“Appu”

“Appu”

-Biswadeep Ghosh Hazra (11/EC/33)

**The sky became an amalgamation of crimson red and orange while the sun was getting ready to rise. Appu’s eyes was fixed on the gradually visible crescent of the sun, though he was awestruck he could not possibly comprehend the beauty of the whole scenery; because he is a monkey. Sahil’s best friend so far, Appu was gifted to him by his father when he was seven. Since then they both were like brothers, just that Sahil was human and Appu, a monkey. Sahil lived in a dump along with others and were considered the dregs of the society. **

Part-I

Sahil’s mother called him to eat, “Beta! Come and have your porridge,” “But Ma!” yelled Sahil in protest, “I want rice, not porridge”. Sahil’s mother, Komal did not have any option other than scolding Sahil, they were gypsies and lived on the fringes of the city in temporary make-shift homes. Being a mother, Komal sobbed in hiding, it had been many days since Sahil was asking for some rice but they had nothing except the sloppy, stinking porridge that they have every day. Sahil shared everything with Appu, his father while gifting it to him made Sahil promise to share everything with him as they grew up, he said that Appu would always protect him and keep him happy. Since then, Sahil adopted Appu and made him his own brother, Sahil would always be seen with Appu on his head and shoulders.

“Bapu told me when I was small, that you would be my key to happiness and that you me and you will find treasure, how fun will it be”, Sahil was speaking to Appu while fidgeting with his fingers. Sahil’s father died because of a snake bite, the snake wasn’t that much venomous but Sahil’s father had a phobia from snakes and the shock killed him, instantly.

##Since then there has a complete paradigm shift in Komal’s family as their sole bread-winner was dead, she had to resort to extreme measures and cried as she made her way often to the local prostitution areas. Over the years, Komal had a tough time raising her son-she never really liked Appu, but she had to feign her feelings in front of Sahil as Appu was everything to him.##

Presently Appu is a little more than nine years old and Sahil yesterday stepped on his 16^th birthday-mother, son and monkey spent the evening enjoying and eating. Sahil cuddled around his mother-“You always do this whenever you demand something from me, go on now, and today is your birthday so tell me what do you want?” said Komal caressing his son. Sahil always loved the scent of his mother, it was unique and had something that made Sahil sure he could identify his mother even blindfolded. “I only want you to make Appu some clothes, nothing else-those idiots down the dump called Appu names and threw stones at him, I want Appu to dress like a king” saying these words Sahil made a face that anyone would fall for, Komal being his mother had no other option than to settle down with making nice clothes for the monkey, by the end of this week.

The next day while Sahil was playing with Appu, he heard a scream that reminded him of the day his father died; Sahil went to their tent as fast as possible with trembling legs, Appu followed him quickly just behind Sahil.

^^Upon reaching his tent, Sahil fainted seeing his mother foaming vigorously from the mouth-the snake had snuggled just in front of Komal’s legs. All feelings of anger, sadness, loss and frustration followed within Sahil as he darted towards the snake and picking it up by the mouth by a sudden jerking movement, put the snake into the hot chulhi where his mother was preparing the rice Sahil wanted to eat so much…His mother was dead and Sahil and Appu were left on their own in this vast and cruel world. ^^

Part-II

**Appu looked at the corpse for a long time; then suddenly it climbed up on the corpse and started running all over Komal’s body. Whenever Komal would be asleep, Appu would do this. Now that Komal is dead, Appu‘s gesture made no help at all, but Appu did not understand-after all it was a monkey. **

Sahil was sobbing uncontrollably for the past two and a half hours when suddenly his eyes met the container containing the rice Sahil wanted to eat. The pangs of hunger was too much to bear for Sahil, he took the container and started eating the rice, his eyes transfixed on his mother’s dead body. Appu appeared from behind the tent and sat beside Sahil; eyeing the rice. Komal always used to tell his son that better days were awaiting them; Sahil had no idea that better days meant this.

##For one week Sahil and Appu managed to live by scavenging for food inside the dump-but in vain. Sahil envisaged that he needed friends to make go for arranging food and daily amenities, someone who other than listening to Sahil will give his advice to Sahil. Within the next few days, Sahil managed to make friendship with two other flimsy boys like him named Suman and Raj. ##

Soon Sahil realized that this dump or the pent-up make shift homes was not meant for him and Appu- he decided to see the world and show people Appu’s magnificent performance. Raj and Suman however were satiated with this life and went to the recycling factory to work in the dump and collect things to recycle.

