COWS AND LADDERS

Renu woke up in a cold sweat on hearing the alarm. She was thankful that her nightmare had been disrupted by the faithful alarm. She had been dreaming that a snakes and ladders game was going on in which she was the coin moving up the ladder and sliding down a cow instead of a snake.

Hearing some commotion outside her fourth floor apartment, Renu idly opened the door to have a look. There seemed to be some house warming ceremony in progress in an apartment on the same floor. Loud mantras were being hurled by energetic purohits to discourage bad spirits and drive away ghosts. Suppressing a yawn,Renu was about to close the door to start her daily routine when she saw her in the yet dim sunlight- a healthy well built cow.

It seemed to be Renu’s day for cows. She had been sliding up and down a cow in the nightmare and now here was another one in flesh and blood, brought obviously for the housewarming.

She looked at the cow with trepidation. The cow also glared right back. The poor animal had every reason to be upset, having been rudely awoken and dragged up four flights of stairs in the wee hours, but it was quite unreasonable to hold her responsible for its misery, thought Renu, unaware that the cow was seeing red in her flame colored maxi.  That was the last straw for the much harassed cow.

The cow was now scratching the ground with its forefeet, a cow’s battle-cry equivalent of the conch or trumpet, used by humans. Within seconds, before Renu could bolt back inside, she charged at full speed.

“Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeee…..,” shouted Renu as she took off at jet speed in the corridor, wondering even in this predicament how her flat feet could be so fleet footed? Though she had the initial advantage over the cow in the race, Renu found herself cornered when they reached the end of the corridor. As Renu looked for escape options, she could have sworn that there was a triumphant ‘got ya’ type of grin on the cow’s face. Then she spotted the elevator and pressed the button . But the moment the doors of the elevator opened, in rushed the cow, before Renu could react. As she gasped in horror, the doors slowly closed, with cow inside.

Even before Renu could recover from the shock and collect her wits about her, she saw a fat,silk sari clad woman approaching , obviously to the elevator. The sari was rich red in color.

The silk mami looked haughtily at the Renu. Her nose crinkled in contempt at the maxi clad Renu.This woman, who was probably on the way to a wedding was quite obviously pleased with her own rich appearance.

When Renu,still speechless in shock, tried to block her way, Silk sari asked impatiently, “What do you want?”

“k..kkk…kkkk!” said Renu, helplessly. “What do you mean, “kkkkkkk…. Now move out of my way!” said mami and pushed the button.

“ Cow!” roared Renu finally and just had time to see Silk sari’s face which had reddened on being addressed as cow. But Renu, who knew what was coming ,didn’t stay back for any more explanations. She fled from the scene, to avoid scenes of blood and gore and having taken shelter in her flat, watched the proceedings from a safe position.

“Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!……..” shouted a now familiar voice as the silk sari lady ran at jet speed, past Renu’s flat, her precious sari now hitched up very unladylike. The cow, which had suffered the additional ignominy of being shut up in a mini chamber, was now in a very bad mood indeed.

But Renu couldn’t help admiring the fat lady. If Renu’s flat feet were fleet footed, so were Mami’s fat feet. She ran up and down the corridor, screaming at the top of her voice. The priests, who had just finished driving away the spirits were appalled that one was probably missed. Silk sari ,however was giving the cow a run for its money and would probably won all the rounds, but alas! she slipped and fell over some cow dung in the corridor. As she got up trying to salvage her pride and her precious sari, the owners of the apartment where the function was going on,came running to her rescue.

All ended well like in Holly and Bolly wood movies. The militant cow was whisked away, after assuaging its hurt feelings. Silk sari mami,who had missed her wedding feast was invited to lunch by the house warmers ,(after washing and changing, of course). Renu got herself a new friend that day.

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DONKEY BUSINESS

While walking home, Sonny was suddenly aware of an uneasy feeling that someone was following him. He turned back to see but could not make out anything initially in the fading sunlight. When he paused boldly and had a second look, he was shocked and amazed to see a quadruped- a donkey to be precise- close at his heels. “Shoo! Scat!” He shouted, to no avail. The donkey seemed to have taken a fancy to him.

