“Don’t you feel afraid?” Kartik looked at the older man in awe as smoke from the piping hot tea mug he held in his hands, tickled his nose.
Chellappan stood up smiling. He looked at his watch and swung his satchel across his shoulders.
They were at the tea stall next to the post office for their mid-day tea break. While Kartik was a new recruit, Chellappan was a veteran and had been working as a postman since the last 30 years.
He was 60 years of age, average height and had a shock of curly white hair covering his head and face. Despite his age, his eyes sparkled with a childlike energy.
“Cila nēraṅkaḷil. Sometimes, yes. But I have got used to it now” he said looking at the younger man.
The Post office was nestled at the foothills of the Nilgiri’s and served as the only source of communication for the large number of people working in the tea and coffee plantations that were scattered all over the area. Vast stretches of forest land lay between the post office and the plantations making it difficult for vehicle movement. Left with no option Chellappan, had to trek the distance every day to deliver letters and pension to the plantation workers.
“I must get going,” he said putting his cup on the tray kept on the counter where the soiled cups were stacked.
“Yes I guess you must” said Kartik as he took another sip. He was still not being able to fathom Chellappan’s nonchalant approach towards what he considered an immensely daring act. Traversing a stretch of 15 km through thick forests with no way to protect yourself in case of an attack from a wild beast, was not quite what Kartik had in mind when he had applied for the post. Thankfully he had not applied for a postman but of a desk clerk.
“You should at least carry a weapon” he said looking at Chellappan as he got ready to start.
“Oh I have this” said Chellappan shaking the long staff that he held in his hand.
“That is hardly anything to ward off tigers”
“Tigers?” said Chellappan bursting out in laughter. “There are no tigers in this part of the forest. Leopards yes but no Tigers. And Leopards are very shy animals. They will never appear near humans if possible. They also come out only at night. But you are right, there is always a chance of me having an encounter with one. If Murugan wants I will be safe. I leave everything to him” said Chellappan laughing referring to the venerated deity of the region.
As Kartik watched him walk down the bridge that led into the forest, he noticed there was an energetic sprint in his gait that belied his advancing years. He looked more like a new recruit venturing out on his first mail delivery assignment rather than the veteran who was due for retirement next year.
Chellappan was a happy man. He loved his job despite its hazards. In fact, he never considered his trek through the forests as anything more than mere hiccups. All you need to do is to hold your breath for some time and let it pass. He never really understood why people made such a hullaballoo about this. For him the daily walks made him feel refreshed. However, there would be times when he was scared. Yes. Maybe he did not tell young Kartik the whole truth. He chuckled to himself as he remembered Kartik’s awestruck face when he said that the forest and its wild beast hardly scared him anymore. Of course it did. There were times when he would feel his throat dry up, his hands would turn clammy and he would nervously lick his lips and he would stand absolutely still to let the beast pass. However, there were also times when he would talk to the birds, and chat with the Langurs. Then there was the time when he had unknowingly walked up to a Gaur. The animal had reared its huge head to stare at him. Realising who it was, it had relaxed and gone back to its grazing. It was as if Chellappan had become part of the forest, just like the forest had become a part of his life.
Chellappan quickened his steps as looked up to notice the sky was overcast and he had to reach the plantation before the rains started. A narrow trail branched out from where he stood. He decided to take that as he knew that would be a shortcut. The road was hilly. It had steep inclines and sharp drops. That did not bother Chellappan. At least it would help him reach his destination faster.
He noticed a slight movement in the trees standing at a distance, just as he was about to start on the trail. His trained eyes told him there was an animal somewhere in the thickets. He stood still and like always uttered a silent prayer. The rustling increased and the ground shook as a loud cry broke the silence of the forest. Chellappan saw the huge body of an elephant break through the trees and stood facing him. The animal had his trunk raised smelling the air. It looked like a female as it was smaller in size and did not have large tuskers.
Chellappan knew she would be able to catch his smell soon and hence might come charging at him. In apprehension, he slowly began to step back. As he did so, something strange caught his attention. He realised the elephant was not moving. Rather it stood still and kept looking at him. When it trumpeted once again, Chellappan realised that it was calling out to him.
He stood stunned. He had never faced a situation like this before. He wondered whether he should follow his instincts and run. However, his mind was pushing him to give in to his curiosity and follow the elephant’s call. Tentatively, he started walking towards where the elephant was standing. When the animal realised Chellappan was responding to her call, she turned around and began to move towards her destination. Something in her gait told Chellappan that the elephant wanted him to follow. She would stop every few minutes and turn around to see if Chellappan was following her.
A few metres ahead, Chellappan heard another elephant cry. It was piteous call as if the animal was in some kind of trouble and appeared to come from a younger elephant. On hearing this the female elephant leading Chellappan, stopped in her tracks. She gave a loud trumpet call. Chellappan realised she was responding to the first call. Her pace quickened and she moved with a sudden urgency.
Very soon they approached a clearing. Chellappan noticed there were few more elephants who stood circling a deep pit. A loud thrashing and rustling sound from within the pit indicated that something was happening there which was causing all the turmoil. The female elephant that had led Chellappan here, walked forward and stood at the edge of the pit and trumpeted loudly. Chellappan stepped up warily. However, the other elephants seemed to ignore him as they were more preoccupied with the thrashing inside the pit.
Chellappan peered into the pit and noticed a young elephant calf. His small round body was tensed and his short stumpy tail stood erect in anxiety. The small spiky hairs on his little head stood up straight as he hollered with renewed hope as he spotted the female elephant. She was obviously its mother and Chellappan’s heart went out to the little one as he noticed his pear shaped eyes looking dolefully at them from inside the pit.
