Preface:
Everything around the human race is an untold story in one or the other way. God created human and human acquired characters according to their needs and needs created differences in the human characteristics.
Like fingerprints, human characteristics vary from human to humans.
‘Storeys of stories’ is a bouquet of anecdotage translating the different human characters.
If the readers feel Indian flavour in these anecdotage, the author will take it as a compliments. And that is it.
It is up to the beloved readers to evaluate the attempt of the author.
Chhatra Pal Verma
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1- Death too favours:
He was shivering. Who in the world would not? Yes, it was death asking him to complete his urgent jobs and pack and to accompany her. She told him that she has been ordered by the ‘God of death’ to take him with her as he has completed his tenure on earth.
He requested the death that he is young enough to leave this world and has not seen anything.
Death showed her inability to help him as she was duty bound to her master the ‘God of death’. She also showed him the list, she got from ‘God of death’ having the names of the humans to whom she was to take with her, and his name was on the top of the list at number one.
He still tried to lure the death offering her the heaps of wealth, ornaments, bungalows, but all in vain. However, she allowed him to take his lunch. He took his lunch and offered some sweets to death also.
Sweets offered by him were having sleeping pills. The death accepted his sweets and ate them gleefully.
With the impact of sleeping pills the death went into sleep.
He got the chance and erased his name from the top of the list and added it at the bottom of the list.
After some time the death awakened and with a smile she favoured him by giving some extra time to live because of his hospitality and told him that now she would work on the list from the bottom and will first catch hold of the humans those are listed bottom most, so as to enable him to live some extra period.
2- Impossible-possible:
The landlord of the farm house was an old retired military man in his eighty.
Out of His previous three wives first two died their natural death after battling the diseases and the third one settled with his reliable servant.
At present only four persons, himself, his fourth- and 27-years old wife and a new servant aging about 35 and servant’s wife are living in that big farmhouse with a dog, as the kids from the previous three wives of the landlords are well settled abroad.
Today the landlord is elated as his fourth wife gave birth to a male child in a hospital. He called his servant and asked him to give company in the bar room. After two pegs the landlord twirled his moustaches with pride to affirm his masculinity and taunted the servant that even after ten years of marriage, he is childless.
The servant was in his third peg and in mood. He felt insulted on the taunt thrown by his master of being childless. He told a story to his master which goes as ‘there was a famous hunter who was known for his accuracy in shooting the prey. By the way, once the hunter forgot his rifle at home while on hunting, where he encountered a young and ferocious lion staring at him. The hunter was bold enough but was thinking what to do. Immediately he got an idea and he pulled the licence of his rifle issued by the government, from the pocket and showed it to the blood thirsty lion. The lion fell flat and died.’
The landlord who was listening to his servant eagerly was in his fourth peg exclaimed no, no, it is impossible.
How can a deadly lion die in such a
Manner? Some other hunter may have shot the lion.
The servant cooed, ‘Sir, may be.’
3- I am a thief:
During dark, while on duty a policeman heard a hammering sound as if somebody was hammering a solid iron object. The policeman galloped towards the direction of sound and saw that a healthy young man was hammering a lock on a gate.
The policeman knocked on the back of the young man with his baton and asked ‘what the hell is the young man doing?’
With full confidence the young man replied ‘I am trying to break the lock.’
‘Why? Don’t you have the key to this lock? The policeman enquired.
No, I don’t have the key as it is with the landlady of this bungalow.
Can’t you wait till she arrives? The policeman enquired.
‘What a silly argument is this. If I wait for the landlady of this bungalow, how can I perform my job for which I am doing all this labour?
For what are you doing all this labour? The policeman enquired.
I am a thief and doing all this to steal the ornaments from this house. Replied the young man.
‘You bastard! I am appalled that you have the audacity to joke in front of the police?’ The policeman again knocked the back of the young man and disappeared in the dark.
4-Under the oath:
Wow! Hey Shikha, what a pleasant surprise? What the hell are you doing here Shikha? Shekhar, a college colleague of Shikha, became over enthusiastic on seeing his college best friend after a long gap. But realised soon that something is very serious with Shikha on seeing the pale face of her. She was looking as if she is in infix in answering Shekhar's question. But he was equally surprised to see Shikha on the hospital lawn.
He suddenly changed his question and asked "what is wrong with you Shikha! With whom you are here in the hospital of psychic patients?
Shekhar! Here I am with my husband, who is a patient of Doctor Batra and right now is with Doctor Batra in his chamber, Shikha murmured shyly.
Oh Shikha! sorry I forgot to tell you that after completing my degree, I got a job in this hospital as a psychiatric. If you need any help please do not hesitate.
Come on Shikha let us sit in the garden of this hospital till your husband comes back, Where I would like to know the problem with your husband, maybe I can be of some help.
Both went to the small garden.
Yes, Shikha now tell me, what went wrong with your husband Sudhir? I saw him at the time of your marriage, he was looking smart and energetic at that time, even I had a little chat with him and found that he was reasonably humorous, generous and friendly.