Sahil had buried his mother where she belonged-deep into the dump. Night fell early on that day-so it felt to Sahil; all his life Sahil had waited for this opportunity to present itself, now when it did he was sure not to let it slip away. Later at night Sahil thought of his friends-Suman and Raj and felt that everybody has a dream; his friends want to work in a recycle factory whereas Sahil wants to see the world-it is only a matter of perspective. 

^^ Excited as he was, Sahil could not sleep. After a little later he decided to kill time watching the moon-the night was that of a full moon night and Sahil saw the whole dump yard illuminated by the moon. Sahil felt the horror of silence for the first time in his life-he felt the fear of being lonely. Tomorrow is supposed to be a big day for him; he watched Appu looking at the moon, goggle-eyed. ^^

Sahil: Lovely, isn’t it Appu? The moon…

Appu: (Stares at his master, then again looks at the moon.)

Sahil: I wish my mother was here, we would’ve enjoyed the view…

That night Sahil made a promise in front of Appu that he would not spare any snake that crosses his path, Sahil then reflected for sometime then made a correction, “I would kill every snake that I see, if I die by a snake; then I would accept it and gladly die but not before killing the bloody snake. I would think that it was my fate to die by the venom.” Saying this Sahil placed his right hand on Appu’s head and began scratching the monkey’s head-one of Appu’s favorite. They both spent that night watching the moon in all its glory-tomorrow lay a great day ahead but Sahil wanted to have a last look at his birthplace because come tomorrow he would forget everything about this place.

Part-III

The following morning Sahil and Appu left the dump yard to follow their dreams-being able to live luxuriously and earn a decent amount of money. But life’s not a bed of roses and Sahil and Appu precisely knew that. Living on footpaths was the most probable choice for them both. Sahil had to forcefully resort to begging after he carefully decided that it would be the most logical choice at this stage-since he had neither food for Appu nor colorful dresses, Sahil had to first collect money and then buy some fancy dresses for Appu so that he could show people Appu’s performance.

^^As time moved on, Sahil got to know the world that was kept away from him- he saw the big machines in the dump yard but he never saw fast cars, high rise buildings, pavements, boulevards- all this was new to him and it was natural that all this would take time to sink in. Sahil’s tryst with Appu continued as he tried to pacify the ever energetic animal and put its mind to training but in vain, after Komal’s death, Appu became somebody totally different- the obedient Appu was replaced with a fickle minded, petulant Appu who defied Sahil at every step. Sahil tried many times to leave Appu but either he could not let go of Appu or even if he did, Appu would always find its way back to Sahil.^^

During this time Sahil got in touch with so many people that would later shape his future- Rosy the prostitute, Mr. Dhar the police officer who regularly used to meet Rosy, Biltu- Rosy’s (and many others’) pimp, Rantu, Jhimli, Keltu, Santu, Raju- the street begging gang who were more or less aged same as Sahil. For the first month, Sahil and the others had a gala time begging for money and food and Sahil’s face was one of those unique faces that would invoke sympathy in even the hardest of souls. With the money obtained, Sahil would buy Appu some colorful clothes, a strong rope, steel rims with bells attached and a small drum. 

Sahil: I will organize a performance with Appu and I would like you all to participate, we can earn more money that way. Keltu you can play the drums well, Raju and Rantu will roam and collect money from people, Jhimli will dance along with Appu and me and Santu will play the instruments and sing.

Santu: I cannot play any instrument!

Sahil: I will teach you but in return you must pay me until you learn properly…

Raju: When do we start? We must practice beforehand to make sure that our performance is watchable, otherwise it would be a waste of time-

Jhimli: Can Appu perform?

Jhimli’s question echoed in Sahil’s mind for quite some time- can Appu perform? Can Appu be transformed again into the obedient monkey that it once was? Everything now depended on Appu- Sahil went to Appu and held its face close to his with both of his hands; he knew it was a foul attempt but nevertheless a desperate one. Sahil put his eyes into Appu’s eyes and whispered,

“Please Appu, not for my sake but for your sake, please do what I tell you to do, all these years of training you, I hope you won’t let it all go to waste. We need a subtle and terrific performance from you- do not let our expectations go to waste.”

Part IV

**A week followed and Appu seemed to calm down and follow closely the instructions given by Sahil; to Sahil Appu was recovering from shock and coming out of its virtual tortoise shell. For Appu was once again cooperating and following instructions given to him by Sahil and the gang. During this time Sahil developed a strong bond with Rosy the prostitute. **

Sahil: What forced you to get down to the streets like me?

