Ajay

His feet couldn’t walk anymore, his body revealed his fragile ribs, his lips were cracking and his bare back faced the torment of the sun. Each step he took on the blistering sand of the Thar was a challenge. Three days and two nights have passed; he wasn’t going to give up his journey.

Motigarh was a small village on the north western end of Rajasthan. The village has a mere population of about three hundred people with a simple way of life. In the morning the men to the fields, plough the dry infertile grounds and take the camels for a walk. The women carry large clay pots on their heads and walk for three hours to get water from a well. Once the sun is at its zenith, there is nothing they can do but sit in their houses. The Rajathani sun during the summer can be very dangerous. Once the sun begins to set, the people of Motigarh all come out of their clay houses and meet under a large sacred tree and sing songs for the rains while the children play games.

The children play gilli-danda and the star player of them all is Ajay. He is fourteen years old and going to turn fifteen in two months. Everybody loves Ajay as he helps everybody in the village regardless of their age and caste. During the great drought, at age twelve, he helped his mother get water so that she wouldn’t have to walk with all the weight as she was pregnant. Unfortunately the child died at birth which caused a lot of trauma for her and Ajay who would caress his mother’s forehead and comfort her through the pain.

As night falls everybody returns to their home and eat dinner under the starry night with a bonfire to keep them warm. The game the desert plays on these people is a mean one. The afternoon is blistering hot and the night is freezing cold. Though for these people, it’s all fine. Ajay regularly visits Jawahar in the evening, his favorite camel. Everybody in the village would say Jawahar and Ajay share souls. One cannot live without the other. Ajay sits every night beside Jawahar and recounts his day. Jawahar would nod upon the completion of a story. Ajay often falls asleep on Jawahar, who is lying on his stomach and Ajay’s father would put a large blanket over him and let him sleep with Jawahar.

The next day everybody begins their usual routine again. The men and women get ready, feed their children and drop them off to school. The school had neither teacher nor a classroom.  Everything happened outside under the large sacred tree. Usually a pandit sat in front of the children and read some lines about the gods and their teachings and all the children would giggle and laugh at the funny looking pandit. Though today nobody came, the children patiently waited for the pandit to arrive and soon enough it became lunch time. Suddenly a loud scream was heard and a woman came running, her dress all bloody. All the villagers came out of their homes to see what was going on. The woman collapsed at the arms of Ajay’s father. She whispered something to his ears and fainted. The father’s face turned white, his throat got dry and his legs couldn’t hold him. He slowly put the woman on the floor and walked a couple of steps and sat down under the tree. Everybody was curious to know what she said.  The father in shock spoke hesitantly, “The pandit is dead, the tribals killed him.”

Everybody gasped upon hearing this. Nobody knew what to do. The father went back into his house and washed his bloody hands and for a moment broke down crying. Ajay ran to his father and asked him what happened, but he wouldn’t tell him. The village was in mourning and silence was everywhere.

In the evening everybody sat under the sacred tree, praying for the soul of the pandit to reach heaven. Suddenly a loud trumpet was heard in the distance. The people of the village got up and looked at the direction of the sound. An army of tribals were running down the dunes. The red sun behind them made the sand glow red as if a wave of blood was about to his the village. Everybody began to scream and run in every direction. Some of the men picked up logs and sickles to defend their village while the women and children were urged to escape. Ajay, in the frantic situation fell down. His father came to his rescue and picked him up and spoke to him in hurry, “My child, my love, you have to run away with your mother to Jaipur and inform the Maharaja about this invasion. It is a long journey through the Thar but the gods will protect you from danger. Take care of your mother.”

He kissed Ajay’s head, hugged him and got up to protect the village with the other men. Ajay couldn’t reply to his father and he did what he asked him to do. Ajay went to his house to find his mother, but she wasn’t there. He began to scream for his mother who wouldn’t reply. In fear and panic he ran to Jawahar, opened his rope and sat on top of him. He kicked Jawahar with the back of his foot and he began to search for his mother in the village.

The tribals reached the village and the bloodshed began. Houses were on fire, bodies lay on the roads, blood was everywhere and Ajay was amidst it all searching for his mother. Soon enough he came to the edge of the village, he couldn’t find his mother and he wouldn’t give up the search. Though Jawahar, almost understanding the situation didn’t listen to Ajay’s command. It was useless to go back into the city, Ajay would certainly die and in case if his mother was still in the city, she was surely dead by now. Ajay lay on Jawahar’s back crying his mother’s and his father’s name. Jawahar had taken him far from the city on a large dune.

The sight was devastating, the city was engulfed in fire and the screams and howls of the tribals could be heard for miles. Ajay cried and cried until he eventually fell asleep on Jawahar’s back. The sky was filled with stars but there was no moon in the sky.

Ajay slowly wakes up the scorching sun is at its zenith and he finds himself in the middle of nowhere. There is only sand and more sand. Jawahar has been walking continually for thirteen hours. Ajay upon realising what was happening, quickly jumps off Jawahar and looks around. Jawahar has been walking towards the south, which is somewhat the right direction to reach Jaipur. Ajay then stops Jawahar and sits down. He is in disbelief; everything seemed like a nightmare but one he can never wake up from. His ears were ringing with screams and the final words of his father. “Go to Jaipur and inform the maharaja. Take care of your mother.” He didn’t know where his mother was, he knew the chances of her being alive are very low. Though he kept his faith that his father and mother had survived and he would meet them in Jaipur.

