A day at the school

After a harrowing day's work at the office, when I was almost ready to depart, my cell phone rang. I was expecting it to be my driver, but when I opened it, I found it to be someone whom many married men fear, some admire and for many like me can't ignore. You guessed it right, it was wife calling from home. This is the time, she never calls. So, slightly worried, I asked,

"What's up?"

"What will you prefer for the dinner, luchi or fried rice? I will cook tonight."

We have a cook who prepares all the items for both lunch and dinner. Very rarely, that too on my persistent request, my wife goes to the kitchen. I wondered, what was special about this day! Was it our marriage anniversary, or was it someone's birthday that I had forgotten?

"I didn't let the children sleep in the noon time. They will sleep early tonight."

When she said this, I knew this was not normal. So, I asked curtly,

"Did you purchase something very costly?"

"Oh! What a unromantic husband I have got!" She was disappointed.

I knew something had to be amiss. While getting up in the car, I rephrased my question,

"Do you want something?"

"Nothing material, you duffer! I want you to be present at the parent teacher interaction session on Thursday."

Now, I understood. I don't like to take unnecessary leave. So, I enquired,

"But, you told me last time that after admission of our younger daughter in the same school, I don't have to go there. You will be able to manage yourself."

She hesitated a bit and replied, "You know there will be bookstalls in the school. Don't we need to buy few Scholastic books? I won't be able to carry them."

I laughed silently. I knew the real reason. She had nothing to fear about the performances of the daughters, or there had been any issue with their discipline. But, like many Bengalis, she, too, lacks confidence in speaking English.

My both daughters study in the same school: the elder one at class 1 and the younger one at nursery. First, we went to the first floor to meet the class teacher of class 1, section A. I had never seen this plump, bespectacled Christian lady clad in baby pink sari before. She handed me the report card, and enquired about the younger daughter, who was with us, from her pupil. I skimmed through the two-paged report card, and found everything satisfactory except one aspect. Before, I said anything, she said,

"Your daughter is very good. There are no issues with her."

"But she got C in discipline!" I wondered!

"She is very talkative. She finishes her work very quickly, and starts to gossip with her friends. But, I assure you that's very normal for her age. There is nothing to be worried about." She explained the matter to us.

Then we went downstairs to meet the Goanese class teacher of my younger daughter. She was a known face, as she taught my elder daughter, too. Her joy knew no bound when she saw her old student. I knew she loved to talk. She praised both my daughters profusely. My wife's face was glowing in satisfaction. But just when we thought it was over, she said,

"There is only one minor issue with her. She speaks more in Bengali than in English."

I looked at my wife again: the glow had vanished.

"But, your elder daughter can speak fluently. I think you need to talk to her in English at home more often."

She turned to my elder daughter, and said,

"Now, it's your responsibility to speak with her in English only. If she doesn't cooperate with you, you come to my class, and inform me."

"That is a great solution", I appreciated her.

My elder daughter was the happiest person on that day. In my opinion, my younger daughter is brilliant, and the elder daughter is just a good student. She got a great satisfaction in proving me wrong. Moreover, I had announced previously that whoever got better grades would get Rs 100 from me. She won that prize too. My younger daughter started to cry, and her mother consoled her by giving Rs 10.

Picture taken form the Internet 

 

Film Review War

Did you notice that if you reverse the word RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) you get WAR, and WAR was released on 2nd October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a champion of non-violence? The probable commercial success of a film can be guessed when you book tickets in advance. When my wife booked 4 tickets for the 3-35 PM show on the first day, she said that most of the seats had already been booked. That didn't happen in case of Saaho, which had a budget of Rs 350 crore. I had a lot of enthusiasm about the film as it had the famous Bahubali star Prabhas. But, I was frustrated, as the film could not meet the expectations. This time, naturally, I was a bit sceptical about this Rs 200 crore budgeted film.

But this action thriller, produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Siddharth Anand does not disappoint the viewers. In fact, the film starred by Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, and Anupriya Goenka was so engrossing that sometimes I forgot to munch the popcorn or take a sip at my cold drinks. I have seen a lot of action films in both Hindi and English, but have never seen such breathtaking actions in any Hindi film. Be it the Dhoom series films or the Race series films or Bang Bang or whatever, this had to be the best. The action directors of the film, Sea Young Oh, Parvez Shaikh, Franz Spilhaus and Paul Jennings, have to be given full credit for producing something which is almost at par with any top Hollywood action film. This film reminded me of the kind of actions that we have seen in the Fast and Furious series or the Mission Impossible series.

