How to Name it??????

Hey folks this is sheer joblessness that is driving me to write one more of my blogs.
A topic that has been making rounds in the confines of my otherwise occupied mind is to write a horror/a thrilling flick. So let us see how good or bad a job I do on that front.

The scene-- a rustic background of a village that wears a deserted look. The moon is just out of its slumber and is trying all its might to immerse the lucky half of the earth in all its pristine light. The wind that is now gaining speed and is metamorphing from what has been a gentle breeze into a troublesome wind. The rustle of the leaves on the trees that bejewel the villages is filling the already eerie setting. Those unlucky leaves which had to leave the safety of the parent tree are loitering around aimlessly in the wind and dancing to the tunes of the wind. The otherwise busy town of Sultanpur now wears a deserted look. The places by the village well which would echo the sounds of women bickering over water to the children playing "Ghillie" are now deserted nothing but for the remains of a few broken shards of the earthen pots that stand testimony to the bickering of the women. The market place of Sultanpur which is famous for the wares and the animal shandy both during the day as well as the night now is nothing but a place that is dilapidated and is reeking of animal dung. The few thatched huts that form the part of the living population of village are now lonely without the denizens to grace them.

So in all Sultanpur is now nothing but a place filled with the remains of whatever is left of the memories of the people,of the broken pots and of the deserted huts.
Just about six months back neither did anyone forsee such a calamity would occur nor could anyone predict such a mishap.

It all started on one fateful day when the son of the zamindars' ,Ravi Babu, had come to visit his parents after his graduation. He took to the village atmosphere like the fish to the water. Little did he know that he would bring upon the downfall of not only his lineage but also take the entire village down with him.

There was this lissome girl working at his place. It was sort of a sudden flow of adrenalin and the spike of testosterone that led Ravi to like this girl. He was blinded by her beauty. A certain rustic and bucolic attenuation to her appearance that made him go weak at the knees. He decided to make her his for ever and quench his thirst for flesh. An otherwise calm person was now transforming into something that he never imagined and something that he would soon loathe.
The animal in him was slowly eating away the humane side.

It was an afternoon and Ravi Babu was in his room admiring the three pronged fan that was ratling in the cool breeze that graced his parched face. He just could nt get chameli off his mind. The sight of sweat trickling down the various curves and crevices of her body kept coming back to his minds eye. Just as he was immersed in his thought he was jostled out of his pleasant dream by the sound of a glass hitting the ground and breaking into many a thousand pieces. Thats when he saw up and was both pleased as well as shocked at the look of anguish and fright on chameli's face. He got up and moved towards Chameli unaware of the piece of glass that was waiting to be engulfed into the warmth of Ravi Babus' Flesh. " Aaaaaargh!!!" came out a shriek from ravi. He immediately held his right foot up and looked at the teeny weeny bit of glass that was now embedded in his foot resmbling a stone in a jewel.

This sudden cry of pain brought tears to Chameli's eyes. Ravi was moved by the sight of tears welled up in her eyes. Time stood still for a moment. There was no rustle of leaves. The wind stemmed still in her tracks. Then a tear broke finding its way down her cheek onto her chin where the water droplet overcomes the surface tension and heads to the floor below.
She immediately grabs his leg and removes the piece of glass.

The touch of her tender fingers on his skin sends shivers down his spine.He grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her towards him. Their eyes meet for the first time. He could sense her discomfort and she is already writhing away from him. But he is just not ready to let her go. The grip of his tightens around her shoulder and he draws her even closer. This one thing was enough to ignite the fire in the embers that have been burning inside him.

How an hour passed only the hands of the clock going tirelessly about their routine knew. Chameli was lying by the side of ravi on her back with beads of perspiration gracing her face. A feeling of smugness on her face was visible and it was then that a sudden shock wave of fear was passing through her body.It brought her back to senses and also tears to her eyes. She was an outcaste but loved Ravi and could not express it to him for the fear of being banished from the village. Ravi was lying on his back with Chameli by his side. A sense of accomplishment, a sense of his hunger being satiated brought a wry smile to his lips. Thats when realisation hit him. The act of adultery he had commited just then. He began to sweat profusely thinking of the repercussions that would arise as a result of his act.He turned towards Chameli only to find her weeping. That is when he realised he too loved her. He held her by the shoulder and told, " Chameli, please do not cry, I shall marry you come what may, even if we are banished from the village we shall make a living in the city."

These words comforted her and instilled a confidence in her. She hugged him more in gratitude.

Never did they realise that they were being watched by a pair of eyes through the crevice of the door. The nerves in those eyes had a sudden surge of fresh blood passing through them after witnessing whatever happened in the confines of the room. A feeling of hatred proclaimed itself aloud and whoever said eyes could not speak would eat humble pie had they witnessed this pair that was emanating hatred, anguish and and ........ a long lost love.

