Short Stories by Abraham Tharakan.
Copyright: Author.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Short Story: DANIEL OF THE MANMALAI CLUB
Wednesday 5 December 2007
Story postings
The following stories are also posted in Song of the waves - Parayil A. Tharakan Blog
Morning After The Storm - Part 1.
A Tyreseller.
Songs of the sea - Part 1.
A Crow in the Bonnet
A VODKA STORY
Flash Fiction: Medicine Specialist.
Short Story: A Bend in the Lake.
Short Story: JESUS BY THE ROADSIDE.
The story of a story.
Fiction (Flash): The Wait.
Sunday 29 July 2007
BIG ONE and 'BELT' CHACKO - concluding part
In the morning when Chacko was ready to leave, Carlson opened two boxes of cartridges. He test fired one from each lot and handed over the rest along with the gun to Chacko. He also presented him a headlamp and an ammunition belt.
Before they parted the white man said, “Remember, Big One doesn’t know the power and range of this rifle.”
Chacko returned to Kadep alone. On arrival he went straight to the vicarage and had the gun blessed. Carlson was a Protestant and therefore his gun had to be purified before a Catholic could use it. Then he entered the old church. The smell of incense from morning mass still lingered inside. He presented the weapon and accessories at St. Anthony's altar and knelt for a long time before the statue of the dark robed saint. He took out a silver piece shaped like a crocodile, which Mariam had given, and deposited in the box for offerings.
That very night Big One made his presence known. He razed to ground Janaki's fence on the canal side. The woman ran away screaming. By the time Chacko reached the scene the crocodile was gone. He rebuilt the structure and waited beside it with the rifle for several nights. Big One did not come. But when the hunter gave up the watch the beast demolished the fence again.
Chacko started going out on the lake at nights in a canoe. It was a calculated risk. Salinity in the backwater increased sharply during summer and there was an abundance of fluorescent planktons. In the dark any disturbance would make the water sparkle because of the micro organisms. It was easy to locate and identify objects that moved. But there was an element of risk. If the crocodile floated log-like during slack tide, the telltale signs would be absent. The venture turned out to be futile anyway, and was abandoned.
The hunter changed tactics. Late at night he would wait invitingly near one of the several mangrove forests by the shore or by a canal or on the embankments that protected the rice fields but nothing happened. He wondered why Big One didn’t strike. Was the crocodile trying to wear him out or waiting for the rains? He knew that as time passed his efficiency and alertness would wane.
Days crawled by.
The konna trees bloomed ushering in Vishu, the New Year that the Hindus celebrated. It fell in mid-April. Clusters of small yellow flowers hung from gray, leafless branches covering entire trees like splash of sunshine. But there was no brightness in Chacko’s heart. He was lonely. There was no one to talk to. People appeared to be avoiding him.
The hunter evolved a new plan. After dark he would tie a live goat to a mango tree by the lakeside and wait at a vantage point on the branches.
After two uneventful nights of this routine, Ali the hunter from across the lake came to see him again. The Martini Henry fascinated the visitor. No body in that locality had seen a weapon like that. The two hunters talked at length about Carlson, the training at Windermere Estate, and about Chacko's efforts to track down the crocodile.
"Don't waste your sleep," Ali said, as he was about to depart. "Since there is fluorescence in the water Big One won't come at night. It's likely to be a daytime attack."
Chacko smiled sheepishly.
He walked behind the Muslim till the edge of the courtyard as the man was leaving. "Perhaps," he stuttered, "we can team up now?"
Ali turned around and gave him a long look. "Sorry," he said. "You make too many mistakes."
Chacko stood all alone watching the man walk away.
Every morning and at bedtime Chacko used to say a cursory prayer out of habit, standing before a picture of St. Anthony. That night also he mumbled, "Please take care of us," and lay down.
