That night I was called in an
emergency to College hostel in the late night because a girl was breathless and
immediately needed to be taken to the hospital. The principal needed my car and
me.
The face of the clock showed 1
am. When I opened the doors of my room a gust of cold wintry wind rushed
inside. In spite of the bad weather I had to attend the sick.
I felt hesitant to drive in the
dead of the night because I thought it was a time when the thieves, robbers and
drug addicts perambulated. I stayed in a small locality where people had little
to do. As a result they would take more interest and find more pleasure in
poking their sniffing noses in others affairs. Without any valid reasons they
loved to look others suspiciously.
Moreover, last year at this time
of the year I had sighted bears moving around my house. And this memory
sharpened my senses.
With a sad and concerned face my
wife bolted the doors and I got into my car but the probability of maximum danger
was lying ahead. It was as such- I could drive up to the gate of our campus
without any risk but in case the gate was closed then I had to get down of the
car in order to open it by myself. As bears might be moving around there, I
felt a bit scared. That night the gate was closed and I had to brave the risk.
I got down of the car to open the
gates. I started reciting Hanuman Chalisa believing as the devine saviour.
Every patch of shadow looked like bears
waiting to haunt me. With all caution I got down of the car, scanned the area
in the headlights of the vehicle and went to open the gate. I managed to
complete the task without being eaten away.
I gave a sigh of relief. Closed
the door of the car, raised the accelerator and pulled away the vehicle. I did
not know when I stopped chanting Hanuman Chalisa. The danger was already
averted so I forgot Hanuman and thought about this and that. I mean when danger
subsided, my prayer subsided.
Now I reached at the hostel
campus gate. That place was also a favourite place for the local bears. I had
never thought that the gate would be closed. The same danger was lurking here.
In the same manner I had to open the gate by myself. I started reciting Hanuman
Chalisa, opened the gate, and came into the car. But this time I completed the
recitation of the Chalisa and did not follow the rule, “Rat Gayee, Bat Gayee”.
.
