Ulfomaran
JIRARA
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© JIRARA, March 2020
Published by JIRARA
On matrubharti.com
Disclaimer: This is the work of fiction as far as all the characters, their names and the names of all the events are concerned and all these are imaginary and hence any resemblance to the persons (and their lives) dead or alive, and any places are coincidental. Even if a few events might look realistic/’real’, these are fictionalised and the associated names are changed in order to maintain their privacy, honour, and security. No intention whatsoever is meant to hurt any feelings of whosoever, irrespective of their personal/cultural beliefs, social or political inclinations, religion-orientations/practicing, life styles, and work/business. The ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘me’, and ‘mine’ (if any used) do not necessarily mean the author of this book, and these and other such pronouns: her, hers, his, he, she, him, you, your, yours, ours, theirs…; are used for effective personification and dramatization. Please Note: The readers should take these stories/verses/thoughts with/in good spirit. The presented ideas and material are based, where feasible, on readings and (thought-) analyses of scientific/other open literature (which seemed most profound and trustworthy), with as much care as possibly taken. The readers are requested to verify these notions on their own, and use their own discretion. However, these stories/verses/thoughts/ideas (mostly original) are expressed here with an intention of increasing awareness of the readers with a hope that in an overall sense, their (and ours) consciousness would be heightened (in all and multiple directions), so that we all can live our lives on this planet with true happiness, ever-lasting peace and real joy. The author and the publisher will not be responsible for any negative effects/situations arising as a result of reading these stories/verses and/or following the suggestions if any. No discussions/dispute of any kind will be entertained at any time and in any way, manner, and/or forum. JIRARA.
Ulfomaran
***
Aunty: Hi, Gatus, did you finish your breakfast?
Gatus: Yes, aunty, why anything special in your kitchen?
Aunty: No, alya, just wanted to know where is your mother?
Gatus: She is very much in the house, she does not feel that good, told me she has mild fever.
Aunty: Tell her to see me soon, that is right now, I will give her some tablets. And you sit on her bed, and you do not need to come with her, I will take care of her.
***
Sister-in-law (The Senior SIL, Gatus’s aunty): Come Ikaba, come soon, and do not make any noise or even whisper.
SIL pulls Ikaba to her room, and gently bolts the main door from inside. Ikaba follows her SIL, and then both are between the inside-side door and a curtain draping at the side door, which is in fact between the two rooms, one her own room, and the other her neighbour’s room. Of course, such doors were found in olden days houses/homes, wherein closely-knit families lived neighbour-to-neighbour. Mostly, such doors would be latched, even locked, as was at this time.
SIL: Ikaba, see right through the slit, what your brother-in-law (BIL) is doing.
Ikaba: My gosh, I cannot believe this, this must be going on for quite some time, may be days or even months, and you never told me.
SIL: Yes, I did not have any courage to show this act earlier to you. Anyway this is my fate, at this young age of mine.
Gatus was impatient, and called her mother back soon, since he wanted to go for playing in the street.
***
Ulfomaran had not completed a college degree, and he got training some years ago, and joined as an inspector in a govt. office. Since, he was very energetic, dynamic and flamboyant, he was posted in a very notorious area that was infested with organized crimes, in the coastal city of an Indian state. Here, he really managed very well, may be too well for himself. Yet, he had some bothersome worries of his own.
***
Seniyoure rings the antique bell that is on the old and dilapidated table of his office, and an office boy (used to be called a peon those years) enters and salutes the officer.
SY (Seniyoure): Can you tell the office madam to call and tell Ravin sir to see me soon?
Somewhat later on.
Ravin (enters his boss’s office and salutes): Yes sir, you wanted me to see you, anything important or urgent?
SY: Yes, I want to inform you that you are going to get some surprises in a few days from now, so you better be careful.
Ravin: What is it regarding?, can you give me a hint, or describe it to me?
SY: I do believe you know it well, it is an event that had happened not far away back in time, and you were involved in it, at least your name was being tossed around and heard then.
Ravin: Is it related to the accident that happened late in the night a few days ago?
SY: Yes, very much, you are fresh in that.
Ravin: But, Sir, it was the mistake of the driver, and it has nothing related to me.
SY: If you recall it, you were sitting on the front seat of the jeep.
Ravin: Sir, please do not mistake me, but, you were also in the same jeep.
SY: But, I was in the rear seat, and you were chitchatting with him, and since I was a bit over-drunk, I was silent, and was even dozing off.
Ravin: But, that is being investigated, and the driver who had run away has been caught.