Soon the saint was smiling at him. The scene lap dissolved to show a coconut grove with patches of drying grass. In the background was a cluster of trees. The sun was bright. A golden colored snake, about a foot long and very thin, shimmered on the ground. It had a small hood. The minuscule emerald eyes were watching him.
The hunter woke up. He spent a long time trying to interpret the dream. The serpents that the Hindus worshipped, he knew, were supposed to be tiny golden reptiles. The belief was that humans could see them only if they wished to be seen. What was one of them doing in the vision that he had?
Next day the answer came to him. He remembered one morning at Windermere. Carlson was sitting at his office table with the GTS map before him. Chacko stood beside.
"Tell me about these woods," the sahib said pointing to the marked areas on the map.
"They are sacred groves," Chacko replied. "The Hindus venerate the serpent sculptures in them."
“How big are they?”
“Most of them are small. Less than half an acre.”
"This one by the western shore?"
Chacko explained that it was the largest and the most important woods on the island. It was spread over two acres. The trees and the undergrowth were very dense. The canal that went past Janaki's house was its southern boundary. The lakeside was fringed with mangroves.
Carlson had left it at that. Now the hint seemed clear to Chacko. He started walking by the grove every day around noon, passing very close to its edge. He was well aware that Big One’s foray would be unannounced, like death. His only hope was natures’ warning system – the rustle of the undergrowth if there was any movement in the grove.
Big One was there on the fifth day, for sure. Chacko heard the roar and stopped. A moment later he cursed aloud. The sudden realization that a Christian entering the sacred abode of the serpent gods or any one shooting into it would offend the Hindus, was a crushing blow. As the man walked away with slouched shoulders Big One bellowed repeatedly.
The hunter adapted a new routine. He started roaming the island extensively during daylight. Because of the ammunition belt that he wore constantly, people began referring to him as 'Belt' Chacko. Friends and relatives seemed to distance themselves as though contact with him might endanger them. He carried on nevertheless, inspecting the ponds and the canals, walking over the dykes and by the lake shore, and sometimes even venturing into the mangrove forests. By sunset it was back to the emptiness of the house.
Now there was a new phenomenon - nightmares. They occurred with alarming frequency. The theme was always the same and the scenes passed in slow motion with great clarity - Big One tossing little Mathai in his mouth and swallowing him feet first and the child screaming.
At that point Chacko would wake up sweating and shivering.
"Are you sick?" the priest asked when the hunter appeared before him one morning with a week's growth of beard and disheveled hair.
Chacko shook his head negatively. “I need money,” he bumbled. “I'm going back to Windermere.”
The vicar studied him carefully. "There's no man," he said perceptively,” who has not known fear."
"Carlson sahib," Chacko continued, ignoring what the father had said, "offered me a job. I'll repay you from my salary."
The priest was silent for a while. Then he said, "Running away doesn't solve problems."
“Big One won’t bother me in the hills.”
“Wrong. He’ll haunt you throughout your life.”
“At least,” Chacko said defensively, “my son would be safe.”
“And when he grows up, he’ll know that his father ran away from a crocodile.”
The hunter was silent.
The priest opened a drawer of his table, took out some money and gave Chacko. He put both hands on the man's shoulders, gripping firmly. "Go if you must," he said looking deep into Chacko's eyes. "Only what God has willed can happen. I'll pray for you."
The hunter hurried home and after packing, shaved and bathed. He sat on the black steel trunk that he was taking along. The bullets, ammunition belt and the headlamp were placed inside the game bag that Carlson had given.
Suddenly he remembered the bottle Janaki had presented while he was guarding her fence, saying, "This is a unique brew." He had buried it in a sack of paddy to keep the liquor warm, planning to give it to Luka. He retrieved the bottle and placed it also in the bag.
There was plenty of time. The afternoon boat was only at five o' clock. Once he boarded the vessel he would be safe. Only the priest knew that he was leaving. Perhaps Big One as well, like the last time. But if the beast repeated that performance the rifle would be the answer. Then he realized that there was another possible scenario. The monster could quietly slip in close to the boat under water and get on board and in the ensuing melee a safe shot would be difficult.
