When Prakash woke up in the morning, the sun had already begun its day’s work. Meera and Chirant were still lost in deep sleep. Nanjappa was nowhere to be seen when Prakash looked around, so he stepped outside searching for him.
Ah…! What a mesmerizing beauty of nature! Though the sun was shining brightly, its rays were trapped in the thick mist, making the surroundings feel almost dark. Such dense fog had covered the place. In the distance, he noticed someone working in a paddy field. As he looked closely, he realized it was Nanjappa.
“Nanjappa!” Prakash called out. From afar, Nanjappa gestured him to come. Following his guidance, Prakash walked towards him.
As he reached near, Prakash asked, “What are you doing, Nanjappa sir?”
Nanjappa replied, “Last night, the water flow reduced, so the Neerande stopped working. I’m fixing it.”
“What is Neerande?” Prakash asked curiously.
“Neerande is a device used in these Malenadu paddy fields to scare away animals and birds by making noise. It doesn’t cost anything,” said Nanjappa.
“Oh… really?” Prakash observed how it worked. Then he continued, “Is all this land yours?”
“It was not mine before… now it is mine,” Nanjappa replied.
His answer sounded strange to Prakash. Curious, he asked, “Then whose was it before?”
“It belonged to our landlord… now it is mine,” said Nanjappa.
“Can you please explain your life story clearly? I’m not able to understand,” Prakash asked eagerly.
“I married my wife Nanji out of love, ignoring our families,” Nanjappa began.
Interrupting him, Prakash laughed in surprise, “What? Love marriage? That too in those days?”
“Yes…” Nanjappa smiled and continued.
“At that time, we were struggling even for a single meal. Seeing our condition, our landlord gave us this one-and-a-half acres of land and said, ‘I’ve grown old. I can’t do farming anymore. You both cultivate this land and feed me two meals a day.’ He had fought with his children and was living alone here. Thinking we needed the guidance of an elder to survive, Nanji and I agreed.”
“Even after many years, we didn’t have children. Because of that sorrow, without my knowledge, Nanji took various medicines hoping for a child… and about 35 years ago, she passed away,” Nanjappa said with deep sadness.
He continued, “The same words my landlord told me, I’m now telling you… I’ve grown old, I can’t do farming anymore. You cultivate the land and feed me two meals a day,” he said in a pleading tone.
Hearing this, Prakash felt emotional and said, “For people like us who live in a desert, even water is hard to find. In such a time, how can I ever repay you for giving us not just water but also shelter?” Saying this, he held Nanjappa’s hands with gratitude.
From then on, Prakash took very good care of Nanjappa. The children also grew close to him very quickly. After living a lonely life in darkness for nearly 35 years, light entered Nanjappa’s life. And just when darkness was about to surround Satyaprakash and the children, Nanjappa became their light.
After 12 years
Five years after Satyaprakash and the children began living with Nanjappa, he passed away. Prakash continued farming in Nanjappa’s fields and lived happily with the children.
Chirant and Meera were studying in 8th grade at a high school in Dandeli. Their friendship was so deep that there was no space for anyone else in their world. They focused on their studies and shared pure affection with each other. The winds of romantic love failed to trap them. Instead, those feelings in Chirant’s heart were directed towards a girl named Geetha. But still, he and Meera remained just friends. The credit for all this goes to Satyaprakash.
Both were always ahead in studies, and their marks were almost equal.
They loved roaming in the hills and forests around them. So, at least once a week, they would wander into the woods. But into their peaceful lives entered fate, like a shadow of Saturn. As days passed, Chirant started losing interest in studies. The reason was that his memory power was gradually weakening.
During the annual exams of 8th grade, Meera noticed a big difference in their marks and questioned him,
“Hey Chiru, look how much less you’ve scored compared to me.”
“I don’t know… lately my memory is getting weak, that’s why I’m unable to study properly,” said Chirant.
“That’s not true. You’ve just reduced studying and increased thinking about Geetha,” Meera said slightly angrily. “Reduce that, everything will be fine.”
“That’s not it, Meera. I study when it’s time to study. I don’t sit thinking about her,” said Chirant.
“Oh really, sir? Now you have to get the marks card signed by uncle, remember? Your drama won’t work there,” Meera warned.
“Hey, why are you there then? You’ll tell some lie and save me, right? You don’t like me getting scolded,” Chirant said sarcastically.
“Go away! If I cover up your mistakes, you’ll keep repeating them. You should be punished so you don’t repeat them. I will definitely tell uncle,” Meera said firmly.
“Please Meera… if you don’t support me, who will? Please, you have to save me,” Chirant pleaded.
“No, I’ll tell him,” Meera said decisively.
Just then, Prakash arrived. “What’s going on? You both seem to be discussing something seriously,” he said.
“Yes uncle, today we got our 8th grade results. We need to get the marks card signed. That’s what we were talking about,” Meera said softly.
“What is there to discuss? You both study well, right? Why fear? Just bring it,” said Prakash.
“Yes uncle, earlier our marks used to be equal, so there was no issue. But this time, sir has scored much less than me. You should ask him,” Meera said openly.
“Oh? Is that true, Meera? Why? There must be some reason,” Prakash asked seriously.
“Dad… lately I’m unable to remember what I study. What can I do?” Chirant replied nervously.
“That’s not it, uncle. His attention is going elsewhere, that’s why he’s unable to study,” Meera said with a slight smile.
“No dad, I’m not distracted. My memory is really getting weak,” Chirant said firmly.
“Stop giving excuses and study well. Next time, get good marks,” Prakash scolded.
“When I tell the truth, no one believes it… truth has no value,” Chirant muttered and walked away.
Even by evening, his anger hadn’t subsided. While eating, Prakash asked, “Dear, has Chiru eaten?”
“No uncle, he still seems upset. I’ll call him, you eat,” Meera said while serving food.
She went outside and called, “Hey Chiru, come eat. It’s time.”
There was no response. His silence itself was the answer.
After calling him multiple times with no reply, she went near him, held his hand, and asked with concern,
“Are you still angry with me?”
“I’m not angry… but I feel bad about myself,” said Chirant.
“Look Chiru, uncle scolded you for your own good. Instead of feeling bad, you should understand and study better,” Meera said.
“Really Meera, I’m not upset because dad scolded me. I’m upset because he didn’t understand my problem… and even you didn’t understand me,” Chirant said sadly.
“Okay, okay… sorry. Now come, let’s eat,” Meera said.
“I’m not hungry. You eat,” said Chirant.
“No way. If you don’t eat, I won’t eat either,” Meera warned.
Realizing she wouldn’t leave him alone otherwise, Chirant finally went inside to eat.
To be continued…
You can also read this story in Kannada.
You can also explore other posts on this page.
