Time's Up: Every Moment Counts

by Vasu Velamur

  At long last, they hit the arch that welcomed their community, and the group entered. They found all the members stood lined up outside the central hut and the mood was more somber, with a touch of grief.

  “Do you think they are all worried about you coming late to home Banrilin?” whispered Vashisht.

  “No, they are least worried about me. No one dares to play with me in this area”

  “Then why this mood and the crowd?”

  “Let me go inside the hut and see. You guys wait outside here”

  She went in and then there was no sound audible for a reasonable amount of time. They heard nothing but stillness, and they did not know if they could enter. Something perturbed Vindhya. And it was the backpack with the device. She had left it out in the open before they left. She wanted to know if the timer had lapsed or whether there was an assignment that needed attention. While this was going through her mind, they heard the crying sound of Banrilin.

  The cry continued for an extended period. Then Ranga stepped forward and pushed Vindhya aside and gatecrashed. Did he want to know about the issue? Did the family need any help? He pushed her, but she refused to budge.

  “Did you not listen to her? She said wait outside. They are royals in this place and we cannot barge in”

  “I’m not asking you to barge, enter slowly and watch if everything is fine. That’s all”

  “OK, let me go, but you guys never think of coming in. Please”

  Vindhya tip-toed forward, and then she pushed the door open. She saw a beautiful woman in her late thirties seated on the bed. Next to her, the backpack was there and the device timer ticked on. On the floor next to this woman was Banrilin, with her head placed on the lap of the woman. Vindhya pondered what may have happened, but could not guess. She suspected some crisis had occurred and the primary cause was them. She pushed her way into the room and went near Banrilin. When she stroked her head, Banrilin lifted to see who it was.

  In the sweet face of Banrilin, the eyes brimmed with tears that ran down her plump cheeks. Banrilin wanted to speak, but her mouth could not move. The tears rolled instead. Vindhya could not grasp the situation, but she sat down and comforted her. Brushing her hair she asked, “What is the matter Banrilin”

  She cried even more and then brought her emotions under control. Then she looked at Vindhya and sobbed, “Why does this happen to me only?”

  “Why, what happened”

  “It’s my father” she wept more “Oh God, why do you do this to me?”

  “Banrilin, tell me what happened?”

  The young lady sitting on the bed opened her mouth and said, “It’s about her father. He has killed himself”

  “What” shouted Vindhya in her deep-throated voice. She was jolted. She did not expect to hear this. “Your father?” to reaffirm what she heard.

  The young lady nodded and then pulled Banrilin towards her and tried to calm her down.

  “Where is her father now?”

  “Near the Devi temple outside the village limit”

  “Can I go there and see if I can help him?”

  “No girl” she said “no woman can go there after evening. Let us all go there tomorrow”

  “What” Vindhya looked surprised “you are going to stay here the whole night and only go there tomorrow?”

  “You do not know the complete story”

  “Then tell me, I want to help you, more than you I want to help my friend Banrilin”

  “See, I will tell you the complete story tomorrow, but for now know this - the Devi temple priest said that he can help us out”

  “What help can he do?”

  “He promised he can bring the dead to alive” she paused, “… for now this is enough. Let us all go to sleep and see about what to do tomorrow morning”

  “OK” said Vindhya, and she picked up the backpack.

  “You and your friends can sleep in this hut with Banrilin, while I sleep in the next hut. See you in the morning” she said and left the hut.

  Vindhya saw her mother off and then called the boys inside. The look on her face conveyed to the boys that things are out of control. They entered the hut and Vindhya locked the door.

  “Look here, we have a bigger puzzle this time and it’s not straightforward”

  “OK, let’s do it for her,” said Ranga with vigor.

  “OK, looks like her mother will tell us the story and we need to get the result as always”

  “Good, then you look after her while we sleep outside” said Vashisht, taking the packed bag.

  “It will be too cold outside and you cannot bear it. Sleep here itself” said a sober Banrilin.

  “OK, but tell me what happened”

  “It’s my father. He has killed himself”

  “What, Killed”

  “Don’t shout stupid” said Vindhya “No villager knows about this yet. So keep quiet”

  “Done. So we won’t disturb you but I assure you that your father will be safe”

  “Hope what you say comes true”

  “Surely it will,” said Ranga and put the lantern out and darkness filled the room. It looked to be a long night and with such a sober mood they felt silence was the best communication. The walk had exhausted all and within a few minutes, they were deep in their sleep.

  Tuesday 08:13 AM

  The morning sun sparkled on the face of Ranga, and he got up at the same instant. Then he looked up and saw Vashist munched something with the device in his hand. He explained the device to Banrilin. Ranga got up and saw Vindhya was still deep in her sleep, settled in the center cot.

  “Hey, Vashy” called Ranga, “what is the status on the device. We need to re-evaluate it”

  “It’s all under control now” said Vashisht with his mouth full of snacks. What he said was not audible and looked gibberish.

  “What are you saying?”

  He swallowed the snacks and then answered, “it’s all under control, Ranga. Get up and get ready soon then we can meet her mother”

  “What about this thing?” Ranga pointed at Vindhya.