Chacko started sweating.
He looked at St. Anthony's picture. He took it off the wall, came back and sat on the luggage. The saint would not only offer protection but also be a symbolic link to Kadep. He kissed the picture of the Miracle Worker and inserted it inside the bag and in the process, touched the bottle.
He pulled it out after a moment of hesitation, removed the stopper made of dry coconut husk with his teeth and took a long swig. He kept on drinking.
"The son of Mathai is dead," he shouted abruptly. “The great crocodile hunter is finished.”
He flung the empty bottle aside and lay down. There were no dreams, no nightmares. The hollow tranquility was shattered by loud sounds at the front door.
Chacko jumped up, snatched the rifle and backed against the wall, trembling.
"Chacko," some one called from outside.
He composed himself and opened the door. The priest stepped in and said, "I came to check. You didn't take the boat yesterday."
"I must have overslept."
"Yes," the priest said. "By more than twenty-four hours. It's nearing four o'clock."
After the visitor left, Chacko plucked two tender coconuts from a dwarf palm beside the house. He ate the kernels, drank the water and went back to sleep.
Life revived after hours. Fear was still there, like the original sin. There was, too, a sense of submission that fate could not be altered.
It was back to the rounds.
One afternoon, Chacko stopped by the lake shore a few hundred yards south of the jetty, where a retaining wall of granite blocks was built up to land level. He leaned against a coconut palm near the edge, resting the rifle by his side.
His eyes surveyed the backwaters.
It was a peaceful scene. The sky was a clear blue canopy over the expanse of the lake. Low tide had set in. There was hardly any breeze. Far to Chacko's right, a passenger boat was approaching on its way to
No sign of any crocodile was visible.
Yet, for no apparent reason, Chacko was uneasy. Minutes passed. There were still no danger signals but the premonition persisted. He looked for birds resting on the water surface. Normally that meant a floating piece of wood or a crocodile below. Instinct warned him to move away and he straightened up. His heart pounded. He started sweating profusely.
The motorboat was close now, the noise of its engine clearly audible. The country craft trailed far behind. The hay had drifted near the retaining wall, directly in front of Chacko.
In a flash it came to the hunter's mind the bale was floating against the tide!
Chacko dived sideways holding the gun firmly, and rolled away. He heard a loud, slapping sound and knew that the crocodile had struck at the spot where he had been leaning moments ago. An earsplitting bellow from Big One followed.
The battle cry!
Chacko began rising to his knees, releasing the safety-catch of the rifle. The scene before him was blood chilling. The mammoth monster was out of the water, rushing at him with wide-open jaws.
For a moment Chacko was unnerved but recovered quickly. The beast was only a few feet away when he pulled the trigger. The roar of the gun and that of the crocodile merged. There were frantic cries from birds flying away in panic. In the background was the chugging of the boat's motor. Passengers were shouting excitedly.
Big One kept on coming.
Still holding the weapon, the hunter turned his face aside and put out his left hand in feeble defense.
After that there was darkness.
Many hours later Chacko opened his eyes. There was excruciating pain in his ribcage. Slowly he became aware of the smell of alcohol and of medicinal herbs. When the haziness lifted he realized that he was lying on a table in the meat shop. The priest, the butcher and the local medicine man were beside him. He saw too the stump of his left arm neatly tied with smoked, green banana leaves.
"Big One," the priest volunteered, "is dead."
Chacko closed his eyes.
Ends.
Saturday 28 July 2007
BIG ONE and 'BELT' CHACKO - 3
The child screamed.
Chacko rushed to where his wife and son slept. In the dim glow from the turned down wick of the lantern that was in a corner of the room he saw Mariam, half awake, gently patting the child. The crying tapered off. He crouched and touched little Mathai’s cheek. It was warm and soft and still wet where the tears had rolled down.