Rosy: The same as yours, luck; I was born in a whore house itself, in fact I don’t even know my mother, lest my father.

Sahil: And I was perturbed that I didn’t get time to know my father…

Rosy: Gotta go, here comes my client-

Sahil: My mother was like a whore like you and I despise her for that.

Rosy: It takes courage and guts to say something like that Sahil, maybe one day you will understand what your mother went through.

Sahil did not want to understand, he was old enough to question everything he saw and Rosy’s last words hit him like a knife, really his mother went through a lot of ordeal before dying. Sahil realized he was crying when he tasted something salty on his lips. Just then he heard muffled cries of Jhimli and Rantu and Santu crying for help-

##There was a snake just before Jhimli, waiting to strike a fearful blow into its enemy’s body- what happened is Jhimli was roaming around freely (after her so called dinner) when accidentally she set foot on a snake that was probably sleeping and now Jhimli was transfixed and from the faces she made, she knew she would die any moment now. ##

Determined not to lose another friend and acquaintance, Sahil made a run for it, maybe seeing his loved ones die by snake made him fearless, he did not want to lose Jhimli-he had a soft corner for her. Love? Maybe but right now Sahil decided to focus on killing the snake- but he needed something sharp and pointy for poking the snake, so that Sahil can shift its attention from Jhimli towards him. Looking around in the street light he found a stick barely pointed enough, still in its primordial state. Grabbing that and in a split second (he had already ordered Jhimli not to move as moving meant a sure shot death ticket) Sahil poked the snake; hitting hard on its head. The snake was clearly agitated by the sudden shift of authority; until Sahil interrupted it was in charge of the situation. A grievous battle was being waged between a boy and a deadly snake and Rantu, Jhimli, Keltu, Santu, Raju, Mr. Dhar (Rosy’s client) and Rosy herself were completely engrossed in the scenario, so much that the thought of helping Sahil did not occurred to them.

^^Like someone trained at this, Sahil made swift and fast movements keeping the stick steady- giving repeated hitting to the snake on its head. After a brief struggle Sahil managed to break the snake’s skull and ultimately kill the creature, battle waged, he saw dozens of eyes glued on to him with sheer excitement in them. He smiled not because he had won but for ultimately he had started fulfilling his vow- to kill each and every snake that crosses his path; he knew he had more to go. Sahil’s eyes met everyone’s until it finally came to Appu’s who was very closely watching the incident-picking Appu, Sahil went to Jhimli. ^^

Part-V

%% Mr. Goswami was the owner of Elite circus- and Elite circus was in the same town as Sahil’s; though a rich man, Mr. Goswami was excited to be back in town. As a kid, Mr. Goswami was born around the same dump yard in which Sahil lived in till now. Being back to his home town definitely made Mr. Goswami visibly excited and happy. He had suffered a lot in life and had to sacrifice so many things to reach where he is today, primarily among them was his first love. %%

Sahil had left their previous settlement and moved on ahead, he had promised Rosy to contact her if he’s in trouble. Apart from Rosy Sahil did not know anybody very well; however the whole gang comprising of Jhimli, Keltu, Rantu and everybody were so fond of Sahil’s heroism and courage that they decided to tag along.

Sahil and his team were looking for refuge and had reached a considerable distance within town when they saw posters being distributed for something grand; actually it was the first show for Elite circus and there were colors and merriment everywhere. Keltu, Rantu and the others were amazed and awestruck when they saw people walking over iron bars with posters attached on their bodies; clowns of various heights were smiling and distributing colorful banners, inviting people to come to their circus. It felt as if Elite circus knew exactly how to make propaganda work-An ever smiling clown smiled even more as he tucked a colorful paper into Appu’s hands-the procession lasted about couple of minutes more making sure that everyone in that small town would definitely attend the circus that evening for such dosage of excitement and fun rarely comes in their daily life.

Little did anyone in Sahil’s group knew how to read, so Sahil tucked the lehenga of an elderly woman and asked what all this commotion was about; she told him that it was a circus and that she was really excited about the prospect of going to one for many days now. The colorless and ashen streets of the town were suddenly coloristic and full of vibrancy and life, as if suddenly someone had suddenly splashed life in the town itself.

Rantu: What’s a ‘circ…circus’?

