(AI generated translation of छोटा सा जीव, बड़ा सबक चैप्टर – 1)

By Shikha Tailang, Bhopal

It was a dark night. It was around 11 o’clock. We were very tired due to being busy in a function in our colony the whole day. We were tired and were getting ready to sleep after switching off the lights. Suddenly, we heard the sound of kutur-kutur from somewhere. It seemed that some creature was trying to bite something. We first tried to scare it. We waved the broom here and there. Then we made shhhh-shhhh-fu-fu sounds from our mouths. All these measures worked for some time, but as soon as we were about to lie down, we heard the sound of someone running fast along with the sound of kutur-kutur.

A small bright dot was seen running from one end of the bedroom loft to the other. We got nervous and switched on the light. As soon as the light was on, the movement of that dot stopped. When we looked carefully, we saw a thin black tail peeking out from between the cardboard boxes kept in the loft. Who could it be? We thought to ourselves. Then we swept and swept the floor a couple of times and first, we saw a thin mouth and two shining eyes. Behind the eyes were tiny ears moving cautiously!

Oh! a mouse!! How did it reach upstairs? We were still guessing when the mouse came down using the curtain on the cupboard below the loft and quickly escaped through the gap below the door. Oh God! When we will free from the mouse? We thought, stuffed a cloth under the door, and went to sleep.

This incident is from around 20 years ago. At that time my husband Vijay Vargiya used to work as a political correspondent in Raipur for Dainik Sabera. I, Sanjana Vargiya, used to work as a teacher in MTD Private School located near our house. We had been married for two years. We rented a small two-room house. We had almost no furniture in the rented house. The reason for this was that Vijay felt that when this house had to be vacated after a year and another house had to be found, the furniture would get damaged when shifting from one place to another. Hence, we kept only the essential things in that house, like – four plastic chairs, a centre table, a bed and an iron bed. The wardrobe was already built in the bedroom, hence there was no need to bring it.

True, those were very peaceful days. But that rat had taken away our sleep at night. As soon as we were about to sleep, it would enter the bedroom through unknown routes. Then again, it would keep running around, making noise chewing cardboard boxes and making holes in them. Seeing its innocent face, there was no desire to kill or poison it. Its mischievous nature would sometimes bring a smile and sometimes anger in our calm and stable life.

This was its routine for about a month and a half. Sometimes it would run here and there making a squeaking noise and sometimes it would charm us by jumping around. Sometimes we are afraid that it might bite us but nothing like that happened.

It was the winter of December. That day there was a lot of commotion at midnight. It seemed as if two to three rats were running on the loft. It was difficult for us to sleep due to their fast movement. Vijay first thought that he would finish off this rat today. Thinking this, he went to pick up the broom when two rats jumped right next to my feet and went out with a swoosh. I screamed out of fear. Vijay was also surprised.

To be Contd. …

(Fictional Story)