REYANSH
[Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers, and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.] -Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.9
PADMA:
Once Bhupathi and other folk leave the hall, the girl shares an almost relieved look with us. She walks to us then she subtly shook her head and stops near Akash.
She smiles and beckons towards Akash, “are you okay?”
“Almost alive,” Akash gets on his feet, “what’s your name?”
I haven’t expected a stupid question from him but I relieved when the girl answers with another smile, “I most of the time live underground but now I’m in charge,” she looks sharply at him, “my people know me as Charita.”
“Do you have enough food?” she asks, looking over every teenager and I’m sure every single teenager there looking at her. She was strange. Her height is normal but her frame is not like the folk, I haven’t seen a Nirbhaya girl but if my imagination isn’t wrong she looks like a Nirbhaya girl. She has the same sharp voice like them, sharp eyes, long cheekbone, broad forehead and strong hand with long fingers. If she is in the dress code of Nirbhaya no one can deny she is one of them.
Every teenager starts to check their bags.
“Don’t try to take out any weapon or play any trick,” she says, “my father is outside, you can’t leave this building without our wish.”
“Have you listened what she said?” I say, getting up, “I have a deal with her father.”
“What’s the real deal?” Charita asks, “Tell us.”
I hesitate.
“Tell us,” she smiles, “if they are taking marijuana I assure you, no one is eavesdropping.”
“Come on, we are giving you food,” her brother enters in the hall, in his hand is a big bag made of sackcloth, “you can trust who gives you food.”
I look at him. He is tall and wheat skin. His eyes and manners are same as his sister, - the Nirbhaya features.
“Okay,” I say, walking over next to that girl so I’m in the center of the hall and every teenager can also hear me, “your father is going to rescue us and in exchange, I’ve promised to take you and your brother with us.”
“Where?”
“In the wall,” I say.
“I won’t leave my father.” she says, “if that is the plan then forget it.”
“He is also coming with us.” I say, “Now if you are satisfied can you please give us food. We haven’t enough as we have taken two rests in the way and half of our food has been wet and inedible.”
“Yes, my father always says the first thing first,” she smiles, “and you guys look like a bunch of starved people.” She looks at her brother, “Reyansh, give them our hard earned and tasty food.”
Every teenager sits in the center of the hall, making a huge circle as we do at teen-gathering in the wall. If we have a dispute among teens we don’t call gathering. We do a teen- gathering where teenagers take a decision by votes. Mostly such teen-gathering are for problem among girlfriend boyfriend or break up or maybe a fight between two teen boys. But today is for something different.
Reyansh and Charita pass out food to the teenagers and then walk to the center and sit by each other.
“This isn’t food,” one of the teenagers says and every eye travels to him. He is a short boy with curly hair. “This is leaves and tree bark and everything that we shouldn’t eat.”
“There is also grain inside the packet,” Reyansh says, scanning the boy.
“Oh! So we are supposed to eat grain, without….”
“Yes, this is that,” Charita says, “since last month no food has come to the city as if the creator has forgotten us. We have nothing to eat and that’s why mild and kind folk is changing.”
My heart skips. I feel my stomach wrenching. I remember the days when I’ve starved for two days and at last, risked to jump in channel water. I know what starvation is.
“Before a month how did you get food?” I ask, bringing my thoughts back to the present. I clear my mind from old memory.
“Every month a troop of Nirbhayas comes in Jeeps and give us food since we have been transferred to this repaired city.” She answers, “But since last month we are waiting for the food but none has come and the folk has gone mad. They have started to kill each other and robe each other. Our group has sense till today, we are living on tree bark, leaves of small sapling and some root vegetables we can grow in the sand near the channel branch but my father says we are running out.”
“Why the Creator wants to starve you?”
“We don’t know,” Reyansh says, “but my father says the creator wants to change. He wants to change mild and kind folk into cruel people.”
“Why?” Akash asks.
“Because once there is no humanity there is no human.” Reyansh says, “Even Pralaya couldn’t wipe away humans from the earth but the Creator will because he will kill humanity, not humans.”
“But the creator wants to repair all cities and that’s why he forces us to work.” Another teenager says.
“yes, he needs cities where people live and it was going fine, the folk was making repaired cities alive and everything was good but Creator is snatching away folk children every year and the folk started to support real Devatas. Then creator started to kill them who help real Devatas but day by day more and more folk start to support real Devatas and the reason was they didn’t want to be separate from their children.” He takes a deep breath, “the creator also found out the reason why the mild and fearful folk are going against him and that’s why he started this method to change the folk. Once the changing is over, the folk won’t help real Devatas because after changing they won’t care for goodness or other people or even about their children.”
“How do you know this?” I say.
“My father is the one who helps real Devatas.” Reyansh says, “Real Devatas has said him that in some cities the folk has changed. In those cities, the folk is starved for months and after that, they start to eat even their own children that time the Creator offered them food again and they happily gave him their children. That’s what the folk is becoming; they are no longer the folk they have been turned in Rakshas.”
He stops and drinks some sips from his water bag.
