MY CONFUSION WITH FRAUD AND GOD!

My name is Narendranath Chatterjee. I worked as an administrative Officer in a government and after serving for thirty years consistently, at the age of sixty I retired from my service. I made a little house in the outskirt of the city, where greenery and less congestion soothes me a lot. Here I feel I can breathe comfortably, away from the din and bustle of the city. I am staying in this place for the last seven years and within this time I developed a healthy relationship with my neighbors who are equally cordial. Here people from all religions and sects live harmoniously and festivals of all religions are being celebrated with equal enthusiasm where all participates with passion and no discrimination of cast, creed or religion I have ever experienced since I am living here. A strong sense of brotherhood prevails here which brings sheer delight to all of our hearts.

Of late I feel extremely lonely as alone stay in my house. My only son is now settled in abroad and after losing my wife abruptly as I could not envisage that she will be soon leaving me, I am in utter despondence. My wife, Lalita recently developed a lung infection and the doctor advised my wife to admit to his nursing home for only one day for certain medical tests. While she was going lumber puncture test, she all of a sudden collapsed owing to an internal vain injury, as per doctor’s interpretation, resulting her to succumb. I am not sure whether it is sheer negligence from the part of doctor or not, as no medical practitioner would give any precise reason why she died, going against their own fraternity!

However, her sudden demise clouded me with extreme pain, as all of a sudden I lost my closest companion for the last forty years. Her bereavement is so painful to me that I took considerable to resume into routine work of my life. I used to depend entirely on her in order to pull out my livelihood. Now, I somehow managed to gain strength to depend on my domestic help and thus I am dragging out my life. Only composure to me is my interaction with my neighborhoods and their consistent support to me, enabling me to survive. I used to get up early morning and go out for morning walk where I meet with people of various age and chat with them in a routine network and in the evening I used to sit in the local library and voluntarily extend my service, engaging with the readers and help them to get their required books. Thus my life rolls on.

Today morning when I am as usual in my morning walk, right in front of the park close to my house, abruptly I am feeling I could not see anything owning to giddiness. I stumbled and fall and a breathing problem I started to feel. I cried in agony. Suddenly a boy of his mid-twenties came in my rescue. He tenderly took me in his arm and immediately gave a call. Immediately numerous boys appeared. They all quickly take me to my house and called the local doctor. They all knew me as well where I live. The boy who hold me first, he engaged himself continuously rubbing my chest. After the doctor arrives, he advised medicines after checking me thoroughly. They brought the medicines from the nearby medicine shop. It is a mild heart attack and as the medicines being applied in due time the doctor says them that nothing to be worried about, but I must take precautionary measures to remain fit for the rest of my life. After few hours, all boys gradually left, apart from the boy who hold me first and since then continuously staying with me. He tenderly puts his hand on my forehead, saying me to go for a sleep. I felt sleepy too and immediate slumber engulfed me.

After a tight sleep of few hours when I got up, I found the boy still sitting beside me. I felt pretty surprised. He is neither of my blood connection, nor did I know him before. I asked him, ‘what is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Ashit. I live in your locality and I have noticed you every day while you do your morning work.’

I felt quite contented that the person who is so caring about me is from same community. My upbringing is in a milieu since my childhood where I groomed in a religious environment which only taught me to undermine other religion and to claim own religion only supreme. Being a descendent staunch Hindu family where religious doctrine takes backseat and superstitious rituals are the only means we take pride of, claiming we are only superior clan while others are inferior. Unfortunately, our family culture taught me to undermine other religion and also it is a taboo to invite friends from other religious community in our house in any religious ceremony. The sense of hatred so deeply ingrained on me that despite having science background in my studies and completed my Master’s in Physics, the discrimination regarding religious affairs remained same and I am never able to get rid of that completely. So the name of my savior gave me a sense of reprieve to me. At least he is a Hindu.

Ashit then asked me, ‘How are you feeling uncle?’

I replied, ’Fine. Now tell me about you. What do you do?’

Ashit said, ‘I am now searching for job after completion of my graduation. My father died when I was five years old in a road accident. My uncle and aunt helped me a lot to pursue my studies. My mother got a job after my father’s demise in the same company where my father used to work. But, not being much educated, she only managed to get a peon’s job. With paltry amount of money it was not possible for my mother to ensure the studies of my studies along with my two siblings. But uncle and ant’s support we eventually managed to become educated. My elder brother and sister are now working, one in a school and other in a private company and earning quite decently. But I am still struggling to get a job. However, I have ample time to engage in club’s cultural and sports affairs. My all friends who came to help you are all my mates with whom I remain busy in playing as well conducting drama and theatre where I play the role of the director.’

His smart reply with jovial state of mind influenced me a lot. I said to him, ‘Thank you very much for being so kind with me and saved my life. I will remain indebted to you forever.’

He felt too embarrassed and said, ‘Uncle what you are saying! You are like my father and most strikingly you have a close similarity with the face of my father which I take notice regularly in the picture hanging in our wall.’

I felt too contented for his open expression with full of sincere fervor for me. I said to him, ‘will not go to your home? You are with me for a long while. Your family members must be anxious for you.’

He said, ‘you don’t have to worry. I have conveyed my where about through my friends. Now tell me what you will have for today’s lunch? I will go to the market to purchase your requirements.’

I said, ‘you don’t have to be so anxious. My maid servant knows all. She will do everything whatever is necessary. I would like to request you to have lunch with me too.’