  “That always is our lucky baggage, let's pick it up after you are ready”

  “OK, where do we get ready?”

  “That’s much like my grandmother’s house in Kumbakonam. There is a separate tank outside for all those activities. The cleaning and dining demarcation is explicit”

  “You mean in the open” shrugged Ranga and Vashist laughed. Ranga was never the boy who did activities in the open. Such as bathing in open wells or tanks, cycling or outdoor games or work. So as soon as he heard this, he went into his shell.

  “Then what about the thing?”

  “I’m waiting for you to finish, and then we can go outside and wait for her. Got the plan?”

  “Yes yes”

  “Hurry, please. Once you complete we wake her up and get going”

  “What about the timer?”

  “We have another 3 hours. Solid time”

  “What is shown in the photo?”

  “That’s still her father. I have already shown it to her and also explained things to her. She could not understand a word of what it is”

  Ranga went to the backside and came back within 15 minutes. He was fresh and enthusiastic to solve the problem at hand. When he came back, he had a blast in his mind. He shouted at Vashist, “Hey Vashy, what about Vin’s dress? She cannot possibly go outside in that jeans”

  “Yes, I spoke with Banrilin and she has arranged for a suitable dress. It’s their traditional one, it seems. A nice one”. He continued with a hint of energy, “It is known as Jainsen. It’s an unstitched garment made of mulberry silk and wrapped around the body. It comes in all the colors you can identify”. He held the dress that Banrilin had given him. It flowed from the folded arms into a full-length silk dress. The multicolour dress had red, dark blue, orange, green, and yellow in the majority. The colors were from silk and had a lot of floral patterns in them.

  “These patterns look like
those from Fabindia” said Ranga in astonishment

  “You fool, this is the original, and Fabindia is trying to promote this lost culture. So keep quiet and don’t leak it to her”

  “What?”

  “Yes, this got done only now” Vashist gave an affirmative NO using his patented nod left to right 3 times.

  Banrilin, who watched in patience till now, got irritated and said “Look here guys, we have no extra time. Only 30 minutes before my mother leaves for the temple. If you want to help me, get ready and come fast to the entrance. Also, come before they leave”

  “Done Banrilin” said Ranga “you can count on me”

  “OK, don’t forget, I have kept the breakfast there on the table next to the cot. Have it before leaving” she left the hut in a hurry.

  Now that Ranga was ready, they went and woke up Vindhya and told her about the traditional dress. If they had to come to the temple and the dress was a must, they insisted and then showed it to her. They were skeptical if she would wear such colourful dresses. All they knew was that she had only worn from 10th standard a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans and nothing else. But to their surprise, she grabbed the dress and then kept it on herself and turned a few times around. Finally, she asked the million-dollar question which no one could answer “Does this dress look good on me?”

  Ranga shivered and muttered, “anything is an improvement for you. Why is it that I only have to answer these questions?”

  “What are you saying, Ranga?”

  “It looks fabulous on you. Have never seen so many colours in your dress at the same time”

  “OK, so I can come out in this dress?”

  “Yes, but we do not have a lot of time. The villagers are all waiting only for us.” said Ranga, pointing to Vashist to move outside “We will lock the door while you finish dressing up”

  “What about food?”

  “Ahh see, this is Vin” said Vashist “she can only think of food the moment she wakes up”

  “You guys are like camels, but I am normal. I cannot work without some food, especially the morning coffee”

  “Those are not available here if we give a choice we get drained. You will ask for Pongal, Vadai, Chutney Sambhar, etc. What is there is what you get. It’s near the cot. Finish it and come out, we are waiting outside”

  “Done dude:'' she signals a thumbs up and goes to pack her dress while the guys take their breakfast rush outside. They chewed their breakfast, and Vashist took out the device to check the counter. It ticked as expected. They still had around a little over 3 hours left and the photo was Banrilin’s father. Both of them wondered what had happened to him and what was the puzzle?

  The door unfastened hurriedly with a bang, and there stood Vindhya. She didn’t resemble a Meghalaya girl, but the southern Indian looks had disappeared. The dress matched her features. She was in her world and munched the breakfast with delight. Then she looked around her dress and called out, “Hey dudes, how is it?”

  “Made for you” said Vashisht, who was spellbound by the colours in the dress

  “Are we ready now?”

  “We are and I guess Banrilin will take us there and explain what is being said?”

  “Sure buddy has already told her what to do”

  “So we are on. Where are we going today?”

  “To the Kali temple at the outskirts of the village. Someplace little further from where we had lunch yesterday”

  “Then can we have one more time - the Pukhlien”

  Ranga interrupted as always and said “we have other matters to finish, so if we get time we can have”

  “Where is the time once the story starts, the counter will be at our necks?”

  “Don’t worry, Vashisht” Vindhya came in support “we will get some on the way through Banrilin”

  So Vindhya forged ahead, and she was slow for a reason. She was not used to these types of dresses. Also, it was a wrap-around dress which bothered her a lot. You had to consider that her wardrobe only contained Levis Straw’s 501 boot cut series jeans. This was a stark contrast to that, but she was sporting enough to enjoy the challenges thrown at her. The Rajasthani dress was a lot easier, but this dress has no cuts or stitches. It was a pure wrap-around and tied with a string. She was too conscious and believed that it would fall anytime as she moved. Hence, her speed was reduced to below normal.