“My father says now those changed folk can’t be brought back.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Once in a starvation a person has eaten his own child, do you think he wants to come back in his senses?”
I don’t answer just shake my head.
“That’s what this incarnation of the Kalki wants. He wants everyone to change in Rakshas like him. My father says once there would be no mild and kind folk, there will be no supporter of the real Devatas. They wouldn’t have a hiding place in beyond the wall. And the creator would have no risk.”
He looks at his sister and continues, “But this has happened only in some cities, not in all. The creator wants to see after effect of this starvation and change so he is doing this in only some cities, not in all. He can’t risk all the folk.”
I stare at him, every teenager is staring him, their mouth wide open.
“And what was Pralaya?” I ask.
Charita shrugs, “not much to tell – it happened a long time ago. No one knows the reason behind it but it wiped out half the human from the earth, killed them in an instance. It changed climate everywhere and the river dried and suddenly that new god appeared gathered the survivors and people started to believe him as the god but then they realized the new god isn’t kind like the old who lived in the sky.”
“God,” I mutter, I look at another teenager, they all are feeling like me – feared and shocked.
“Have anyone one seen him?” I ask.
“None,” she says, “none has claimed yet even.”
“Why?”
“Because none is allowed in the temple where he lives,” she continues, “but some Devatas and Nirbhayas are also against him. My father says not even all in the PATANAGAR is with him. And if we believe those people inside the PATANAGAR who doesn’t believe him as a god, the Creator is half human means made of flesh and bone but half of his body is made of Vajra and that’s why he is immortal. No one can kill him.”
“If no one can kill him how will the Kaliyuga end?” Akash asks, he wasn’t absorbed in the food. No one is absorbed in food – everyone seems to be listening.
“No one means any human but the Avatar can and that’s why my father has made the deal with you.” Charita looks at Akasha, “if your friend hasn’t mentioned the Avatar my father would have killed you.”
“I don’t think he could,” Akash says arrogantly, “if the fight was one to one.”
“Do you really think or you are just saying?” she says and adds, “Never dare to punch him again or he would kill you before you blink your eyes.”
“Okay,” Akash says, “let’s pay attention to the matter in hand. How will we escape from these mad people?”
“Not hard, once you all finish your food and get energy. We will go.”
“Why the Avatar can kill him?” I interrupt them.
“My father says avatar would have the same power as the creator but his heart would be good and he will establish a good rule.” She says, “My father says the Avatar is the one who can bring these mad people back into their senses.”
“But he is just a boy and he has no power.” I say, “I mean no power like you are saying.”
“Do you know him?” Reyansh asks. Curiosity is visible on his face.
“Yes, most of us know him,” I say, “we have grown up together and he is our friend….”
“Then we need to wake my dead up.” she cuts me off, “we are coming.”
Then she leans to her brother and says something but I can’t understand that language. No teenager can understand them. They both stand up and looks at me, “you and Akash come with us and the rest pack your bags, we are going in minutes.”
“Wake up your father?” I ask as I follow them.
“Yes, he would be unconscious,” she smiles, “do you think he just wants to enjoy marijuana at that time?”
“I can’t understand anything,” I say.
“My father has special marijuana that makes a person unconscious for at least four hours if someone smokes it.” She says, reaching the door to go out, “he has given me that sign when he says let’s enjoy the marijuana.”
Outside the building, I see Bhupathi laid on the ground, unconscious with another folk.
“Give him the antidote,” she looks at Reyansh.
Reyansh reaches his pocket and took out some dry leaves, he crushes them in his palms and then adds some water in it, from his water bag.
“Father,” he opens Bhupathi’s mouth and pours that paste in it, “wake up.”
“It will take five minutes.” Charita says, “Keep patient.”
“What was that leaves?” I ask, seeing the folk unconscious on the sand.
“It’s a mixture of dry leaves of coffee, lavender, black pepper, and hot pepper and some rare leaves.” Reyansh says, “We have planned that for any emergency. Since our people started changing process my father always keeps special marijuana with him and antidote with us.”
I nod.
“I think I haven’t asked your name,” Charita says.
“Padhma is my name,” I say.
“Lotus,” she smiles, “looks like your parents have named you after your eyes.”
“My eyes?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says, “they are like petals of a lotus.”
“Have you seen lotus?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says, “in paintings.”
“And you know Devabhasha, too?”
“Yes, but a little bit.”
“What’s meaning of your name?” I ask, “Is it of Devbhasha?”
“Yes, Charita means good in Devabhasha. My mother hopes me to become a good human as I grow up and with that hope, she used the name Charita for me.”
“Where is your mother?”
“She is dead – Nirbhaya has killed her.”
“I’m sorry.” I say and change the topic, “and what’s the meaning of your name?” I look at Reyansh.
“It means a ray of light,” he says, “my father hopes I’ll never change like other people. I’m a ray of the light.” He smiles, “but I don’t think after looking at what is happening around.”
“It’ll be okay,” I say.
Then no one speaks, we are waiting for Bhupathi to wake.
*
To be continue.....
