fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

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one could not remove even a brick fromthe rubble.People expected that the whole storywould reach Ghani's ears somehow orother. One look at the rubble and he wouldsurely read the story on his own.Ghani scratched the earth from therubble with his nails, poured it over himselfand hugged the door frame, crying, 'SpeakChiragh Deena, speak to me. Where haveyou gone?, Oh, Kishwar, Oh, Sultana, Oh,my children, why have you left Ghanibehind, Oh, Oh!'Slivers of wood raineddown from the crumbling doorway.Someone woke up Rakkha Pahalwansleeping under the peepal tree, or perhapshe woke up on his own. When he learntthat Abdul Ghani had come from Pakistanand was sitting on the debris of his house,phlegm rose from his throat that made himcough and he spat on the well's parapet.He looked at the pile of rubble and a growlrose from his chest as from a pair ofbellows. His lower lip flared out.'Ghani is sitting on his rubble,’Rakkha's henchman, Lachcha Pahalwantold him, sitting down by his side.'How does it belong to him? It's mine,’Rakkha said in a voice hoarse with phlegm.'But he is sitting there’ Lachcha saidin a meaningful voice.'Let him sit there for all I care. Youget me the pipe.' He spread out his legsand stroked his naked thighs.'If Manori tells him...' Lachcha said,fgndi •with the same meaningful look. He gotup to fetch the pipe.'Why would Manori invite trouble?'Lachcha went away.Dry peepal leaves lay scattered aroundthe well. Rakkha kept picking them upand crushing them between his palms.When Lachcha came back with the pipeand offered it to Rakha after putting thefilter cloth under it, Rakkha took a longpull at the pipe and said : 'Has anyoneelse been talking to Ghani?''No.’'Here,’ Coughing, he handed back thepipe to Lachcha.Lachcha saw Manori returning, holdingGhani by the arm. Squatting, Lachcha tooka quick, short pull at the pipe while hiseyes darted from Rakkha's face to Ghani'sin the distance.Now Manori was walking a step aheadof Ghani, holding his arm as though hewanted Ghani to walk past the well withoutnoticing Rakkha. But Rakkha was sittingwith his legs sprawled as if asking to betaken notice of. Ghani had seen him froma long way off. As he came near the wellhe spread out his arms, ‘Rakkha Pahalwan!’Raising his head, Rakkha narrowed hiseyes and gazed at Ghani. A lump seemedto form in his throat but he did not speak.'Rakkha Pahalwan, haven't yourecognized me?' Ghani lowered his arm.'I'm Ghani- Chiragh Din's father.'Pahalwan looked him over suspiciously,from head to foot. Abdul Ghani's eyes hadApril-June 2013 :: 89