  They progressed, and the gap between the group ahead increased. It worried Vashist a bit. His concern was about the story narration starting without them. He would not like to miss some of the critical facts. Vindhya’s worry was all about breakfast. So when Banrilin looked at both of them, she realized the problems. She told them she would order the food and they would deliver it to the temple.

  “So we can go wasting no time there and yet get the food?” asked Vashist

  “Yes Vashist” said Banrilin, “and walk a little brisk please, we have to reach on time as my mother. Else she will find out what we did and will scold me”

  “Sure, in fact, we can reach earlier than them but for this girl”

  “Don’t poke fun at her, she is not the important one since they will not allow women inside today”

  “Ooh, anyway we will get there faster”

  The guys went ahead in speed while the girls tried to catch up with them. When they passed the hotel, Vashist heard Banrilin shout and the hotel owner nodded. This made Vashist move even swifter. They went through some lovely bends across the valley. Then, a few minutes later, they reached a dense forest kind of place. The weather helped the people from Madras a lot. Since they had not felt the thirst since last night and there was no sign of thirstiness with them even now.

  A vast crowd had already formed in front of the temple. The temple was a beautiful structure, a lot different from the South Indian version. These temples had over one stupa or dome kind of structure and were painted in Pink colour. All the artistic work of the temple was magnificent and was huge compared to the population in this hilly area. The temple had granite floors and wonderfully carved windows. The carved ceilings and mirrors of studded work were fantastic. They depicted a war scenario in which the good was victorious over the evil demons. The heavy wooden doors stood majestic and carved with a stencil. The images included various dragons and in the middle of Durga Devi. It was a magnificent sight to watch.

  “We have enough time to get the solution and start moving on,” said Ranga. He was a little worried but surprised by the splendor of the temple and its surroundings.

  “How much is remaining?” asked Vashist

  “About 90 minutes only”

  “So let’s somehow start the proceeding. Ranga, you start and I will join in”

  “No not me, Let Vindhya as usual do it”

  “Why should I?” cried Vindhya “every time it’s me. Today I am not in the mood”

  “Stop it friends” came in Banrilin “I’ll do it for you guys. Come behind me”

  They followed her to the inner sanctum of the temple where 5 people laid down in series. They lay with their heads separated from their bodies. The temple priest and Banrilin’s mother were there beside her father, one of them.

  On seeing the bodies Banrilin could not stop herself and she cried out loud and ran towards her mother. Her mother cuddled her and then cajoled her to be calm and they can find some solution for the problem in the form of them.

  Vashist could also not look at it. He nauseated and covered his mouth and rushed back. Ranga pulled him to the side, and they went to the back of the temple and he vomited. Ranga then gave him some water from the tap close by and then asked “Are you alright, can we go there now?”

  “Yes, it’s bloody there”

  “Yeah Dude, even I expected nothing like this - 5 people killed”

  “OK, freshen up we need to sort this out and get going to the next location”

  They both then entered the inner sanctum again. By this time Vindhya sat next to Banrilin’s mother and Banrilin lay on her mother’s la
p. As they entered, Vindhya signaled them to sit down and there was silence for about 2 minutes.

  Then the priest rang a bell and then he looked at Banrilin’s mother and asked “Whom should I awake from the dead now?”

  Banrilin’s mother then looked at the boys and said, “Look children, can you help me with this problem?”

  “Yes, mother,” said Ranga comfortingly, “we will help you for sure. That is why we are here”

  “OK - I need to choose one of the 5 people dead here. I need to choose. Please help me choose”

  “Yes Maa ji” Vindhya joined “but first tell us how did this happen?”

  “First, the priest told me what happened yesterday evening at the temple. I know what happened before that. So I will narrate the story and help me choose. If I give the wrong answer, then my life will also end, it seems. That is why I need your help. I cannot in random choose from the five”

  “OK, tell us the story. Ranga and Vashist are clever guys and will never fail you Maa”

  She cleared her throat and narrated, and a big thunder struck right above their heads. Everyone jolted and got unseated from their place.

  ∞∞∞

  Chapter-14

  The Delemma Of Sacrifice

  Tuesday 08:49 AM

  When they heard the thunder, people outside the temple mumbled and it looked like a small furor. Vindhya whispered into Banrilin’s ears, “What is wrong with the thunder now?”

  “Thunder in our community is a terrible omen”

  “I do not think so, I see no connection”

  “You don’t but we do. So now they will wait for some time”

  Around 5 minutes passed with no activities and the temple atmosphere looked peaceful. Vashist closed his eyes, as he wanted to avoid looking at the bodies. This technique also made him look spiritual. Ranga looked into this backpack and scanned the device. He signaled to Vindhya that the timer was on and to speed things up. When they were conversing in signals, the priest rang the bell and things got back to normalcy.

  “Maa ji, can you tell us what happened so that we can come to a solution fast”