PINKY AND THE GULMOHOR TREE
Before you enter Tukai’s house you would find a huge krishnachura tree, branches full of velvety lush green leaves, washed clean by a rains last night.. Pinky was so fond of this tree.- her favourite tree. She could touch the branches from their roof and pluck flowers, playing with the petals and long stems .The tree, though belonged to Tukai, but was more fond of Pinky it seemed and that was why it I spread its branches with leaves and flowers towards their roof only. Pinky searched for the flowers to pluck but could not find any near at hand and was coming down the stairs when she found them talking together , agitated and gesticulating. They mean, dadi, monima and mimiaunti (Monima’s younger sister ) Monima was speaking in a high pitched voice- this must be the work of that naughty old bham ( old Mole ) ….a bunch of bananas, all finished ! Dadi looked to all with a vacant look – just think of it! So, this was the problem. There was a satyanarayan puja scheduled for today. Being very pious, dadi kept fruits to be offered to the deity at a corner of the room only last night and this morning they are all gone- all twelve of them. Dadi was squatting on the floor, eyebrows raised almost touching the hairline , eyes round and lips making perfect round O. Mimi, who had come to spend her vacation seconded monima vehemently. Yes masima (aunty), it must be the handiwork of a bad old Bham. I have heard they use their hands when they eat. Pinky couldn’t restrain herself any more and could not conceal her doubt of the absurdity of their suggestion –“but how can Tukai’s jethu (uncle) have twelve bananas at a time and how could even he do that without any of us spotting him?” There was an unusual silence in the room broken first by Dadi ‘Pinky will you stop talking nonsense and confuse me further. What ! where does Tukai’s jethu come in the picture . Pinky came forward and tried to say: You know nothing Dadi, Tukai’s Jethu is a Bham, ask Mimiaunty?” Pinky who has never seen a Mole, the small burrowing mammal , and was not even aware of its existence, thought it is some kind of a name for his friend’s dark and fat uncle. The fact is Mimi, a bubbly young maiden, was in the habit of calling people by funny names, like she had named the fat and round milkman Ramu as ‘Hontka” , the extra smart news paper vender vendor as “Sharukh” and for some reason not known to Pinky she named Tukai’s uncle, a sturdy and very dark bald man ,who was most often seen standing on this side of their first floor veranda inspecting the activities of this young lady , ‘Old Bham’. Pinky often wandered why should she call Uncle old, for he did not seem that much old to Pinky and she was yet to ask anybody as to what ‘Bham’ stood for. Coming back to the present we saw that Mimiaunty did not let Pinky finish and her voice was drowned by a torrent of denial from Mimiaunty. See how she lies. Stop making up stories Pinky and go play with Bablu and Bhulo. Don’t comment about things you don’t understand . You have no business butting in where elders are discussing serious matter. Monima gave a stern and suspicious look to mimiaunty and would have crossed further but her attention was diverted by what her sister was saying now : ‘I am telling you masima the bham would come in the dead of night and no body would know. They walk very silently and they can climb pipe and tree alike. This huge tree that you have grown before your building makes an easy access to your house for such animals and for that matter for thieves also. You must cut that tree down. ‘No, please don’t’ Pinky screamed. You can’t do that. Dadi said solemnly ‘I see, you have a point there Mimi. We must do something about it.’ Monima did’nt said anything but laid Pinky away from the room tactfully. Next morning Pinky was still in bed and dreamt that she had gone to the Circus with Bablu , Mimiaunty, Monima and Mama . There was a small girl in a short pink frock who was walking on a rope high up. Suddenly the rope became a branch of a tree with beautiful red flowers and the branch broke and started falling down together with the girl and people down below cried out …..help her, help her.. the tree is falling…, the noise continued and became louder. Pinky opened her eyes and heard a lot of people talking together outside her room, in the veranda. Pinky quickly got out of her bed and rushed out. There she saw, Dadi, Monima and Mimiaunty having an agitated conversation with Tukai’s uncle, who was standing on their side of the veranda. Uncle was visibly angry and almost violet with anger. ‘It is not…..good…I mean… not proper..er…er .. at all fair that you should cut that tree without my…er..er…our consent. You should have known …don’t you know….that the tree is mine..er…..er….was planted by us only.’ He was so angry, he had to grope for the right word and took a long time to finish each sentence. ‘If it is your tree, you should keep its branches to your side only Montu. If your tree disturbs us we have every right to cut it’…. Dadi was so happy with her logic. But Masima, it is a tree, I can’t very well ask it to draw back its branches from spreading in that direction. You are being absolutely illogical. Uncle almost jumped like a baboon. You are being illogical. You don’t know what logic is- Dadi A kya.. kaun giraya lakri… kaun hai upar….