Jhimli: Yes, I know; my father took me once; it is a magical place indeed! I think we should all go there, it would be like visiting some fairy land, so many funny people, and animals!!!

Sahil: We must go to the circus and talk to the people in charge, if luck favors then we may even get selected to work there-that way we won’t have to worry about food anymore…

Keltu: But we do not have money to watch the show? Now what?

Sahil (sighing): We have to either collect enough money today for going to the show tomorrow or make a plan to see the show without tickets; the choice is up to all of you. I would personally go with the second option.

*Everybody in unison agreed to Sahil’s proposal, they had decided Sahil to be their leader and Sahil too had no problem taking their responsibility, as long they listened to him.*

## That evening the whole team remained goggle eyed for several minutes as they saw the biggest make shift tents of their lives, Jhimli however remained calm and watched everyone’s expression as she was familiar with the feeling; Sahil felt so insignificant and powerless standing beside the huge tent that for minutes he did not speak with anyone and told his team to leave him alone. Sometime later he returned smiling from ear to ear as he had devised of a beautiful strategy. ##

Part VI

Now Mr. Goswami had this peculiar habit of watching his audiences’ reaction to the shows of his circus. As he disembarked from his private tent he saw a commotion that was raging violently between his security personnel and a handful of small children- by their unruly, disheveled and unkempt condition he assumed that they were from around the dumps just like him. But what surprised him greatly was the presence of a monkey that was loitering around rapidly from here to there just behind Sahil. Today he might not be able to watch the reaction of the audiences as Mr. Goswami just found his long lost treasure, Sahil and Appu…

The incident that took place was that Sahil had found for them a perfect spot for seeing the performance without being spotted (well at least that was what Sahil had thought!) but guards on patrol soon found the whole gang and was about to confiscate them; had not Mr. Goswami intervened in between. On the other hand, Mr. Goswami nearly fainted seeing the monkey as it brought old memoires back alive; summoning Sahil to one separate corner he inquisitively asked where he got the monkey from?

Sahil: My mother gave it to me on my birthday…

Mr. Goswami: Your mother or your father?

Sahil was taken aback as he had not expected such a question as a reply, he stammered but finally managed to tell the truth, my father was a irresponsible wretch and a drunkard, I do not consider Appu as a gift from him…

Mr. Goswami: Of course you don’t, cause I gave Appu to you!

Sahil: Look sahib, you may be rich but please keep your poor jokes to yourself please, I…

Before Sahil could speak, Mr. Goswami tightly hugged him and whispered softly in to Sahil’s ears, I loved your mother, Komal, we were supposed to be married off together but then your drunkard of a father married the love of my life and before coming to the city I gifted Appu to you when you were just a toddler. Sahil could not believe any of Mr. Goswami’s nonchalant blabbering but a voice within him told that finally his journey was over, he could at least end up getting a job in here with all his friends.

Though not comfortable with Mr. Goswami at the beginning, Sahil decided to have a chat with him in his private tent, keeping his friends in the main tent where the show was proceeding, they were all glued to the performances of elephants on tri-cars, athletes performing acrobatics, jokers solely providing what they are meant for: laughter- meanwhile Sahil was on the verge of securing a job for the likes of him and his gang. With Appu on his lap, Sahil was in a dilemma whether to trust Goswami or not.

A huge roaring sound was heard which meant that the first round show was over- on this side Mr. Goswami too managed to spectacle Sahil by telling his life story, how he fell in love with Komal, of how he had to leave her and came to town, till the day he owned Elite circus, everything seemed so just to Sahil for Mr. Goswami had sacrificed so many things, bore so much hardships- the result is that he is now the owner of the biggest circus of this town and beyond. Will Sahil make such big in life? We don’t know yet, in fact nobody knows-it is something that we have to create.

##The next morning, Sahil found Appu lying peacefully on the ground and on his neck were visible two fine punctures made definitely by a snake- Sahil was infuriated and angry beyond bounds, the snake that Sahil killed that night to save Jhimli was not properly disposed off and according to stories and urban legends, if a snake is killed and not burned; then its eyes bear the image of its killer and then the dead snakes’ mate comes and attacks the killer or anybody related to him. Appu was left alone in the grounds and the snake not finding Sahil attacked and killed the monkey. It seemed Appu’s sole purpose in Sahil’s life was to make him meet Mr. Goswami, now that his work is done, he is gone forever. In a fit of rage, Sahil goes out to find the snake, despite Mr. Goswami’s repeated warnings and attempts to keep him within his personal tent… ##

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