Ajay isn’t sure how far south he had reached and how much east he would have to travel, these lands were unknown to him. He had travelled countless times with his father to Jaipur, they would take the tradesmen route which would lead straight to Ajmer, which was not too far from Jaipur. The merciless sun was beating down on him, so he wraps his shirt over his head and realises he has no water, no food and has no idea how far civilization is. He looked at Jawahar, who was tired and needed rest. “Where are we?” Ajay asked Jawahar, who simply nodded his head. There is only an ocean of sand around them. He began to walk southeast with Jawahar on his side.

Hours pass and there was no sign of any oasis. The day was coming to an end and Ajay needed a way to create a small fire if possible. Otherwise the freezing cold could kill him. Ajay looked at Jawahar and said “You are versatile my friend. You can survive both heat and cold. How do you do it?”

Camels have thick fur on them for the cold; though the heat can kill camels but they have storage of water with which they can survive the heat. The sun began to set and Ajay was getting gradually hungry. His mind was twisting and twirling, he needed food, he needed to create fire and he needed to reach Jaipur to see his parents. Suddenly Ajay collapsed, his face hit the ground and he began to roll down the sand dune. Jawahar in panic ran after him. They both reach the valley of two large dunes and Ajay lays there unconscious. Jawahar sat beside Ajay and lightly leaned over him, making sure Ajay doesn’t get crushed by his weight. Jawahar kept Ajay warm through the night. Ajay opened his eyes slowly and could see the stars, he was on his back with his face full of sand.

He slowly said “Oh gods, help me, Yama let me reach Jaipur and meet my parents. Then you may take me but not yet, not yet.” And he falls asleep.

Ajay woke up to find Jawahar to be there anywhere. He looked around and saw Jawahar in the distance captured by the tribals. Ajay shouted and ran towards Jawahar but alas the tribals killed Jawahar and his blood fell on Ajay.

Ajay woke up again shouting, Jawahar got up and looked at him in fright. It’s still night and Ajay realised he just had a nightmare. He leaped and hugged Jawahar and afraid to sleep, he began to walk again. Ajay was constantly dosing away but he wouldn’t sleep in fear of having another nightmare. He keeped on walking through the night and looked over his shoulder and started to speak to Jawahar, “Look god is rising over the dunes. He gives life, without him we are nowhere and we would live in darkness. When he is angry he burns us all and takes away the life he has given us.”

Jawahar turned to witness the sunrise and nodded his head. Though god is always angry in the afternoon, the air is dry and Ajay is walking on his reserves. He hears a loud thud and looks back to see Jawahar fallen. Ajay runs to Jawahar and places his head on his lap, “Hey, hey, what happened. Don’t go to sleep, stay awake. Please don’t go to sleep.” Jawahar, the jewel, was past living on his reserves, his eyes were staring back at Ajay, trying to assure him that he will make it. Ajay knew what was going on, he leaned over Jawahar and felt his heartbeat on his chest, the beats were slowing down, his breathing stopped and a tear fell from Ajay’s eye. He didn’t move for over four hours. The sun had scorched his back, leaving it sun burnt. Ajay lay there with his beloved Jawahar, he lost all hopes, he silently cursed god and the barbarians. It became night and Ajay was freezing, he lay under Jawahar, who for one last time helped Ajay survive the night. Ajay was up all night, holding firmly on to Jawahar. He rose before the sun and knowing his other half was dead, he had to go on. He silently prayed for Jawahar and began to walk to Jaipur.

His feet couldn’t walk anymore, his body revealed his fragile ribs, his lips were cracking and his bare back faced the torment of the sun. Each step he took in the blistering sand of the Thar was a challenge. Three days and two nights had passed; he wasn’t going to give up his journey. He began to hallucinate, he began to see mirages. His mother standing far, “Mother, is that you? I’m coming!” He ran towards the form until it disappeared. He fell on his knees, looking up to the sun with his eyes closed. Then he felt a sharp sting on his calf. He looked to find himself fallen on a snake which bit him. He looked back up at the sun and spoke, “I know, my time is coming, but not yet, not yet. I must meet my parents in Jaipur.”

He rose to his feet which no longer could hold him, he dragged himself over one final dune, to be able to see the pink city. Jaipur, alas was in his sight. The power of a thousand sun rose in him, Jawahar, his father, his mother, they all were in his heart. He rolled himself down the dune, dragged himself across the dusty roads to reach the large gates of Jaipur. He couldn’t see clearly, there was sand in his eyes. He couldn’t speak, his mouth was dry. Three guards came running to his aid, lifted the boy and took him into the castle. On the way he whispered to the guards, “I must warn – my parents – the maharaja.”

The guards looked at each other and quickly took the boy straight to the maharaja. He was placed near the maharaja. The maharaja, a kind soul got off his chair and rushed to the boy, sat beside him and rested his head on his lap and spoke, “My child, what has happened to you? Where are you coming from? Guards! Get water for this boy!”

The boy grabbed the Maharajas hand and said, “Invasion in Motigarh. Are my parents here?”

The maharaja noticed the swollen leg of the boy and immediately asked a doctor to come, “My child, who are your parents? Do you know their names?”

The doctors arrived and the guards brought some water. The boy closed his eyes, smiled and spoke, “I see them. I finally see them. Yama, thank you for letting me meet them.”

__END__