Reaching his bachelor home quickly and bolting the door securely, Sonny then peeped out hopefully from his balcony, hoping to have dodged his new fan… but no, it was still there, looking dumbly up at him.

His friends had a whale of a time, ribbing him about his new pal. “Must have seen a resemblance to its long lost brother, poor thing!” said Appu, rolling over in laughter.

“I warned about this online chatting with strangers; see what he got!” said another.

It went on like this in Sonny’s flat, but the faithful donkey refused to budge. Sonny was furious.

“Are there no… er vet. Psychiatrists to examine this beast’s head?” he asked, which only increased their mirth. “Sonny wants a shrink to put his donkey friend on a couch!!” they shrieked in laughter.

“You people are useless, I will go ask Venu,” said Sonny. “Venu! he is an ass himself,” guffawed his friends, as Sonny walked out,  faithful donkey in tow.

 Like in the rhyme, wherever Sonny went, the ass was sure to go.

Venu was more sympathetic. He listened carefully with his finger tips together, like a detective.

“Since when did you notice this happening, this sudden show of affection of the quadruped?” asked Venu finally. “About two days back,” replied the much stalked Sonny.

Like a local Sherlock Holmes, Venu then asked Sonny, “Now think very carefully-did you do anything new that day or maybe the previous day?”

Sonny, after some thought, said, “Nothing special except that I started using a new perfume I had bought some time back”

“That’s it!” exclaimed Venu in excitement, adding, “Ha ha ha!Your new scent is attractive to asses, it seems.”

Though annoyed, Sonny was also glad that the problem had been identified. “What do I do now?” he asked.

“Which friend of yours was teasing you most?” asked Venu, with a cunning look on his face.

“David,” said Sonny.

Laughing aloud, Venu said, “Ok, do as I tell you. Go home and have a good bath first,, and then…” he whispered something in Sonny’s ears conspiratorially. Both had a good laugh together.

Next day, a small gathering consisting of Sonny, Venu and some selected friends was able to witness and enjoy a rare sight:

An unsuspecting David, his full body smelling with the fragrance of Sonny’s perfume was walking on the street below, followed by an entire family of doting donkeys.

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CALL AND LIVE

After pondering for a long time, Arun decided to make the call to the Suicide -Prevention Help line before taking the final step-There was nothing to lose anyway. With gun in one hand and a suicide slip in the other, he dialed.

An electronic voice immediately came on line…

“Hi! Thank you for calling Self-destruct Prevent Center.”

“ Press one if you plan to use poison, two for gun, three for knife, four for drowning……”

Amused at this, Arun pressed two.

“Press one if you are neurotic, two if psychotic, three if bi-polar, four if OCD……”

Slightly irritated, Arun continued by selecting an option.

“Press one if gay, two if lesbian, three if bisexual, four if transvestite, five if none of above…”

So on it went till finally a human voice came online, “Good morning, sir, how may I hinder you?”

“You have hindered me sufficiently already…Cancelling suicide, I am now toying with the idea of homicide! And you are number one on the list!”

“Glad to have been of help, sir. Unfortunately, homicide is not our specialty, sir.”

                              -----------------------------------------

SOARING AWAY

Robin nudged Meera, “So then we can consider the matter settled; right?”

“What is supposed to be settled, Robin?”

“Come on Meera, we discussed sending Ratan to Boarding School at Ooty....”

“Oh ya, he is to be sent away before we tie the knot! I do remember…. I also remember refusing to send away my son- just so he will be out of the way.”

Meera sighed and added, “There is no change in my stand, Robin. Ratan stays. You simply have to learn to accept him.”

***

A few days later.

 “Wow, Mom, the kites are beautiful!”

It was kite flying season and the three, Meera, Robin and Ratan were out on the terrace, along with many others, armed with beautifully crafted kites of various designs. Each one of them was flying a kite, watching it soar into the air. There was the usual friendly competition as to whose kite would soar highest.