Shekhar! mine was a lovely married life. I and Sudhir were enjoying life to the fullest. We have a beautiful son 'Shiva' who is now five. Sudhir was such a caring husband any woman can be proud. Sudhir was professor in 'Kumauni University' and was the choice of his students and college management because of his teaching skills and generous behaviour. I was on the seventh sky, but suddenly everything went in the air. For the last six months Sudhir has been behaving ambiguously. He stopped talking to me, even not loving Shiva who used to be his whole universe. He even left the college without taking proper permission from the college authorities.
The college management is so kind to me that they understood my problem and consented to keep him with the college once Sudhir became ok. My father in law and mother in law are also not getting proper answers from Sudhir for his such act. They both love me like their own daughter.
Shikha you are a literate lady, have you assessed the reason behind Sudhir's such behaviour? Shekhar enquired.
No Shekhar I am not getting a single clue for his behaviour except when Doctor Batra made certain quarries with me which now seems to be the reason, even though he never uttered a word in this regard despite me questioning him several times.
Was he having any extra marital relations outside? Shekhar showed his suspicion.
No, not at all Shekhar, he was so caring that I was a proud wife. Despite his handsome persona, health and wealth he was scared of such relations, and this was the talk of the town in the college, some of the lady professors were calling him 'Joru ka gulam" (wife's slave). In the club meetings his colleagues were teasing me that I know some "Vashikaran" (the Mantras to make someone a slave). I have never heard of any such illicit relations of Sudhir.
Shikha now is a very personal question, you may avoid answering if you want. How was your sexual life? I mean was he a perfect partner in bed?
Yes of course, he was, to the extent that any woman would have envy.
But Shekhar tells me why all the psychiatrics are asking this question?
During the second sitting with me, doctor Batra also asked me the same question. What relates the sex with mental sickness?
Shikha! most of the mental sicknesses are the product of sex hazards, be it a incompetency, be it extra marital relations of the spouse or own or the fear of losing his or her lovely partner to others because of own incompetency.
Shikha what were the other questions Doctor Batra asked you during your second sitting? Doctor Batra is the most respected psychiatrist of the country.
He is ideal for many doctors like me. His failure in the world of psychiatry is almost zero, you are lucky that you got an appointment from a person who is the guarantee himself.
Shekhar! Doctor Batra asked me a question rarely a lady can answer, but since it was the question of the wellbeing of my husband, I replied word to word. Doctor Batra asked me whether I was having extra marital relations?
And when I replied in negative, his second question was 'whether had I had sex with a person other than my husband?'
I narrated one instance which happened with me. When I was just fifteen and my brother in law (husband of my elder sister) had had forceful
sex with me in dark when he visited my house and I was alone. But it happened never again because of my anguish. Doctor Batra's third and last question was " had I ever disclosed it to my husband?" I replied in affirmation.
Shikha, how foolish you are? Shekhar yelled, this should have been avoided, you are an intelligent, highly literate lady.
Shekhar! I was forced to tell everything to Sudhir, as Sudhir kept my hand on his head and asked me to tell the truth under the oath whether I had had sex with other man than him or not? As such I was compelled to tell the truth.
Shit! Shikha what rubbish? Such ridiculous and orthodox mentality? Shekhar was shocked.
Meanwhile both saw that Doctor Batra is coming towards them with Sudhir.
Both stand up and march towards Doctor Batra. Sudhir looked angrily at Shikha and ignored Shekhar like a street dog.
Doctor Batra took Shikha separately and advised her, her further role and left for his chamber after asking the couple to visit him after a week's time.
Every night Shikha, lying beside Sudhir, tried to talk to Sudhir but all in vain. Sudhir however, shouted that she should lay beside the person she was within the hospital garden. Now Shikha was happy that everything was going according to the plan of doctor Batra.
Doctor Batra already explained to her, the scenes one by one about the act and the behaviour of Sudhir there on. Doctor Batra told her that seeing you and doctor Shekhar talking in loneliness will work as fuel to the fire and your character will worsen in the eyes of Sudhir and there will be a situation when iron will be hot to hammer. Such patients only react when the things reach their extreme.
Doctor Batra also suggested to Shikha, that if Sudhir remains calm, try to persuade him by praising Doctor Shekar, using some ingredients of jealousy. Doctor Batra also warned Shikha that such patients sometimes become violent, so be alert.
Next night, when the couple was alone in their room, Shikha tried to attract Sudhir through many advances to have sex but she got cold response. Suddenly Shikha adorned Sudhir’s neck with her arms and taunted Sudhir, that he never loved her.
Sudhir shouted "if it was so, either of two would have remained alive till now". Feel lucky that we both are on the same bed. I loved you more than anything in the universe and got such mistrusted behaviour.
Shikha like an expert heroine again taunted 'why because of my one lie?'
‘Which lie?’ Sudhir again shouted.
‘The very same lie which I told you under the oath that I had had sex with my brother in law.’
‘Oh Shikha! what hell are you saying?’ ‘Was that a lie?’
‘Thousand times lie, I was just testing you how much you love me'.
‘Can you say that under the oath, Shikha?’
Shikha instead of her one hand kept her both the hands on Sudhir's head and told that whatever she told on that night was just a testing gesture and now the testing is over, that's why she is revealing the very truth that nothing had happened that short. You are the only man on the earth to touch my heart and soul.
The couple even not waited to complete the week and next day only they were in the chamber of Doctor Batra to thank and tell Doctor Batra that everything is fine. Sudhir resumed his college.
