Udir: Case 4
By JIRARA
© JIRARA, November 2020
Published by JIRARA on
matrubharti.com
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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/philosophy, 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, and the readers should not take these on their ‘own persons’. 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 (irrespective of our orientations). 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.
*****
Dedication To
Mrs. Leela S. Vaghelaa: for her courage and flawless character
And
In loving memory to Shreeman Nathuji Maganji Vaaghelaa:
For his courage to withstand farmer’s hardships
and untimely death of his eldest son.
Udir: Case 4
***
Mother: Beta, Udir, wake up and get up, it is already late in the morning. Then go with your father to the farm.
Udir: I am tired, and I need more sleep, let other brothers go with him.
Mother: You are the eldest son and can do more help, and you are dodging almost daily. This is not good, even for your training and progress.
Udir: I am fed up of the routine work, and your stereotype suggestions, it is better I find some new avenues for me, since I do not like anyway the hard work in the farms, and that too when your other two sons do not come to farm often, when I am there, since they seem always busy with their classes, as if they are going to become collectors, or police inspectors.
Mother: Don’t say anything about them, since at least they are regularly going to school, and are studious, and also they occasionally help your father, who needs lot of help in the farms.
Udir: We will see what great mountains they would be climbing, only the time will tell.
***
Atansi was given an additional charge of being the superintendent of the Lukadari boys’ hostel in the city of Adiad, and was staying in a very small 1-bedroom house (not usual 1BHK house at all) with his wife, two sons and a daughter; only solace being that the front of the house was like a semi-room/hall with one side (front) fully open, where the two brothers and the sister slept, with multiple partitions of the reed mats hanging from the ceiling that was not too high; and this make-shift arrangement would be wound up in the dawn, and soon there after the children would go to school. This was nearly sixty years ago.
**
One fine evening suddenly one intruder knocked at the door, and soon it was realised that it was none other than Udir who was Atansi’s wife’s brother’s eldest son.
Atansi: Udir, how is that you are here without any notice to us?
Udir: I have left my home, and run away from my parents and brothers.
A: Why did you do that? How will you manage your living here?
U: I could not bear the kind of the hard labour that I had to go through, since I am not cut-off to do that.
A: But, your two brothers are doing, and they seem to be happy.
U: I am not sure, they like it; but I don’t like it at all.
A: How will you manage here, since I am also having temporary two jobs with only one salary unfortunately?
U: I will squeeze in with my two cousin brothers.
A: That is fine, but what about your work?
U: In that regard you can find out some job for me in some shop or printing press or so, and I will work there sincerely.
A: Of course, the same hard work with sincerity you could have done in your father’s house and farms, which eventually would become your property also.
U: Yes, but all that will be shared between three of us, and again I am not sure, that they would help me in the farm work, and it might so happen that the entire burden might come on to me.
A: By the way how did you come to know our address of residence in this city?
U: I had read your letter to my father, who any way cannot read and write anything, and gives all the letters to me to read aloud to them. In one such letter you had mentioned that you had accepted some jobs here for the period of two years.
**
Atansi was forced to find some job for Udir, who was bent on staying here only, and would not heed to any advice otherwise from his uncle Atansi; whose wife also sort of insisted that he finds some placement for her nephew. Finally, Udir started working in a printing press in the city, and this was made possible by his uncle because he had some connections with such units in the city; Atansi was also working as an office bearer for the new political party that was established a few years ago at the state level; and the party had lot to do with the printing press/es.
In order to facilitate his nephew’s stay in his very small house, Atansi admitted his second/younger son, who was studying in a high school in the city, to the hostel for which he was the superintendent, with the agreement that this son would reside in the hostel, but dine in his home; which proposal was agreed by the management who were also the party bosses. So, he did not have to pay the residential hostel’s fees for his son; also main reason being that the hostel belonged to the same community as of Atansi (and even the party bosses, and workers), so this concession was given.
**
Eventually, Udir turned out to be a very hardworking and sincere employee and started earning his livelihood; and because of which his employer wanted to shift Udir’s job to his new printing press in another city; to which Atansi and Udir agreed. There was some respite now in Atansi’s house since they did not have to care for one extra person.
In the new place Udir started doing hard work, and even worked overtime, for several days and even for several months; which in turn started affecting his health: the meals became irregular, and even quick and with less of nutrients, and he developed a habit of smoking, sort of ‘demanded’ by his overtimes and prolonged hours of work in two shifts of the job in the press, and in the process of time got into the ‘bad’ company of some employees who were ‘outgoing’, free and ‘enjoying’ types. He developed attraction to ‘sex workers’ and contracted VD, and also because he had gone so deep in efforts and overtimes at the new printing press, and had interacted with too many workers from many different sections of the societies, that he eventually contracted TB. This over the process of time ill-worked on his health very adversely and Udir was admitted to his new city’s TB sanatorium, from which he was discharged after some treatment.
