The dream is the (disguised) fulfillment of a (suppressed, repressed) wish.
― Sigmund Freud
I was home during the two-month semester-end break after securing admission to a college. My old pals Rahul, Golu, Suman and Shubham joined soon after completing their semester exams. We would spend the day inside our respective homes, meet in the evening, drive across the different corners of the city, sit at our addas, eat at the street and then return during dinner time. The same routine continued for two weeks, but we soon got bored with it. The stay at home grew monotonous, contrary to what we expected.
On one such meeting, Suman, while throwing a series of stones in the river Falgu, said, “Bhailog! Mja nhi aa rha hai. Bachpan se humlog yahin ke sadko ka chakkar laga rhe hain. Same road, same shops, same street food, same traffic, same people. Kuch nhi badla yaar. Let’s do something interesting.
Golu and Shubham nodded. Rahul was neutral.
“But what should we do?” I asked inquisitively.
“Let’s go somewhere,” said Shubham.
“Where? Didn’t we explore all the places nearby?” Rahul said.
“Then let’s go far this time,” Suman said.
“I’ll bring my car,” said Golu.
They all looked at me for my opinion. Till then, I was processing a plan in my mind. Let it be an adventure or a game. Let’s not fix any destination. With the first rays of the sun, let’s take a road in any particular direction and go as far as possible. Let’s see what we can discover. Let’s assign a role to everyone, such as planner, navigator, coachman, and mitigator. However, the only condition is to turn back the moment the sun disappears on the horizon.
“The plan, though insane, I am in,” said Suman and added that he’ll be the planner.
“Rahul and I will take the steering. Let us be your coachmen, Sir,” said Golu in ecstasy.
“Shubham! You should focus on navigating,” I said, “I’ll mitigate any risk that would come our way.”
“Yes! Captain,” said everyone jokingly.
“But what would we say at our home? Should we disclose the plan?” asked Suman.
“No. No! Nobody will allow us. Just take the names of four others and tell them that you are going with us,” I said.
“The first risk averted,” remarked Golu.
“So, let’s meet at 6 AM in the morning. Guys! Don’t be late. I’ll be taking care of all the stuff required during the journey,” assured Suman.
“But but….in which direction should we head?” asked Shubham.
“You’re a good question. But your question doesn’t hurt me. Let’s chase the morning sun,” disclosed Golu.
“Then it’s decided. Tomorrow is a big day,” Rahul exclaimed excitedly, “Let’s disperse and prepare for tomorrow’s adventure”
I couldn’t sleep a wink all night. Though I made the plan, I wasn’t sure how it would go. The thought that I am putting my friend’s life at risk kept troubling me. But it was too late, as it was already morning. The honking of Golu’s car disturbed whatever little sleep I had. Suman came with a big rucksack containing Maggie, protein bars, biscuits and 10 litres of water in a camper. He also carried an old map of the city. I could see Rahul carrying 10 litres of petrol in a jerrycan. Golu purchased a puncture repair kit and kept an additional stepney. Shubham joined with his brand-new iPad and his S24 Ultra, equipped with advanced software to navigate. Among the group, I was the least prepared one. From the garage, I took a hockey, a cricket bat, three wickets and multiple tennis balls. On asking, I replied that if we couldn’t find anything worth visiting, we would play cricket somewhere. Deep down, I knew how important they were. We stuffed them into the boot of the car.
After having breakfast at my home, we were all set for the adventure. The wheels in the hands of Golu first steered through the congested lanes of the locality and soon chased the rising Sun. I occupied the front seat, Suman sat in the middle of the back seat, whereas Rahul and Shubham grabbed the rear window. We drive around 250 kilometres east on the GT road. The Sun changed its direction, but we kept accelerating toward the east. Soon, we crossed the state border of Bihar and entered Jharkhand.
We drove barely 5 km from the border when Shubham (the navigator) exclaimed, “Bhailog! I guess there is something toward the South. The map is showing an enclosure. It can be anything– an abandoned village, house, bridge or monument.
“How far is it?” I asked, getting a bit apprehensive.
Shubham immediately calculated the distance from the GPS. It’s showing 2.5 km.
“Jharkhand has a lot of tribal population. Can it be them?” asked Suman.
“Possibly, but it’s too near the highway for a settlement of tribals,” I replied.
“Let’s go and check. I want to see their culture and lifestyle,” said Golu.
“Yes! That’s the purpose of our trip. Exploring the unexplored,” Rahul eyed me as he said.
“What if they prove to be unwelcoming? I read that tribals mostly keep to themselves and don’t like any kind of intrusion in their community. Haven’t you heard what happened on Sentinel Island?” I tried explaining the sensitivity of the situation.
“That way, no one would make a connection with them. They won’t realise what’s happening in the outside world. After all, they’re also the citizens of this nation. We should listen to what they’ve to say,” said Suman.
“You’ve got a point, but what if there are other dangers? As of now, we don’t know what’s in there,” I suggested.
“Let’s vote then! Those who wanna visit, raise your hands,” said Golu.
Rahul, Golu and Suman raised their hands promptly. Shubham and I didn’t.
“It’s 3:2. We’re entering the den. Gear up, guys,” said Golu, and turned the car toward South.
…….to be continued.
©Shashank
Pragmatic's Personas 