After a while he went back to his room. Many thoughts crossed his mind. Big One had accepted his challenge but he had failed to confront the beast. Why was he making so many mistakes? He had bagged his first crocodile at the age of thirteen and now, after eighteen years of exp
erience, he was performing like a novice. Was it because of some special power that Big One had? Was the creature really invincible?
At daybreak Chacko saw that Nero’s open grave had been annihilated. The skeleton was a heap of jointed and broken bones. The harpoon and the bamboo stakes were flat on the ground and the palm leaf streamers that had turned light brown in the sun lay scattered. Sand was viciously dug up in several parts of the ravaged square.
Instinct told the hunter that Big One wouldn’t come there again. He would have to locate and kill the enemy. If that didn’t happen before the first week of June when the southwest monsoon normally arrived, the beast would have an additional advantage. In the torrential rains it would be almost impossible to spot him. The ensuing floods would favor the crocodile to mount an attack.
Panic gripped the island. Big One had been to Chacko’s house three times but not a single shot had been fired. That was proof enough for the people to reiterate that the crocodile was an evil spirit and unconquerable.
After deliberating for a few days Chacko went secretly to a Brahmin astrologer who lived thirty miles away. The man asked for his horoscope. Like most Christians, he did not have one. The astrologer made him sit before a set of squares drawn on the floor and squatted opposite. He asked Chacko to name a flower and quote a number. The Brahmin made some calculations, moving his palms all the while along the sacred thread that was looped from his left shoulder to the right side of the torso. After identifying the star under which the hunter was born, he placed some small cowries on the squares and withdrew them systematically, chanting Sanskrit verses. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated.
Minutes passed before the Brahmin started talking. Words came out slowly and his voice sounded as though it emanated from a great distance.
“There is danger,” the man said. “You have a powerful adversary who is not human. You did something wrong to acquire such an enemy.”
“Perhaps it is anger against my father.”
“Your problem has nothing to do with your sire.”
Chacko did not respond.
“I can see,” the astrologer carried on haltingly, “water and land. I can also see you and a beast. And a row of stones. In the background there are two vague human figures. One appears white. The other is in a dark robe.”
There was a long pause. The Brahmin appeared to be straining to visualize the future. He opened his eyes abruptly and said, “I cannot see beyond that.”
Chacko was confused. What the astrologer said made no sense to him. “Is my enemy evil?” he asked.
“There is good and bad in all beings.”
“Sir, what I want to know is whether my opponent has supernatural powers.”
“Supernatural power is what The Supernatural Power bestows. It might be there, might not be there. No one can tell.”
“What should I do?”
The Brahmin considered the question and answered, “Shed all traces of pride. Purify yourself and acquire power. Pray to all your gods. The rest is fate.”
Still confused, Chacko went to the church as soon as he was back in Kadep. He didn’t tell the vicar about his visit to the astrologer. Without wasting time he asked, "Is Big One an evil spirit?"
"I don't think so," the priest answered. "But there are many things in this world for which we have no rational explanation."
"Father, I was confident of handling Big One. After all, I’m the best hunter in these areas. But now I'm beginning to feel a little uneasy."
The priest smiled. "Yes," he said, "I can see. That's a good sign."
"Why do you say that?"
"I know that you are capable of defeating Big One. But when a man is overconfident he's forgetting God. Without Him you’re nothing."
"What's you advice?"
"You must," the priest answered, "approach the enemy from a position of strength. Trust in God. And pray."
After contemplating what the priest and the astrologer had advised Chacko asked Mariam to pack. Next morning, they went to the pier on the eastern side of the island. Mariam walked in front carrying the child, and a small steel box containing essential clothing on her head. Chacko followed a few paces behind her with his loaded gun. There were some ponds and canals along the route. The hunter didn’t rule out the possibility of a surprise attack be Big One.
