HOSPUR (PROLOGUE) By GAUTAM K MIRCHANDANI ✒️

Rajesh Baja could stand anything in life, but not the cold, not this kind of heart-freezing, bone-rattling cold. Thank god for the jeans and the jacket he was wearing. He breathed hard, his chest heaving, the exercise brought sweat to his body, and he was glad for it, for the flush of warmness it brought to his body. He struck his chest with his right-hand fist, very lightly, trying to circulate the blood faster in his veins, “Damn! This cold,” he muttered.

The headlights pierced the foggy darkness at a distance. Rajesh could see a vehicle approaching. He felt glad when the coming vehicle swerved, and the headlights fell on him; quickly, he rose to his feet, trying to see the coming vehicle. Thank God! For the approaching vehicle, car, truck, or whatever, he just wanted a lift; he was tired, and his feet ached from all the walking he had done the whole day, and a lift to the next town would suit him just fine. He said a quick prayer that the coming vehicle’s driver was not one of those moody ones who would say “No,” and drove away, leaving him in this dark chill night.

The vehicle came into sight. It was a huge lumbering TATA Truck!

Rajesh Baja waved his hand, signalling the truck to stop.

There was a screeching sound as the truck rumbled to a stop with its engine growling in the cold night.

Quickly, Rajesh ran over to the driver’s side.

A turbaned face peered out at him.

Rajesh smiled and said, “Sadarji, can you give me a lift?”

“Where are you heading Bache,” asked the Sardar with a smile.

Rajesh shrugged and then said, “The next town would be okay with me,”

The Sardar thought for a while, and then said, “Hospur,”

Rajesh shrugged his shoulders and then said, “Fine with me, can I come in?”

“Sure, climb in,” the Sardar said.

Rajesh smiled and then ran over to the other side and yanked open the front door, threw in his rucksack and then climbed and sat on the seat next to the driver and said, “Thank you, Sardarji.”

The Sardar smiled broadly, and with the help of the cabin's light, Rajesh noted that two of the front teeth of the Sardar were missing.

“No need to thank me, it's such a bloody cold night and I’m glad for the company,” the Sardar said, and then, taking a deep breath, he asked his young passenger, “Do you know this town, Hospur?”

“No, but I am excited to visit it for the first time, you see, I'm from Bombay, and I am hiking my way across the country,” Rajesh said.

The Sardar gave Rajesh a puzzled look!

“You know hiking? Eh, padayatra,” Rajesh said, explaining to the Sardar the meaning of Hiking in Hindi, and then he kept his rucksack on his lap and rubbed his palms together to bring some warmth in them.

“Aha, Padayatra, so you are doing a Padayatra,” the Sardar said.

Rajesh nodded. His head!

“Good, very good,” the Sardar said.

They rode on in silence for a while.

Rajesh looked out of the window, but there was very little he could see in the penetrating darkness, yet the wind felt cool on his face, so he continued looking out.

“You know son, driving a truck is a very lonely life,” the Sardar said suddenly.

Rajesh looked at the Sardar and nodded his head as if he could understand what the Sardar meant to say.

“I have a National Permit that gives me permission to drive my truck all over India, yet it feels very lonely,” the Sardar said.

“How can it be? I feel it must be so exciting, seeing different places, in fact,” Rajesh said.

The Sardar laughed and then said, “When I started driving, I was your age and I too used to think in the same. What fun it would be to visit different places and so on, but after thirty years of driving, everything looks the same, and that is when you start to feel lonely and urge to go back home for a quiet life,”

“Yes, Sardarji, you are right, it is true,” Rajesh said as if he could understand the Sardar's aloneness.

“It is Bache, it is,” the Sardar replied and then started to sing softly.

“I long for my home

For the home-cooked meals

For the green fields and sweet wind

I long for my home.”

Suddenly, the Sardar stopped singing and swore under his breath.

Rajesh looked at the Sardar with concern and asked, “What is it Sardarji?”

“There has been an accident ahead,” the Sardar said.

“How can you say it? I can’t see anything,” Rajesh said, fidgeting in his seat, trying to see what the Sardar was seeing.

“You can’t see it but you can always smell it! Can’t you smell the petrol in the air? It means only one thing. An accident!” the Sardar said while slowly driving down his truck.

Rajesh sniffled and drew a blank. He could not smell anything!

The Sardar braked suddenly, throwing Rajesh forward in his seat, and he blanched and looked up.

There, a few meters away, caught in the glare of the truck’s headlights, was an overturned car, near a tree. The car had crashed with such a powerful impact against the tree that the roof of the car was flung a few feet away from the crash!

“My god! It looks terrible!” the Sardar exclaimed.

Rajesh looked at the Sardar, not sure whether he was referring to the car or the accident.

Silently, both of them got down.

Rajesh rummaged in his rucksack and came out with a torch. Flashing it, they approached the car. Pieces of glass crunched underfoot as they walked and came near the cash car.

“Be careful,” the Sardar said.

Rajesh nodded, flashed his torch inside the car and cried out involuntarily.

The Sardar ran over to Rajesh, asking, “What is it? Why did you cry out?”

With a trembling finger, Rajesh pointed at the front seat of the car.

The Sardar looked, and a cry escaped his lips, too!

A man was huddled in the driver’s seat, his body flopped forward against the steering wheel, and the shaft of the wheel broke and pierced into the man’s chest. The impact must have been terrible for the man's head was thrown back and his neck had been broken in many places and dangled to the body with the help of a few tendons. Blood covered everything and glistened whenever the beam of the torch fell on it.

“Don’t look, if you don’t want to. Go back to the truck,” the Sardar said.

Rajesh shook his head, saying, “No, I’m okay.”

Together they walked to the other side of the car and froze to a stop.

Another man lay sprawled on the ground on his back with his mouth open in a terrible, silent scream.

Rajesh flashed the torch over the lying dead man and let out a loud gasp.

Huge chunks of flesh have been torn and ripped out from the man's face, and a long gash cut went from his forehead to his chin, with streaks of his blood covering him.

Rajesh felt a sinking rumble in his stomach.

“It looks like a wild animal had attacked this man or maybe wild animals, there are many in these parts,” the Sardar declared and then looked around as if an animal would appear from somewhere and attack them.

Rajesh turned away, saying, “It’s horrible. I can’t bear to see it,”

The Sardar threw an arm around Rajesh’s shoulders in an understanding manner and then said, “Let’s go back, well, inform the police about this accident in Hospur.”

Rajesh was about to say something when a terrifying roar came from somewhere nearby. “What is that?” he cried out, flashing his torch around in panic.

The very next minute, something rushed out of the darkness and launched itself on the Sardar!

“AARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH” the Sardar screamed horribly as he went down thrashing.

Rajesh screamed in terror and looked around for some kind of weapon.

“YEEEAARRRRRRHH, HELP! This thing is biting me,” the Sardar screamed.

Rajesh heard a ripping, tearing sound, and then a gurgling sound. He turned round, and the torch beam fell on the animal. “OH! No, no, no, it can’t be! It can’t be!” he screamed, trying to flee from the spot when the animal jumped on him.

The Sardar was dead; his head torn away from his body, and blood flowed out of his neck.

Rajesh screamed and screamed, his voice sounding far and wide. However, no one heard him, no one at all in the dark, cold chill night!

☠️

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