(what is this.. who has fell the tree, who is up there) the local constable Ramdin was strolling by, while a small branch of the tree fell on his head. Ramdin stopped and looked up and saw two legs hanging from a solid branch covered with thick green leaves and flowers. The legs belonged to Kesto, the community sweeper, who was trying his best to hide every other part of his body from the constable down below by the foliage. Kaun hai, moo to dikha…chal.. niche aaa (who is there, show me your face, come to the police station) Kesto, peeped from behind the flowers and leaves and said in a small voice ..nehi, nehi, mai nehi, oo hai upar varanda me (no, no it is not me, there she is up on the varanda) kya, mai burbak hoon. Mai dekh raha hoo,tum upar baitha, haath me kulhar our bol raha hai mai nehi. Abhi utar, chal thaneme. (what, am I a fool. I can see you sitting up there with an axe in hand and you say, it is not me. Come down , come to the police station) Ramdin stamped his feet and the fat baton on the ground. Atlast dadi relented and said ‘Ramdin, let him go. I asked Kesto to cut the branches.’ “Lekin kiu, maiji, aap jante ho na, per girana kanunjan gunha hai” (“But why lady, you should know it is a criminal offence to fell trees without permission”) But it is only some branches and not the whole tree, constable. “oo bhi gunha hai!” That too is an offence. Ramdin was not convinced. But what can I do ? the big black bham comes by that branch to our house and create nuisance. Today it came and ate all the fruits kept for Narayanpuja. Now that bit of information shook Ramdin to the core, being a thoroughly religious individual himself. He looked up at Tukai’s uncle and said ‘ yeh to thik baat naahi aache. Aapne bham cheriyechen keno. U bham pujar fal kheye liyeche. Ee to thik baat naahi aache. (this is not right. Why did you let loose the Mole. It has eaten fruits kept for worship. This is not right) Tukai’s Uncle jumped twelve inches from the ground and ground his teethe. “What nonsense. Is bham (Mole) a thing to be kept as a pet? It is not my fault that a bham should climb the tree to their house.” Ramdin’s face became crimson with rage “ to up hume nonsense kaha? Up chaliye thaneme. Ek to upne bham cheriyechen –upar se gaali dichhen.” (So you have called me nonsence. Come to the Police Station. You have let loose the mole and over and above you are calling me names.” Things were turning bad to worse and inquisitive people were enjoying every bit of it from windows and veranda of other building as also on the lane down below . Mama who returned from his tour the night before, went down and called Ramdin aside. After a few notes exchanged hands further unpleasantness was averted. After that incident for a few weeks there was cold war between the two families excepting Tukai and Pinky, who were secretly immensely happy and relieved that a catastrophe could be avoided for the time being and tree was very much there with bright red flowers and green leaves and as a taken of appreciation of their support it showered a few petals and flowers on them, to show its love and affection for the two little loving souls.
Before you enter Tukai’s house you would find a huge krishnachura tree, branches full of velvety lush green leaves, washed clean by a rains last night.. Pinky was so fond of this tree.- her favourite tree. She could touch the branches from their roof and pluck flowers, playing with the petals and long stems .The tree, though belonged to Tukai, but was more fond of Pinky it seemed and that was why it I spread its branches with leaves and flowers towards their roof only. Pinky searched for the flowers to pluck but could not find any near at hand and was coming down the stairs when she found them talking together , agitated and gesticulating. They mean, dadi, monima and mimiaunti (Monima’s younger sister ) Monima was speaking in a high pitched voice- this must be the work of that naughty old bham ( old Mole ) ….a bunch of bananas, all finished ! Dadi looked to all with a vacant look – just think of it! So, this was the problem. There was a satyanarayan puja scheduled for today. Being very pious, dadi kept fruits to be offered to the deity at a corner of the room only last night and this morning they are all gone- all twelve of them. Dadi was squatting on the floor, eyebrows raised almost touching the hairline , eyes round and lips making perfect round O. Mimi, who had come to spend her vacation seconded monima vehemently. Yes masima (aunty), it must be the handiwork of a bad old Bham. I have heard they use their hands when they eat. Pinky couldn’t restrain herself any more and could not conceal her doubt of the absurdity of their suggestion –“but how can Tukai’s jethu (uncle) have twelve bananas at a time and how could even he do that without any of us spotting him?” There was an unusual silence in the room broken first by Dadi ‘Pinky will you stop talking nonsense and confuse me further. What ! where does Tukai’s jethu come in the picture . Pinky came forward and tried to say: You know nothing Dadi, Tukai’s Jethu is a Bham, ask Mimiaunty?” Pinky who has never seen a Mole, the small burrowing mammal , and was not even aware of its existence, thought it is some kind of a name for his friend’s dark and fat uncle. The fact is Mimi, a bubbly young maiden, was in the habit of calling people by funny names, like she had named the fat and round milkman Ramu as ‘Hontka” , the extra smart news paper vender vendor as “Sharukh” and for some reason not known to Pinky she named Tukai’s uncle, a sturdy and very dark bald man ,who was most often seen standing on this side of their first floor veranda inspecting the activities of this young lady , ‘Old Bham’. Pinky often wandered why should she call Uncle old, for he did not seem that much old to Pinky and she was yet to ask anybody as to what ‘Bham’ stood for. Coming back to the present we saw that Mimiaunty did not let Pinky finish and her voice was drowned by a torrent of denial from Mimiaunty. See how she lies. Stop making up stories Pinky and go play with Bablu and Bhulo. Don’t comment about things you don’t understand . You have no business butting in where elders are discussing serious matter. Monima gave a stern and suspicious look to mimiaunty and would have crossed further but her attention was diverted by what her sister was saying now : ‘I am telling you masima the bham would come in the dead of night and no body would know. They walk very silently and they can climb pipe and tree alike. This huge tree that you have grown before your building makes an easy access to your house for such animals and for that matter for thieves also. You must cut that tree down. ‘No, please don’t’ Pinky screamed. You can’t do that. Dadi said solemnly ‘I see, you have a point there Mimi. We must do something about it.’ Monima did’nt said anything but laid Pinky away from the room tactfully. Next morning Pinky was still in bed and dreamt that she had gone to the Circus with Bablu , Mimiaunty, Monima and Mama . There was a small girl in a short pink frock who was walking on a rope high up. Suddenly the rope became a branch of a tree with beautiful red flowers and the branch broke and started falling down together with the girl and people down below cried out …..help her, help her.. the tree is falling…, the noise continued and became louder. Pinky opened her eyes and heard a lot of people talking together outside her room, in the veranda. Pinky quickly got out of her bed and rushed out. There she saw, Dadi, Monima and Mimiaunty having an agitated conversation with Tukai’s uncle, who was standing on their side of the veranda. Uncle was visibly angry and almost violet with anger. ‘It is not…..good…I mean… not proper..er…er .. at all fair that you should cut that tree without my…er..er…our consent. You should have known …don’t you know….that the tree is mine..er…..er….was planted by us only.’ He was so angry, he had to grope for the right word and took a long time to finish each sentence. ‘If it is your tree, you should keep its branches to your side only Montu. If your tree disturbs us we have every right to cut it’…. Dadi was so happy with her logic. But Masima, it is a tree, I can’t very well ask it to draw back its branches from spreading in that direction. You are being absolutely illogical. Uncle almost jumped like a baboon. You are being illogical. You don’t know what logic is- Dadi A kya.. kaun giraya lakri… kaun hai upar….(what is this.. who has fell the tree, who is up there) the local constable Ramdin was strolling by, while a small branch of the tree fell on his head. Ramdin stopped and looked up and saw two legs hanging from a solid branch covered with thick green leaves and flowers. The legs belonged to Kesto, the community sweeper, who was trying his best to hide every other part of his body from the constable down below by the foliage. Kaun hai, moo to dikha…chal.. niche aaa (who is there, show me your face, come to the police station) Kesto, peeped from behind the flowers and leaves and said in a small voice ..nehi, nehi, mai nehi, oo hai upar varanda me (no, no it is not me, there she is up on the varanda) kya, mai burbak hoon. Mai dekh raha hoo,tum upar baitha, haath me kulhar our bol raha hai mai nehi. Abhi utar, chal thaneme. (what, am I a fool. I can see you sitting up there with an axe in hand and you say, it is not me. Come down , come to the police station) Ramdin stamped his feet and the fat baton on the ground. Atlast dadi relented and said ‘Ramdin, let him go. I asked Kesto to cut the branches.’ “Lekin kiu, maiji, aap jante ho na, per girana kanunjan gunha hai” (“But why lady, you should know it is a criminal offence to fell trees without permission”) But it is only some branches and not the whole tree, constable. “oo bhi gunha hai!” That too is an offence. Ramdin was not convinced. But what can I do ? the big black bham comes by that branch to our house and create nuisance. Today it came and ate all the fruits kept for Narayanpuja. Now that bit of information shook Ramdin to the core, being a thoroughly religious individual himself. He looked up at Tukai’s uncle and said ‘ yeh to thik baat naahi aache. Aapne bham cheriyechen keno. U bham pujar fal kheye liyeche. Ee to thik baat naahi aache. (this is not right. Why did you let loose the Mole. It has eaten fruits kept for worship. This is not right) Tukai’s Uncle jumped twelve inches from the ground and ground his teethe. “What nonsense. Is bham (Mole) a thing to be kept as a pet? It is not my fault that a bham should climb the tree to their house.” Ramdin’s face became crimson with rage “ to up hume nonsense kaha? Up chaliye thaneme. Ek to upne bham cheriyechen –upar se gaali dichhen.” (So you have called me nonsence. Come to the Police Station. You have let loose the mole and over and above you are calling me names.” Things were turning bad to worse and inquisitive people were enjoying every bit of it from windows and veranda of other building as also on the lane down below . Mama who returned from his tour the night before, went down and called Ramdin aside. After a few notes exchanged hands further unpleasantness was averted. After that incident for a few weeks there was cold war between the two families excepting Tukai and Pinky, who were secretly immensely happy and relieved that a catastrophe could be avoided for the time being and tree was very much there with bright red flowers and green leaves and as a taken of appreciation of their support it showered a few petals and flowers on them, to show its love and affection for the two little loving souls.
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