The adrenaline flooded the chowkidaar’s system, right into his blood at full pelt. He stood in the bungalow verandah with a monkey cap on his head and clad in a chequered blanket. When he heard the saab’s car honking at the main gate. He tried to signal impending danger, waving his arms over his head.
They were returning from western Dooars club after a merry evening of Christmas celebrations. Aditya - their son, though in his early teens, had enjoyed the merry evening of Christmas celebrations filled with light, music and baked delicacies. In the December fog, the ambience was blurred as Manas drove onto the kutcha rasta leading to the Anandpur Burra Bungalow. Darkness yawned in every direction with only the dim light of the moon. Sucharita tried her best to navigate their drive. She said, “Don't the gnarled trees on either side seem as if elephants are melting into the darkness?”
They took comfort in the thought that despite the weather, they had made it home safe. Manas honked at the bungalow gate but what met their eyes was a surprise. They saw Sukra – the chowkidaar standing on the verandah, gesticulating – conveying something.
Befuddled at his peculiar behaviour, Manas looked at his wife askance but they couldn’t make sense of the chowkidaar’s actions. He honked again but Sukra continued waving his hands above his head. Enervated, Manas got down from the car, opened the gate, inched into the compound, and shut the gate behind him before finally driving up to the porch.
“Chowkidaar! Chowkidaar!” the saab called out furiously as they disembarked from the car. “Jee saab… Maharaja ji, maharaja ji…” he blabbered, nervously pointing towards the gate. As they turned to look towards the gate, a shiver ran down their spine when it dawned upon them that the shadows they had driven through were in fact a herd of wild elephants!
Thanking their luck, they climbed to the first-floor verandah and eagerly looked out. With all the lights switched off, they remained silent and observed the mammoth mammals. Two massive wild tuskers stood just a yard away from their main gate. The “gentlemen of the jungle,” remained true to their reputation and moved quietly and gently. “Aditya! Sucharita! Come here and look,” Manas whispered.
The three of them huddled in the corner of the verandah. Aditya gasped, “hhhhha… Baby elephants! Look ma, how cute!” He pointed to the left side of the bungalow, towards the Maali baari. Sure enough, amongst the banana trees were a couple of baby elephants merging into darkness; yet visible through the haze of the security lights of the bungalow. His parents exchanged a smile and placing her palm on Aditya’s head Sucharita said, “yes indeed,” as the three of the continued gazing at their visitors chomping happily.
About ten quiet minutes passed. And then, from the corner of his eye, Aditya noticed one of the tuskers at the gate. “Look!” he called out. The magnificent Maharaja opened the latch of the gate with its trunk as if it had been trained to do so! It pompously walked towards the bungalow and the other elephant followed. The massive elephants walked straight towards the Maali baari and the mother elephant greeted its babies with a loud, delightful trumpet.
Just then, a shrill shriek of a siren followed the deafening trumpet. Confused, Sucharita and Aditya glanced at Manas. He pointed towards the panicked elephants. The stunned elephants trumpeted, turned around and retreated with their gigantic limbs and tiny tails upheld. They trudged out of the compound, with the mother elephant in front and the babies holding on to its tail with their trunks, followed by a massive tusker.
"What happened, baba?" Aditya looked at his father in astonishment. Before Manas could answer, the chowkidaar who had been witnessing the happenings from the verandah downstairs ran up excitedly and exclaimed, "Saab, Maharaj ji andar aa gaya tha. Iss liye siren baajaya tha." (Saab, the elephant has entered the compound. So I had to sound the siren.)
"Shabaash!" nodded Manas and thanked Sukra for his presence of mind.
"But baba, where have they gone?" asked Aditya concerned.
"They have returned to reunite with their family," said his father. "They will visit us again soon," he smiled as they too retired for the night.
Chowkidaar: Night guard
Maali baari: Kitchen garden
Shabaash: Well done!