Finally Bhabesh convinced his parents about his plan to move to Guwahati for a new livelihood. At first they were very much reluctant to allow him to leave home but there were no other options left. Bhabesh completed his bachelor in Arts two years back and couldn’t manage to get any job. His parents were ailing and apart from him there were no other earning member in his family. He also had the responsibility of his sister Majoni who was still in college. Bhabesh asked his father if he could manage some two lakhs rupees so that he could buy a small car and run in taxi service. He said “If I can buy a car then I will independently earn a handsome amount every month in Guwahati” His father said “But where I can get this huge amount? You know very well about our condition” Bhabesh said “The paddy land near our school is not being used for years, if you mortgage it then we can easily get the required amount” After repeated requests from his son Bhabesh’s father agreed to give the land for mortgage. And one day they found a person who was ready to give their required amount, after getting the amount Bhabesh planned to buy a small car for his purpose. In the meantime he took training in driving four wheelers from his friend and managed a commercial license from local DTO office. Few days later Bhabesh sought blessings from his parents and went to buy his car and tried his hand at this new car for some days and then shifted to Guwahati.
Bhabesh’s mobile blinked with a new request from his prospective passenger, his first ride with this new profession. He was so happy that he could not resist himself from calling the number about the location. “Where are you sir? Where do you want to go?” he asked. The customer replied “will go to Ganeshguri” it was indeed a good start for Bhabesh as the distance was almost ten KM long. The starting day was really good for Bhabesh as he got lots of short trips and earned bonus from them, at nine after twelve hours of tireless exertion he went to his room , before that he parked his car in a secured parking place. Bhabesh was famished and quickly prepared his food, had it and lay quiet, somnolent after some time.
A ray of bright sunlight broke Bhabesh’s deep sleep; he thought for a while “Yesterday was really a good start, will this continue for coming days?’’ He promptly got up from his bed and prepared for his daily endeavour, starting with washing his car. He loved to pamper his new love his car, before starting his day he offered prayer to almighty and went out for another struggling day. Every day was almost same for Bhabesh, woke up early in the morning then washed his car, had breakfast in the nearby shop and roamed all around the city with his passenger. It was almost one month had passed but for Bhabesh all happened in the blink of an eye. He thought of sending some money to his father then went to bank and called him. He said “Deuta I have transferred five thousand rupees to your account, please confirm me whether you have received it or not” he then said to Majoni “I have sent some money, you can take admission from it, if you need more please inform me, I will somehow manage’’ He also talked to his mother and told about his new experiences in this new city. His mother warned him to be more careful dealing with passengers especially after dark.
Bhabesh’s colleague Prabhat told him about the Assam Bandh and warned him not to ply his taxi on that day as anything could happen. “It is a very serious matter and all our indigenous organisations are against it and called for a Bandh “said Prabhat. But Bhabesh didn’t take it seriously and said “It is a regular affair in our State now, we poor people often suffer from these Bandhs, and rich people usually get an excuse for enjoying a holiday!” “But don’t dare to oppose it, otherwise you will be in problem” Prabhat said. The Bandh was on Monday but it seemed like a Sunday, no commercial vehicles were seen on the roads, almost all shops were closed. A few people thronged on the roads waiting for city bus or autorikshaw but in vain. Some private cars were seen on the roads, shopping malls were open without any customer. Almost all road side vendors and tea sellers were vanished. Children were playing cricket on the everyday busy roads; the city was so serene like never before! Bhabesh didn’t pay heed to Prabhat’s advice and took his car out to the road and eagerly waited for passenger. Suddenly he got a passenger’s request for outstation trip, as it was a Bandh; all other cabs were not available so the fare was very lucrative. Bhabesh received the call and readily agreed for the trip and headed towards the passengers location. They left Guwahati smoothly and drove towards upper Assam. The customer asked Bahbesh “Why do you take out your cab today, don’t you afraid of these Bandh supporters?’’ “No we are locals they will not harm us, we are running our cars out of compulsion not for fun” replied Bhabesh. The passenger had also some emergency in his native place so he was bound to leave for that without caring about soaring fare. They talked to each other for a while; Bhabesh played some soothing old melodies in his music system and they almost covered half of their journey. Suddenly the car stopped harshly, a mob of about hundred people stopped the car. One of their leader asked “Don’t you know that today we called a Bandh for a very genuine issue?” “Yes we know but this gentleman has some emergency, his father is not well that’s why we are travelling towards his home” Bhabesh replied. Another one asked “Do you know each other” “No “Bhabesh replied “Then why are you advocating for him? You don’t have any respect towards our State, Society and our identity otherwise you will not oppose the Bandh “You have to face the consequences not obeying us; you will be punished “Someone started pelting stones at their car and others followed him. Bhabesh and the passenger somehow escaped from the scene and ran towards a safer place. Bhabesh’s heart sank in sorrow when he saw the mob was destroying his car with some sticks and then one over enthusiast set the car on fire! Bhabesh couldn’t do anything except watching it helplessly, all his unfulfilled dreams faded away with the smoke of the burning car!
1 Comment
The Broken dream is very hard hitting reality with well composed words. At the end, the reader’s heart also gets cracked.
Well done, Nabajyoti.