A will to fight back

The old woman took me to houses after houses. I saw men, just a bundle of bones, lying inert on their bed, bony cows in their sheds. I am a cowherd, I've been watching cows from my childhood and so knew a number of symptoms of cattle diseases and also knew how to prepare herbal medicines.

That day I took Snow with me to the jungle and rummaged for medicinal plants. In the afternoon I washed the shrubs and roots in the river, grinded them, extracted juices and fed the cows. I went on doing this for several days and every morning I watched their condition. Sometimes I changed a plant or a root. One day, it was not even dawn, when my slumber broke at the sound of cows' lowings. I rose to find women and girls of the village, even the kids, out of their huts, beside themselves with joy at the cows' lowings. Then the cows which had calves were giving milk, the cows which were barren gave birth to calves and were also giving milk. Within seven days, they drank the cow milk and recovered their strength. They stood up easily, twisted tails of bullocks, led them on to the fields and began ploughing. They grew paddy right up to the bank, women took out the paddy from the barns and grinded them into rice with their pedals, thrashed paddy to make flattened rice, fried it to make parched rice, made rice cakes. In the new harvesting year they celebrated with new rice the aroma of which brought uncountable crows from afar to partake of the offered rice.

The sturdy youth of the village said to me, "Friend, you gave life back to us, you have restored the green of our village, you are our king, our lord. We can lay down our life for you."

"Brothers," said I, "I am no god, I'm just your friend. Listen to me. The lord of our village caused pain to my Snow, he forced me to leave my hearth and home. I had promised, that I would make him lick the dust. If you come to my assistance, I will forever cherish your love."

Hearing this, they all raised their hands to the sky and shouted, "We shall help you, we shall go at once." I too raised my hand to quiet them down and said, "Mallik will not fight simply with his people, he has armed men too. What shall we fight him with?" They shouted, "We want weapons and armors." "Then we'll have to ponder with cool head," said I, "from where we can get arms. We can settle the hour of the fight later."

I told them so but could not devise any way to procure weapon and armors. Days passed, nights passed, winter passed and spring came. The northen sky of the village was aflame with Simul flowers. Springs in other years used to fill me with joy but this spring I could not concentrate on anything. I had only one thought. How to get hold of weapons and armors. Many days I roamed about engrossed in the thought. I listened whole nights to the sound of hooves of Snow at his stable beside the cowshed and worried if my promise would come to nought

One night, as I was brooding, the old woman came tottering across to me through the dark night and said, "I know, my dear what you're worrying about. I also know how to dispel your worries, I haven't told you so long lest you left us then and there to face the danger. My heart breaks to see you so worried even if I don't want you to leave us. I'll give you a clue to arms. Come with me. Quietly. Nobody should wake up."

Thus saying the old woman took me along, walking on tiptoes to reach the riverbank. She looked back at the village cautiously and pointing her finger to the dark opposite bank whispered to me. "Listen, can you hear, some people are playing the flutes up there?"

I first thought it was the whistling of the wind but I listened carefully and realised it was the sound of flute coming afloat, may be many people were playing the same tune

The old woman whispered, "They play on, the whole night. They can shoot their arrows as far as the tunes reach. In my childhood days, one such arrow reached this side of the river, up to the point where we are standing. My grandpa was overwhelmed by fear to notice the arrow. The village priests told us that the people up there were angry with us for some reason. To propitiate them, for a whole month all the cows were milked, ghees were made and sacrificial fires were kept burning on the bank. The fires were so arranged that smoke and the sacred odour of the ghee reached the other side. That whole month, babies of the village were denied their milk. I'd learnt from my grandpa, they were fierce archers, unrivalled in the world. No other country could make bows and arrows as they could. They pull down the roots of ancient banyan trees, dry the guts of wild boars and make their bows. If you can fetch those bows and arrows, you will solve your problems. You can punish your master for the crime he committed. But, take care, young man, if they identify you as a foreigner, they will kill you. We are yet to hear that a foreigner has come back from their land alive."

Learning all this I took a few bamboo poles that very night, tied them horizontally and across to make a raft and silently rode it on the water, taking Snow along with me Seven whole days, seven whole nights, 1 floated and paddled and reached a vast sandy tract on the other side. No sign of human beings or cattle. Only red crabs as big as turtles were crawling At the end of dunes, giant-size wild trees and beyond those, a dense forest,

I rode Snow past the riverbank and galloped at full stride. I crossed the dunes, left the wild trees and entered the forest when suddenly a whole flight of arrows came from nowhere and blocked our way I drew back the rein, steered Snow the other way and tried to ride along. Some distance away, another flight of arrows blocked us. Again I steered and sought to take another direction but only to be blocked

by more arrows I bent down to Snow's neck and whispered. "Can you ride above the blockade of arrows," and sat upright, pulled

the rein strongly and Snow jumped over the arrows and flew like a flight of arrow itself. While sprinting, Snow suddenly burst into neighing, stood straight on its hind legs and stumbled on the ground, writhing in pain I saw a big arrow stuck below his neck, from which blood was spurting

I had my share of pain in life but Snow's misery was too much for me to bear. The soil was muddy with blood, tears streamed from his eyes and I did not know just what to do. I snatched out the arrow and tightly embraced his neck. Alas, should I lose Snow in my effort to find arms?

Crunching sound of dry leaves around me made me look up. Hundreds of giant- size men were surrounding me Each of them carried big bows and arrows and prostrated as if worshipping me One of them walked up slowly, picked up the bloodstained arrow and drew a line which was wet with Snow's blood. Another man rubbed some plant on his palm and smeared Snow's wound with the plant-juice. The blood stopped immediately, Snow also quietened, apparently his pain subsiding. Seeing this, those men brought mounds of food and served them to Snow. One of them, a crown of white conch shell on his head, a string of coloured beads round his neck, a girdle of red crab-shells round his waist, came near Snow to kneel before him and pay homage and asked me, "Who are you, stranger, where are you coming from?"

I could see from his crown and ornaments that he was the king of the land. I prostrated on the ground, bowed to him and said, "I am a poor cowherd. I come from a very distant land."

The king listened to me and said, "I am the king of this land, Shivaji Shahaji Bhosle. Tradition has it, we have to kill every foreigner who lands up here. Many have come in search of wealth and none could return alive. That you are still alive is simply because of that horse. A white horse is our Lord. It will cause us ruin if even an arrow's shadow touches it. Our soldiers have repeatedly blocked your way with arrows lest one of them touches it. They have not even killed you. If you had alighted from the horse when you found your way blocked, you would have been killed. But you rode over the wall of arrows and so we had to target your breast. We had been cautious and we never miss our target but your horse saved you by dexterously taking the arrow on its own chest. The white horse saved you and so we realised you are not our enemy, in search of some fortune. I wish to reward you. My friend from an alien land, tell me what you wish. We shall fulfil your desire and thus absolve us of the sin we committed by shedding your horse's blood."