During this joyous occasion, again Robin sidled to Meera and whispered, “How about letting him go, darling? We can then plan our wedding.”

Ratan, hearing only the words ‘letting go,’ asked in excitement, “Shall I let go of the string, mom? Then we can see how far it goes.”

“No, sonnie,” said Meera, turning slowly towards Robin. Then in a sudden movement, she snatched the kite string from the stunned Robin’s hand and releasing it, said,

 “We will let this one go.”

Robin walked away quietly as the kite soared into the Heavens.

  

                                       --------------------------------------------------

LOON'S BOON

God was struck with Wonderment

As none under His Firmament

Had ever asked for a boon,

Such as wanted by Mr.Loon.

“Evolution, O Lord, I do hail;

But please return me my tail.

For, every time I see a monkey,

I turn green with envy.

Oh, Things I could happily do

If only I had a tail too;

Hang upside down from a tree

And read a book, swinging free!

Hold a cell phone or what I like,

With both hands still on the bike;

Drink coffee, tea or whatever,

Even while holding the newspaper.”

Hearing this from Mr. Loon,

God fell in a great swoon.

When last we heard-

Mr Loon

Is still awaiting his boon,

Hoping God will recover soon.

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BEWARE OF FLYING INNER WEAR!

Soman was happy. The young man was headed home for a brief holiday after a long time. As always, he was well dressed and took pride in his appearance. While walking home from the bus stop, he was day dreaming about how he would spend his valuable four days- the friends he was going to meet, the movies he would see and so on.

For reaching home, he had to walk by an apartment complex. A strong wind which was blowing that time dislodged a man’s underwear that was hung up for drying in the balcony of one of the apartments.

This piece of flying dress item landed securely on the unsuspecting Soman’s handsome shoulder. The young man who was blissfully unaware of the garment which now adorned his shoulder, walked home merrily.

Meanwhile, Soman’s large joint family was agog with excitement at the prospect of his coming. Meena, the younger sister was teasing her kid brother saying how Somananna was always very well dressed, “…unlike you untidy chap, Varun!”

Soman’s grandma, his paatti-wheelchair bound, though delighted at Soman’s coming, was worried about that day’s star forecast which said she should beware of missiles. Though enemy missiles were quite far away to cause concern, nevertheless she worried.

“Here comes our brother, Somananna!” shouted Varun in joy and rushed to greet him. As Soman entered triumphantly like a war hero, Varun and Meena took a look at him and started rolling in laughter. “What is it?” asked Soman annoyed at the sudden loss of heroism.

“Is it the latest fashion, brother!” asked Varun, giggling helplessly.

“Do you always carry...er… a spare like this, like a scooter tyre?” asked Meena .

“What’s all the uproar about?” asked paatti,wheeling her chair to the entrance, at the exact instant that Soman discovered his shoulder wear and threw it in anger and disgust. The much thrown underwear now landed on paatti’s face, causing another uproarious session.

Meena was rolling on the ground in laughter squealing, “Paatti’s forecast about the missile hit has come true!”

Paatti, though initially flustered, laughed aloud and said, “Soman’s forecast is also fulfilled-it was written against his star that he would have to shoulder an unusual responsibility today.”

The Soman household was thus plunged in sunshine and laughter by his arrival.

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HELL OF A PROBLEM

The CEO of  Hell was worried,

“Oh, oh! My fires are getting weaker!

If this goes on, how do I get on

With  the business of roasting my clients?”

Reluctantly, he approached the Earthlings

-His biggest client base,

And asked for a few pipefuls of Energy

To tide over his difficulties.

But Ah! The super smart Earthlings would have none of it,

But gave him a lecture instead;

On Upgradation
And Energy Conservation

And Environment Management

And Carbon credits… and so on.

Finally, rejecting the Chief’s plea,

They offered instead to deploy

Energy experts- on payment basis,of course!

The CEO of hell then rose up angrily to his full height;

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Save your lectures, Earthlings!