ightened up on seeing Rakkha Pahalwanand under his white beard his wrinkles hadfanned out in joy. Rakkha's lower liptrembled and he said in a booming voice,'What news, Ghania?'Ghani was about to stretch out his armsagain but finding no response they fell oftheir own accord. Supporting himselfagainst the trunk of the tree he sat downon the parapet of the well.The whispers in the windows aboveintensified. Now that the two were facingeach other, things were sure to come toa head. They might even start abusing oneanother. Rakkha couldn't have his way withthe old man any more. Now the timeshad changed. Lord of the rubble indeed!What braggadacio! The rubble was neitherhis nor Ghani's. It was governmentproperty. And this fiend would not allowanyone even to tie a cow there.And Manori was a coward. Why didn'the tell Ghani that it was Rakkha who hadmurdered his family Chiragh Din, his wifeand children. Rakkha was not a man buta bull and like a bull he roamed aboutbellowing without hindrance. How thinand wizened poor Ghani looked, his headgone all white!Sitting down on the edge of the well,Ghani said, ‘Just see, Pahalwan, I left abustling home behind me and to say I havecome all this way to see this mud. That'sall that is left of a whole household.Honestly, Rakkha, I don't have the heartto tear myself away even from this heapof mud.’ Tears rose to his eyes.The wrestler folded his out-spread legs,picked up his shoulder cloth from the wallof the well and flung it on his shoulder.Lachcha held out the pipe to him and hetook long pulls at it.'Tell me, Rakkha, how did all thishappen?' Ghani said in an insistent tone,holding back his tears. ‘All of you werenear him. All of you loved one anotherlike brothers. If he wanted to, couldn't hehave taken shelter with one of you? Didn'the have that much sense?'It happened, that's all,' Rakkha said,his voice sounding unnaturally hollow evento himself.Thick saliva glued his lips. From underhis moustache sweat dripped on to his lips.A heavy weight seemed to press down onhis forehead and his spine asked forsupport.'How are things in Pakistan?' he askedin the same hollow voice. The veins inhis neck had become taut. He wiped thesweat under his armpits with his shouldercloth and sucking the thick saliva fromhis throat he spat it out in the lane.'What can I tell you, Rakkha?' Ghanipressed down on the knob of his walkingstick with both hands. 'If you ask howthings are with me, only God knows. Ifmy Chiragh had been with me it wouldhave been a different story, Rakkha. Howoften did I plead with him to leave andgo with me. But he was adamant. He saidhe couldn't go, leaving a newly constructed90 :: April-June 2013fgndi •

ightened up on seeing Rakkha Pahalwanand under his white beard his wrinkles hadfanned out in joy. Rakkha's lower liptrembled and he said in a booming voice,'What news, Ghania?'Ghani was about to stretch out his armsagain but finding no response they fell oftheir own accord. Supporting himselfagainst the trunk of the tree he sat downon the parapet of the well.The whispers in the windows aboveintensified. Now that the two were facingeach other, things were sure to come toa head. They might even start abusing oneanother. Rakkha couldn't have his way withthe old man any more. Now the timeshad changed. Lord of the rubble indeed!What braggadacio! The rubble was neitherhis nor Ghani's. It was governmentproperty. And this fiend would not allowanyone even to tie a cow there.And Manori was a coward. Why didn'the tell Ghani that it was Rakkha who hadmurdered his family Chiragh Din, his wifeand children. Rakkha was not a man buta bull and like a bull he roamed aboutbellowing without hindrance. How thinand wizened poor Ghani looked, his headgone all white!Sitting down on the edge of the well,Ghani said, ‘Just see, Pahalwan, I left abustling home behind me and to say I havecome all this way to see this mud. That'sall that is left of a whole household.Honestly, Rakkha, I don't have the heartto tear myself away even from this heapof mud.’ Tears rose to his eyes.The wrestler folded his out-spread legs,picked up his shoulder cloth from the wallof the well and flung it on his shoulder.Lachcha held out the pipe to him and hetook long pulls at it.'Tell me, Rakkha, how did all thishappen?' Ghani said in an insistent tone,holding back his tears. ‘All of you werenear him. All of you loved one anotherlike brothers. If he wanted to, couldn't hehave taken shelter with one of you? Didn'the have that much sense?'It happened, that's all,' Rakkha said,his voice sounding unnaturally hollow evento himself.Thick saliva glued his lips. From underhis moustache sweat dripped on to his lips.A heavy weight seemed to press down onhis forehead and his spine asked forsupport.'How are things in Pakistan?' he askedin the same hollow voice. The veins inhis neck had become taut. He wiped thesweat under his armpits with his shouldercloth and sucking the thick saliva fromhis throat he spat it out in the lane.'What can I tell you, Rakkha?' Ghanipressed down on the knob of his walkingstick with both hands. 'If you ask howthings are with me, only God knows. Ifmy Chiragh had been with me it wouldhave been a different story, Rakkha. Howoften did I plead with him to leave andgo with me. But he was adamant. He saidhe couldn't go, leaving a newly constructed90 :: April-June 2013fgndi •

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