After a long wait at the jetty, the passenger vessel going south from
The boat had traveled for nearly five minutes when Chacko heard the bellowing.
"Crocodile," some one shouted.
The hunter looked. It was a strange sight, awesome. Big One was fifty yards away keeping pace with the vessel, which was beginning to pick up speed. He kept on roaring. Each time the beast did that he bent like a bow, head and tail above the lake surface. His sharp teeth were clearly visible. Water sprayed into the air from his flanks. When the tail fell back there was more spray.
Passengers were dazed. No one spoke. Mariam glanced at the beast once and started crying silently, clutching the baby to her bosom with one hand and counting rosary beads with the other.
But Chacko was not worried. The beast was unlikely to attack the boat since he had exposed himself. The hunter considered using his gun but it didn’t have the range. He stood quietly, watching the antics of the crocodile that was mocking him in front of all those people. He was glad they were strangers. Nobody from Kadep was on board.
Big One submerged as suddenly as he had appeared. It would be months before he was sighted again.
Chacko left Mariam and the baby at his father-in-law's house. From there, traveling overnight on foot and by bullock cart he reached Kottayam, a trading center for hill produce and estate supplies early in the morning. He managed to get a lift in one of the trucks carrying provisions to the plantations in the High Ranges and by the afternoon reached his destination, the mist-shrouded Windermere Estate. That was where Luka worked.
The man from Kadep was not used to the cold of the hills. That night he sat wrapped in a blanket, drinking rum with his brother-in-law and eating chunks of spicy bison meat. He could not help thinking how much better crocodile tails with its stored up fat tasted.
After a few pegs he explained the purpose of his visit. Luka had mentioned some time back that CF Carlson, the owner of the plantation, was a great hunter who had shot many tigers and elephants. He wanted to meet the Englishman.
Carlson had returned recently from a furlough to Blighty. That was something he had missed for years because of the Great War. Next morning Chacko went to the owner’s bungalow. With Luka translating, he told Carlson all details about Big One except his blunder at the bridge. The white man was interested. He leaned back on a planter’s chair smoking a pipe filled with aromatic tobacco and listened attentively.
When the narrative was over Carlson said, "Never shot a crocodile. But I'll take care of this one."
"No, sahib," Chacko protested quickly. "I must kill Big One."
There was a flash of anger on the Englishman's face. "What the hell do you want then?"
"A gun," the man from Kadep answered. "A gun that can kill an elephant."
"What do you think I am?" Carlson retorted. "A bloody arms dealer?"
"No sahib," Chacko replied with respect. "I want to borrow the weapon."
"Borrow? How do I know that you'll return it?"
"I'm Chacko, the son of Mathai. You'll get the gun back, and the skin."
Carlson laughed.
The crocodile hunter's training in modern guns began the same day. The planter had a collection of weapons. The program started with a .22 rifle. Chacko’s aim and reflexes were superb. Gradually he became used to the weight and kick of weapons, which could drop a charging elephant in its tracks. The practice included quick shooting, fast reloading and firing from different positions. Chacko learned to roll with the gun and come up firing. There were detailed instructions on maintenance of rifles. The safety code in big game hunting was also taught.
Carlson collected information on crocodiles from the Encyclopedia Britannica that he had, and books borrowed from the Planters’ Club library and friends. Relevant points were discussed with Chacko.
Now they had to decide on the weapon to be used. The man from Kadep had already become familiar with different types of guns. The Englishman explained about ammunition. Soft nosed bullets that exploded on penetration caused extensive internal damage. Some hunters preferred it for the first shot and followed up with a non-expanding solid for the kill.
“There won’t be time,” Chacko said, “for a second shot.”
Carlson nodded. Range was not very important here. What mattered was power, and accuracy. He chose a Martini Henry. It was a good gun, which had range as well.
