THE TRIP THROUGH THE NIGHT
The afternoon was rather cold for the season. The winds, which heralded the change of season, though not strong, made howling sounds while passing through the tips of tall silver oaks. It could become stronger towards the nightfall rattling the tin sheets roofs of houses and chilling the people inside.
The roads and fields were deserted. Saturdays were half working days. In the afternoon most of the estate workers choose to remain at home attending to their personal needs or sleeping.
We had planned the trip for earlier - before noon. But my father came late from the office and was not in a good mood. Something my mother said in the morning did not go well with him. So we started out on our motorcycle without taking lunch. We knew it was late, but the urge to complete the work we planned dragged us to Vattavada some 10 miles away.
On the way my father stopped the motorcycle and drank water from a stream not far from home. I felt bad. I could have run home and got good water for him. But he said it was ok.
Our intention was to meet a Government official at Vattavada. We were able to meet him. But our business took longer than we thought and delayed our return. There was a lot of persuasion from my father's friends to stay back for the night. The danger from wild elephants was too high in those days. According to them few herds and loners were camping in the nearby forests. It included the dreaded loner, "Kolli" the lightning. The loner was notorious for his speed and destructive power, still we decided to return home with out delay. The resolve in us was so strong that we started out immediately.
We had hardly covered some five miles, the motorcycle broke down. It stopped all of a sudden and refused to start. It was tough to make a choice between the two alternatives we had, to go back or go ahead. Both were equally risky.We decided to go forward taking the shortest route which involved climbing the hill we avoided while coming by the motorcycle.
The climb took more time than we thought. Near the summit we came across some dry twigs on smothered grass.To me they looked as if some large animal was resting over them. The thought of Kolli sent a chill down my spine. But my father pointed out the possibility of someone taking rest, putting down the firewood he collected. Anyway we abandoned our plan to gather the twigs. We had a match box with half full of sticks with us. We knew the matchsticks were not of much use unless we had something like dry twigs. But there was little time to lose. By the time we reached the summit, from where the tea plantation started, it was almost dark.
We hurried down the hill, to make use of the light available, but soon it was dark. We could hardly see the road in front. Our talks became less frequent and less loud. We could hear the noises of the forest clearly. In forest everything that is silent during the day makes a lot of sound in darkness. I lighted a matchstick, it was of no use. It only blinded me for a few seconds. Again a chill ran down my spine. I could feel the shivering in my voice.
My father took off his coat and put it over my shoulder. I handed it back whispering that I am wearing a sweater beneath my shirt. He did not reply, giving me a feeling that he is listening to some thing.
Then the wind direction changed. It blew full blast on our faces. With the wind came there stench of animals and shouting of people and the sound of beating tins. There was no need to guess. The elephant. "Oh my God Not Kolli" I prayed.
We stopped walking and listened. Suddenly, it was all silent . But the smell remained strong. I felt my father's hand on my shoulder, strong and restraining. We stood still for a while, I had lost all the sense of time. Then I felt my father's hand clenching. Suddenly I became aware of the vibration of earth. He pushed me down the slope on the side of the road into the tea plants. The tea plants were pruned recently. The sharp ends of the branches scratched my body, tearing my clothes. I felt no pain. But. I could feel the urgency in the pressure of the hands on my shoulders. We went down the slope fast till we reached a large rock. We went around it and stooped behind it.
The noise on the road stopped suddenly. Then it became hell broke loose. He was attacking something, in between there were breaks accompanied with trumpets. He was celebrating his victory over his adversary. It continued for a while.We had no idea how long it was. Then the sounds became less frequent and then stopped. But the heavy breathing told he is still not far from us. After one more trumpet of victory he moved on. We still waited for a long time. The stench and his footsteps became faint and died out. Still we did not dare to talk. Stooping we moved through the tea just like small animals on their fours till we saw the electric lights of the factory and a faint light we knew was our house. It seemed it took a long time to reach the road leading to the factory.
As soon as we reached our house, we had a short hot shower and went to bed. We did not tell anybody about the motorcycle or the attack. We had decided to go early in the morning to get the motorcycle.
We got up early before anyone and retraced our night's route. We reached the place of attack soon. We could easily recognise the spot. My father's coat was shredded into strips. Hanging on the tea plants the strips told us the intensity of last night's violance. We collected the strips and rolled it into a bundle and hurried to the motorcycle. It started without difficulty."The matches were of no use, the light of it only blinded us" I said. He did not reply.
Walking back to the motorcycle I felt his hand on my shoulder again. I think he was telling me "You are correct unless it falls on things around you the light in hand will only blind you".
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