This is the first film of Tiger Shroff that I have seen. The nimble-footed guy with a 6-pacs abs seemed to have mastered the WWE signature moves of various superstars, like the Superman punches of Roman Reigns or the Sweet Chin Music of Shawn Michaels. Had it been only him, he would have stolen the show. Unfortunately, he had to match his every step with a guy who is taller, more muscular, more handsome and most importantly more experienced in acting than him. He is definitely not dwarfed by Hrithik, but surely fell short in every aspect throughout the movie.

The story is about liquidating a super spy agent Kabir (Hrithik), who went rogue for reason which no one seemed to know. The spy chief Col Luthra (Ashutosh Rana) after receiving a mouthful of denunciations from the Nirmala Sitharaman look-alike defence minister, handed the assignment of assassinating Kabir to one of Kabir's protege Khalid (Tiger). Kabir was like a demi-God for Khalid. Khalid was keen on knowing the reason which turned a bona fide patriot into a turncoat.

The story went backwards to show how Kabir trained Tiger, who was the son of a traitor whom Kabir himself had killed in a shootout. It didn't take too long for Khalid to understand that Kabir was doing something just, which he couldn't have done remaining in the system. But, there are other players like Sanjeev Vasta as Rizwan Iiyasi, a major threat to India, a fellow RAW agent Saurabh for whom Rs 7 crore is good enough to sell his allegiance and Dipannita Sharma as Dr. Mallika Singhal, a plastic surgeon with magical abilities. These characters bring a lot of twists and turns in the film which keep the viewer glued to his chair.

There are some great action scenes from the war-torn Iraki city of Tikrit or the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. There are picturesque shots from Valetta in Malta, where for the first time but not for too long, we see the main female character of the film Vaani Kapoor who plays the role of Naina. I am not a movie buff: this was the first time I came to know that there is a heroine named Vani Kapoor. I tried very hard to adjust to the fact that she is a heroine, but, unfortunately, she never looked more than an ordinary-looking neighbourhood lady to me. She should have been treated only as a civilian asset, but our hero, up to a small extent, fell for her.

In his effort to make the film flab-free, the director has included only two songs. Hollywood action thrillers do not incorporate unnecessary songs, but Hindi movie without a song is unthinkable. The crowd wants it. Melodically, the songs might not have been of very high quality, but the choreography compensates that. You get to see the super performances from the two top dancers among the heroes in the Hindi film Industry. In the dance, Tiger has outperformed Hrithik, in my view. The climax of the movie, shot in the Arctic circle, is perhaps a cut above even Hollywood films.

The film deliverers a much needed social message that Muslims are no less patriot than Hindus, and there are traitors from both communities.

If you have to find a fault with the film, it has to be the story. Some of the scenes are not logical or practical. But who cares? When you go for entertainment, you don't mind it. So, if you have time, go and watch it. It's worth the money.

Pictures taken form the Internet 

Street Romeo song

Oh babe babe
Why are you so shy?
Whenever I come close
Why do you fly,
Straight into the sky?

Oh babe babe
You are the one
Who rings my bell
Ding ding dong!
Ding ding dong!

Oh babe babe
The twinkle in your eyes
Are so intoxicating
It melts my heart
And makes my blood boiling.

Oh babe babe
Why are you so shy?
Whenever I come close
Why do you fly,
Straight into the sky?

Oh babe babe
What did you say?
That you are married!
But, I don't care,
I am not afraid.

Oh babe babe
What did you say
Your hubby is a don?
How does it matter?
I am scared of none.

Oh babe babe
Why are you so shy?
Whenever I come close
Why do you fly,
Straight into the sky?

Picture taken form the Internet

The Monkey Song

What will the monkey pick,
A banana or a pearl?
Whom will the monkey choose,
A bear or a girl?

She will pick a banana
It's her basic instinct.
She will choose her jungly friend
The choice is so distinct!

The monkey sings, Hup Hup!
I am world's best judge.
My dealings are so perfect
Nobody never has a grudge!

What will the monkey pick,
A banana or a pearl?
Whom will the monkey choose,
A bear or a girl?

She will pick a banana
It's her basic instinct.
She will choose her jungly friend
The choice is so distinct!

The monkey sings, Hup Hup!
I am world's best judge.
My dealings are so perfect
Nobody never has a grudge!

Picture taken form the Internet 

Ghost story you killed me

Chapter 27
Formulating strategy
​

"How will you invoke them Baba? By planchette?" Tara was curious.

"The matter is very complicated Tara! Maroon is an extremely powerful Ifrit! Not only that, he is revengeful as well. We will have to be very careful about him. Regarding, Sabina's spirit, if we invoke her, she'll never come. We will have to do something so that we get them together like before." Dhuni Baba looked thoughtfully through the broken window.

