Fritz

Chapter Five

                      The Bundi Fort

So, finally we reached the famous Fort. It is quite old and haunting but splendid. It is built at a height of 500 meters on a hill by Rao Singh Bar in the 13th century. Built in 1354 AD, the Bundi Fort is one of the most impressive forts in Rajasthan. Perched on a highly wooded hill it consists of huge water tanks that once delivered water to the palace. These large water tanks in the fort, provided the palace water especially during the time of wars.
As I was enjoying the sightseeing I saw Jayanto feeling a little worried. He grabbed his cigar and started to smoke.
( as he usually smokes when he gets depressed or worried)
Me- " what happened, are you alright?"
Jayanto- " yeah, I am fine. Just a little bit tired."
After visiting the fort, we headed back towards the circuit house.
There we sat on the chairs in the garden as it was 5:30 pm and we both needed to relax and boost our energies with a cup of tea.
At some point of time, Jayanto put his cup down on the table and said
Jayanto- " You know Shankar, it's really quite strange. The first time I came here I used to sit cross-legged on these chairs. It seemed as though I was sitting on a throne. Now the chairs seem both small in size and very ordinary. The drawing-room here used to seem absolutely enormous. If I hadn't returned, those memories would remained stuck in my mind forever."
Me-" Yes, that's perfectly natural. As a child, one is small in size, so everything else seems large. One grows bigger with age,but the size of all the other things remains the same, doesn't it?"
Jayanto- " yeah you are right, my friend. "
We went for a stroll in the garden after tea. Jayanto suddenly stopped walking and said, " Deodar."
I stared at him.
Jayanto- " a deodar tree. It ought to be here somewhere. " he said and began striding towards the far end of the compound.
(And I was left thinking why did he suddenly think of a deodar tree?)
A few seconds later I heard his voice exclaiming, jubilantly,
Jayanto- " yes, it's here! Exactly where it was before!"
Me- " Of course it's where it was before"  (I said in an obvious way).
Me- " Would a tree go roaming, about?"
Jayanto shook his head impatiently and said, " No, that's not what I meant. All I meant was that the tree is where I thought it might be."
Me( in a serious manner)- " But why did you suddenly think of a tree?"
Jayanto stared at the trunk of the tree, frowning. Then he shook his head slowly and said, " I can't remember that now. Something had brought me near the tree. I had done something here."
Me- " What the hell, you have done here? Do you murder someone or something( like a squirrel or a bird)Al and buried that thing here beneath this tree."
Jayanto- " I think, I have buried something here but don't know what it is?"
Jayanto- " European?"
Me- " you have murdered an European?"
Jayanto- " Will you shut the fuck up. No, I can't recall anything at all. Memory is a strange business....."
Me-" Alright, I know you are tired and your mind is confused and it's 10:30pm we should have dinner by now. "
Jayanto- " yes, you are right. Maybe my mind is confused. Let's go. "
So we left the tree and went inside the house to have dinner.