Matongini wiped off the beads of perspiration from her forehead with the loose end of her sari as she blew air into her earthen stove. Peeping into the vessel placed on top of the stove, she pushed in the ladle to give the broth another stir. She sat back to let it cook a bit more resting her tired back on the Sal wood stilt that held up her hut. Her eyes tired with age and misery, bore a far-away look. It was as if her body was sitting in that hut, but her soul was lost somewhere else. Ever since Amu left her, she had stopped living for anything else. She, however, never ignored her daily chores but it was as if there was no joy left in her anymore. The little girl had taken her heart with her when she left.
She sighed as she got up. Shuddho would be back soon and will be furious if food is not ready. She somehow never recognized the boy anymore. He moved around as if driven by something else. There was no semblance of the little boy who would nuzzle against her shoulder when he needed something. Matongini had often had to shoo him off as he would keep disturbing her during a busy day. Somehow after Amu was born and particularly after that fateful night when she lost her son and daughter-in-law, Matongini felt she had also lost Shuddho.
“Owui”
The voice broke into her thoughts and Matongini turned to look around on hearing someone calling her. She squinted her eyes as she bent down to come out of her low thatched kitchen enclosure and onto her courtyard to see who it was calling her.
“Oh Dhoomketu, it’s you!” she said surprised at seeing him again so soon.
“Yes Owui. How are you?” said Dhoomketu giving her one of his brightest smiles.
“The same” said Matongini sighing as she laid out a mat for him to sit on.
“Come sit! Would you like to have something?”
“Owui!” said Dhoomketu hesitatingly “I have brought somebody else with me too”
“Who?” said Matongini curiously
“Sir, do come in!” Dhoomketu turned around to call Shrikant into Matongini’s courtyard.
As Shrikant stepped inside, Matongini looked at him closely and her eyes widened as she recognised him from his first visit.
“The city babu” said Matongini with a tinge of mockery in her voice. “You did manage to stay on longer than the others. I thought you would have left. So, what brings you to this old village woman’s poor hut?” she asked.
The old woman’s wizened eyes looked tired and weathered. However, Shrikant realised they still held a fire that kept blazing with a deep ingrained pride for the self, her home, and her land.
Shrikant knew that this lady could not be cajoled with sweet words or flattery. This was a woman whom life had wizened, and experience had hardened. She would prefer truth pelted like stones at her rather than a shower of flowers sown on a bed of deceit.
He looked straight into her eyes and answered unsmilingly “Because you hold the key to one of the most unique treasures of this land.”
“What treasure? I do not have any treasure. What nonsense are you talking about?” said Matongini scowling and peering into Shrikant’s face.
“Amodini. Your granddaughter. You know she is a real treasure for you and for all of us. Don’t you?”
“Amu! How dare you? How do you know about my Amu? What do you want with her?” Matongini’s voice grew shrill with anger as she advanced towards Shrikant.
“I want her to save you; to save your home, your land. I want her because she can save all of us” said Shrikant looking calmly at Matongini
“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously.
“When I was a young boy,” began Shrikant “I used to yearn for a home that will be filled with warmth from a mother’s heart, a home that will be cared for by a father’s protective love, a home that will be a safe haven for my little self. I wished for a hearth that will be my own little heaven. A land that will be filled with love and compassion. A land that will be free from the evil clutches of greed, malice, and jealousy. I never got it. But I never let that desire die. I have cherished it in my heart all through my childhood and youth,searching for a way to make my dream come true. I have been yearning to end my hiraeth. Can you help me do it?”
“I do not understand what you are saying Babu” said Matongini sounding confused “I am a simple village woman. How can I or my Amu do anything to help you?” asked Matongini confused.
“Why not Owui?” asked Shrikant coming closer “I have only dreamed of such a land. But you have lived it. Have you not seen a land filled with bounties that seemed inexhaustible? Do you never miss those rolling lands filled with green moss where now stands buildings and metalled roads? Or wish for a night that will not be rattled with dreams of an uncertain tomorrow? Do you not pray for a morning whose freshness is not marred by blood smeared footprints of an evil night? Are you not waiting for the day when your Amu returns, not here but to the land of your childhood?”
“Will that ever be possible Babu?” whispered Matongini.
“It will Owui. Believe me it will. But for that I need Amu to help us. We need her to be the voice that will lead us into the world to which we all wish to return.”