SY: Yes, but some further investigation is going on, and they want to ascertain if it was the mistake of the driver, or his negligence, and if any more people, especially you, were involved in distracting his attention.
Ravin: I used to talk to him intermittently only to keep him alert and awake so that he would not doze off in that night’s trip to our homes, back from the party, where he was also seen mingling with some people of his clan.
SY: Anyway, this is what I wanted to tell you. You may go and attend to your usual duties.
***
Ulfomaran did not get sleep for the next three nights. He did not spend much time with his family: wife, sons, and daughters. On Monday when he opened his office room, saw an envelope on his desk, and on opening it, he found an official letter from the higher-up. He was transferred to a city that was a capital of an erstwhile princely state. Unfortunately to his surprise, he was handed over the charge of the city railway station: to safeguard the station staff, supervise and protect parcel/goods rooms, and also to attend to any call from the passengers for any security or safety problems they might have faced while travelling or while waiting for long hours for arrivals of their trains on the platform.
***
Nindraget (NG): Uncle, were are we going?
Ravin: We will go to some gardens in the city, especially to zoo,
NG: But, I am hungry and my mom has still not prepared the breakfast.
Ravin: Do not worry, we will eat in a nearby hotel and then move to the gardens.
After the breakfast, they went to the zoo, and visited a cage after cage of lions, tigers, and also birds. The boy was so excited seeing too many animals, in cages and in some open areas (but far outwardly closed), and birds of various shapes, sizes and colours. He has seen only the colourful pictures of these animals in books/charts, and studied only casually the lessons taught in the class. He thanked his uncle for bringing him to such a nice zoo, and introducing these animals in person, almost face to face. Then, they again went to the same restaurants for the lunch. Then both moved to an another smaller garden, which was basically meant for young children. There were very big toys with nearly the same shapes, and colours as the ones that the boy often used to get chance to play with in his neighbours’ homes, with his friends and schoolmates, since his parents were not able to afford all these exotic gadgets of play those days for him.
**
Once, the boy had quarrelled with his own mother about the toys, and when his uncle had bought him a small cycle, the mother had got angry on her son for accepting such a (big) gift from his uncle, the parents had felt insulted. The boy then had cried and lamented: you people spend lot of money buying fancy clothes, and do not wear even the daily casual dresses without getting them pressed, and you spend lot of money in buying crockery, etc. and when I ask for the fees to be paid to the school, you tell me to tell the teacher, that I would pay it later. The boy had told them: What will I do if the teacher does not allow me to attend the classes? What kind of parents you are when you cannot pay the fees and do not buy toys for me, and you are rebuking me on accepting this gift from my own uncle. The boy was clever, since his parents were a bit harsh on him, the boy assured his parents that in future he would not accept any more gifts from anybody, and that he would keep this cycle for now, and also allow his cousins to use it.
**
In this play-garden, there were also bigger-wider (diameter-wise), and (length-wise) short pipes, where in the children could play hide and seek, to which the boy was really thrilled. In fact both played hide and seek for some time, and then sat inside the pipe, only exhausted. But, since the boy was tired of walking from his home to the zoo, and then to this play-garden, he was feeling sleepy, and he just dozed off in one such pipe. Ravin watched the boy sleeping for some time, who was an almost a copy of his mother (for whom he had a lot of affection), caressed him and then he woke him up, since it was the time to get back home.
***
As the years passed, Ulfomaran became bolder in his new positon, which was as such not all that remunerating, but he started liking it, mainly because he did not have to do much hard work, and did not have to make raids on the dens of vagabonds and culprits, who were gradually transforming to become criminals, and thereby risking his own life, and security of his several sons, and daughters. The present duty was of a routine type, no novelty of thought was required and the life was going relatively easy.
***
Occasionally, Ravin used to take his own children to the gardens of the city, and even the cinema theatres. In fact, he was a good father, and even reasonably fair husband, and eventually he had three wives, and the last two were staying with him together most of the times. But, finally only the latest/last wife had survived who gave him company till his death, and by that time he had four sons, and four daughters.
Due to his not so strong economy, his wives had forced him to pursue his senior/boss and get a transfer to some place where from he could make more money, but his attempts failed, since his name was linked to the driver who had smashed his vehicle into a road side tree, causing a serious accident.