Using his influence with the government Carlson obtained the Kadep area sheet of the classified General Traverse Survey of India Map and spent a great deal of time studying the details. He and Chacko theorized about the possible methods and locations of attack by Big One and the techniques to be used by the hunter to trace the beast. The sahib admitted that crocodile hunting was unlike the big game that he knew, and perhaps more difficult.
The forests always gave useful indicators for a hunter, like spoors, droppings, waterholes, crumbled undergrowth, favorite foods of different species and the locations they were found, predictable habits of animals, scent, weather and temperature. Looking at the greenish ball shaped excreta of elephants, an experienced person could tell not only the direction in which the animals had passed but also the approximate time. When a tiger was on the prowl, birds and the smaller creatures in the vicinity scrambled away. A wounded buffalo was likely to veer away from the herd and circle back to its original track to attack the pursuer. Normally there would be at least a guide and a gun bearer on a hunting expedition. Some hunters waited on a machan, a platform erected at a safe height on trees with a live prey tied below, or when drummers ‘beat’ the forest to drive the animals that way.
Hunting crocodiles was different. These beasts normally searched for prey at night. They could go on for long periods without food and spent many hours of the day resting quietly at some safe haven. Their usual method of attack was to crawl up stealthily within striking distance, rush out at an incredible speed and grab the victim. Sometimes they attacked out of sheer vengeance. Crocodiles were more vulnerable on land and shallow waters. The lake offered them immense cover. It was extremely difficult to get a fix on a wily crocodile like Big One unless it made a mistake.
Soon Chacko’s training was shifted to a stream near the estate bungalow. Live fish, submerged stones and driftwood that floated down the rapids were the initial targets. He learned to judge the deflection of bullets in water, the varying speeds at which objects moved in the current and the sudden changes in their direction. The next step was with green bamboo pieces tied to ropes and placed near the waterline. The hunter was made to walk along the riverbank at dusk. When someone positioned away from the line of fire pulled the string and the bamboo jerked up, he was to shoot. With practice his hit rate improved.
To round up the training, there were instructions on long range shooting as well. In this, gauging the distance and the wind factor carefully and adjusting the gun sight appropriately for straight, upward and downhill shots were important.
Weeks passed and it was early March. One evening Carlson and Chacko were in the drawing room of the bungalow. The sahib was on his favorite leather upholstered chair smoking his pipe. The hunter from Kadep sat on a large tiger skin spread out on the wooden floor. A turbaned butler was mixing whiskey and soda for his master and acting as interpreter.
"In some countries," the Englishman said, "crocodiles were considered evil spirits. But in certain places like ancient
"My people too," Chacko said after a brief pause, "say that Big One has supernatural powers."
Carlson looked at him sharply. "You don't believe that nonsense, do you?" he asked.
The crocodile hunter didn't reply.
Carlson took a sip of whiskey that the butler had placed near his chair. "With all the training,” he asked, "aren't you confident now?”
Chacko was pensive. "Back in Kadep," he answered, "one wouldn't know when, where and how."
"You're right," Carlson agreed. "A hunter's always alone to face the unpredictable.” He drank more whiskey and continued, “Out there in the forest I feel humble. And scared. A hunter is only a small speck in the great scheme of things. He’s an intruder into the fine-tuned mechanism of nature.”
The Englishman took a pull at the pipe and went on, “But sometimes one has to kill. A man-eater, for instance. Or a rouge elephant.”
There was a long pause. Each man was left with his own thoughts.
After a while Carlson broke the silence. "I can give you a job here," he said, "if you like."
"Thank you. But I have to go. Maybe after I kill Big One."
"Yes," the white man agreed. "Go tomorrow."
In the morning when Chacko was ready to leave, Carlson opened two boxes of cartridges. He test fired one from each lot and handed over the rest along with the gun to Chacko. He also presented him a headlamp and an ammunition belt.
Before they parted the white man said, “Remember, Big One doesn’t know the power and range of this rifle.”
To be continued.