I didn't have any idea what he was talking about. Looking at my agape mouth, Imam Saheb grew bit of compassion for my dumbness, and said, "Okay, I will try to explain the matter in detail. Before coming here, we had an inkling, but we were unsure about the creature. So was Maroon, he didn't know that we could come. When we heard your cry for help, my grandson broke the ramshackle door with kicks, and we saw you in a very difficult situation." He paused to take a big sip of tea. We were looking at him eagerly.

He restarted, "Perhaps, you don't know that Dhuni Baba has been doing hathayoga for more than five decades. He has attained some unbelievable feats, which your science won't be able to explain. He has been blessed by the Almighty, too! Among many other supernatural powers, he is able to produce an extremely strong electromagnetic field. He can turn any non-ferromagnetic material into a ferromagnetic one. That was why he was able to produce a precise pull to the creature to hold it back when it was going to jump on Akshar."

I would have laughed out loudly, had he said this even yesterday. But, today, after these supernatural experiences, I could not say anything. Perhaps, he is not good at explaining scientific stuff, but, at least, he is trying to make me understand.

"What was the water Imam Sahab that Dhuni Baba threw on the creature, and it made a hellish cry of anguish?" This time Tara asked.

"The water was holy water from Gangotri, but that was not all about it. Dhuni Baba, after decades of research, has made it into soul purifier with his yogic power."

"Soul purifier?" My mouth automatically became agape, again.

"It takes out vices such as anger, hatred, jealousy etc from the human mind, and turns it into a pious one." Dhuni Baba humbly submitted.

"If applied on a dreaded criminal, it will turn him into a saint within a couple of hours. But, ghosts are not humans, you know that! Ghosts, in general, are not made of material bodies. But, the resentful, vengeful souls, with a lot of practice, can take material bodies. Sabina learned to take 3D form because of her extreme rage against Akshar. Had the water fallen on Sabina, we are not absolutely sure though, her soul would have been purified. Unfortunately, it was Maroon, who can take any form, and whose shape you saw, who took the water." Imam Saheb stopped to take another sip of tea.

"Did it have the purifying effect on Maroon?" I could not curb my curiosity.

"Maroon is a descendant of Satan, it will have no effect on him." Dhuni Baba replied mournfully.

"Why is it so?" Tara, too, was extremely disappointed.

"Well, Ifrits are not ordinary ghosts. They have special powers. As far as Maroon is concerned, the water had only injured him, and nothing more than that. By now, he might have healed, and must be thinking of taking revenge against Dhuni Baba! But, he is extremely clever, and he cannot do anything without the help of Sabina. That's why he will wait for a suitable time. But, we can't allow that!" Imam Saheb said in a nonchalant way.

"One more thing that I should tell you is that the power of ghosts reduces by a significant proportion when lights are turned on. The emergency lamp was instrumental in reducing Maroon's power. But next time, the clever Ifrit will make sure that there are no lights. Also, we don't know what other improvisation he will make." Dhuni Baba again said in a sad tone.

After hours of contemplation, we formulated a workable plan. We were unsure about the outcome and the dangers associated with it. But, we had to do it, as there was no other option.


Chapter 28
The final showdown
​


As per the plan, Dhuni Baba and Imam Saheb left Tara's house in the morning. I went to my home, and we passed the day as usual. But, I came from the office early, and went to meet Tara at the same spot at the same time just like yesterday.

We behaved like a lovey-dovey couple. I felt like I was the hero, and Tara was the heroin of a film. We hugged each other for a couple of times, and even kissed once. The moment we kissed -- it was the time when the red orb was saying goodbye to us -- I heard the sound of an angry screech. We didn't waste any more second, and started to run towards the house, this time it was my house, as we didn't want to bother Bahadur's family any more.

The screeches followed us all along as we ran like champion atheletes, and eventually reached my home, and closed the door without locking it. This day was the day after the new moon; darkness was reigning outside. Even though, I tried to have a stiff upper lip, I knew my heart was beating madly. Fortunately, Tara was with me. Her mere presence was good enough to enliven my soul. She was occasionally pressing my hand with her to instill some courage inside me. She said, "Don't worry, Akshar Babu! Everything will be alright."

As expected, the ghost struck around 8 PM. There was a huge gust of wind, followed by the entry of the suffocating fetid smell in the house. This time my emergency light worked only for a second before it was destroyed. I could sense that the evil creature had entered my house, but this time not with the shape of a vampire. The darkness was so complete that I thought it would swallow us before the evil creature did anything.