**
For several years Udir had not paid any visit to his parents, and not written even a letter to them, and also he had not written to Atansi regarding his precarious and worsening health; so, his employer wrote to Udir’s home, and gave the account of his current health and situation; whereupon his father rushed to the city, and took him to his village; by the time Udir had got well, but this was not to last for long.
So, his parents and brothers thought wise to get him married soon, since if it is delayed he won’t get a good bride and life time partner. After the marriage, he again insisted to go back to the city for his work, and the family members reluctantly agreed. He stayed with his wife, and resumed his duties in the press; his main reason being that the press owner had partially supported his expenditures related to his health, and had also assured him to give the job on his recovery and return from his village; it was a mutual trust relationship between the employer and the employee. So, again his hard work continued but he reduced the habit of smoking, and nearly stopped his extra pleasures’ activities, since now that he was married and has got a beautiful, caring and homely wife.
Over a longer period of the time, his health was on the path of oscillations, gradually improving due to regular life schedules and good nutritional foods, and yet was deteriorating with a little bit greater pace because of his overtimes, and increased indulgence of a new habit of drinking liquor that he had developed just before the marriage; it is likely that he was gradually into it at his new job, but he had not much revealed, after the marriage he still continued clandestinely with his friends while on overtime work. So, again the TB showed up and it was not relenting, may be because it was not totally cured, for pre-maturely he (was) shifted to his native place, on the insistence of his father who had his own plans of getting him married soon, and capture the son who had, in the first place run away from the home several years ago.
Again he was admitted into the same TB sanatorium (TBS), and at least this time his wife was to his bedside, which was as such dangerous for her to stay with him, but those years the people thought that the care takers would not be affected and were freely allowed to be with the patients all the time!
***
It was just before his admission to the TBS, he had penned a post card to his cousin Gatuso, Atansi’s second son who was in the hostel in Adiad city, just when Udir had come to stay with his uncle Atansi. Then, both had become great friends, being of the same age group and common nature. Incidentally Gatuso had attended Udir’s marriage and also rendered some help in the function, and advised Udir to be careful regarding his work, and told him to shun the habit of smoking, drinking, and women. This time Gatuso was studying his degree courses in the only English medium University in the prominent industrial state in the country.
In the letter to Gatuso, Udir had confessed again about his all the (earlier) bad habits: smoking, visiting women at the cheap cost since he could not have afforded to go to descent pleasure houses for the men, and contracting the VD, and drinking, and said that some of these have been drastically reduced or completely shunned now. He also requested him to visit him in the TBS, to which Gatuso had agreed and replied, and one day he visited Udir in the hospital. At that time his wife was at his bedside, and very reluctantly Gatuso went near his bed, saw him and consoled him and his wife. Udir was all tears in his eyes, and became very sentimental, and his voice was full of remorse, and repentance, and said, in the cracking voice, that all was his own fault in the zeal of earning more money for his parents, and brothers earlier, since he was feeling very guilty that he had run away from his parents, and could not support them in their farming-efforts and even financially. He realized that had he continued with the farming, maybe it might have been more productive since then the four people, his father and two brothers and he himself would have been a great work force. But, it was too late to think of this any way.
***
Gatuso returned to his studies, and after a few weeks received a letter from his father Atansi that Udir had died of severe TB that could not be contained. Atansi then had gone to Udir’s village that also being his own in-laws’s place, and gave some suggestions as to how the widow of Udir should manage her life. The family was in a great grief, but was counselled that since they still have two sons who should be looked after very carefully, and that they would be a great help to their parents.
Gatuso felt very bad that he could not help Udir in his own struggle to recover, since he was deep in his own studies in the University classes which were too difficult being in English medium, also he himself was not yet earning any money, and was fully dependent on his own father, Atansi.
Even after sixty years, Udir’s sincerity, hard work, his honesty, simplicity, his frankness, and his loyalty to his employer (the owner of the two printing presses in Adiad, and Adabad) are still lingering in the mind of Gatuso; and yet he feels so angry on Udir that he lived a careless life and succumbed to his own follies, which could have been easily avoided if he had kept the company of good people, or had not left his own caring and affectionate parental home.
A very young care-free boy, thriving with lot of energy and zeal in his youth, and who was good in roaming in the hills, since his parental house was in such hilly area back in the village, Udir could not withstand the ups and downs of his life’s hills and the vagaries, which in the process of time took a toll of his life, and left behind his widow who very boldly worked as a school-teacher, and stitched clothes for the neighbours to meet her expenses, at her home in the same city where her husband breathed last; this was more to remain close to the memories of the past era with her husband, whom she thought was very innocent and loving; since she did not know much about some of the bad habits of her husband. She lived the life alone, because she did not want to marry again, even though she did not have any child from her husband, there was no much time left between their marriage and his severe illness and eventual sad and untimely death.
What is in the womb of time, even the greatest philosophers, prophets, and sociologists cannot predict!
Though it is now sixty years over, I still feel to write: May Udir’s soul rest in peace.
*****