Chellappan quickly summed up the situation. The baby elephant had probably fallen into the pit and the elephants were unable to pull him out. The cow-elephant in her desperate need to save her calf had sought his help. Chellappan was overwhelmed. He never thought that he would have to face such a situation. Now that he did, he wondered how he could save the little one crying out inside the pit. He moved closer to the pit to gauge its depth. He realised it was deep enough to make it difficult for the calf to climb out. He would need to raise the level to help the calf. He looked around frantically wondering what could he use. Then he noticed them.
The trees!
The tall, stately Pine and Eucalyptus trees that stood all around them would be just right for his need. He could get their logs to create the support needed to get the calf out of the pit. But Chellappan was faced with another problem. How would he get the logs? He had no tools with him and even if he did, reaching up to the trees would be near to impossible.
As if to make things more difficult, it started to rain. Big, large drops splashed on to his face. He hurriedly covered his satchel with the plastic cover he always carried with him to save the mail from such accidents. Chellappan knew he had to act fast. He moved towards the trees and looked around hoping for some fallen logs that he could use. There were a few lying around which he picked up and placed them at an incline along the walls of the pit to create an aisle that would help the calf to climb up.
He tried goading the calf to step on to the aisle. The poor thing, tired with thrashing around, had sat down on the wet ground. The rain had started falling heavily which probably depressed him further. Chellappan hollered at the calf to make him climb the aisle. After several attempts the calf stood up and moved towards the logs. Unable to understand what he was supposed to do, it thrashed at the logs with his trunk making them all scatter like matchsticks. All of Chellappan’s efforts at getting them together was reduced to rubbles.
Not willing to give up so easily, he placed them all at the same angle and created the aisle once again. patiently he goaded the calf to climb them. This time, the calf came up eagerly. He was beginning to like this game as it helped to distract his mind. He thrashed at the logs scattering them all again.
Chellappan chided the calf just as he would scold an errant child. Painstakingly he reorganized the logs and tried to make the calf understand what he needed to do. He spoke to him just as if he was a human. The calf looked at him, his fan like ears drawn back and his tiny eyes twinkling mischievously in the rain. This time he did not thrash at the logs but stepped on them. Chellappan smiled hopefully. However, victory was not to come so easily. As the calf put both feet on the logs, they gave way under his weight and cracked. The calf crashed to the floor along with the logs. He hollered out in fright. Panicked, he rushed over to the other end of the pit.
Chellappan slapped his forehead in frustration realising this would not work. He needed more logs as he had to build a broader aisle that would take the weight of the calf. He realised the other elephants that stood around watching the fiasco were getting restless. Suddenly a thought struck him. Could he make the elephants help him?
He rushed over to a tree, held on to it and called out. The elephants ignored him. After several attempts, the cow-elephant that had led him there, looked towards him. Chellappan slapped the tree trunk and pulled it towards him indicating what he wanted her to do.
The cow-elephant had been watching him all this while. She rumbled and the others looked towards her. Through their language of silence, she communicated to the others what they had to do. Chellappan watched as she led the others to the tree. Slowly she laced her trunk around the base of the tree and started pulling. Following her example, the others did the same. Slowly with a loud thud the trees cracked and fell on the ground. With their heads, they rolled the trees to the edge of the pit and pushed it down carefully to start forming the aisle. Chellappan watched amazed as he could not believe he was seeing this really happen.Once the makeshift aisle was ready, Chellappan jumped into the pit to coerce the calf to climb it.
The earlier experience had frightened the calf. He refused to budge from the corner of the pit he had moved himself to. By now the rain was pouring down heavily. The slush was making Chellappan’s feet slip. He skidded as he tried pushing the calf towards the aisle. After several attempts the animal moved towards the aisle but refused to step on to it. Chellappan gently stroked the calf’s head to help it calm down. He could feel his little body throbbing in anticipation. He cooed softly into its ears uttering little words he had had heard his wife whisper into their son’s ears when he was a little boy to ward away his fears. Slowly and very gently, Chellappan wrapped the little one’s bristling trunk around his own arms. He could feel his hot breath on his skin. He started climbing the aisle patiently urging the calf to follow him. The little one gingerly placed one foot on the aisle and then the other. Gradually, they started climbing. Chellappan was careful not to slip. He firmly gripped the tree logs with his feet and put one step after the other. Finally, as they reached the edge, the calf jumped on to the upper ground pushing Chellappan on to the muddy floor.
Euphoric at being reunited with his mother, the calf trumpeted loudly in excitement. Chellappan watched breathlessly, as the mother rushed forwards to enclose him between the safety of her massive legs. As the herd started making their way homewards, Chellappan grinned broadly. He watched the cow-elephant turn around to look at him and raise her trunk as if to express her gratefulness.
“Go home Amma” he said smiling “go home safely with your little one.”
When Chelllappan stepped out of the forest, it had stopped raining. The sun was out. It was almost mid-afternoon when he handed the mail to the plantation workers.
“What took you so long today Chellappan?” asked a worker.
Chellappan looked at him and smiled as he said “I was busy delivering the message of happiness.”
This story is inspired from the real life story of D Sivan, the post man of Coonoor. This is a fictional representation of the kind of adventures he may have faced on one of his mail delivery assignments. You can read about D Sivan’s story here .
Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels
Another jewel, Amrita. You’ll soon get a very dedicated fan club , I think. Well done.