Before the creature could attack Tara, I threw a couple of magic stones given by Dhuni Baba. Dhuni Baba didn't tell me which material they were made of, but they had fluorescent qualities, and within a second, the entire room was filled with very soft, almost dreamy, green light. My astonishment knew no bound when I saw that the ghost had turned itself into a tree, to be precise, a bare, grayish tree trunk.

The ghost tree didn't like the light at all, and tried to break the stones with its might. But, they were unbreakable, as it seemed. In the meantime, both Dhuni Baba and Imam Saheb came out from my bedroom. The tree turned it's attention towards them. It went backwards a bit to generate momentum, and targeted Dhuni Baba.

Dhuni Baba, like he did last time, chanted an obscure mantra, and pointed his holy trident towards the ghost. It was clear to me that Dhuni Baba was applying a huge force to prevent the ghost from hitting him. But this time, his force was not as effective as it was before. Maroon was able to defeat Dhuni Baba's force, and the trident fell from his hand.

"Oh my God!" I screamed at that sight, as I knew if Dhuni Baba lost, we were gone for good.

But before Maroon could strike Dhuni Baba, Imam Saheb quickly came in front of him, face to face with the ghost. There was a talisman in his hand, which he dangled in front of Maroon. I didn't know what was inside the amulet, but Maroon didn't advance anymore.

Without giving any time to Maroon to regroup, Imam Saheb, in a very different voice, which sounded like thunder to me, said, "Your time of doing mayhem on earth is over Maroon. I, Imam Hasan, a direct descendant of the holy Prophet, in the name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and in the name of Allah command you to go back to hell for ever."

Immediately, the trunk vanished in thin air, and what was left was the silhouette of Sabina. Imam Saheb said, "Sabina, this boy didn't make any mistake in loving you. He went to your house to rescue you, but he was afraid of your relatives, and fled away. He already got punishment for his cowardice from Alllah. He survived a fatal accident. I don't see any reason for your anger anymore."

In the meantime, Dhuni Baba had recovered. He threw that holy water on Sabina's silhouette, saying, "Let your soul find peace Sabina. Leave them for ever."

Sabina's silhouette vanished, and Dhuni Baba joined our four hands together.

The End​

Ghost story you killed me

Chapter 26
Finding the nature of the ghost
​

From the way he described the matter to them, Dhuni Baba seemed to be a master precis writer. When he was done, there was a pin drop silence in the room. Everyone started to look at me in such a contemptuousmanner that I was remembered of the Hindi song,

"Nayak nehi khalnayak hun main
Iss payar ka kanha layak hun main."

Bahadur, who seemed to have completely recovered by Dhuni Baba's magical medicines, didn't say anything, but only nodded his head in a disapproving manner. Champa released a heavy sigh of grief, and lamented, "What I thought of you to be, and what you turned out to be!"

From the facial expressions of young Mona, it appeared to me that she would have lambasted me, had the elders been not present in the room. Restraining her emotions, she said, "Tut Tut"!

Tara sat there like a stone, but I could see tears rolling down her cheeks. She was not even looking at me, and that hurt me the most. Being crucified by the dear ones, I prayed that let the earth open so that I could vanish inside it like Sita.

When I was sitting with my heads down, I heard this, " Everyone makes mistakes. He had made a mistake in his youthful exuberance. But, he got punishment for that. I think he should be condoned."

I quickly looked up to see that it was the other old man who said this. The electric connection was restored some time back. Now, I saw the person closely. He was around 5'6" tall, stoutly-built, he had no moustache, but had beard, which was dyed in sunset-orange colour, up to his collarbone region. His hair was also dyed in sunset-orange. I thought his age would be around 60.

"Imam saheb is right. What had happened was just an accident. You should forgive him Tara."

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Dhuni Baba's advocacy in my favour. These two guys seemed to have enormous influence on Bahadur's family. Tara's gloomy face again turned bubbly, and looking at me she even made a banter, " Now, get up your head Akshar babu, you don't have to behave like a newly-wed bride!"

Now, that was my turn to get moist eyes. Looking at our moment of joy, Dhuni Baba warned, "The danger is not over yet."

Again, our focus shifted to the real danger looming ahead.

Tara asked me, "What happened to Sabina?"

I said, "I heard the news that one of my health employee committed suicide on her day of marriage."

Catching words from my mouth, Dhuni Baba said, "Sabina mistook Akshar to be a betrayer, and vowed to take revenge. That's why her unsatisfied and aggrieved soul didn't leave earth even after her final rites, and she became a ghost seeking revenge. Her intention was to prevent any girl coming into your life. She would have scared them, but wouldn't have killed anyone."