“Amu? A voice? How? The child cannot even speak” said Matongini sadly.
“She cannot speak but she can do something that most of us have forgotten” said Shrikant
“What?” asked Matongini bewildered
“She can feel Owui” said Shrikant “She can feel the softness of the earth, she can feel the chill of the wind blowing across her face, she can feel the ripples in the waters of the Bania as she lets the waves trip over her little hand. She knows the world like none of us do.”
“Babu, I am a simple old village woman. Do not trick me with your fancy words. Tell me how my little Amu can be of help to you.” said Matongini looking suspiciously at Shrikant.
“Look Owui, if you don’t believe me, think of the night of the fire. Do you remember how the earth trembled as the elephants marched into your little village trampling down your homes, fields, and everything else that came in their way. Why do you think they stopped?” asked Shrikant looking directly at her.
“Amu” croaked Matongini inaudibly as she relived the panic of the fearful night.
“Yes. But why Amu, Owui? Why not Dhoomketu, you or any other villagers. You were all there were you not? So why was it only Amodini who could get close to them and make them stop the carnage? Have you ever thought about it?” asked Shrikant looking earnestly at Matongini
As the older woman looked up blankly at him, Shrikant smiled into her tired eyes as he explained
“Only because she could touch their heart. She could feel the fear palpitating in their hearts on losing the only home they ever knew. They were a herd of mad elephants that night alright, but they were mad with fear and not fury. Only Amu could feel that. She has a unique gift Owui. Can’t you see that? She can whisper into their hearts with a language shared by them alone. She understands their heartbeat and can also make them listen to hers.”
“ Yes..Yes….I know she does that…I don’t know how….but she does that…but I don’t understand how….” said Matongini trailing off not understanding what Shrikant was trying to get at.
“Oh Owui…don’t you see? This earth is a beautiful place but we, the humans, are only a part of it. The birds, animals, the rivers, mountains, forests they all, all are the other part of the whole. Without the two parts, the earth will forever remain a broken mass of rock. It will never be complete. While we are the curators of this beautiful land, the animals, birds are the nurturers. In their own unique way, they protect, nourish and nurture the earth helping it grow more beautiful every day. All our roles are clearly marked out.
Whenever this balance has been disturbed, the earth shudders in the form of avalanche, landslides, floods, to show its displeasure. But we are too busy listening to our egos to pay heed to the earth’s warning. In our race to achieve supremacy over the earth we have alienated our partners, the animals. We ignore the fact that in this race nobody can win alone. If we win, we win it together; and if we lose, we all lose. Once that happens everything is reduced to dust and dirt.” Shrikant stopped to let Matongini absorb what he said before continuing.
“Owui, you remember, last time I visited, you told me to get the answers from the forest? The forest will not allow me in. I need Amu to help me in getting those answers. Please Owui, she needs to do this for us, for you, for herself. She needs to do it for the land she calls her home. Do you understand Owui?” asked Shrikant looking deep into her eyes.
Matongini stood still looking into the distance Her eyes stared hard at something far away. Her wiry grey hair creating a halo around her wrinkled face.
“Owui?” Dhoomketu who till now was listening to what Shrikant was saying, came forward, afraid at seeing the old lady go so rigid.
“Babu” she said turning towards Shrikant. “It is getting late. Shuddho will be back any moment. Go now.”
“But Owui?” said Shrikant disappointed at Matongini suddenly turning cold.
“I said GO” she said getting restless about something.
“Come Sir” said Dhoomketu prodding Shrikant.
Realising that Matongini probably did not want them to face Shuddho, Shrikant sighed and turned to leave when Matongini spoke out.
“They buried Amod and Batasi, my son and daughter-in-law, at the garh. I never told her that but somehow, she knew. That is where her heart lies Babu. You will probably find her there.”
As Shrikant came towards her she looked at him. That was the first time Shrikant saw the tired eyes shining with unshed tears.
“Wait here” she said as she hobbled off into her kitchen leaving Dhoomketu and Shrikant with a surprised look on their faces.
She returned soon and stuffed a piece of cloth in Shrikant’s hands. It was the same piece of red cloth that she used to summon Amodini.
“Take this and show it to her. She will know I am waiting for her to return.” her voice broke at the last few words. Looking up at Shrikant she said“Promise me Babu, she will be safe”.
“Yes Owui. I promise!” said Shrikant as he pressed her callused and knobbly palms between his own.
