Work Text:
Kharga was a medium-sized tehsil among its neighbouring tehsils, known for its beautiful pastoral landscape and home to only a handful of farming families. These families owned some 500 hectares of farmland, and among them, the Chopra household controlled a majority of the land. The Chopras' ancestry can be traced back almost 250 years and they had been known to be very industrious. It all started with the first patriarch named Ashoksingh Chopra, who was a man of immense knowledge and skill. He was also known around these parts for his brave exploits as well. According to many, he once held back a group of ten bandits who tried to steal cattle from his place. The bandits pillaged every other cattle shed along their way but were unsuccessful when it came to face the brave patriarch.
The year was 2007, and the Chopra family was still very affluent and had a fair share of the land. Although, many of the family members had chosen different professions over farming, they would meet at the old mansion-like house every year during Lohri. That year, the kids met for the first time together, all four - two siblings, and two cousins. The smallest of them was Teena, a very sensible girl of nine, who was very much like her elder brother, Raja. A thin lad, Raja always kept a magnifying lens in his shirt pocket and had a big collection of marbles of every size and colour. His maturity was beyond his years, and people always found him a little abstruse. The other two were Santosh, 13, and Amal, 9. Santosh had a very friendly disposition and liked challenges. Amal was the naughtiest among the lot, but he always craved his cousins' attention. He would do anything to impress them and would often go to great lengths to prove that he possessed a well of talent.
The day before Lohri was a slow-moving day and the morning had been very foggy. By eleven o' clock, the view seemed to have cleared up a bit. After the kids had their breakfast, they got together to have a discussion on what they were going to do for the rest of the day.
"Chalo ghode par ride karne jaate hai. Humare paas sabse ache ghode hai. Kaafi friendly bhi hai woh sabhi. Mai tum sabhi ko sikha bhi dunga. Teena, tujhe waha achha lagega. Chale?" Santosh suggested.
"Mujhe horses se dar lagta hai and meri mummy ne bhi ye sab karne se mana kiya hai. Mujhe goats pasand hai and wo itne darawne bhi nahi hote. Bhaiya yaha goats hai aas-paas?" Teena asked him.
"Goats bahut boring hote hai. Mujhe unki eyes bhi ajeeb lagti hain. Kiski taraf dekh rahe hai pata hi nahi chalta hai. Same mere S.S. teacher jaise. Unki potty bhi gol-gol hoti hai. Raja, tujhe pasand hai na unki gol-gol potty?" He teased Raja.
Apparently, Raja did not mind the leg-pulling. His head was figuring out ways to use his magnifying lens. He did not like horses or the box-eyed goats. He scanned the sky and the horizon to spot something of interest. The hazy sky made it difficult to see through and even squinting one's eyes did not help. Also, the trees were devoid of any leaves and the usual pecking of the birds was eerily absent.
"Tum dono ghoom kar aao, mai aur Teena idhar hi rehte hai." Raja said.
"Aaj aur kal-hi ka din mila hai, please suno mera plan. Ek khali jagah hai thoda agey. Waha hum relax kar sakte hai. Par thoda door hai yaha se. But tum sab ko waha achha legega. Bahut sara area hai khelne ke liye waha. Raja, tujhe chalna hi hoga" Amal pleaded. He was too eager to go out and explore. Since, Amal was familiar with the place and its surroundings and who lived where, he wanted to take matters into his own hands and lead the pack. A lone child, Amal, always looked forward to meeting his cousins and telling them tales that he had heard over the years from his elders and sometimes strangers. Amal believed in a lot of myths and stories and often recounted events which were dangerous and should not be of any interest to a little boy like him. He was known to cause mischief and a year before he was caught by the oldest worker of the Chopra household, Amarsingh. Amal, out of sheer entertainment, had set the khus fields aflame and had destroyed almost a quarter of an acre of the plantation when Amarsingh saw white smoke making its way to the sky. He hurtled towards the fire while calling out for help in the direction of the workers' quarters. "Oye aag lag gayi hai, oye aag lag gayi hai."
When he reached the spot he looked for a source to draw water. Luckily, all the fields had been equipped with mainlines, pumps, and a network of submains which could be used in an event like this. Amarsingh quickly tapped into the one system nearest to him and started dousing the blaze. Help arrived after some time. Meanwhile, he single-handedly put out most of the flames. He surveyed the affected area once he was assured that the fire had been controlled. While he was wiping the sweat off his forehead, he noticed someone lying on the haystack that was perched on the corner of the field. It was the young master, Amal. He went towards the boy who laid there like nothing had happened. When he got there, he discovered a matchbox beside the boy. Amarsingh was incensed to see this. He shook the boy, grabbed him by the arm, and then twisted his sideburns. The boy cried out in agony and wailed, "Kya hua? Mujhe dard ho raha hai, jaane do mujhe!".
Amarsingh was a hard-working man, and despite his old age, spent a lot of time in the fields and looking after the cattle. He was also the one everybody sought when some equipment needed repair or when a cow was sick. Seeing the the future harvest go up in flames really hurt him.
"Yaha bhoolkar bhi dobara mat aana. Agar tu mera ladka hota toh teri achhi-se dhunai karta. Aaj memsaab ko nahi bataunga, par meri baat hamesha yaad rakhna. Ab chale jaa ghar" He barked at the boy.