***
Eventually, Ulfomaran got into a rut and entangled in accepting the tips and large favours from the shopkeepers of the area and the people whose goods were lying there beyond the deadlines specified by the authorities. This helped him to get sizeable amount and his financial situation really improved, so he could give relatively good education to his sons, with of course with less priorities to his daughters, due to prevailing social conventions and due to fear that highly educated girls won’t get equally educated boys; but still all of them had got at least basic matric-passed statuses. His state continued like this for some years, and by now he had got a very stable economy. Unfortunately, due to his too much boldness of earning extra money, especially boasting of his deeds to some of his very close friends; as per the nature’s laws, he was not far away from being caught, since the trouble was silently brewing underneath with the his higher-ups.
***
SY (on telephone to Ravin): Ravin, how are you, and how you are doing?
Ravin: Sir, I am fine, and doing well, sir it is nice of you to call me, after so many months.
SY: Yes, but, I used to get all news about you, so I did not feel to disturb you.
Ravin: Please, tell me anything special, since your call to me means some not-too-good-news for me.
SY: You guessed it right. The higher ups are thinking about you and your new endeavours in the new place.
Ravin: What did I do wrong again?
SY: This time, it might be more stringent. Even if you do not agree, and even if you feel you are not involved, just except what they would tell/do to you, since any negative reaction might further spoil your career, and it might affect that of ours too.
Ravin got upset, and just said goodbye to SY, and cut off the link, to which SY was also furious, but did not react, since that would have aggravated the situation further, and at this point he wanted Ravin’s cooperation, otherwise SY himself would get into more trouble.
***
In the process of time Ravin’s all the children had got married, and even Ravins have become grandparents. Most of his children had got well settled with their respective jobs: farming, good open-house restaurants, depot manger, and even one had gone abroad for higher studies, and settled there.
***
One day as SY had predicted, and warned, Ravin got the letter from his head office. He had no courage to open it and read it, so he kept it in his pocket for the entire day. He opened the envelop in the evening when all his subordinates and other staff had gone home after their regular duty, and was shocked on reading it.
***
She of a rich man who had died years ago
Had a lot of plots, houses & property, and her only daughter far away
And still lived amidst richer wolves, and as if she was poor
The hungry wolf would visit her with cunning eyes and aims
For her naked beauty that was a treasure for the wolf
Opportune times and the wolf was dancing
With joy of the predation, penetrated the teeth and the trunk
Harsh into woolfy’s several internal arenas repeatedly
These arenas were kept preserved for years, pure white and untouched
Her simple and benign tenderness was now tainted/spotted by the wolf
And the woolfy was stained everywhere with wolf’s saliva & fluids
The underneath softness, tenderness, powerlessness, haplessness
Were permitted to be devoured willingly or otherwise
Only the treacherous time could tell!
***
Aunty: Gatus, aiye Gatus, send your mother quickly and you sit on her bed, and do not come with her here. I have some important matters to discuss with her.
Gatus: Ok, aunty, I will obey your commands.
Gatus mother comes quickly, and this time she knows what her SIL is going to show.
Ikaba: What is the matter, sister-in-law?
SIL: See, see Ikaba, what your BIL has done again.
Ikaba: Oh, my; it is terrible. This lady, our elder sister-in-law is so beautiful even at this age, but, we two are not less beautiful; and especially you are a pinnacle of real beauty, fair and handsome; and for myself, I do not nurture such ideas for me being even touched by him. I do not understand it at all, why he needs anybody else; or there might be a bigger, deeper, and sinister plan in his mind behind this act; I cannot guess it correctly right now; so I am not able to outline it, lest you might unnecessarily get upset with me.
SIL: Never mind Ikaba about that. See, even yet, both seem so much crazy. I am so upset, and at this age, when all our children are married, and here in my house our daughters-in-law are roaming around all the time; what they will think of him? I am in fact really ashamed, but I cannot do anything. So, when I call and show this to you, I feel a little relaxed, because there is nobody else whom can I talk, and show.
***
Ulfomaran had appealed to the court, and gone through various dates of hearings, and argumentations back and forth. It pulled on for at least two years. Finally, he did not win the case, and then since he was getting older day by day, he did not appeal to the high court, hence finally he could not get his suspension revoked.
***
A few co-passengers, in the bus, were talking to the lawyer while he was going to his native place, which was incidentally the native place of Ravin. They, it seems were aware of the case that had been going on in the taluka court for some years, and were curious to know the reasons why his client lost the case. The lawyer said: he could not prove his innocence in the event of the accident, in which a boy was killed, and it mainly happened because he had distracted the driver who had lost control; in fact he was blasting his driver for getting over-drunk, as well as having got involved with his (driver’s) friends due to overly-enjoying the freedom he had got in the function. The passengers then added that they had heard that he was also entangled with some peoples of the station’s areas who were in need of some money, and he used to exploit them, and used to spend some private moments with some of them, who happened to be very close to him, on the promise of maintaining secrecy. The lawyer did not have to say much, since the case was anyway lost.
