[Author’s Note: Quite ago, perhaps in 2013, I wrote it in the form of a novella, and its genre was science fiction. It has three parts and each part has varied number of chapters. Each chapter’s length also varies subject to nature of the arguments and twists in the story. The plot is set in India and Europe]
Hanged Times
Dr. Zaffar Junejo
At Adayar Station, the train reached on time. Gotam knows it was a halt, not the stop. He came out from the compartment and steadily went towards Tanga stand. He found a few Tangas and more three-wheelers. He disliked the scene. He went to an old coachman, and without negotiation, booked for the Theosophical Society. Consciously, he avoided mentioning his village name. The old man astonished, looked at him, and conversed in the Telugu to his horse, ‘let us go Adayar to seek the truth, but you have blinders!’ While they crossed the city limits, he asked the old man, ‘how do you do?’ The question triggered the old man’s thought. He spoke in monologue, but after a few sentences became silent, and then started something a new, and again stopped. While, they reached near destination, he asked, ‘should I stay?’ Gotam replied, ‘No’. The coachman received the fare, and left with similar monologue, but now his lone listener was the horse.
Gotam took the curved path that was illuminated by the electric bulbs. They dissipated dim yellow lights. He noticed that they were hanged at the equal distanced posts. Suddenly, he recalled that during his school days, kerosene oil lanterns lit the path. He remembers light used to be dim, but romantic. Unexpectedly, he found himself in the front of the Theosophical Society’s welcome desk. He told the official his name, membership number and booked a single room for one night. The official without uttering a word handed him registration card, and key. He directed him, where room number 20 was located. He followed his instructions like a disciple. He went to the room, took shower, relaxed himself by reading Lalan Shah, and resolved that before sleeping, he would make necessary entries into his diary. But, he failed.
In the morning, he saw room’s bulb was on, and the book was open. Quickly, he put the lights off just to redress the guilt. He went for a walk and took the same path, which he used to cross in his college days. Gotam knew, he needed a solitary environment to think about his plan to move or not to move to the United States of America. It was the sole reason to be at Adayar. He took long path, and thought about the offer letter for joining the ‘memory project.’ It was obvious that it was military project. So, the question to join was of morality. He was not in mood to indulge in discussion of means and end. He was puzzled and couldn’t decide. He returned to his room, took a quick shower, and went to have breakfast. He read notice board: ‘Today’s happenings’.
It states: ‘a special lecture, organized by The Wisdom School’. He looked at his watch and went to the room, changed clothes and rushed to lecture hall. The lecture had started. He sat at the last bench. The speaker failed to get his attention. He left the hall and went to same walking path. The dim light of South Indian winter’s sun has caused many trees to shed their leaves. He walked over the dry leaves. He again wrestled with the question –opportunity should be availed or not? He de-toured and went to the library, and without purpose glanced at quotations, written with excellent calligraphic hand. He looked at portraits of the founding members. Gotam was aware that he was not there to get books. He was in search of an environment which may catalyze his thinking process. Again, he went out and took a long route. He prepared a mental list based on pros and cons – should he accept the offer or shouldn’t? Finally, he decided to accept the offer letter and felt relaxed. Habitually, he looked at his watch and noticed only two hours were left to catch the train for the university.
Gotam went to the room, gathered belongings, paid the bills, and went to main gate, and hired three-wheeler for the railway station. Now, he was in a hurry. He reached station before the time and went to the waiting room, but couldn’t stay there being untidy with unbearable smell of urine. He went to bookstall and unintentionally asked for the newspaper. The vendor handed him ‘Hindustan Times’, although he intended to purchase ‘Hindu’. He kept folded newspaper in his hand, and looked at various displayed newspapers. Most of them were loaded with rumors, scandals and the political intrigues. But all newspapers carried a common news item, ‘Zeenat Aman: a welcome entrant into the Indian cinema world’. Feeling that he has stayed a bit longer, Gotam left the stand and went to a nearby tea stall. Quickly, he ordered a cup of tea, with advice: ‘no, sugar, no milk.’ He sipped the tea and penned down in the notebook: ‘End justifies the means, and ideas need structures to spread’. He closed it, and praised himself, how his thought was toeing his decision. He impatiently waited for the train. As the train arrived, he stood up and impatiently waited for its halt. H entered the compartment, which first came in front of him. He realized that he has stepped in a wrong compartment. He looked at his ticket bearing the bogie number two and seat number twenty one. Realizing that he was at the tail, he moved upward through the connected path. It was almost jammed with untied belongings and half-naked children of rural women. Finally, he found his compartment. After a while, he noticed that there was dirt and the seats were also soiled with greasy stains.
He adjusted himself and over-heard conversation of two young men. He concentrated they were exchanging vulgar jokes in Telugu language about Sikhs. He looked around and felt odoriferous in the compartment. More than once, he looked at his wrist watch and compared the time with the passing by stations. He appreciated Indian Railway System. The train reached at the University Station in due course of time. He came out from the compartment, and headed towards the main gate. He handed the ticket to the collector and looked for a three wheeler, hired one, and instructed the driver to take Teachers’ Hostel route. There was no need to mention the name, because it was the only university in the town. He asked the driver to stop, and paid him. He entered his room, collected the post that postman has pushed through the door.
He pulled the study chair, took off socks, and relaxed. He thought more about the already taken decision but he couldn’t focus. He was not in the state of solitude, but felt disoriented. A melancholy and guilt engrossed him. Feeling suffocated, he stood up, and looked at the piled up books. The majority was from the department’s seminar library. All books were mixed and haphazardly dumped. He decided to separate them. He thought to call Rustam to help him but the last year’s comment restrained him to do so. The event was still fresh in his mind that how his care attracted young Rustam to him. The boy was emotionally attached to him. He used to hand over the boy the keys of his room to clean it. But boy started taking a nap. One day, perhaps it was Saturday, when there was strike of lower staff and buses were not plying, he walked all the way. A young lecturer of English Department joined him at roundabout. He was a naïve but his dangerous attitude was to wear any ideological cap, if it could bring him popularity. He was curious case, sometimes he behaved like a Bohemian, and advocated benefits of hippie life-style and at another occasion became Trotskyite. His earlier tags were Nihilism, Fatalism and Homosexuality. He always held the hand of a companion and then addressed to him. So, when they were nearing the hostel gate, the lecturer held his hand, and asked about Rustam and his relationship. The question shivered him. He then and there decided to break the relationship with the boy. (Continues)
[author title=”Dr. Zaffar Junejo” image=”https://sindhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Dr.-Zaffar-Junejo-Sindh-Courier.jpg”]Dr. Zaffar Junejo has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Malaya. His areas of interest are post-colonial history, social history and peasants’ history. Presently, he is associated with Sohail University and Institute of Historical and Social Research, Karachi. [/author]
