VULTUREs

This story was written 1991-92 on a real political event that happened in Kolkata.

‘Uncle, they wrote about Renu in the newspaper’

Sudhamay slowly, with lot of difficulty, lifted his eyes to discover Arup’s dark and demoralized face.

After initial hesitation Arup ended up saying, ‘You know what they wrote. Renu, I am just not able to digest it, had strong political linkage. What a rubbish’

‘Bring me the paper’ Sudhamay told him meekly.

The news occupied a small column below the third page.

‘A Kolkata University student, named Renu Mitra, age 21 years, was killed yesterday morning while two of the students’ political rival groups had involved into an ugly scuffle at the streets of College Square that finally turned into fierce battlefield of stabbing, bombing and bloodshed. Renu Mitru was doing her Masters in the University. The local cops informed us that Ms Mitra had remained active member of a noted students’ political syndicate throughout her academic life and one of the leading participants of yesterday’s bloody street fight of the students’

‘Unlce, uncle, this is absolute bullshit’ Arup’s voice rose in sharp excitement, ‘Can you believe it? Renu, our Renu was an active politician in the University, and, and…………a seasonal street bomber? Have these newspaper people gone completely out of their senses?’

Sudhamay responded in a lost voice, ‘Is there any point to think about someone who is no more? But you know Arup, may be it is genuine news. We probably failed to understand and recognize the real Renu. She would very well have a political life that went unnoticed to us like many other unknown things happening in this world’

‘I will never ever believe this in my life. She was my sister, I knew her better than anyone else. An innocent girl lost her life being trapped in between two battling political hooligans’ groups and these ‘bloody’ media people are trying to give it a shady uncouth political colour. This is how they would like to lift political gain Uncle. We are becoming animals…..worse than animals’ Arup broke in sudden tears at the end.

Sudhamay gently placed his consoling hand on Arup’s back. His elder brother’s son, medical student of final year, hardly a year elder to Renu, they were very friendly and close, her death made him totally heart-broken.

It was so sudden, so unexpected.

They were all crying in the next room, the women of the families. Renu’s mother was kept under strong sedation. ‘Your wife is not in the position to absorb this irreparable loss Mr Roy, might collapse at any time’ suggested Dr Nandi, their family physician and one of the most supportive friends, ‘I would better sedate her for at least this day’

Sudhamay’s eyes were still dry. How is it possible? Is it really true that his only daughter is dead?

He was passing through the phase of life that was often looking unreal being shattered with dilemma and confusion.

Off and on the mind was filled with vehement anger to see end of those assailants who were responsible for his Renu’s untimely death.

But the very next moment, vacuous helplessness engulfed his entire existence.

Thousands of people are losing their lives unnaturally in this country every day without receiving any justice. And that does make no difference in this apathetic, insensitive society.

So will be Renu’s death.

They will erase the name of a twenty one years’ old girl from their mind after the initial consolation, condolence and criticism of the downgrading political scenerio of the country.

Even the last remnant of Renu’s memory will be faded out into complete oblivion one day. This is the universal rule of life.

Death can never stop the flow of life. The live show of life will be on.

Unthinkable, just unthinkable.

The girl was very much alive just twenty four hours back; while leaving for university she had informed she will be back early and have lunch with rice and fish curry. So fond of rice and fish curry she was.

A fair, short-statured round faced girl, didn’t talk much, remained engrossed into her own world of music and poetries, time to time became helping hand of her mother at the kitchen, didn’t like outing much, had limited number of buddies.

The same girl was alleged to be linked with today’s violent politics.

May be those media people are right.  It is most likely that Sudhamay remained in the dark to get true clue of his own daughter’s flow of mind. Her political involvement was never got exposed to her parents and family members. And she paid the highest price for that.

Everything is possible, everything.

Sudhamay’s mind came into complete standstill the moment he thought yesterday’s lively, vibrant girl has been now waiting in the post-mortem room with her lifeless, mutilated body for her turn to go under the knife of the forensic surgeon.

 

Moments later, a young journalist appeared in their place. Most of his questions were answered by Arup as Sudhamay lost his ability to speak.

Arup strongly opposed media’s claim of Renu’s political connection. He warned the journalist not to further politicize his sister’s most unfortunate death caused by political violence in the streets.

Sudhamay didn’t feel like leaving his chair. His body was totally down with a hopeless lassitude. The world stopped moving around him.

But he had to leave when he heard his younger brother-in-law whispering in his ear, ‘We need to go to the hospital now to collect the ‘body’.

The word ‘body’ alerted Sudhamay’s senses like another unexpected shock.

Yes, his brother-in-law is right.

Renu is nothing but a ‘body’; a lifeless, inert, motionless body.

 

 

Arup carefully dropped Sudhamay on the elevation just opposite the morgue of the Medical College where Renu’s dissected body had been sheltered. Many people came with him to take over the so called ‘body’ from the morgue, Sudhamay’s close friends and some of those extremely supportive neighbours.

