May 14, '09
It was six in the evening when Vineet left his Sisters house to return to Mumbai. It was getting darker by the minute and he hurried to reach the highway, from where he could catch a passing Bus.
He came to this village after a gap of five years. The last time he was here, his Sister was married and he had come to drop her after the Bidaai. The village looked just the same as he remembered to have seen earlier. In fact it was frozen in his memory like a snap out of an album. Same houses, same rough and dusty roads and the people too looked to have remained in the same state over the years. The only thing that changed was the life of his sister after the sad demise of her husband one year ago.
His Sister had delivered a baby Boy, Shlok, who turned three this year. Fair, with a sweet mop of black hair, he looked like his Mother, Vineet thought. He brought some toys for his nephew. A remote controlled car, a clapping joker, puzzle games and some drawing books. But the best his nephew liked was the Joker, which would begin to clap, once keyed. And the whole house would resonate with his laughter.
As he reached the end of the village, the houses became scarce and the din reduced. Now he was walking alone, the dust thinner under his feet. An occasional bird would fly past him, tweeting along the way. Other than that, he was engulfed in silence. Then he heard a jingling sound. What could it be? He saw a bullock cart at a distance, the bells chiming as the bulls tread the path. But they were so far, the sound couldn’t be reaching to where he was. What then? Coins? No. He didn’t have any change. Where was the sound coming from, he couldn’t know.
Looking up the way he felt perplexed but couldn’t make out why. He saw some houses at a distance with small flickers of light. Oh! So there are more houses near the highway now, he thought. He hadn’t noticed them some moments ago. He checked his watch, it showed thirty past six. Just one more bend to turn and he would touch the highway. As he walked further, there were even more clusters of houses, which surprised him. The familiar bend that he was looking for wasn’t in sight as yet. And now he was surrounded by even more houses. What’s happening? He wondered aloud. The houses seemed to be sprouting all around him. And he was nowhere close to the highway either. Had he lost his way and entered another village? He didn’t know.
He wasn’t any closer to the highway but far from it, as he soon realized. In fact he wasn’t heading towards the highway at all. He was entering the same village that he had left behind some time ago. How’s that possible? His mind raced to find the cause and he began to sweat profusely.
Just then his cell rang. It was his Sister. What she said sent a chill up his spine. Soon after he left, she locked the house to go to the market with her Son. Upon returning, she found that the house had changed direction. The door was facing eastwards, exactly opposite to its earlier position.
It all added up. His direction towards the highway had changed too. The thought that there’s something sinister happening made him go limp in his legs but only for a moment. He must hurry now and reach his Sister’s house fast, he thought. He saw a great commotion around him; people scurrying about, talking animatedly. Some were hysterical with shock, others silent and wide eyed with speculation. Apparently all the houses from the village had spun around. Some had turned full, some halting midway. No one was caught off balance while the houses spun around, a fact which Vineet found very amazing.
As he approached his Sister’s house, he found her, as well as many other villagers gathered around, whispering to each other. The first thing Vineet did was to pacify them. Even though he didn’t have any clue about why this phenomenon had taken place, he hoped to find a way to reach its cause. But how, he didn’t know. Finally, he reached his Sister’s house.
People had lit lanterns but they were unable to free the village from being engulfed in darkness. With shadows which would ordinarily mean nothing, created more fear in their minds. Just then a cat jumped from a wall and straight on to Vineet and he screamed, adding to the confusion. While he tried to evade this sudden assault, he fell to the ground, something jingling out of his trouser pocket. It was the key of the clapping joker. That afternoon, like any kid his age, Shlok had put the key in his mouth and Vineet hurriedly hid it in his pocket. So that’s what was making the strange sound, as it banged against his cell, he remembered. As he held the key in his palm, it vibrated.
Now he knew what may have happened. It wasn’t the houses that had changed direction. It was the village which had turned around, each time the key turned in his pocket. But how can this have happened, he didn’t know. Nor could he explain his gumption that this key could have been the cause. He must destroy the key, at least bury it some place.
Quickly he began to dig the ground with bare hands. People around him didn’t know what he was up to. His Sister asked him but he was too busy to answer. He must give this a try, he thought. He put the key inside the depths of the ground and covered it with soil.
There was hushed silence as all watched with anxiety. No one moved or said a word. For some moments, the ground seemed to reverberate, tiny clouds of dust appearing above the ground. After a while, there was no movement. To the astonishment of all, the direction of the village came back to normal. Slowly, all gathered around Vineet and thanked him for his presence of mind, which saved them from this supernatural encounter.
The joker stood motionless. Standing in a corner, Shloak was clapping softly.
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