***
Ravin then got into some social works, got elected as a mayor of his small town, and also started penance. He once invited a famous guru of a particular religious-panth (path) to his own house, and made a big show in the neighbourhood, may be with an intention to prove that he was innocent, since he was wise enough to have felt or imagined that all his side and extra beneficial acts in the service, as well as after losing his job, might have been known to his relatives. He even took an oath in the presence of the Swamiji to fully become a vegetarian.
***
As the times rolled by into the lanes of the histories, and due to various years having gone by, Gatus had become a grown up boy. He once saw his uncle Ravin carrying a gun in one hand and a (dead white) rabbit in the other hand, and coming from the outside, may be from his farm side. Gatus was taken aback, since he knew that this uncle had taken an oath to be a vegetarian. Also, once he met his own cousin who was taken by Ravin uncle to two gardens in the city where he was transferred from his first job. Nindraget told Gatus, that he vaguely remembers that his own mother had told him to be very careful and watchful while visiting the gardens with him. Since, Nindraget could not recollect any detailed moments of any actions and movements while he was sleeping in that wide-big and yet shorter pipe in the play-garden, he decided to close the matter here and here only, else he might get a bad publicity of his own character.
***
Ravin: You spoilt my career, and also could not save me in the case, that I lost finally.
Ulfomaran: Ultimately, it is your own fault, your training was not proper, and I learnt that you had bunked many sessions in the training school.
R: How do you know that?
U: From my confidant, that you went to Amadavad on several occasions to visit men’s pleasure houses, and wasted lot of money there.
R: Anyway you are no lesser soul than me. You had converted the last room of your house in a brewery, and used to sell liquor with ‘foreign made’ labels, and many more things. And may be that is how you got your daughters happily married, and that you are now so safe and happier.
U: You are no lesser spy than me. Yes, you know there are several peoples around us, in our neighbourhood, and they are very hard working, but not smart and clever, so when they go home tired, from the day’s toil, they need to drink wine to relax, and get proper rest.
R: But, so what, you mean to say you used to supply their needs, and I just wanted to know how could they afford to spend so much money for the liquor as their daily needs?
U: You see, I used to first give liquor for a day free of charge, to two or three of these people, after they finish some manual and labour work in and around my house, and my farms. Then, they will take away liquor to their homes, and enjoy in small groups; in the process of time, all these people got addicted naturally, not my fault, and started buying from me; and for that they put their wives’ ornaments on mortgage with me to pay off the bills.
R: You mean to say you used to lend/loan the money they needed in exchange of the gold.
U: Yes, and if they repaid it in certain time limit, I used to return their ornaments, except a small one that I would keep with me as an interest; and if they could not return the borrowed money in that time limit, their valuables were forfeited and remained with me.
R: This is really a nice business, without any paper works, and hassles, but it is not right, and is illegal.
U: There is nothing illegal, it is a social but paid service, and I am helping them to reduce their fatigue, since for them they do not have any alternative, since next day they have to be ready for another kind of manual labour work.
R: And you have exploited their weaknesses for your own gain, is not it an immoral act? Also, you did a similar sinister act with your own sister-in-law, to aggrandise all her property, and eventually you grabbed all of it, and transferred to your and your children’s names, and left her with a small portion for her stay, and that too was in fact rented to her by you; what a low-level and immoral act of yours.
U: Didn’t you attempt to do the same with her?, but, you failed miserably, after one trial, may be your morality came in your way. What man, from where, and when did you learn this aspect of morality?
R: From my uncle Atansi, our advocate, who besides being a lawyer is also a sort of philosopher, nay, he reads lot of theosophy.
U: I wish I had done that, since I spent lot of time with him during the discussions of the case; but he never talked a single word of his philosophy, I am surprised.
R: May be because, he knew that you would not have listened to him, since you were preoccupied with the issues and collecting documents related to the case.
**
Ulfomaran & Ravin (almost in unison): I think, enough is enough, it is time for us to reconcile with each other, and lead a path of simplicity, and honesty, as much as is feasible.
U: Ravin, by the way, I am just curious to know who paid the compensation money to the boy’s parents for he was killed in that accident?
R: Since, it was not fully and clearly established that the driver was at fault, the govt. office paid some money, because the jeep belonged to them, and their officers were traveling that night in the jeep.