-Reason for the fuel shortage is the inordinate increase

In the number of rascals you have been dispatching down there;
-much higher than the installed capacity.”

Then with a royal shrug of his hellular shoulders,

The Chief added in a spine chilling tone,

“The choice is yours:  give me more energy,

Else I will send them right back to you-unroasted.”

---------------------------------------------

Just in Jest.

“Are you Sam, son?”

“No”

“Ah, then you must be Sam’s son?”

“No. I am Samson, son of Sam’s son.”

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LOOKING INWARDS

I hope I do not mislead readers into thinking that this is an article on a spiritual matter…….there are many Great Gurus for that…. who write and talk about the Inner Self, the Real Self etc. Also I do not pretend to lay claims to any great psychological insight in the lines that follow. They are merely random musings of an ordinary individual past his middle age. I hope at least some of you will agree with some of the things I am going to say.

Most among us are quick to form opinions about other people’s attitudes; mannerisms and behavior in general, aren’t we? We love to engage in this pastime either singly, with family, or in groups. We can be quite merciless too when we form or create such ‘images’ of others. Though we have been exhorted to ‘judge not’, we do that all the time.

Over a period of time, these ‘images’ or perceptions of our friends, foes or relatives crystallize and lo!, we claim that we ‘know’ him or her very well!

Thus, in any society, we define so and so person as miserly, someone else as eccentric, another as greedy….and so on. Often a single adjective suffices to describe an entire human in the circles in which the individual moves! Of course we can also be quite generous with some others when we attribute many positive qualities to them and even fit some among them with sagely halos.

How fallacious! That poor person whom we claim to ‘know’ and whom we ‘define’ has not evolved painfully over many Darwinian generations to be judged, classified and filed away in society’s image cabinets so casually. In reality can anyone be ‘known’ so accurately even after several years of close association? Many facets of a person’s total personality remain elusive in casual friendships and even sometimes in more intimate relationships. As we have all experienced sometime or the other, there can be surprising or unexpected behaviour even from ‘well-known’ people. Often, unfortunately, such surprises- if unpleasant- can lead to ruptured relationships.

That in turn leads me finally to the main topic of this article…. How much do we know about ourselves?

The gut reaction to this question would be “Of course I know myself…I am like this,…. I am like that, and so on. But do others agree with this self perception?

Aah…There we have a problem, don’t we? Of course, what everyone does have is a self-perceived image of self as he fancies others to  be perceiving him! Alas, if it is put to comparison with the corresponding file images of society, results could be quite different, sometimes disastrous. Complicated, isn’t it? I could help by complicating further when I add, as you of course know, that each one of us has multiple images in society other than the self-perceived one. Images formed by the spouse, the mother, the boss, the friend, the sibling etc could all be different from each other and also from the self-perceived image.

The images formed about us by others are based primarily on how we act or behave in various situations. Since our response to the same stimulus varies depending on the place, occasion, person or persons etc, it follows that the images too will be different. That also would explain why the same person is a hero to some, an ordinary person to others, and probably even a villain to others. 

Then who is the real person behind all these images? Again I am not referring to the Self of the Spiritualist but only to the ordinary self. Knowing one’s true nature to any reasonable extent is possible only by one self……..if one is prepared to look within …and honestly acknowledge things as and when they are seen.

Easy, is it? Think again. Imagine you have an uneasy feeling after seeing someone. He would be a person you instinctively dislike for some reason. But your conscious mind may not be aware of the reason for your sudden moodiness. If you really probe in your mind for the reason, it is there…. His presence has affected you! But then how many times we acknowledge such feelings even to ourselves? Dislike, hatred? “No no, I can’t be like that!”, “Do I feel envious on seeing a friend’s latest model car? No, no… not me. I am not like that!”, “Do I feel attracted to that person….Certainly not, I can’t be a sinner!”