It was yet another beautiful day. The sounds of birds chirping and the fresh waft of wind blowing the curtains in Ravis room was just the kind of begining he would have hoped. It was a big day as he was about to tell his parents about chameli. Little did he realise that it was not meant to be that way.

His man servant ramu kaaka comes running into ravi's room. "Sahib, Sahib Chameli is dead, she has hung herself."

It took time for the last words of Ramu kaaka to sink into Ravi's head. His reflexes which were always attentive and sensitive to any change had failed miserably. His legs were flailing and he had just collapsed onto his bed. That is when a tear had surfaced from his eyes.

Then his parents had come to him and were shocked to see him in such a state. The local police had taken her body for post mortem and it was evening by the time the inspector got hold of the report.

The report clearly mentioned that she had been killed before she had been hung. So it was a case of murder and not a suicide. The killer was at large. The police in Sultanpur were adept at handling petty robberies that would happen sporadically. But this case was in a different league altogether. So they had to seek help from the city sleuths in this regard.

That is when Dhar enters the scene. He is famous for his detective abilities and had solved many a case. So he was now given the charge of this murder mystery.

He started off the preliminary investigation.He questioned ravi, his parents and the other servants in the house.

That is when he zeroed in on Ramu Kaaka. His answers to the questions were inconsistent and incomprehensible. He did not reveal his suspision then. Days passed by with Dhar making little progress in the case. The pressure from those sitting up higher in the hierarchy was mounting and he needed a break in this case that seemed simple at the outset but was getting complicated by the day.

Another event that occured had caused a sudden frenzy and furore in the village. Ramu kaaka was murdered with his throat slit and lying in a pool of blood on his bed. Dhar was now all the more confused. He had to rethink the methodology he had adopted to investigate and had to look at the case with a fresh perspective.

That is when a piece of information from Munshiji the accountant of the Zamindars' helped Dhar make a decisive head start in the right direction.

He said that ,"When Ravi Baba was young he had this habbit of walking in sleep and he would frequently talk some strange tongue.Thats when the Zamindar had met a yogi maharaj who said that his Son Ravi was possesed by a lady maid who was working with the Zamindar's and had commited suicide due to some strange reasons. The yogi maharaj had gone ahead and performed some rituals and poojas and the problem seemed to have been solved. So the Zamindar sent Ravi to his aunts' in the city for further studies. "

This piece of information given to Dhar by munshi ji made him realise that this was not an ordinary case as he had some paranormal influence on it as well. So he started to have a close watch on Ravi. During the day Ravi used to mourn the death of Chameli but during the nights he was this completely different person who kept strutting about his room muttering jibberish.

Meanwhile there was this huge epidemic breakout in the village cattle kept dying all of a sudden. and soon the villagers atributed these sudden deaths to some plague caused by the deceased but restless soul of chameli. Many poojas were performed but in vain. The villagers had no other option but to leave the village and head towards the city. It was a very difficult choice they had to make but no other viable option was present. With a heavy heart and beautiful memories of the village many of them began to move towards the city.

The Zamindar, like the captain of a sinking ship, decided to hold fort. He said nothing could make him get away from his birth place. The place that has seen him grow.

So he decided to tell the truth that has been buried in the depths of his heart for so long.He decided he will call Dhar and let him know that he is the reason for all that is happening in the village.

He summons Dhar. He says," Dhar babu, I think it is high time I told you the truth." Dhar is intently listening without batting an eyelid.

" About 25 years ago, there was this servant maid called chameli who was working in the house. She was a lissome girl and was a very lively person. Her laughter would bring a new freshness to each day. The only thing is that she was born in a family that is paraiah. That did not deter me from liking her. My father got to know about my love for her and got me married to the Zamindarin. Now my love for chameli had transformed to lust. So I had outraged her modesty on one fateful afternoon. Very soon she hung from the ceiling fan of my bed room which Ravi uses currently. It was her soul that kept tormenting me and I too suffered in silence as I knew I deserved it. But I could not tolerate it any longer when it decided to torment my son Ravi who was born to us after a lot of penance and prayer. He was the apple of my eye. How could something like this happen to him."

Dhar could not believe his own ears and was dumbstruck when the Zamindar stopped to gasp for breath. He then prodded the zamindar to tell him further.

" That is when I had brought home this Yogi maharaj who could sense the presence of her soul in our house and so had performed poojas to evict her from our house. I had then sent Ravi to my Sisters' for further studies."

A few years back I could not believe my own eyes when she had come back and asked for a job. It was Chameli, was it coincidence, was it irony of fate or was it my own doing. But she looked exactly like her. I just could not refuse her a job. As I thought that this would lay her soul to rest in peace for ever. But that was not to be.