Now it is the time to wait for indefinite period; when the in-charge of the morgue will release his dead daughter’s lifeless body.

‘We will take Renu straightway to the burning ghat from the morgue’ Arup proposed once but the plan was called off. Renu’s mother was dying to see her deceased daughter’s face for the last time, so the time has come to bring her dead at home.

While sitting with his chin touching chest and eyes forcibly closed the nauseating smell of decomposed cadavers of the morgue struck his nose hard. His dead daughter’s smell is also blended with this. Sudhamay clenched his teeth with every bit of his remaining energy to drive the thought out of his mind.

‘Oh God, I can no more tolerate this'

The place was a perfect death land with people both crying loudly and shedding tears silently here and there for their dear ones and waiting breathlessly to get back their bodies from the morgue. Sudhamay felt this is completely a new world that he had never seen before. Is it the real hell, those morgues of the hospitals with minimum facilities to preserve the dead bodies under proper sanitary conditions?

They brought the brand new bed, flowers, garlands, incense sticks, new cloths and soap to cleanse the dead body before the final cremation. Sudhamay was watching their proceedings off and on as if they were screening a movie before him; a movie that was made in a different unknown world.

Finally Arup and his friends got Renu out of the morgue after bribing the morgue-man with a handful of money.

Just that moment Sudhamay’s heart almost stopped.

A rally of hundreds of those young daredevil men with red flags in their hands and dazzling black batches attached to their chest hit the place like an earthquake.

‘Comrade Renu Mitra, We will never forget you. Your death will be revenged’ their combined frenzied voice reverberated against the near-by tall buildings of the hospital to give everyone waiting in the place a chilling shock wave.

Who are these people? Why are they shouting slogans for Renu? Are they her party’s members? What the hell they are doing here?

How long politics of this country will keep on exposing its dirty face like this?

A minute later, similar slogan in the name of Renu from the other side took everyone including Sudhamay into complete surprise.

The tri-colour party members marched into the place almost in the same time to challenge their ‘Red’ rivals.  Their faces were equally reddened in sheer vengeance for eyes for the eyes and blood for the blood.

‘Uncle, there is an acute problem’ Arup came to murmur into Sudhamay’s ear, ‘Two parties have come here with garlands and flowers. Both are claiming Renu was their party member. They want to launch a condolence procession with her body. Uncle, a nasty political game has started over Renu. I told you before’

A dead girl lying between two rival parties who are preparing for another thick bloodshed to take over her body.

They even don’t spare a lifeless body for their narrow political gain.

Are they human beings or something else?

His brother-in-law Shibu came running and panting heavily to say, ‘There will be a big mess soon. Both the parties are desperate to capture Renu’s body. Look at those bloody cops, standing aside completely inactive and enjoying a fun. What are we going to do now?

Long back when Renu was a child Sudhamay took her to Kughat to one of his friend’s house. They saw some ugly looking scary vultures flying over a dead floating buffalo in the Tolly canal. Renu was so much frightened that she hugged her father tight and crying like hell.

She could never stand the sight of the vultures even after growing up.

The vultures are back again. Sudhamay could see them as clear as daylight.

They are slowing moving towards her daughter.

Renu is shouting hysterically for help by extending two of her helpless hands; Sudhamay could see her severely frightened face and totally lost look.

She is screaming and crying like mad but no one pays any attention to her. No one comes forward to protect Renu from those unsavoury, uncouth vultures.

Irresistible vultures are about to tear everything of her apart, just that moment Sudhamay sharply approached his daughter, clung her lifeless, cold body as tight as he could with a weird sound continuously emitting from his chocked throat which was silenced after some time.

As if he wanted to pacify his apprehensive daughter exactly he did many years back at the bank of Tolly canal in Kudghat.

When Arup and his friends rushed to console the bereaving father, they found him with his dead daughter who had been frozen by that time in his arms while life has just ceased to remain in him anymore.

Sudhamay found no other way to stop the vultures from his daughter.

Reviews

[Manpreet]

A good write! Could feel the harsh reality in it. Thanks for sharing!!

[Taylor H.]

Not much into politics but its a good write

[Arielle Ann]

this was too powerful, just reflects the state our country is into;people are insensitive, cannibals, f**king b******s here. I have no words but only frustration as I see people greedily crossing all limits of humanity.You explore the dark side wonderfully and leave us with your vivid description, life has indeed such a cheap value in our world.its disgusting!

[Coyote Poetry]

A powerful story. The storyline took me in and I wanted to know more. So much sadness in this story. Each part of our world look at life differently. I like to learn views from other people about life and death. A very sad ending to the story. Thank you for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote

[MoriartyMesa]

What I like and tend to be nervous of this, is the amount of personal thought a detail. Just stunning, you can feel everything in each word, emotion to climate.

[Leslie Philibert]

This is very good, the way you combine a personal event with a wider political background, a very sad story that tells us that even in death we can be misued for other resaons, good work.