What happens is that our puritanical sense of right and wrong kicks in and we get shocked when we try to confront our real feelings. But then they are only feelings and they are there, whether you accept them or not. Feelings or thoughts do not come and go at your behest. They are always there whether you are a sinner or a saint. They are as much a part of nature as the cold, heat or wind. You can ask your child not to go out in the cold. You cannot issue an ultimatum that she should not feel the cold!  Similarly there should not be any harm in just ‘recognising’ those feelings without actually acting upon them.

Of course one should not act on such negative feelings. But one probably can actually benefit by an inner honesty where we boldly confront ourselves as we are. Yogis say that even the mere act of recognising or ‘observing’ certain undesirable feelings or thoughts can get rid of them. Also, many psychologists have discussed the danger of these pent up emotions bursting the dam of tolerance if left unnoticed. How can we apply the balm of our acquired wisdom to alleviate these miseries if we are not even aware of them?

As it has been said by the wise, the courageous man also experiences fear when facing a dangerous situation. The difference between the brave and the cowardly is simply that the former has learnt to deal with his fears. The same logic can be extended to the man who is labeled ‘good’ versus the man labeled ‘bad’. The good man has probably learnt better to apply the appropriate controls in the journey of life- to avoid mishaps.

Except for that difference, it may be well said that every one of us  is on a journey, the destination being the same. We are at different  stages, that's all.   

                        ---------------------------------------------

IN A WHITER LEIN...OOPS...IN A LIGHTER VEIN

Elsie, a mild natured elderly lady was miffed with her husband about something and decided to complain to their family friend, Joseph- who, she knew would scold her husband. But being a true sishya of Spoonerism- like ‘hissing the mystery lectures’, ‘facing his wash’ etc- she could often get things mixed up while talking.

She complained to Joseph (who was hard of hearing) that George had “...spooned her pawns in order to gamble with the money”. 

Joseph was livid.

 “George, how dare you try to harpoon her for money?”

The absent minded George answered, “She is lying!- I hate prawns.”

God knows what Joseph heard, but he smiled, and patting George affectionately on the back, told the puzzled Elsie, “There! That’s settled then. The old boy won’t do it again.”

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THE DISCHARGE

Raju got an electric shock,

Went to see the local doc;

Doc took him behind a tree,

Made him sit on his car battery;

After some time, doc said,

“Now my battery is charged,

And you are discharged.”

But when doc submitted his bill,

Raju laughed to his heart’s fill;

Said:

“I charged your battery fully free;

Hence for me no doc’s fee.”

--------------------------------

THE CRICKET BALL

The doctor attending the young boy Ramu, looked up from his still shivering patient and said,

 “He will be alright soon- seems he was frightened by something- but tell me what happened?”

The other boys, who also looked scared, said nothing. They looked at each other.

“We have told these kids several times to avoid playing after sunset in the courtyard of that deserted house in the village corner….,” said Ramu’s mother and continued with a disapproving look at the other children, “…looks like they disobeyed us today.”

Then Dorai, who was a little bolder and outspoken than the others said, “Sorry auntie, we did play a little cricket there first time today… because there is so much vacant area there.”

 He paused and continued, “Suddenly, a woman appeared with a basket over her head, much like our vegetable vendor Parvathi aachi….and at that moment, the ball that Ramu hit went directly into her basket, just as it sometimes used to happen with our aachi…”

Dorai then fell silent and suddenly looked very pale.

“Don’t worry, child, pray continue; do not be afraid- we are all here now,” said the doctor kindly.

Reassured, Dorai continued, his voice tremulous with fear, “ Just as aachi used to do after a little friendly chiding, this woman gave a strange smile and then with a vicious look, threw out what we thought was the ball…. But it was.. it was a severed human head with blood dripping from it!”

Dorai now was shivering and sobbing while recalling the horror.

“Did you all see that?” asked the gathered elders, now very concerned, to which the boys silently nodded.

“What did you do then? Where is she now?” asked Ramu’s dad to which Dorai replied, “We don’t know, uncle. We ran away screaming. Ramu also ran back with us, but fainted after reaching home.”

