Asking a rickshawwallah to drop me at Tadobacha Maal on a rainy evening wouldn’t have drawn any different reaction. The middle-aged fellow first frowned at my enquiry and immediately giving it a second thought, agreed to take me to the desired destination.

“What on earth has made you go to a place like that?” he couldn’t help asking me.

“Just to meet some dear ones” I replied.

“Hmm.. I wonder how anybody could live in such a weird place” quipped the rickshawwallah.

I didn’t answer his query.

Considering my silence as disapproval to his remarks, he kept on driving mutely.

The evening had grown darker as we left the city behind. The road ahead was becoming narrower as we progressed towards the outskirts of the city. The gentle drizzle of rain had now grown heavy with an addition of harsh and noisy wind.

 

Putting the highway behind, the rickshaw now took a left turn. The road ahead now was a typical country road. Darkness had fully descended as we drove like lone rangers through the thick curtain of the rain.

 

Suddenly the rickshawwallah pressed on the breaks and the vehicle came to an abrupt halt. I was about to peep out to see what made him stop the rickshaw when a tiny figure, half drenched, appeared.

“Could you please drop me at Shindemala?” and without waiting for the rickshawwallah’s answer he just sneaked into the rear seat besides me.

“Don’t worry about the money, I am paying whatever the fare” the tiny fellow replied to our driver who was about to open his mouth. Nodding in approval the rickshawwallah started the engine. The journey resumed with a surprise addition to our vehicle.

 

I looked at the fellow sitting alongside me. He was a small man in his late thirties or early forties perhaps. Bald head and uneven features had made his face look like a portrait terribly gone wrong. Noticing my attention, the fellow gave me a broad smile revealing his decayed, tobacco stained tooth. I smiled and turned my gaze outside to have a look at the countryside. The rain had slowed down now and there was a pleasant drizzle going on. Everything was drenched in the mist of darkness. Not a single house was in sight. A momentary blinking of distant light in some farm house was the only sign indicating and ensuring we were not all alone.

 

We had almost crossed all the farms and farm houses as the rickshaw came to a halt to drop our fellow passenger at his desired destination.

I turned to see my fellow passenger. The seat was vacant. I looked outside. There was no one.

“Where did that fellow go?” asked the rickshawwallah.

“I don’t know” I replied.

Both of us got out of the vehicle to see if the wicked-looking fellow had cheated on us by running away without paying the fare.

To our astonishment, there was no one in sight. It was impossible for a person to hide as we were in the middle of a deserted place. There was hardly any tree. All of a sudden the rickshawwallah almost jumped into the driver’s seat.

“Get into the rickshaw, quickly” he almost yelled at me.

Surprised by his sudden reaction, I climbed back into the vehicle.

He drove on like a madman.

I late him drive in silence for some time.

As he overcame the excitement and fear, I asked,

“What happened?”

“We’ve just had a narrow escape”

“What?”

“Yes sir, It was Bappa Murari”

“Bappa?”

“Bappa Murari, loyal servant of late Jaisingh Patil, a landlord of this place, rude and cruel fellow.”

“What’s that got to do with this? And what is this narrow escape about?”

“Yes, it certainly was a narrow escape, because-” The rickshawwallah now slowed down as my destination got nearer.

“Because what?”

“He’s a dead man. Died fifteen years ago, two years after his master’s death”

“What? You mean-”

“-That’s what I mean sir” the rickshawwallah did not late me utter that word.

“How do you know? Have you seen him?”

“No sir, but heard a lot about him. Them.”

“You mean Bappa and the landlord”

“Yes sir. People say Bappa was a small fellow with a wicked face and even wicked mind, and his master was even more deadly than him, a stout, strong, tall and handsome prince possessing a shrewd and cruel mind.”

He slowed down the rickshaw. We had reached my place. I suddenly began feeling a flow of fresh energy through my veins. Something incredible was happening to me, a strange and lusty feeling gripped me. It was time to act. Now.

……………….

The rickshawwallah stopped the vehicle but didn’t kill the engine, waiting for the passenger to get out. As the passenger stood out, he now noticed his strong and stout persona, heavy frame, with a princely, charming face. But something was terribly wrong with him. What was it? The rickshawwallah wondered.

Then it struck him as a thunder.

The eyes of the passenger, they were blazing with cruelty and rage.

The driver suddenly realized.

It was a shocking revelation.

Feeling dumbstruck, the driver tried to race the engine.

But it was too late now.

…………….