The Peepal Tree

Puru was agonising over some intangible thought process which frustrated her as no clear picture was emerging. She had already accumulated a fair number of some vacuous pieces of stray writings and felt fairly occupied.Now her brain seemed numb and the intense stillness around froze her. The sun was getting intolerable.The open terrace had no shady place around.She moved to the side of the close by wall but the afternoon sun was intent on covering the remaining shady nooks. The intense heat brought her out of her stupor.She tried to concentrate and conjure up some scintilating theme to work upon but here she got immersed in deep indolence which got furtther heightened by the rustling sound of some flapping leaves coming from afar.Gradually the sound turned riotous as the wind grew in speed.Puru got up to see the direction of the tree.She was amazed to see a peepal tree which had lodged itself in the wall of a house in front of her.It was very much jutting out and stood upright like a fat dwarf, expansive on the upper side but stunted below.It had almost split the wall wide and yet the inmates did not know about it.She knew this house since her young days,when the colony had come up newly.Her house was also being constructed then and she used to be witness to those continuous harangues between her parents who worried about the cost of the construction and had to stall it due to the paucity of funds.They were small kids who had to put up in the ram- shackle shelter where even the basic amenities were missing.A regular running tap would have been a luxury for the kids.They would bathe when it would be dark with the water stored in the tanks for all purposes.The only anxiety with the children was that neighbours should never see them as poor and deprived.Puru and her younger sister had to share one bed and it was a tug of war between them to grab the maximum space on it.Like two enemies they would mark their territories and violating it would give rise to silent scuffles.They never raised their voices because doing so they could invite severe beating by her father and then the continuous morolising by their mother which turned them morose and guilty for a long time.So eventually they resolved their own hassles and at the end of it they were their own chirpy self.With light steps and away from the drab confines of their house they made forays in the open surroundings of their neighbourhood.The morning sun rippled through the heaps of gravel and concrete strewn all around. Puru put her hands through it to feel the coolness of the concrete. The women labourers in their colourful attires dotted the entire scene and created a mirth along with their half clad children who mingled with the rubble and concrete strewn all around.It was during those carefree days when Puru used to be curious about her environs and her neighbourhood.The house in front of their house was very elegant.It was ivory colour painted and had a spiral stairway leading to their servant quaters.Some old man occupied it.He was lean and sauve with silver white hair.She always waited for him to come out from his house in the mornings.his driver would slide open the garage gate and drive him out.He wore pastel coloured suits -usually they were white or creamish.He hardly spoke to the driver but his expression was genial and soft.Puru would remain on the terrace till he disappeared from her view.She would try to peer into the house to see if there were some other members in the family.But she could see none.It was only after some time that she heard that his son was returning from abroad.Puru felt excited and very much eager to see him.She could imagine the magnificence of the son when the father was such an aristocrate.But she never saw him emerge.The garage as usual opened and as usual the old man was driven out.Puru gradually lost the zest for keeping tab on the old man.But it was one sunny morning when she h appened to peep outside that she saw a different car emerging from the garage.The driver was no where to be seen neither the old man.She got curious.The man was lean and young.His face had fine features.He had a harried look about him.He himself drove the car out and pulled the shutter down.His back was erect and his neck as delicate and lily coloured as the stem of a willow plant.The image lingered in her mind but she wondered at the old man's disapperance.He perhaps had started using the other gate of the house.she missed the luxurious demeanour and the sweet indulgent smile of the old man.There was nothing charismatic about his son.

It was one late night when Puru got awakened by a loud thud of the shutter opening.She got up from the cot, since those days they used to sleep in the open during summers.She looked over the wall of her terrace.it was almost dark in the garage but she could see a tall and broad woman coming out of the car.Her hair was open and flowing.Puru strained her eyes to have a better look.She could see the son of the old man escorting his wife who was staggering.She was holding a cigarette in her hand and the smoke encircled her.He took her hastily inside with his same quick movements and straight face as if performing some routine job.With that same agility he came back and pulled the shutter down.Puru saw this with her amazed eyes.The whole atmosphere turned a little murky and she could sniff the scent of the cigarette smoke and some sharp perfume.She gave a dazed look to the shut garage and went back to sleep.Her sleep was disturbed.the dreams changed their contours.she had the vision of the pristine old man whose silver white hair felt downy in the soft wind and whose benevolent smile got sullied in the murky sky.

It was long back.To-day Puru was standing on the same spot and looking at the house in front.It was worn out and discoloured now. No-body was visible there excepting that misshapen squat peepal tree which was shaking and fluttering like a demon possessed with the spirits of the inmates.