Survival in the Velds -- Part 2

Click here for Part-1 of "Survival in the Velds"

"Quick. Shoo the children away with you. Take shelter somewhere. Go!", Zumba hissed. "You take care Zumba", Salya said and ran with the children. "You also. Go. This is my battle. I don’t want to see any of you in harm", he growled at his consorts.  "No master. You won us. We will be with you till our last breath, or your last breath", the consorts growled back in unison.

"Hello. Zumba. Father-murderer!", Po'El shouted.

"Face me Po'El! Why shout miles away? Afraid?"

"Of course not, dear. Sorry for keeping you waiting. The rule is to give a warning. You saw the warning yesterday noon. So, you've lived 18 hours at my expense. I'm good at math and geography. You'll have to pay for this", he growled as he was walking near Zumba.

He remembered his battles. The one with his father, where he inherited the land. The one with Taanoi, where he won 5 lionesses -- including Salya. "This is going to be tough", he muttered to himself.

"Mutter to me!", Po'El roared as he pounced over Zumba with lightning speed.

One blow to the left, another to the right and then attack his neck!

Po'El was flawless in his attack technique. But Zumba had anticipated the last move and covered his neck.

"Good. So now we go for round two", Po'El panted.

"Now its my turn!", Zumba roared with all his might and slapped Po'El hard. He nearly displaced his jaw. In a distance a man in a brown tent was shooting this on his HD camera -- 2 naked males were fighting while 6 naked females watching with delight. "My God! Gruesome! This indeed is Africa!", he muttered with glee.

The fight lasted for 15 minutes. The final blow was delivered by Po'El. Zumba's neck was slashed open, his groin muscles were hanging like loose flesh. Zumba bled to death. A gruesome one, indeed.

Po'El licked his nails. "Warm", he muttered. Zumba's consorts were helpless. Po'El had won them. "In the line. Now!", Po'El roared. The 4 of them lined behind 6 of Po'El's consorts. "The kids? The kids! This male had kids! Where are they?"

"This way", one of Zumba's ex-consorts guided Po'El to impress him. Po'El kissed him hard, licked the insides of her mouth and whispered, "You and me tonight". She blushed. She was the new favorite  of the master.

"Well, well", Po'El muttered. Salya was shocked to find him here. The children were playing nearby. Salya pounced over him, and he slapped her hard. She fell off a short ledge. "Aren't they cute? What's your name?", he growled. "Don't kill them, Po'El! I'll do as I say! They don't even know how to talk!", she cried.

"You'll anyways do as I say! And for the kids? Rules are rules, dear. I'm merely diminishing any future possibilities of usurping", he joyously growled as he dug his teeth deep into the children's necks -- one by one. All the children could do was meow. He slapped the bodies hard, to ensure that they were really dead. He then jumped off the ledge and made way for Salya.

"Why invade our territory? Isn't your land good enough?", she growled. "No dear. The land is verdant with lots to feed on. In fact, so much that 5 generations could live on it! But, I needed more", he remarked. "Did you kill Z. . u. . m. . ba?", she asked in a shaky tone. "Had to. He was very brave, relentless. It's been years since I've fought a male like him", he honestly replied. She felt elated. She turned away and started walking.

"Ahem. Where are you going?", he asked. "Does it matter?", she asked him. "Rules are rules, right?", he said. It suddenly struck him. Zumba had won her from Taanoi, and now Po'El had won her from Zumba. She could do nothing. She was not a commodity. She was more. She was a trophy. His trophy.

She was helpless. She did not know that she could end this agony, not by killing him -- that she could not in her wildest dreams -- but by killing herself. She did not know the concept of suicide, lest she would have jumped off the highest cliff and got away from all of it. "My babies. My cute, little babies", Salya quietly cried beside Po'El who was fast asleep. Zumba died an honorable death. 

Read More

Defending the Fathers

A few months back I penned down thoughts on my mom and mailed it thro. Was highly appreciated. Everybody at my home was happy, got calls from my relatives. I showed it to Dad. He told, "already read it the day it came. Read it 4 times. It was good". "Jee dad, thanks. Are you not curious why I didn't write about you?", I asked. "Of course not! You love your mom the way I love my mom, words or without words", pat came the reply. This set me thinking.

It's been 2 months now and I still can't give enough words to what I've been thinking.  There's this shloka in sanskrit: "Mata, Pita, guru, Deivam" which sets the order of precedence. Dads come 2nd. After much thought, I can safely say that Dads are as equally important as moms. I remember once I went with my dad to a temple. The 'hundi' of the temple was enormously huge, and it had an opening at the top. I wanted to see what was inside it. Dad brushed me up in an instant and placed me on his shoulders. I clutched the hundi cloth with my small hands and peeped in. I saw those glittering coins and beamed at my father. My father reciprocated.

'who beat you the most?', I asked myself. 'Dad!', came the reply from within. 'Why?', I asked myself. 'Because he wanted you to improvise on your mistakes, be better, and be disciplined', the reply echoed from within. Somehow, I didn't regret the times I was beaten. Maybe I saw that he was sad from within when he beat me. Maybe I knew that I was at the wrong side. Once Dad was very angry at me, even I vented it all out and we didn't talk for days. Mom came to me the other day, and told that Dad regretted having scolded you so bad. "No. . He shouldn’t be. . I was at fault", I murmured.

Mom and Dad are like yin and yang, like the good cop and bad cop in everyone's life. One appreciates you, and the other pushes you forward. I asked my dad once nonchalantly, "You simply say good. Even when I got high marks in board exams, all I got from you was good". "There was once a son who used to make intricate jewellery. He got praise from all places but one. His dad, a goldsmith himself, would always point out some flaw always! One day the son asked the same question you asked me. 'If I were to appreciate you, I'm afraid you'd grow complacent. I want you to test your limits, break your records', his dad replied", told my dad.

The problem is simple. While mom's efforts are seen by their children, dad's efforts are behind the curtains. And dads don't speak out, not sure if it's in their genes. The other day, my friend celebrated her birthday and dad came home late. He gave her the gift she yearned for, but she furiously retorted "I hate you dad! Do you know all my friends waited for you? I don't need any gifts from you. Don’t compensate!". Mom saw this and was about to reprimand her, dad stopped her. "Beti, I'm sorry. Got stuck in work and traffic. Please forgive me", he stood in front of his daughter with his fingers stretching his ears. She ran to her room and slept off. "Honey, why didn't you tell her that you searched all the shops in this city to get her this one doll she wanted!", she asked her husband. Her husband laughed it off. Her daughter had heard this, and she ran to her father and apologized.

Such are fathers, one letter short of feathers. Because they play a pivotal role in your life, career, and relationships. They are the ones who give you wings, not some beverage company. I believe in my mom, and am confident of my dad. With these 2 persons around, I can face any problem in life. At times of play, he's one with me; and at times of studies, he ensures that I study harder. A perfect mix of salt and sugar, my dad. I'm not sure whether we need a day to be allotted as "Mother's Day", but we definitely need a "Father's Day".

Read More