I soon realised that my son Ravi had a liking for this girl. I decided to get both of them married inspite of she being from a downtrodden caste and not commit the same mistake that my father had done twenty five years back.

It was a sunny afternoon and I was heading towards ravi's room in order to talk to him. That is when I saw Ramu Kaaka peeping through the crevice of Ravi's door. I knew something was amiss but decided to just wait and watch from behind the curtain. In sometime Ramu Kaaka had left the place in a fit of rage that was not usual of him. Then the door opened and out came chameli followed by Ravi." I shall not let you down Chameli" was what he said. and that was enough for me to know what must have transpired between the two. The next day what transpired i do not know but chameli was found dead hanging by her neck . I had my suspicion on Ramu kaaka and I was right it was he who had killed her. " I loved chameli and decided to tie the knot when I saw both her and Ravi babu together in his room. So in a fit of rage i had gone to her place and strangled her to death" was what he said on asking. I was about to leave Ramus place when he threatened me that he would tell the people of the village the kind of relatioon ship that Ravi and Chameli had. That would bring the downfall of our family. He wanted me to write away all my familial property to him in bargain. thats when in a fit of anger i had sliced his throat with a knife that I had found in his house. I had hid the knife in my cupboard as I was confident that I would be the last one on your list of proabables."

Dhar heaved a huge breath of relief. He could see his case unravelling in front of him. But one question still troubled him. Why was Ravi behaving in this unusual manner. and he knew something about the way the Zamindar told him was not plausible. But he held his doubts closer to his heart. he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

That is when he got a call from this pschychiatrist friend of his Dr. Arun. He said that he needed Arun to come to Sultanpur at the earliest as he had an interesting case on his hands and that he needed to make use of the services of Arun.

So Arun landed up at Sultanpur only to find more than half the village empty and those remaining were also leaving. He headed straight to Dhar's place. Dhar explained him the case. Arun was intrigued by it. So he decided to talk to Ravi on this and upon the order of his father Ravi also agreed to meet Arun.

It was then that the entire truth was out.

Ravi started

" I used to sleep walk when i was a child and father had brought this yogi maharaj who performed poojas and I had to leave to my Aunts place for further studies. I returned after almost 20 years and was very happy to be back home. That is when I saw Chameli and almost fell in love with her instantly. and what happened later you know.

On the day when she commited suicide i noticed my father was very uncomfortable. Something about him told me that he was not ok. He seemed to slip away from the gathering quitely. I followed him. I saw him enter Ramu Kaaka's house. I jus stood below the window of the room in which both my father and ramu kaaka were talking.

" Chameli was my aunt and you were the reason she comitted suicide." said ramu.For a moment I could not place whatever Ramu said. then i Realised that they were talking about a women about 25 years ago. My father's head hung in shame and remorse. But Ramu was not stopping then.He told that his main aim was to avange the death of his aunt. It was he who had injected me when i was young with some medicine causing sleeping sickness and my poor father thought it was the soul of chameli. My father then said that he was really sorry for bringing upon such an end to his aunt and he was still repenting her death. It was he who had poisoned the wells and lake of the village because of which there was a sudden increase in deaths of cattle.

All this to avenge the death of his aunt.

That is when he said he loved my chameli and had seen her with me on that afternoon. I could see my father trying to calm him down . But when he said he had strangled her to death I went wild. I just could not control my anger. Thats when he began to call names at my father. A person whom i regard next to God. He was crossing a line and he did not know then.

My father left his place with a deep sullen look on his face.

Then I entered his house and held him by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the floor. I straddled him and slit his throat like a butcher slits the throat of a goat. He writhed in pain. I enjoyed the sight. Die you demon was what I said out aloud. I had placed both my hands over his mouth to prevent him from shrieking. It was all over in about 5 minutes. I just looked up and was shocked to see my father at the door step of ramu's house. He just could not believe what he saw. He immediately grabbed the knife from my hand and asked me to go home and act as if nothing had happened.

I also went home and was spending sleepless nights. It was during one of those nights that Dhar saw me."

Just as Ravi finished narrating the events of that day. Arun said," You are now gaining consciousness. Slowly open your eyes." and Ravi returned back to consciousness.

Arun and Dhar turned around to find the Zamindar leave with his head hung low. He then realised that even he could not save his son.

Ravi was charged with the murder of Ramu and was sent to Jail. Where he served his sentence for 10 arduous years.

He only returned to find his favourite Sultanpur deserted. He takes the road that leads to his bungalow and continues in that direction. He reaches his house and knocks on the door.

To his utter surprise he hears a voice " Yes Ravi Babu, just a minute" and he could recognise that voice even in his dream. It was raamu kaaka.....................................................................