36
THE TRAINING
[Lord Kalki will be trained by the world’s best worriers. He will learn eight ways to fight. He will have eight divine powers and he will get many friends while training who all will stand with him till their lives. As Lord Krishna and Lord Rama he will also stay with common people but live an uncommon life.]
“The first thing you will learn today is how to fight and the second thing is how to win it.” Tarun takes me with fifteen other Sunya teenagers who are conversant like me and don’t believe in what my people believe. One of Nirbhaya girl is with us. Probably she is Tarun’s girlfriend and doesn’t want to send him alone in the wall.
Her name is Teena. She is five fit five inches and beautiful. Her face is white; she has a long chick bone and long neck. Her all features are stronger than pretty. She is fully equipped with weapons, but not in their dress code, nor Tarun is in his dress code. They are in our clothes which looks odd on their body.
We are in the wall, at the clearing among the forest starting at where the channel of water ends and the unused water is free to allow trees lives.
This part of the jungle I haven’t seen before but my teacher has suggested this part is the best to get trained as no one beyond the wall can keep watch over this thick area covered with various trees.
I'm not surprised that they want us to train and make us like them, but I anticipated more than one night of rest before we start the training. We had travelled on the train for hours and my body is still heavy with the tiredness.
“Today training is divided into two – fight and win.”
I stare at the weapon in my hand. I’ve never expected a sword in my hand – a curved sword of the Nirbhaya. It feels dangerous. Every Sunya fears of the weapons, as if just by touching it, we could harm someone which we want to do as the last thing on the earth.
“But how can we fight with a real sword,” Jayesh says, “We can be injured.” He is one of the boys who can read and write and my teacher says he is second after me in everything.
Tarun swings the sword in his hand, Teena, the girl with him blocks it with the sword in her hand. When both swords crush into each other, they make a loud noise with a small ember of fire.
“Face the fear,” Tarun says, “you are no longer a Sunya. From the moment you hold the sword, you are a Nirbhaya. Act likes a Nirbhaya and you will be a Nirbhaya.”
I raise the sword. Once I abandoned fear as Tarun says, my heart is filled with bravery. I’m surprised I can feel so bravery from a sword, merely holding tight it in my hand, after living all my life in the wall as a Sunya it should be hard for me to hold a sword, but it doesn’t, my grip is firm on the sword.
“Listen to me. My Sunya brothers… the one beyond the wall had declared himself the god and he has divided all, not the real god. I don’t know if there any real god or not but the man dividing people into groups can’t be the god. God’s work is to unite. From the moment we all are human, no one is Sunya, no one is Nirbhaya or no one is Devata. We are human and we will act like a human.” Tarun pause here, “and do you know what human do?”
Nobody answer.
“Human fights back.” His voice grows loud and sharp, “and we will fight till the tower is down.”
“Today maybe your first fight but not the last,” Teena continues, “you have to learn to fight as quickly as you can.”
“She speaks well.” Karina elbows Neel. They both are good friends and that’s why Karina has joined the training. Her elbow prods one of Neel’s muscles. He has sore muscles and slim frame.
“I’m not against you.” Neel elbows her back.
“Trainers will decide it.” She smiles at him.
I remembered Padhma. I haven’t batter friend than her. And then it hit me. She would be on the train. When my turn ends in next turn she is sixteen and going to beyond the wall. I wish I could stop her going but I’m unable to do anything now.
Next moment Tarun divides us into a group of two. Total eight groups and the ninth group is Tarun and Teena.
Group - 1: Pavan and Rakesh.
Group - 2: Neel and Bhavesh.
Group – 3: Karina and Daxa.
Group – 4: Anil and Mohit.
Group – 5: Kirit and I.
Group – 6: Kajal (who saved my life by artificial breathing) and Amar (best friend of Pavan)
Group – 7: Darshan and Shailesh (who were with me at beyond the wall.)
Group: 8: Atul and Mehul (Surekhas’s brother. He wants revenge for his sister.)
Group 9: Tarun and Teena -They both fight with swords, to teach us how to dodge and how to parry, when we should block the opponent’s sword and when escape the blow by ducking.
They give us every detail about sword fighting but it’s hard for us as we have the first time touched the sword.
After two hours sword fight Tarun says, “the second thing is how to win?” he looks over all groups, “winning doesn't depend on the swords. By sword, you can be in advance, not a winner. To win you need your own body as strong as a weapon. Now you will learn how to face your enemy hand to hand without any weapon.”
Kirit and I stand across from each other in the clearing. We put our hands up by our faces to protect ourselves, as Tarun taught us and shuffle in a circle around each other. Kirit is almost six feet, four inches taller than me, and twice broad. As I stare at him, I realize it’s hard to fight against him.
