The coconut stripper

This is a short story dedicated to those people who still in India earn only few hundreds a month by climbing on to tall coconut trees and stripping coconuts.

He is not ‘Jack �"The Ripper’ nor is he a night club ‘Stripper’. He is an ordinary tall, well built man wearing a white muddy shirt and white muddy Dhothi- a piece of cloth draped in a towel like fashion in southern India. This is vivid memory of Nanja whom I used to see in our grandpa’s home during my vacation. He was an unsung hero of all the children, including me. He used to disrobe within minutes, with a loin cloth, he created small circles of coir and up he flew onto the top of tall winding coconut tree.

 Dry or tender, he ripped it open like a white tiger using his teeth and fingers. Then like a mother lioness on the prowl, he descended down the tree and fed the anxious hungry children with shower of its sweet water in the red hot summer. ‘Nanja’ ‘Nanja’ children screamed with ecstasy and joy with their howls reaching the clouds. He used to beam with pride like a silver back challenging its foe. Such was his magical spell every one were spell bound.

None of us knew where he came from. But we all waited for his return. When monkeys stormed the farm, Nanja used to appear with strange smelling powder. He used to pack them in a pipe and it flamed with a huge sound like space shuttle Atlantis sailing into the clouds. Monkeys used to disappear like a mirage in the desert storm. We all howled as though proving Darwin’s theory of evolution.

One day he came with a beautiful lady, shy and mute. She watched with us all his pranks and enjoyed the show. It was only then she opened up and told she was his tigress. We all hooted loud only to hear granny growl. The tiger and tigress disappeared in the woods. The coconut stripper was not to be seen for a long time though.

I crossed my teens and stepped into my adulthood, yet! There was no sign of Nanja. People used to whisper, that tigress had torn him apart or he fell into the company of liquor sucking wolves or the Lucifer took him below the earth. My eyes still longed to see him one more time, longing for that joyous time to spring back.

One hot afternoon a tall, frail figure was seen wandering around the town. It was begging people for money, with every single pie it used to go and buy colorless country liquor. It used to walk again as if there was an earthquake and again plead every one for money. If it was not satisfied it tried tos teal some and shout weird words. People pounced like hungry hunter dogs and there appeared  river Nile flowing with human blood. Alarms started ringing and appeared an ambulance, loaded this figure and disappeared in a flash.

Few days later the same figure was found walking in the town begging for alms and shouting fowl words. Some one in the crowd shouted “hey! Its Nanja our coconut stripper.” Everyone rejoiced, were eager to hear from our famed stripper. But, he had gone mute. Half of his voice was sucked in by life and half by the brutal hunter dogs. So no one knew what happened to our hero. Now he sleeps by the gate of our grandpa’s house. But his magic has turned black.

Now kids still howl at the sight of fox on the prowl. Liquor and life had transformed the majestic beast into a sneaky little fox. Now abuse has taken over praise. Poor coconut stripper has fallen from his grace. My tears go out for this poor man’s days. The dark moon has eclipsed the bright sunny days....

Author's Note

this short story is based on the lives of real people who climb these trees putting their lives at risk, feed their families and others as well, all just for few bucks a month. genuine and constructive comments are welcome:)

Reviews

[EMF]

I loved this. So much characterisation in such a short space. Ruddy wonderful. You convey the atmospher so well and bring the characters to life. However to be honest, I wanted to read a longer version. Nothing wrong with it as is, but I was just greedy A few typo's and grammar for example fowl should be foul, but nothing an edit wouldn't sort. Please think about expanding it. There is such quality here that more material could make it sensational.

[Robbie~xoxo~]

This is a beautiful and tragic story. Heartfelt! Very good write, my friend!!