Let me describe my new location. I am sitting in a wooden chair without a handle. Can't move. My hands are tied behind my back. Arm tight. There is no business of loose knot. The throbbing pain has started.
The table in front of me is like a big secretariat table. There are three people sitting on the other side of the table. Whoever is in the middle has Genghis Khan's book in his hand. He is looking at the book with great interest. He seems to be trying to figure out if there is anything symbolic or cryptic in the book. Reads one or two lines from time to time, and frowns his eyebrows.
The person on the left side of this gentleman's face is sticky with sweat. Looks like he just returned here after executing crossfire. I am naming this gentleman Sweaty fox. I matched the name of the third person with Mr. Sweaty fox and named him Pox boy. His mouth is full of measles. I can't give the name of the person in the middle at the moment. So, the name middlegem will have to make do for now. [ TL: It’s a pun in our language for gemstone. It also means someone who is in the centre of everyone's attention.]
A telephone set in Pox boy's hand. The telephone set may have some technicalities. Because Poxboi is doing some nonsense and pressing many buttons. Poxboy asked me to give the names and telephone numbers of my three close relatives. I just named the eldest Khala's (aunt). Because I remember her telephone number. I can't recall anyone else's number. Mitu's number could have been given. She has been given a mobile set on her birthday. I remember the number. I did not give her number on purpose. The young girl may freeze when she gets rab's telephone call.
Pox boy seems to be squabbling over the number I gave him. Till now, the connection could not be found for so long. Now, I think it has been found.
Pox boy's face is bright. He looked at Sweaty fox and said, "connection found."
Middle-gem (still turning the pages of the book) ordered, "Turn on the speaker. Let everyone listen to the conversation."
As soon as the speaker was turned on, I heard extremely annoyed voice of my great aunt- Hello, hello who?
"I am speaking from the RAB office. Rab. Rapid Action Battalion."
"Oh well! What do you want? (Aunt is a little depressed. Sore throat.)"
"I want some information."
"What information do I have again?" (Aunt's voice went down further. Almost crying.)
" Do you know anyone named Himu?"
" Is he caught by the RAB?"
"He is not caught by anyone. We asked whether you know him or not."
" Why wouldn’t I know, I'm his Khala. Eldest Auntie."
"When was your last meeting with him?"
" One and a half months ago. I forbade him to enter my house. After the ban, he did not visit."
"Why did you forbid?"
"There is no certainty of his actions. I dislike his inharmonious activities."
"What sort of inharmonious acts?"
"All his activities are absurd."
"Is he involved in acts like terrorism and bombings?"
"If he's involved, I won't be surprised. There’s no telling of him. He can do anything anywhere."
"What is his profession?"
"He just walks. He doesn't have a career."
"Has he taken up the profession of a hawker lately? Selling tea and coffee?"
"Impossible. He won't do these things. He won't work anywhere in any productive task. He will be in useless tasks."
"As far as we know he has been ferrying tea and coffee lately."
"If he does, then it means that there is an intention behind it. He will do nothing without purpose."
"Bad intentions?"
"Maybe."
"Thank you."
"Where is that donkey Himu?"
Pox boy did not answer this question. He looked at middle-gem boy in a victorious manner. As if he had just defeated the Napoleon in the Battle of Trafalgar Square.
Middle-gem boy did not lift his face from the book and said, "Get information from the police stations. See if they have any records. They should have a record."
Himu wears a yellow panjabi that does not have a pocket and lives a mostly nomadic life. He walks barefoot on the streets of Dhaka without a certain destination. Himu walks around with not much to do, barefoot, in a city that actively despises people like him. Never being able to hold down a job in his life, Himu does not quite fit into this city that celebrates obedience.
He does not have a job and, therefore, no source of income. He prefers the life of a beggar than that of a hard worker, often praising begging. However, Himu walks endlessly–using no form of transportation. The wanderer is decidedly eccentric and unorthodox in outlook.
He has a cult following for his spiritual power of predicting future events of anyone, including those of police officer, beggar, neighbor, relatives and tea stall proprietor. Most of the time he indifferently speaks unpleasant truth about the person with whom he talks.
Author: Humayun Ahmed (c)
Translator: Fenir Roy (Roy Nishan) (c)
Comments (0)
See all