But my assumption is wrong. The fight doesn’t last long. I duck his first blow and as his second blow hit me, in my temple the anger burns inside my head and I knock him down in an uppercut as if I’ve ten times more strength than him. I wonder from where all this strength comes to me. I remember the moment when in anger I have knocked three Nirbhaya. What happens to me when I’m angry? How can my strength increase with my anger? I’ve no answers.
I am free now to watch another group fighting. Neel punches Bhavesh hard in the face. Bhavesh stumbles back, one hand pressed to his face, and blocks Neel’s next punch with his free hand. I wonder how fast we are learning. Perhaps we all are conversant. As learning how to read and write was easy for us fighting is also easy. we need something then it’s the training because each Sunya has strong body due to constant labor from childhood.
Karina is heavy and looking strong while Daxa is looking childish as if she isn’t of sixteen but twelve. The fight between them is like unfair but again I’m wrong. My judging by their bodies fails me. Karina is slow due to her bulk while Daxa is speedy and powerful than a girl with little limbs should be.
She hooks her leg in Karina’s legs and knocks Karina to the ground.
Karina smiles her as she offers her hand to stand up again. I look at them, feeling proud that my people have team spirit.
The fight between Anil and Mohit last till the last.
Both are strong and fast but Mohit is faster. He is a massager in the wall. In-wall we have no means of communication. If there is gathering or anything important we have runners – I mean messengers who run and deliver your messages in exchange for food or any necessary stuff.
His running habit helps Mohit in the fight. He circles around Anil faster than Anil has expected and he ducks or blocks, or escapes from every punch and kick of Anil.
The fight lasts the longest of all other groups. Mohit runs faster and hits his knee, bending it in midair, it caught Anil’s stomach then the fight ends.
Tarun and Teena give us many instructions after the fight. They show us what our weakness while fighting was.
They can’t tell me my weakness as I’ve knocked down the opponent in just a second. They haven’t got much observation of my fight. I too wonder about my weaknesses. I want to know them.
No one has got physical injuries except Pavan and Rakesh. Pavan has kicked Rakesh’s side, sending him sprawling off his back.
Rakesh clenches his teeth to keep crying out. The next kick of Pavan catches his rib cage. The sight is cruel for a Sunya but we know we need to learn to fight as we aren’t Sunya anymore.
“Stop...” Rakesh cries as Pavan pulls his foot back to kick the third time. Rakesh holds out a hand, “stop…I’m done.” He is coughing.
Pavan smiles and offers him a hand instead of kicking him. Rakesh sighs and takes his hand. Pavan keeps him steady.
Tarun walks to them, his movements are like wild animal slow but steady, he stops near Pavan and Rakesh and looks into Rakesh’s eyes, “don’t accept you are done.” His voice grows sharp, “a man isn’t done till he is alive. This is Kaliyuga where we live. Always ready to fight till your last breathe. You can say I’m done but only after the fall of the tower, only after there is no creator and his rule, only after all people are equal and there are no partitions.”
“I got it,” Rakesh says and collapses to the ground.
I reach near Rakesh and offer my water bag but the same moment Tarun walks near us, “no one will drink water. He says and then asks, “How tired are you?” He looks over us. He doesn’t look a bit tired.
No one answers him but Kajal looks at me and asks, “Don’t we look tired?”
“We do,” I say.
“Then why he is asking?” she complains.
“Perhaps he wants to listen from us,” comments Amar.
“Or what if he can’t see our tiredness?” Pavan whispers to Amar.
“I’m tired,” Karina admits first, and then the remaining.
“I know you haven’t done this before,” Tarun says to all, “but this is nothing.” He stops speaking and looks at Teena.
Teena fixes her eyes on trainees and says, “We will climb the hill.”
Everyone looks at the hill of the forest. It’s almost four Kilometres away from our training ground.
“We are tired.” Mohit says, “We have practiced for more than six hours.”
“And the sun is also below the horizon.” Daxa adds, “We can’t walk in the forest in dark.”
“Who is saying to walk?” Teena speaks in a sharp voice, “we are going to run.”
“What?” I say, too. RUN- after six hours hard practice no one has the energy to run.
“We can’t run.” I say, in defensive voice, “My people can’t.”
“I don’t want to waste any time.” Now Tarun speaks, “let’s get started.”
I can’t stop myself, “don’t you see they are unable to run?”
Tarun doesn’t reply. He comes near me and shoves me in the chest. “I said we will go through the forest.” He shouts, “didn’t you hear me?”
“I do.” I shout back, “but we are tired we can’t.”
“In war, you have to fight with Nirbhayas who never get tired.”
“Yes, we know.” Pavan says, “But we do tire. We aren’t Nirbhayas. We are Sunyas.”
“Who told you…-” Tarun’s voice is like thunder, “you are Sunya?” he holds both shoulders of Pavan, “you aren’t Sunya. The moment you think to fight for others you are Nirbhaya.” He continues, “Nirbhaya is Sanskrit. Do you know its meaning?”
