Mamta Kalia
Mamta Kalia Mamta Kalia
she would be lying down. When he was brought here his daughter was sleeping at home. He was not even knowing that she is aware of his being shifted to ICU. But no, he had not left her. Until women like Anupama, his wife or nurses like Sozen are around, he just cannot Die.” He had assured himself. “Can you lend me your camel with wings for a while?” He pleaded. “But how can you go out in this condition” Thomas was surprised. “I wish to go to Chakrata, I had negotiated a plot to construct my home there. I wish to give it as a gift to my only daughter. I am not sure I will get this opportunity later or not.” He was almost at his feet. “But both you arms are tied up with syringes, you may require oxygen any time and more over Chakrata is a hill area and when in the early hours doctors come, how will Sozen face them.” — Thomas put dozens of questions at a time. “Please do not worry, I shall return before doctor takes a round”— Pankaj had assured him. “How?”— He had put a big question mark. “When you can come and go back from middle-east before morning then I am going inland only.” He had reasoned. “But, I am called here by Sozen, who calls you there?” “Some one, say my land, which I 100 :: April-June 2010 had chosen.” Thomas did not question further. He simply handed over the stick in his hand which had a bunch of silver keys. Sozen had come back and he opened up his arms. For sometime Thomas and Sozen had taken over the bed under the roof of Intensive Care Unit of Alfred Hospital. When Pankaj was getting out of Alfred Hospital, he had seen the pretty and drowsy face of his wife. He could see his own face in her open eyes, but she could not. That was strange. Within a few moments, Pankaj was at Chakrata. He did not stop at Dehradun, where he had a number of friends. They loved him. But he was feeling scared of their love. He did not want to lose them. He was afraid that they could accept his death as a wish of God and register his absence with a meeting of mourners. Afterwards he would be out of their “Samvedana” meetings. For the camel with wings Chakrata from Dehradun was just a few steps away. Not even check points after every twenty kilometers had any relevance for the camel. Pankaj still remembers when he was searching for a plot to construct a house, Chakrata or Biharigarh were the priority areas for him. He loved Goojars, who were Muslims. In Nineteen hundred and forty seven, when the country was divided on the basis of Hindus and Muslims, they were not aware of any such divide.
They were refugees of permanent kind living in the lower hills, since centuries. For them uprooting was part of their life. It had no different meaning. It was part of their destiny and they had accepted this as well. He still recalls when they had called him at an outer isolated place, he was all alone. They were good in numbers. Fifteen to twenty or may be even more. The language which they spoke was mixture of Hindi, Urdu and Garhwali. There was not a single word of Tamil or English. That was a deserted ground under the crude shadow of once green trees. Two elder persons were sitting on a cot surrounded by others. Both of them were enjoying hukka. A young boy who appeared like a slave was filling hukka with fire-coal and tobacco. It appeared as if they had not taken bath since years. The beard on their face was like grass. Their heads were covered. They wore pathan-suits although they were not pathans. He was the only outsider among them but he was not feeling scared. Those were the months of December and January of acute winter but they were feeling hot. “Oh, what a hot-wave?” — the man sitting on the cot had said. “Allah” — all others followed. Their voice had echoed in the open jungle. It was almost dark. In the months of winter when there is a snow-fall on the top hills of Himalayas as it is snow all-over they come down and spread over in the down-hill villages of Chakrata and Biharigarh. They make their huts and live for almost three months. As soon as the winter is over and the snow melts from the top hills they climb back. Next year when they come back they search for new locations to live in. Like this every year they slip down from snow for three months and then take a re-birth to go back to top hills. They do not know Sozen and Thomas. They do not know even Jesus Christ. But they die every year when snow-falls on their heads and then as soon as it melts they have a re-birth. There is no Alfred Hospital for them. That was a rare co-incidence. When he had approached them for the first time to purchase a piece of land, he had eaten pakodas with a cup of tea. That was a hut made with earthen-soil and bamboos. He sat on a bamboo chair which was shaky but even then had enjoyed his tea. Then he had approached them. “I wish to purchase land.” — he had asked the man sitting on the cot. “How much?” “Thirty bigha” “What you will do with such a big area?” “I am not alone; I have my colleagues with me.” “Where are they?” “They have assigned this work to me.” April-June 2010 :: 101
- Page 49 and 50: Our mind Clouds with the din of Loo
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- Page 53 and 54: Such Is The Time Such is this time
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- Page 57 and 58: I have to tell them each time that
- Page 59 and 60: Said—I used to love this man. Had
- Page 61 and 62: Poetry FIVE POEMS Nilesh Raghuvansh
- Page 63 and 64: How dear it is to hear him so! His
- Page 65 and 66: Books Never willed anybody for a gi
- Page 67 and 68: Discourse POST MODERNISM: A CRITICA
- Page 69 and 70: (Daniel Bell), or ‘post-modern ti
- Page 71 and 72: According to Jameson and Baudrillar
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- Page 75 and 76: perpetuation of dissensus - on a pe
- Page 77 and 78: information because of media’s bi
- Page 79 and 80: catastrophe and progress together
- Page 81 and 82: theories, it has encouraged identit
- Page 83 and 84: 11. J. Baudrillard (1975), “ The
- Page 85 and 86: article was published in 1901 and f
- Page 87 and 88: Conversation FIRAQ GORAKHPURI IN HI
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- Page 91 and 92: e hard put to explain. Or take this
- Page 93 and 94: Short story CAMEL WITH SILVER WINGS
- Page 95 and 96: “No sir, you require rest.” His
- Page 97 and 98: next month.” “To marry you?”