  A small group of elders then rose and said, “We will go and investigate. Doc will be here to make you feel good again, kids”

But there was no one at the place where the kids had played; nor was any human head to be sighted. The group was about to return in bewilderment when one of them shrieked.

 The cricket ball was lying on the ground. It was soaked in blood.

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INTEGRITY AT THE WORK PLACE

 In many organizations there is a provision in the employee’s confidential report for his superior officers to rate the former’s integrity. Most often, it is required to just rate his/her integrity as ‘Above Board’ or ‘Questionable’. Needless to emphasize, rating as ‘Questionable’ would place a tremendous burden of responsibility on the evaluator to support this rating and call upon him to furnish proper justification and documentary evidence. Else, his integrity could be under a cloud!

The word ‘Integrity’ in the above context refers in the main to honesty and propriety in the employee’s official dealings and behavior vis-a-vis guidelines and procedures made by the company. Hence it follows that only such transactions which are tangible and offer themselves easily to scrutiny can be brought under the organization’s ‘integrity scanner’.

But does it really give the total picture of the integrity of a man at the work place? No, it doesn’t. There are many intangible but nevertheless clearly discernible qualities which go into the definition of a person’s integrity at work.

Integrity also implies:

·       Standing up for one’s subordinate when he is unwarrantedly harassed by one’s superior.

·       Not poaching a colleague’s or junior’s work to pass on as one’s own.

·       Acknowledging another’s merit and accepting one’s mistakes.

·       Protecting the dignity of a subordinate even while correcting him/her.

·       Praising in public and reprimanding- where required- in private.

·       Conveying disagreement or displeasure to the boss only in private.

·       Giving credit where due instead of ‘pilfering’ it.

·       Giving due respect- without being servile- to elders by age, superiors in rank and to all other colleagues in spite of differences and disagreements.

·     Being firm where required, though polite.

·     Never compromising on, or sabotaging work in spite of real or perceived injustice to self.

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The get together

One day, I happened to see a group of teenagers in our local club. Seeing one or two familiar faces, I casually walked up to them to see what they were up to.

“Hi uncle!” said familiar face.  I hi..ed back and asked him what was supposed to be going on.

“A get together, uncle,” said another slightly familiar teen with a bored look, and promptly lost interest in me.

 One of the boys seemed to be hitched or connected at the ear, head etc to many contraptions. I was alarmed as he appeared totally motionless. “Is he er… breathing? “ I asked one of them.

“He is listening to music, uncle!” answered one among them, in exasperation. The others looked at me wonderingly as if I was an inmate just escaped from Jurassic park.

“You said it is a get together!” I pointed out. “Yes it is, uncle, are you not seeing?”

What I was seeing was another teen, a girl, typing something feverishly on her ‘smart’ phone. She was ‘what’s apping’, I was coldly informed. A third one was chatting, another was chirping, all on their respective smarties. The gathered friends seemed to be totally oblivious of each other’s presence.

What was not happening-, as my Jurassic self could observe was- any tete-a tete, or communication among those gathered.

Before I left, I saw one poor young chap- looking lonely though in the middle of the group -armed with an outdated button mobile and apparently waiting for the others to be done with their activities.

Though it was none of my business, I was nevertheless tempted to ask, “What are you doing, my boy?”

Before he could answer, I said, “Oh I know! Get together.”  

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The Revelers

The Revelers

Nothing seemed to go right for Mathews that night. It was an unfamiliar route for the truck driver since he had never driven to Rodapur before. The lighting on this infernal State highway was very poor. Potholes and a dark moonless night added to his woes. Besides, he was hungry enough to eat a horse and there seemed to be no dhabas or other type of hotels on this God forsaken road. As he was cursing himself for accepting this job, he suddenly saw to his delight a modest wayside hotel which seemed to be still open though it was pretty late- well past 10 in the night.