He immediately agreed. After having lunch I started to have conversation with him. I find him a very interesting and delightful character. I am now feeling the absence of my son, who is now having a long distance from me. He is more focused on his career and hardly perhaps having any time to think about my state of mind and loneliness what I always experience. I even did not try to communicate with him, thinking that my news of ailment may disturb him. Rather, this boy Ashit became more affectionate to me. After a long time I am feeling comfortable to talk with someone who is younger than my son. I am no longer missing my son due to his jovial presence. We started to talk in different topics and he is too feeling comfortable to express his feelings and sentiment unhesitatingly. All of a sudden a lovely bonding evolved between us which are more precious than anything to me now.

There after almost every day it has become his habit to pay visit to my house. I equally feel a strong desire to talk with him regularly. Even if we meet on the street, immediately he will take away the bag from my hand as if it is his demand and I have to comply. He used to say, ‘why can’t you understand uncle you are pretty old. While I am like your son and so young why should you carry load?’ I remained silent and thus we became a very good friend altogether.

Nowadays he expresses his worry regarding the emerging political scenario in our country. Suddenly one day he said,’ look uncle what kind of hostile environment is brewing up in our country! Where ever there is dissent, government machinery is coming down brutally! We common people cannot determine who our enemy is and who our friend is. We are utterly confused! Sheer cloud of hostility and a climate of intolerance, making us blind! We know an aquatic dreadful life as ‘shark’, but in our existing milieu we are now observing sharks in all surface, whether, land air as well water and more despicable than shark. An amazing species plundering the nature as well all form of her wealth. The common people who are striving hard to produce such opulence are being captures by these weird sharks and the ordinary people are becoming day by day more impoverished. Their conditions are extremely vulnerable. But unfortunately those sharks are regardless to common people and despite they are plundering our country, surprising state is subscribing their acts as valid and thus their notoriety having no leaps and bounds. People engaged in public policy and administration brazenly favoring those sharks and thus fomenting the hostility by adopt carrot and sticks policy thy adeptly and adroitly implementing with their only sticks in due course pernicious game, favoring few to garner enormous booty and for the rest only sticks who are daring to voice their dissent, dispersing them no to be conglomerate and wage a war against such atrocities where common people becoming the worst victims. I am afraid with false promises and jobless environment will lead to what catastrophe in near future, as the common mass know no ideology, having no time and ability to judge and analyze the vicious ploy being hovering them and in what intensity. They are only being mobilized to cause fracas and engender a mass hysteria, enabling them to serve the interest of few and to retain them in the corridor of power with an aspiration of devising a sustainable ploy! On contrary they may beckoning a sustainable disaster to hover on them too in near future. And most nefarious thing is to make common mas hypnotize as they use religion as their ploy where communalism is the only resort they adopt to satiate their ignominious goal, only with an aim to bury humanity!’

While listening to Ashit’s sensible analyze, I started to respect him more. I myself largely being illuminated for his sense of reasoning and my respect for him increased in manifold. His sincere concern for his countrymen made me more obsessed with him. I am in an inquisitive state of mind that how he attained such wonderful introspection. Truly I hats off to his wide heart and sincere concern for the downtrodden.

I only asked him, ‘what remedy you suggests?’

He replied, ‘who am I to suggest any remedy? It is people alone who will determine what to do in future and I only have belief soon there must be more amazing thing going to be unfolded in the near future. You cannot suppress truth for a long time by your hoodwinking policies and few beneficiaries will not able to ensure the oppression and suppression against common people for a long time. They will be soon eclipsed with severe omen for their unlawful activities and misdeeds. People alone are the motive force of world history and all changes so far being introduced for the benefit of common people are being scripted by the people alone!’

I just tried to pursue him, ‘see Ashit, once you indulged to counter hostility with hostility then you will be captivated in the vortex of hostility and unable to get rid of its spiral impact and thus you may conclude your life too with ignominy!”

He then recited, ‘Hostility having immense fecundity

Allures people to experience a disgraceful odyssey

Creating a web

Where all are force to become deprave

Spirally it moves on

Once being caught

None can come out from its venomous fraught

Sometimes human history alone script such infamy

Yet it alone usher change which usher overall prosperity!’

I wondered and asked, ‘who wrote this poem?

He replied, ‘it is written by me but unable to conclude with any positive note to bring glee for many.’

I am amazed with his wonderful thought provoking bent of mind and expressions with delight! I said ‘you are a poet too!’

He just avoid such accolades and engaged with me for more meaningful discussions.

I have no their choice apart from respecting his vision. But surprisingly whenever I intended to give financial assistance to him, he refused to accept modestly, citing that my most precious wealth is you alone my dear uncle and I only worried that you nowadays once more neglecting your own health.

However, our short time interaction made me so happy that I feel he is the most lovable person to me and without seeing him even once for day makes my day incomplete.

One day when I intended to know when is his birth day, he initially feeling ashamed to share. Then he agreed on condition that must not make any arrangement to celebrate it. I assured him that I will not make any grand occasion but we alone celebrate it with sheer affection where I only bless him for his long life with success to pour.

The day, on which I am eagerly waiting for him to come as I have provided cake along with his favorite dishes, times are passing by but he did not surface. Gradually I am feeling restless and board. I alone have nothing to do and only surfing channels of the television to pass my time.

Suddenly breaking news blinks on my television. A gang of burglar being caught by the police after scrutinizing the close circuit T.V. They performed a heist in a nationalized bank and decamped with crores of money with an aim to fund an extremist outfits who are engaged war against government. Their leader is Asif, who is incidentally my beloved Ashit! He has shared misinformation regarding his name which hurts me most! I could not believe I have spent for such a long period without even an iota of doubt regarding his entanglement with any extremist outfits and he can perform such heinous acts.

Though, I am no longer in a mindset to hate him, as he is not Ashit and having religious difference with me. I cannot concur with the information shared in the news channel, tagging him as a hard core criminal but I am in dilemma whether he is a fraud or God!