LIFESAVER
Dr. Poranki Dakshina Murthy
(Translated by Nidadavolu Malathi)
Kistayya came up to Chenchu colony. It was pitch dark all around. The valley was dense with
trees; the abyss was barely visible to the naked eye. He was not carrying a lamp. But Kistayya
was used to walk past the mounds even in that darkness without a lamp. All he needed were a
pair of sandals on his feet and a bamboo cane in his hand; he could just whip through
anywhere.
He was used to the path, yet he felt the blistering gravel under his feet today. It was worse
when he rushed through. The toes scrunched with the pain. The winds from the hills were
sending chills down his spine. On the other side, the monkeys were noisy. Kistayya stopped for
a second and looked at them. With the monkeys jumping, even the branches were shaking. He
noticed that even a bush next to them moved. He felt as if a whip hit him on his back. He knew
bears freely wander in the area. He cannot dawdle anymore. It is already getting late. He must
reach the mound soon.
Kistayya was walking in big strides, and past Chenchu colony. The stoves in the colony were
put off. The colony consisted of no more than five or six huts. The fog was quite dense; and for
that reason, the chiefs were nowhere to be found either.
At a distance, a couple of dogs were yelping. Kistayya kept walking fast. Suddenly he heard a
noise. It was not really noise but moaning. It was coming from a hut that was away from the rest
of the huts.
Kistayya approached the hut. Inside, the lamp was a flickering feebly. He pushed the door open
and went in. He saw a woman lying on a bed of straw, and was groaning. She saw him and
screamed aloud.
Kistayya watched her for a few seconds. He could not figure out what she was suffering from.
He could not understand the extant of her pain, yet he could not stand there doing nothing.
There was nobody else in the house. Whom could he ask under the circumstances? Things
being what they’re how can he help now?
Kistayya came out at once and went straight to the chief of the colony. Two dogs—looked more
like female lions—jumped at him. He escaped them deftly and called out for the chief. All the
others in the neighborhood came in a flurry. They all have known each other. Kistayya told
them about the woman in the hut and led them to that place. He and the chief waited outside
while the women went in. Within a few minutes they all heard a baby’s cry. Kistayya felt
relieved. He set out towards the mound.
There was an old temple on the mound. If one goes past the temple, there was cornfield, about
one half acre. The cornfields had grown high with huge ears of corn. Kistayya was guarding the
cornfields every day. He would eat early and start by dusk; he could reach manche in the
lowland in a snap but he never went straight to manche. He must, as a matter of habit, stop and
chat with the chief for a few minutes; stop to talk to Ramanna at the temple on the mound. They
both sit in front of Chennakesava statue and keep talking until midnight. Then only he would
get down to the fields, go up the manche and lie day. But he would not fall asleep right away.
He would keep brooding over the stories Ramanna had told earlier.
Kistayya was not sure how long since Ramanna had settled down on the mound. But they both
became very close even the first day they had met. Ramanna was a good storyteller; when he
narrated, the listeners could see it in their mind’s eye. Ramanna would narrate his experiences
during the war that had happened twenty-years ago; and Kistayya would listen to those stories
rapturously. Ramanna would tell how he had shot a bird on a branch at a distance, and
Kistayya would hug him like a baby with his eyes closed tight. And with the same enthusiasm,
he snatched Ramanna’s rifle and tried to shoot a bird. Forget the bird, the bullet did not reach
even the tree. Kistayya was embarrassed. He was surprised that sixty-years old Ramanna
could shoot a bird with his eyes closed. He understood that such dexterity and finesse were not
something could acquire. Every time Kistayya tried, the bullet fell a few inches away from the
target. He was vexed with himself that he was no good at hunting.
Ramanna would get water from the brook by the mound. His entire property was made up of
four pairs of clothes, one canvas bag and the rifle—that’s all. That’s all his life was about.
During the day, he would be wandering in the woods; and reach the mound by evening. He
might on rare occasion shoot a bird or a beast. The Ramanna went hunting, it’s a special
holiday for the chenchu community. On that day, he also would sit down with them and have a
feast. He would go hunting frequently in order to justify the pension money the government has
been paying him. After he had met Kistayya, he was having a good time in his company.
Kistayya kept walking, rather hurriedly. Yes, Ramanna will be waiting for me with thousand eyes.
Kistayya was walking. A fine aroma was coming from the bushes. Kistayya was scared. Vipers
would make hissing noises from such bushes.
He was almost there, at the mound. He could reach the Chennakesava temple in a couple of
seconds. He took a shortcut and kept climbing the mound. Small size rocks were rolling down
from under his feet.
Then, out of nowhere he heard a resounding scream. It came from a bear from the top of the
mound.
Kistayya was terrified and stopped for a second.
Then he heard the scream again; and along with that of the bear, there was also a scream
from Ramanna.
Kistayya was shaken by Ramanna’s scream. He legs would not stay still anymore. He reached
the top of the mound in a split second.
The moonlight was spreading feebly. Wind was blowing hard.
Kistayya went to the temple.
He froze right there.
Ramanna was on the floor; his entrails were hanging out from his midriff. He was shaking with
excruciating pain.
The bear was gulping his blood.
Kistayya could not take a step forward. He closed his eyes with both his hands.
The bear howled again.
Kistayya stepped back.
The bear went down the mund and disappeared.
Kistayya jumped to Ramanna’s side but by then Ramanna was already gone.
