One may think it to be a mere story but only I and some of my childhood friends (who have lost) may recall, and still we have a hair raised situation. I was in about class 8, lean and thin, very active sporty, stood first in 800 meters race in the entire population of schools, had a pride that I was like Carl Levis, the Olympian.
We had made a self made play ground in the backyard of the temporary colony where we were staying, and only a few huts were there with some men with the job of Rickshaw puller and their wives were working as the house maid in this small population. Every evening we use to play football in that customized ground, which finished into a bush which resulted in a deep natural forest within a kilometer from where we played. One evening we were playing, I had a pre-call from my mother to come home, it was twilight, and the place was haunted by hyenas and black cats. A small baby was strolling out of the house and the mother was busy burning the ‘Sigri’ for the preparation of dinner. I saw that one hyena softly took the baby inside its feet and started running. Actually, hyenas have very long hind legs and small front legs, and it was balancing the baby while running away towards the bush, I panicked and thought I was the fastest and I will easily get to it which was around only 500 meters away from me. All my football team also saw and they too ran, the mother yelling behind and all knew that when Pinaki has gone (the fastest) the baby will be recovered as it was screaming too. I could hear the cry and was just following it, I reduced the gap and was about 60 feet away from the beast when the bushes started becoming dense and surrounding became darker, suddenly the sound stopped, the forest was calm as nothing has happened, all my panting friends came by, I too was panting we searched the surrounding in combing operation, but no mark of the beast or the baby could be found. Now, what? We wanted to return back to our premises, as the darkness would make us pray to some other carnivorous. We hanged and went back, we found the entire community waiting for us and they were sure that we ended up empty handed. I do not and shall never in my life forget the event and will make nothing a source of pride to me, no Carl Lewis or Usain Bolt or Ben Johnson could never meet the wild beast and the motive it has.
My interaction with the people and beast in the wild has given me an utmost thrill and pleasure, I often narrate these stories to my family friends and anyone interested or not interested to here by my audio does not stops. Every night we four, my parents and we both brothers use to sit for dinner on the table where I had the door next to my right towards the courtyard and that would only open if anything would just touch it. It was about 2215 Hrs November end, very chilly weather, everybody silent eating food. We had a neighbor who had a poultry with about 10-15 chicken for emergency measure for a late night invitee as he was in a business of coal hacking and transport. We could hear the chickens making clatter often due to a guest of honor at the reception. That night too it happened same, we gossiped about it a bit and suddenly something dropped inside our courtyard, I asked dada to switch the light on, I opened the door by just beside me as described and closed it as fast as I opened it. Mother asked what was wrong, I said just continue your dinner, asked dada to put the light off, everything became normal. But my blood was running cool, as when I opened the door I peeped out and saw a black cat (Panther) just about to leap position staring me, the burning eyes just made my blood colder and I had problem in breathing too. After waiting for a few seconds I arose and closed the knob.
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