U: Good riddance, you are at least saved the trouble, anyway you were not directly involved.
R: Yes, I was just trying to keep him awake. This case reminds me that you had some case with the farmer who ploughed and maintained your farms for several years.
U: The farmer had filed a suit against us, we three real brothers, and three cousins of mine, since, he was cultivating the entire common farm for all six cousins.
R: Why and how he filed the suit?
U: Because there is a law: the land belongs to the farmer who cultivated the same land for a number of years. So, he consulted a lawyer and filed a suit.
R: But, in this way you all the brothers would lose the land, then what will you earn the livelihood from?
U: So, since the farmer was anyway close to me, in fact I had supported the idea, and basically I had instigated and prepared him to file a suit.
R: But, then that would be to your own disadvantage, I mean to you three real brothers.
U: Yes, but I had got the promise from him, that if and when he won the case, he would later on, give us a small part of the land; that is to us three brothers.
R: And, the other three would lose their share, is not it?
U: Yes, but unfortunately it did not work that way.
R: What happened?
U: I got a doubt, that after the farmer won the case, he would not keep the promise given to us, that is he might change his mind and not agree to give the three small pieces to us; and then we would be totally the losers.
R: So, as usual you put your tricky mind to work.
U: I suggested a compromise, to which the farmer agreed: he settles the case, under the compromise, and then gives us all the six cousins small portions, and then retains the remaining land, which proposal he reluctantly agreed.
R: But, in that case, he would be a great loser, and why would he agree with your idea?
U: We told him that we will hire him for the farming work, and do other favours to him, and his children, in terms of their school admissions, etc.
R: But, your earlier idea to instigate the farmer to file a civil suit against all of you six, and then grab your portions from him (after he wins), and leave out your three cousins, was a sinister thought; knowing well that all those years you were in your jobs in the cities, and they maintained your part of the farmland, and also preserved the portions of your shares of the produce; and they handed over all that whenever you visited your home town.
U: You are increasingly becoming a philosopher of a kind. Anyway that did not work out, and since I doubted the farmer, I found a midway solution and settled the issue; something is better than nothing.
**
R: U are very clever, and smart, although you also had bunked your classes, and were found roaming in the cities.
U: R you suggesting that I should not have done that?
R: Since, we know each other by now very well, I am just surmising that am I in U, or R U in me?
U: Me also thinks that way, R U in me or am I in U?
U&R (lamenting): Let us chose the path of simplicity, and honesty, at least from now on, since what was done is gone, and what is left is in our hands, and that too our responsibilities to our families are almost done, so we can do the penance to redeem our life’s ‘souls’ from the ‘sins’ ‘accidently’ committed.
***
SIL (sister-in-law, rushing to Ikaba’s house): Ikaba, can you quickly come to my house?
Ikaba, now understands what is the call for, and quietly follows her. Soon they both are again behind the same curtain of the side door of the SIL’s house. This time now there are two thin but longer slits for the ‘sightseeing’. One more slit was created gradually by SIL, for simultaneous viewing by herself and Ikaba, who by now has become a very good friend of hers.
SIL: See, see Ikaba, this time I am astonished, because now I see two people involved; are they our brothers-in-laws, U and R?
***
However, Ikaba felt she saw only one man involved. But she did not clarify this to her SIL, lest she might get disappointed; and Ikaba also thought that the SIL is now under an effect of some illusion, and maybe she sees double images of the same one thing, because of her old age, mental instability, and/or some vision problem. Ikaba herself now got doubt, if she saw only one man or two. In fact, both herself and the SIL seemed to be in some state of nervousness due to anxiety and guilt-feelings, because of repeatedly witnessing the events clandestinely, and hence were not sure what they saw was a stark-black-and-white reality or some colourful illusions.
***
And just then, there was a gentle knock on the front main door, and both quickly receded to the inner room (and closed its door gently behind them); since they cannot open this main door, else they themselves will be caught spying on the neighbour. From the slits of the closed door of the inner room both watched, and what they saw was that four younger ladies very quietly entered the front room (and closed its door gently behind them); since this time in an anxiety, the SIL had forgotten to bolt the main door from inside. Soon, these two SILs secretly observed, was that these young ladies (the four daughters-in-law of the SIL) quickly hid themselves behind the same curtain and were watching the scene; she (the SIL) had feared that this might happen one day, and today she herself saw it happening; and she felt this might have started much earlier even.
***
SIL and Ikaba (in unison lamented in a low voice): What a universal phenomenon; good riddance we both were not caught red-handed.
*****