"Then why did she kill my girl friends?" I didn't get the logic.

"That's because of Maroon, a blood thirsty and very powerful Ifrit. He used to create mayhem by possessing living humans. But, he was cursed by a holy Pir, who prevented him from possessing humans. After that Maroon searched for unsatisfied, vengeful departed spirits, whom he took control of and satisfied his demonic activities with their help." Imam Sahab said.

"The moment I heard that you lived in places like Joynagar, Jamalpur etc, I guessed that this could be the handiwork of an Ifrit. Fortunately, Imam Sahab, who many don't know is a specialist in dealing with jinns, has visited my house for attending a theological discussion. He was kind enough to attend your distress call."

"Now what?" I blurted.

"The creature will not disturb you for the time being, and if you wish we can create a Lakshman Rakha around your houses so that it can never enter there. But that's only a temporary solution. Because, when healed of the wound, which will happen very soon, it will again target you, and you cannot remain inside house for ever." Dhuni Baba said.

"Then what Baba? How do we permanently get rid of the evil?" Asked Tara.

"We have to invoke it, and the remaining will be done by us."

"Now?" I shuddered!

""May not be immediately! But within 24 hours, as it's wounded. This is the high time."

To be continued ​

Ghost story you killed me

Chapter 25
The bike accident
​

For the next 15 days, there was no news from Sabina; neither did she come, nor did she ring me. One day, around noon time, I got a call from an unknown number. It was Sabina with an SOS massage. She told me that her relatives hadn't approved our relationship, and they had incarcerated her inside the house until she was married off. Somehow, she managed a mobile phone from her niece. She would be married off next day to an old guy, who would take her to Saudi Arabia, his place of residence. She wanted me to rescue her that night.

Honestly, I apprehended this kind of reaction from her family, as I knew they were very orthodox in their outlook. That was why, I didn't break the news to my family. I had an intention of telling them at the very last moment, when they wouldn't be able to disapprove our relationship.

"Now that an emergency situation has arrived, I will have to show my mettle." I thought of taking police with me, but later on decided to go alone in fear of loss of face for the family and especially, Sabina. It was my problem, and I would be able to handle it myself: I was not short of confidence.

Thus, I took Raju's Hero Honda, and almost flew towards Islampally, Sabina's place of residence. Within half an hour, I reached there. But, I could not enter Sabina's house, as a gang of 8 strong men, including Sabina's father and two brothers, were keeping a close watch outside the gate. As soon as I reached there, they encircled me. A couple of guys were going to beat me, but Sabina's father prevented them.

He said in a stentorian voice, "You have done a grave crime by falling in love with my daughter. Didn't you know that we are faithful Muslims? I would have killed you on the spot right now, had my daughter also not committed the crime. Besides, you are a government officer. That's why I am offering you an amicable solution. You leave her for ever, we will not harm you."

After sounding the threat, those 8 men looked at me in a very angry manner. They seemed to be unarmed, but I knew from my experience that these guys can bring out choppers, knives and swords at the drop of a hat. From their aggressive appearance, it looked to me that they would not take a no for an answer. I could not leave without rescuing Sabina, either. So, I thought of a trick. I agreed to their proposal, and dragged myself away in a reluctant and dejected manner from the scene.

But, in reality, I didn't go away far from the place. Around 1km from the spot, I parked the bike, and waited patiently for night to arrive. Around 11 PM, I again visited Sabina's house. I parked the bike at a distance of 100 metre from her house, and surreptitiously moved to the window of Sabina's room. From the window, I saw, Sabina was sleeping. In a hushed tone, I called her name once, twice and thrice.

But, she didn't respond. I was a bit disappointed. She should have been alert, as I promised her that I would rescue her tonight. Perhaps, she didn't understand my trick, and thought that I had given up. But, "never give up" was my motto. So, I tried again, this time a tad louder, and that was the sound that alerted someone in the house. Within 5 minutes, those 8 men came out with lethal arms in their hands.

They didn't make any noise at all, but attacked me. From their attitude, I knew they were going in for the kill. If they caught hold of me, today would be my last day. So, I had no other option but to flee. I ran very hard, and started the bike. They were still chasing me. I was fleeing for my life, as I thought they could also avail themselves bikes. In the process, I hit a tree, met with that accident.

Dhuni baba released me from his grip, and I came back to the present. All of them were looking at me.

"You don't have to tell. I will tell them in short". Dhuni baba stopped me before I was going to say something. That meant Dhuni baba also saw, what I had seen! I was indeed amazed by Dhuni Baba's supernatural power!

To be continued​