- Page 99: from the jungle or people in their
- Page 103 and 104: offer it to a man! He had thought.
- Page 105 and 106: “At times they charge so much for
- Page 107 and 108: I have been in this job for a numbe
- Page 109 and 110: emembered my old friend Professor S
- Page 111 and 112: time I got home it was ten at night
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- Page 115 and 116: my paralysed wife from bathroom to
- Page 117 and 118: to the Oxygen mask. And then, there
- Page 119 and 120: treatment like bonded labourers, it
- Page 121 and 122: forehead. His mind wandered towards
- Page 123 and 124: in search of any senior doctor. Sin
- Page 125 and 126: The inquiry commission felt it was
- Page 127 and 128: Films GENDERING THE ‘LOOK’ IN C
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- Page 133 and 134: of getting their scripts approved b
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- Page 137 and 138: 9. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Isl
- Page 139 and 140: ack insulted & a loser . She was so
- Page 141 and 142: credits of the film. Jagmohan’s e
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she would be lying down. When he was<br />
brought here his daughter was sleeping<br />
at home. He was not even knowing that<br />
she is aware of his being shifted to ICU.<br />
But no, he had not left her. Until women<br />
like Anupama, his wife or nurses like<br />
Sozen are around, he just cannot Die.”<br />
He had assured himself.<br />
“Can you lend me your camel with<br />
wings for a while?” He pleaded.<br />
“But how can you go out in this<br />
condition” Thomas was surprised.<br />
“I wish to go to Chakrata, I had<br />
negotiated a plot to construct my home<br />
there. I wish to give it as a gift to<br />
my only daughter. I am not sure I will<br />
get this opportunity later or not.” He<br />
was almost at his feet.<br />
“But both you arms are tied up with<br />
syringes, you may require oxygen any<br />
time and more over Chakrata is a hill<br />
area and when in the early hours doctors<br />
come, how will Sozen face them.” —<br />
Thomas put dozens of questions at a<br />
time.<br />
“Please do not worry, I shall return<br />
before doctor takes a round”— Pankaj<br />
had assured him.<br />
“How?”— He had put a big question<br />
mark.<br />
“When you can come and go back<br />
from middle-east before morning then<br />
I am going inland only.” He had reasoned.<br />
“But, I am called here by Sozen, who<br />
calls you there?”<br />
“Some one, say my land, which I<br />
100 :: April-June 2010<br />
had chosen.”<br />
Thomas did not question further. He<br />
simply handed over the stick in his hand<br />
which had a bunch of silver keys. Sozen<br />
had come back and he opened up his<br />
arms.<br />
For sometime Thomas and Sozen had<br />
taken over the bed under the roof of<br />
Intensive Care Unit of Alfred Hospital.<br />
When Pankaj was getting out of Alfred<br />
Hospital, he had seen the pretty and<br />
drowsy face of his wife. He could see<br />
his own face in her open eyes, but she<br />
could not. That was strange.<br />
Within a few moments, Pankaj was<br />
at Chakrata. He did not stop at Dehradun,<br />
where he had a number of friends. They<br />
loved him. But he was feeling scared<br />
of their love. He did not want to lose<br />
them. He was afraid that they could<br />
accept his death as a wish of God and<br />
register his absence with a meeting of<br />
mourners. Afterwards he would be out<br />
of their “Samvedana” meetings. For the<br />
camel with wings Chakrata from Dehradun<br />
was just a few steps away. Not even<br />
check points after every twenty<br />
kilometers had any relevance for the<br />
camel.<br />
Pankaj still remembers when he was<br />
searching for a plot to construct a house,<br />
Chakrata or Biharigarh were the priority<br />
areas for him. He loved Goojars, who<br />
were Muslims. In Nineteen hundred and<br />
forty seven, when the country was divided<br />
on the basis of Hindus and Muslims,<br />
they were not aware of any such divide.