A JACKFRUIT IN HEAVEN

A jackfruit in heaven [7] An elephant named ABDU

The Railway station had already crowded. Radhika's friend Susan helped me to unload our bags from the car dickie. Radhika was continued sitting in the car again some moment with exhausted.

Yesterday night she didn't have sleep very well, Susan answered me before I ask what was a problem. I have extended my hand towards her help my stubborn girl Radhika to get down. That time, I merely thought, if is it a vintage model car and her costumes are vintage style, this scene could have gotten a vintage British style today.

Susan said goodbye to us when we entered the railway station, she was waiting for her father to arrive to go back home. Today evening she also will go to her house.

From today until two months, our college and hostel will be immersed in the silence. The empty stadium will be filled by dry leaves. The wind will transform as the welcome song for other non-human species. To the stadium, the white and grey heron would be flying there from the little woods. The stadium steps and bench will be filled with their's excrement. Into the abandoned nests in the classroom's airholes, the pigeons will come back with their's squabs. Today from the night the wolves will howl frequently from the bushes with independently and will come to our classroom verandah and mated each other in till the morning.

The train began to move. Radhika fell asleep on her berth. I looked at her silently for a moment, then I laid on my berth and start to read the new non-fiction book about Abdhu. Abdhu was the great elephant that a favorite of our village elephant lovers.

The book that broadly narrates about the elephant named Abdhu I already know a few things about him. Whenever we go to see Abdu, Sajeena had been always telling me the amazing stories about Abdhu. I had feard of the elephant in my boyhood days, but on Sajeena's interference, actually, her mockery about my feard, it was the reason to vanish that fear from me. Aboobaker Musliyar was the new owner of Abdhu. He bought him from Bihar, at that time Abdhu was in thirty. He had a first name from the Bihari language. But Aboobaker's little daughter Mumthas gave him a new name to him. When he lifted her beside Abdu's ear, She called him three-time, Abdu, Abdu, Abdu. When Aboobaker heard that name, his eyes filled with tears. He kept his eyes to the new elephant's front leg to hide his tears from others. It was the name after her brother, who died at the age of five.

We had together two days every week gone to Mumtha's house just to see her Abdhu. We would carry some jaggery or banana to give for him.

Once, Sajeena and I had climbed top on the elephant to travel on his top until near the Siddique's shop. We didn't tell that incident to anyone that day for fear of our parents' reprimand.

Even now, I am keeping that as a pleasant memory. Maybe she also keeps in her mind.

How fast those days went. Where will she be now? don't know. I didn't go to see the Abdhu, after Sajeena's family gone from my village.

I felt sleepy when had read some pages. I closed the book, then closed eyes. My dear Abdhu, goodbye for a little time. Before the evening six o'clock, we will reach our home. But I couldn't sleep properly. I had told my friend Rashid yesterday that I had to come to the station with a car for me. I didn't inform early my mother about this journey because of Radhika with me coming to my house. I thought after we reach the station let discuss with Rashid how to the way to introduce Radhika to my mother.

Again I looked Radhika, she is sleeping very well, but my mind was trembling when I thought about how to introduce her to my mother. I can say her she is just a friend to me. But mother had taught so many students from my village, so she has well known about the mindset of teenagers.

Rashid got a graduation seat from the government college in Nagercoil town through the merit. If he spends half an hour on the bus can reach college. My father had tried there a seat for me. The principal stared at my mark list, then he told him, sorry sir this mark not enough for admission to here. Two days fully he didn't have speak to me. At last, I got a seat from this private college in Coimbatore.

When the end of this journey with Radhika, will I lose my seat in my own home?

After four hours we will reach our's station. Radhika woke up and took her lunch then she started to read the elephant story.

Sure, Radhika you will like that book very well, it contains fascinating stories about our Abdhu.

After a while, she stopped reading and asked me.

Have this elephant is still alive now in your village.

Yes, but now his health is not good. But because Aboobaker is a rich person so he can feed him until his last breath. Abdu is a dear pet for him.

Can I see Abdu?

Sure, but first we have to think about how can we handle our two guardian elephants, I mean my father and mother.

She laughed loudly when I told that. But I couldn't laugh so easily. I was bowed my head and looked to the image of Abdu's beautiful tusk that had printed on the book cover.

When the train slowly crosses through the junction, I saw an elephant that he stands on the lorry. They might be taking him to any festival. Before, were the elephant owners only from the Hindu community, but now Christians and Muslims are started to buy elephant from Karnataka and Bihar. Now the elephant has been turning as a profitable business.

I think this is a good elephant. When his ears oscillate on air the ears edges have touched each other, that is the sign of a good elephant. Maybe he has eighteen nails on his legs, that is another good sign. We can see very rarely the elephant that has twenty nails. That is a very excellent sign of the elephant. On the night if we can silently give our ear we can hear a little drum humming sound when he is oscillating his big ears through the air. Literally we will feel like that a humming of the little drum.

But now, also in my mind have a humming sound, that is not like the sound I mentioned before, that's a fearful sound about the incidents that I am going to face at my house today evening.

To be continued, My dear friends, I hope you liked the Seventh chapter. We shall see again in the next chapter, bye ...

THABARAK RAHMAN SAAHINI