Kistayya could not control himself; he threw himself on Ramanna and cried.
Ramanna was a strange person. Nobody could guess him to be sixty-years of age; the zeal in
his eyes and the agility in his body were such. His hands, being in military service for twenty
years, became even more adroit but had never lost their knack. He used to narrate the things
he had seen and the life he had lived as stories. He made a close friend of Kistayya with his
stories.
Sometimes Kistayya used to wonder how Ramanna’s life would have been, if he had not lost his
leg. While he was in military service, Ramanna was hit; luckily, he did not lose his life but lost
his leg. He was in the hospital for a few days; and after the wounds healed, he was released.
But he had no family he could go to. For him, everybody was close; they all were his family. He
could not find the peace and beauty anywhere else except in the woods. He went around for a
while and finally settled down in the old temple on the mounds. He picked fruits and vegetables
from the woods, cooked and ate them.
It was daybreak. Kistayya walked into the Chennakesava temple. The bats flapped their wings
as he walked in. The temple looked desolate.
Kistayya wiped his eyes. There was a small shelf in a corner of the temple. Ramanna’s clothes
and his canvas bag were kept there. Kistayya opened the bag and found a book in it. A photo
of Ramanna’s in military uniform was affixed to it. The book contained some notes. Kistayya felt
bad he could not read it. True, each month Ramanna used to go to the town, carrying this
book. Kistayya tucked the book under his shirt.
The rifle was also there on one side. Kistayya picked it up. He sat there for a long time,
caressing it with both his hands.
Ramanna never let go of this rifle as long as he lived. He had killed so many birds and bears
with that rifle. But, on that particularly day he was caught in the paws of a bear; it turned out to
be a bad for him. The same rifle that was hung on his shoulder forever left him a lonely man
today.
Who could tell how or when it would happen, when the bad thing happens? Ramanna thatha
had been so cautious, how could he get caught by a bear today?
Kistayya could not think anymore.
There was commotion at the foot of the mound; a few people came. Kistayya got up and came
out. He told them about the unusual death of Ramanna thatha. Some of them gathered and
went up the mound.
By suppertime, Ramanna thatha was cremated. Kistayya went into the temple again. He took
Ramanna thatha’s bag and hung from his shoulder. He hung the rifle from the other shoulder,
and walked down the mound.
Smoke was rising from the huts in the Chenchu colony. They saw Kistayya and were shocked.
They heard about Ramanna’s death; they were sorry for him. They all were aware of the ties
between the two.
Kistayya did not go to the mound for a couple of days. The Chenchu people could understand
how much he could have been hurt by Ramanna’s demise. But he was living in the woods. That’
s also the place for bears and other beasts. No matter however much cautious one is, danger
is inevitable. But what can anybody do? Who can leave their own land and go away? Only the
god of the Woods must protect them!
Kistayya felt a little better on the third day. He thought about the cornfields. Wondered how the
corn, with a half of arm’s length ears was doing? What would the owner say if he had come to
know that he had not gone to guard the fields?
The sun was going down. He wanted to get to the mound before dark. As is, it was that time of
the year – short nights. But he did not want to turn around; moved forward.
A fine aroma was spreading from the trees and the bushes around. Kistayya kept walking;
Ramanna thatha was on his mind all along.
Yes, who is there to speak to him as soon as he reached the mound? Who’s there to come
close to him kindly and speak to him? Who’ll tell war stories to him now? Kistayya thought that
thatha’s death was his misfortune. Kistayya was scared to go out in the dark, and it was
Ramanna thatha that filled his heart with courage. That Ramanna thatha will not be there on
the mound today!
Kistayya was walking straight. Suddenly, he heard a scream; it was like somebody whipped him
on his back. He looked around. He saw the new mother, the Chenchu woman, at a distance. A
bundle of sticks lay at her feet.
A viper was wound around her tightly. The woman was struggling to shake it off.
She saw Kistayya. She yelled again. Kistayya stopped. He lifted the rifle; fingered the trigger.
The woman was wriggling hard.
Kistayya was shaking. He held the rifle with both his hands tight. The trigger jumped. The bullet
pierced through the viper’s neck. The woman shrieked again.
Kistayya ran close to her. Her head was hanging feebly. The viper was dead. He quickly
removed it. The woman did not open her eyes.
Kistayya ran to the stream. He made a cup with a fresh leaf and gathered some water in it. He
sprinkled the water on her face.
She opened her eyes and looked at the dead viper. She sat up, held Kistayya’s two hands and
brought to her eyes. His palms were filled with warm tears.
“Anna, I will never forget your help. Not just to me, you have given life to my child,” she said.
Tears filled in Kistayya’s eyes too. He saw Ramanna’s face through a film of the tears.
“Thatha, I owe this bravery to you. You have made me a human, a man at last!” Kistayya said,
lifting his two hands, folded in reverence.
A new mother, and the one who had been wriggling for life until this moment … Kistayya picked
up the bundle of sticks, took her hand into his and helped her towards the colony.
“My child is alone in the hut.” She was anxious and worried wondering if the child was safe. She
had no strength, yet was walking as fast as she could.
Kistayya experienced for the first time in his life the pleasure one could feel after saving a life of
another person.
“Thatha, you are the one who gave life to all of us. You, it is only you,” Kistayya said.
A star hanging over the mound towards the colony sparkled bright.
(The Telugu original praaNam posinavaaDu was originally published in Jyotsna in 1965.)