There were only a handful of people at the tables. They seemed to be local gentry who had strayed in for dinner from the local liquor ‘bar’. The customary tough looking truckers were not to be seen. While the normally reticent Mathews was toying with the idea of enquiring why there were so few truckers and other travelers, the guy at the payment counter asked him, “ Surely you are not planning to continue on the road tonight, are you, pal?” Mathews laughed and said, “What else did you expect me to do? Sleep on the road?”

The counter guy, who appeared to be the proprietor sighed and said, “Well, you could always stay the night in one of our rooms…or even sleep in your own cabin. Anything- even sleeping on the road might be a better option than driving on that terrible stretch on this New Moon day.” Seeing Mathew’s quizzical expression, another guy continued the story, “This is the ghost revelers’ night and you could be in deep trouble.”

 “Never heard this bullshit before- what on Earth do you mean?” said Mathew irritably, eager to get going, now that his tummy was filled. He had a deadline to meet.

The man at the counter said, “I will relate the facts first: On a moonless night like this, a few holiday revelers were dancing in the open somewhere nearby when a drunken truck driver ploughed through them- finishing them all. I still have the newspaper which reported this gruesome accident, with their photos in it.”

The proprietor fished out the yellowing newspaper from below his desk but no one showed any interest, presumably having seen it already.  Then he continued his story.

“Many trucks have had inexplicable accidents on this route while climbing up a hill on the way to Rodapur- always coincidentally on New Moon days. The trucks generally end up in a deep gorge nearby here, where the hairpin bend is sharpest. Now for the gossip or rumor or whatever you want to call it: there are guys who swear to have seen a group of people dancing right smack in the middle of the road at midnight on moonless nights-believed to be the ghosts of the revelers. The accidents are said to be their handiwork -as a kind of vengeance against all truckers.”

As Mathews was about to reply, a new guy- who had probably just walked in- laughed derisively and asked the gathering, “Has anyone here seen this so-called ghost dance, eh?”  When no one replied, he continued to speak, addressing Mathews, “ Look buddy, don’t know who you are and what’s your business-but believe me, these guys are just scaring you silly just so that they can get you to occupy the hotel room--starved of guests you know, ha ha!”

“If I were you, I would mind my business and go on… ghosts indeed! Never heard such bullshit.”

But before Mathews or the angry proprietor could react, this guy got up and went out as suddenly as he had come. Mathews, fed up with the whole thing, got up and said, “I have a deadline to meet, so I am leaving.”

Mathews had hardly left when one of the guys who had been idly looking up the old photos shouted, “Stop him! Call him back immediately!” But Mathews had already revved up his engine and left by this time.

The guy with the newspaper was now shivering with fear. His hands trembled as he pointed to one of the photos of the dead in the newspaper. There could be no doubt that it was the photo of the new guy who had just left, after trying to encourage Mathews to proceed.

“Oh God!” screamed the late night patrons of the hotel as the proprietor scrambled to close shop and rush home.  

***

  The next day’s local newspaper carried an account of another grisly accident at the same spot. It was Mathew’s photo this time.

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Of Appearances and disappearances.

The respectable middle class restaurant was not very crowded that day. It was evening and my wife and I were among the few patrons at that time. Waiting for our food, my wife idly scanned the nearby tables for occupants.

“See how gruff looking that guy is!” she remarked at one lone huge guy next table as I hastened to hush her, lest he hear. The gruff guy also had a gruff voice and was giving staccato orders to the aging bearer who appeared a little harassed.

At another table there was a young decent looking pair of youngsters, who were very soft spoken and mild mannered. Soon, however, we forgot about them and got immersed in our evening snacks when they were served.

Suddenly, there was a lot of unusual commotion. The elderly bearer was standing near the gruff man’s table, though he was not to be seen. As we were wondering what happened, gruffie returned and said, shaking his head angrily, “The rotten fellows have bolted.”

From their talk, we could make out that the ‘decent’ youngsters had disappeared without paying their bill.

As the poor old bearer started sobbing that the money would be deducted from his salary, we were amazed to see the ‘gruff’ man patting his hand and declaring, “Bring their bill to me. I will pay.”

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