“Fearless.” Pavan answers.
“Fearless,” he repeats Tarun’s words, “and how do you define fearlessness? Is it killing innocent and unarmed people?”
“No,” Pavan answers.
“Fearlessness means you have courage – courage to fight for others – courage to fight against the powerful and fight for weak. The moment you take an oath to free your people you all become real Nirbhayas. The people who live beyond the wall and have swords and kill innocent people aren’t Nirabhayas they are cowards. They are slaves of Devatas. They are slaves of the Creator but you are not.”
He doesn’t stop. I wonder how he can speak without pausing for a breath.
“I know you are tired, you all are tired,” he continues, “but what this tiredness can do?” nothing- it can kill your strength but it can’t kill your courage, it can eat your stamina but it can’t eat your willpower. You have to fight till there is the last pint of blood in your body, till your heart stops to beat, till your eyes stop to see because nothing of these can kill your courage.”
He stops here, looks at me. “Now, let’s run.” His eyes move on others. “Come behind me.”
He doesn’t wait to see if anyone is following him or not. He starts to run into the thin forest, towards the hill. Teena glances over us and follows him, then Pavan, then Daxa, then remaining all.
And the next moment I find myself following them, as fast as my legs can. All I can hear is teenagers moving through the trees around me and after some minutes some are behind me as I pick up speed/ our forest isn’t thick. Though it is thin occasional bushes smack into my face. Our forest has specially babool and thorny threes as our area is a semi-desert. But thanks hunting boots to save my leg when I step on fallen branches and hear sticks crunch under my feet.
I wish I could identify trees and plants around me. Padhma likely knows most of them, Daxa too knows each plant but I won’t ever have this knowledge.
I hear a scream and thumping sound when we are halfway. I stop to see what has happened.
Tarun lights the torch and I see Pavan collapsed on dry leaves and thin twigs.
I duck into bushes and I fight my way to Pavan. Before me, Teena and Tarun are there.
Tarun crouches near him and asks, “Are you okay?”
Pavan shakes his head, “yes, but the pain is unbearable in my legs.”
“My legs are aching, too.” Daxa also settles on the ground near him.
Tarun speaks before I think what his reaction would be. “I think you were beyond the wall in the last trip.”
“Yes,” Pavan says, “That’s why I’m more tired.”
“You haven’t given us a day to rest,” I say, as though he is unaware of that.
All other teenagers are around us, curious to know what Tarun would say.
Finally, Tarun looks at me, “yes, I know you all are tired.”
Then his gaze goes to Pavan, “how is the pain in your legs?”
“Unbearable.”
“Is it more painful than the pain of Surekha when she was being raped?” he speaks in a normal voice but I notice a sheen sweat across his face and anger burning in his eyes.
No one answers.
“Tell me,” now his voice is louder, “Tell me if this pain is more painful than changing of that little girl?”
“No.” Pavan clenches both fists.
“Have you felt her pain?”
“Yes,” Pavan answers.
“How was it?”
“Unbearable.” Pavan says, “That’s why she jumped and ended her life.”
I see tears in Pavan's eyes and soon find my eyes leaking.
“Now, tell me about your pain,” Tarun looks sharply at him, “is this unbearable?”
“No.”
“Who is your best friend in this Troop?”
“Kirit.”
“Imagine you are in the battlefield as tired as you are now and on that hill is a Devata ready to kill your friend what would you do?” he takes a deep breathe, “what would you do?”
“I go there to save him?”
“Then get on your feet,” Tarun says, “because soon you have to save many of your people on the battleground.”
Tarun offers him a hand, “In battle tiredness is nothing, and wounds are nothing. If something matters it is a fight. Fight till death.”
“Yes,” Pavan slams one first on the ground with another clutches Tarun’s wrist and gets on his feet.
“Listen,” Tarun looks overall, “I’m not going to tell you again. If one thinks his pain is stronger than the pain of the teenagers who die in every trip one can lay on the ground and rest for his whole life.”
Tarun again break-in run and others follow him.
My feet feel heavier as the way now harder and steeper. But I know Tarun is right nothing is impossible and no pain is stronger than the pain of Surekha. No pain is unbearable until it kills you.
I can feel the weight of my shoes. I ignore everything and run even faster, pushing the branches out of my way and ignoring the pain when the branches I push is thorny and I feel blood on my palm, ignoring occasional scratches when I miss any branch to push before it hit my face. Even when branches snap back and slap onto my face, I don’t stop.
I’m going to reach there or die. I’ve one thought in my head.
Another half an hour, and we reach at the top of the hill, through the forest.
Tarun says, “Now the training is done for today.
We all are tired but happy. Tarun is right the moment you prepare yourself to fight for your people you are fearless.
***
to be continue...
