looking sad. Selina was irritated as well. She was not giving straight answers to anything that John said. That young man was also not with Selina but was in the other hotel with the staff. Selina had declined to eat and Altamash hadn’t asked her to eat as well.
This was perhaps the first time when John Altamash was not drinking in the evening. Both of them were not talking to each other. Selina had taken that small dose of medicine out of her purse which she took for her headache, Altamash had neither asked her well-being nor had he offered to order medicine for her.
That night, Altamash and Selina slept in the same room on the same bed but it seemed that everything was the opposite. Selina wanted Altamash to ask her well-being and to console her but Altamash was lost in himself and they were together in the room like two strangers. And perhaps drunk as well.
That night passed as well. Insipid, boring, tired…
Altamash got up early in the morning to take a stroll in the nearby jungle. No sound came from Selina’s room till afternoon, probably she slept till late. Even the most dexterous workers of the hotel could not understand how to wake up a guest who had not slept the whole night.
On this second night, a ruckus was made outside the hotel. If that staid young man had not been present there, a fight would have broken out. Selina would have scraped John Altamash’s face off. She even started throwing things one or two times.
If the young man had not made her sit in the car forcibly by holding her hand then nobody knows what would have happened there. Altamash was not to be seen anywhere. People had scattered and only a few people from the hotel were to be seen there.
Selina left Lebanon that night. Nobody knew where had she gone. Her staff had left as well and they were getting directions from the young man who had come with her. Nobody was in contact with Selina.
The unit of John Altamash started packing up all the stuff which had taken them weeks to set. It looked as if a palace of cards was made which fell in an instant and now nobody knew the whereabouts of the king or the queen...not even the jack.
On that island in a corner of Beirut, those pleasant stones had never seen such insult and disregard in all those years of standing in the middle of the water.
People were surprised as well. Those people, who had worked before on other shoots with Selina, were astounded. They felt as if someone had cast a magic spell on her. Black magic.
Retakes were happening one after the other but Selina was unable to work. The whole of the unit was agitated doing rehearsals and retakes so many times but Selina could not do that which she was asked to do repeatedly. She laughed...again she laughed...again she laughed...she giggled...but John Altamash grimaced instead of giggling. His face expressed surprise, helplessness, anger, ignorance, hope, patience...everything but satisfaction and contentment.
Selina’s face also expressed increasing stress. She was getting solitary till the brink of lunacy...the expressions of her face had intoxication, sex appeal, annoyance, hope, timidity..but no twinkle. Nobody knew what had happened to this emotive actress who was unable to give what her director wanted.
Everybody, including her instrumentalists, assistants and staff, was astounded. The kind of charm that they had seen her turning on all over the world, was nowhere to be seen that day. Nothing could happen even after two days of hard work. Tens of millions of rupees were wasted. Everybody was in a bad mood with sadness on every face. Everybody was halfhearted. Nobody was paying attention to Beirut’s beauty or excursions. Everyone was busy packing his belongings and disappointment. Though the people who were gathered there were of different nationalities and did not know the language in which everything had fallen apart between the dialogues, all of them were capable of guessing that what happened there amid loud voices, self-expression and chaos. They were disappointed that they had lost a chance of participating in an unprecedented memorable event. That could not take shape what was dreamed here. The shooting was a failure.
All the camps and tents were packed.
Neither John Altamash’s office nor Selina Nanda’s company was able to estimate the loss that they had to endure due to the failure of a few seconds but it was feared that not only the present but the future will have to bear the consequences as well. A cold silence from both sides was a premonition that cold war was about to start any second.
The hotel had to apply all the tricks of the trade to take the money out for the services it provided. Help from the guards was taken sometimes. The belongings from those rooms were seized for which payment was not done. Threats of police case were made from both sides.
In the midst of this, it was heard that John Altamash’s quarrel with his family had surfaced. His home was raided. One of the close relatives of Selina was critically ill from some time and so it was speculated that she had returned to India.
Only a few weeks must have passed and Selina had again grabbed the headlines. She was sent a legal notice from John Altamash of Dublin that she had caused his company great loss by not working according to the agreement and she not only had to return the advance signing amount but also had to pay three times the damage to the producer. The agreement was published in a newspaper in which the clause regarding the compensation of three times the damage was highlighted. Selina’s competitors and opponents were having a field day. The whole incident was being presented in different versions and Selina’s talent was being questioned.
Famous advocates and legal advisors were now seen in the meetings at Selina’s place, rather than producers and stars. World-famous mediators were active as well, who after taking a hefty amount, were advising Selina that after reimbursement from the insurance company, to claim such a huge compensation from her was unnecessary.
A renowned astrologer from Mumbai had said through a channel that celebrity Selina Nanda’s stars were in crisis and she was about to pay the consequences.
The said astrologer tasted success when the newspapers published stories of the death of that close relative of Selina for whose health she was seen worried since last few weeks. It was being said that he was not only her guardian in the family but was like her father and oversaw her business. The press again filled numerous pages with Selina’s images. One renowned newspaper even started a regular column in which along with hers, the horoscopes of many stars were published with comments of astrology experts on them.
The astrology department of a Sanskrit university in Rajasthan even asked a few questions regarding Selina Nanda’s horoscope in an exam. The students had to study her horoscope as course material.
Rounds of legal advice were going on. This issue dealt its first blow when a beauty salon running in Selina’s name in Colaba had to be sold to pay for the fees of advocates. Situated in a posh locality of the city, this salon was very famous among the girls preparing for beauty contests. It was said that this salon was doing a fine job in making the ambitious and simple life leading people of Mumbai stand in front of Delhi’s flashiness.
Many shows were being telecast on various TV channels to save her image from such news in the country and were causing great expenses.
In the midst of all this, when an old and famous fashion magazine published a photograph of Selina on its cover, everybody was astounded. In this photograph, Selina was shown bald. It was speculated that it was not done because of some role in a big movie, but it indicated towards an operation which was done in a hospital of the city a few days back. It was also speculated that she was mentally ill. With such a disease as a basis, it was reported that she was ousted from one or two movies. The media could not find her. The search continued.
One video of her laughter went viral on social media and tens of millions of people watched it in a few days. In this video, she was shown laughing in different poses. She was laughing in different costumes and makeup in various ways. Many TV channels showed it as well. It was a testimony of the effective manner in which dozens of laughs could be presented on the same face. This presentation ranged from a little smile to the unrestricted laughter like a waterfall.
People started practising laughing in the same manner by watching this video. Many yoga and laughter clubs in various cities were seen making their members watch it in the mornings and laugh in different poses. Laughs of every kind were present there...from a tearful laugh to the laugh which could make a flower blossom. Singing laugh, silent laugh…shy laugh...crazy laugh...complaining laugh...timid laugh...barren laugh...a laugh which could make one cry and a laugh which could make one laugh.
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