Aatma

Doctor!

In a city hospital  a meeting is going on between the doctor,and the government official .The discussion is about how to improve the medical facility in the remote region of the country. Many young mother’s die during child birth.the newborn are very weak ,people die without first aid so on and so forth .The govt official had zero down few remote tribal villages where it was very difficult to reach in a vehicle not even a bullock cart could go it was so dense forest the villagers would hardly have seen people from the city .S o it was decided by the hospital authority that few doctors who are physically fit and very dedicated and experienced and some interns with few helpers would make groups and set up a camp in all such tribal villages .Every detail was planed groups were made training had started and the medicines ,food ,blankets . were packed clothes for children, women and men were also collected from the donors from the city. 

One such group of nine doctors headed by Dr.Desh left for a remote tribal village in their van all were very excited as they had never set a camp in a tribal village they did not know what to expect .it would be adventures and also a learning process they would also come to know about different medical issues faced by the people .they had to carry their own food supply though they were trained to survive in the jungles a basic study was done so all were very excited and discussing how they will go about in the village.Dr.Desh told them a tribal named Imlu would come to receive them after they reach the village there they will rest for a day and then Imlu will come with few men who will help in carrying the luggage and boxes as it will be very difficult for any sort of cart to be taken in to the jungle due to the thick forest. Imlu was the only person who knew to speak in english as he used to travel to the city for emergency work.otherwise the village was totally cut off from the city.

’After travelling for three days  they reached the village where the village head had made arrangement in the village hall for all to sleep .the villagers welcomed the doctors with open heart told them to freshen up meals were prepared by the ladies ,after having a sumptuous village meal all of them slept  as they were tired of the journey..Next day after freshening up the Doctor decided to check the villagers also so their overall health was checked vitamin tablets were given to all vaccination was administered to the children and general hygiene was taught to the ladies and sanitary pads were distributed to them. In the evening Imlu came and met the  Doctors and told them it is raining very heavily in the interior so they can not leave for next two days they will have to wait and then he will take them as it becomes dark very early and it is dangerous to walk there are wild animals which will not be seen in the dark .so he said he will also wait and then he will take the group to the interior.the day ended by treating the village children and giving some basic education to the ladies about personnel hygiene.In the night all were given a light dinner.,some sat and read book few were strolling and Dr.Desh was lying on the sheet and looking at the bright stars he was amazes with the clarity of the atmosphere he could see so many star shining like diamonds in the sky he had only ead in books but had never seen in reality the sky so beautiful in the cities one can not see the sky due to high rise building an its not at all possible to see so many star with your naked eyes due to the pollution level .

Looking at the bright stars when he fell asleep he did not realize after a hard day’s work and the thinking of the challenges ahead he was fast snoring ,few of the young interns were woken up by the doctors snoring thinking it was some wild animal but after realizing  it was doctor Desh they went back to sleep covering their face.In the early hours of the morning around 2 am when the sky is still dark the birds are asleep in their nest the dogs have fallen asleep the c**k has still to wake up to the first rays of sun the doctor felt he heard a slight laughter of a young girl he turned his side and covered his head and slept but then now he could feel he heard one young lad’s calling out to her and laughing now the doctor sleep broke off completely  he was wide awake when he touched his fore head it was wet he pretend to not move and lay still in case someone is playing prank he did not want them to know he, has heard them he was petrified he did not want to open his eyes and see . 

what ever or whoever was running around ,he closed his eyes very tightly and lay still anticipating something to happen he was  soaked in sweat and then when the cold breeze started blowing he fell asleep no sooner he had fallen asleep he felt his blanket was snatched away he was exposed he felt like disappearing but what could he do but to lie still and shiver and wait for the next move .he was confused what is happening being a doctor his mind did not want to believe in the existence of ghost he did not know how would he face his team if at all he remains to survive this ordeal of the night ,he cant share it with his team who are young doctors they have come to treat the tribals how could he share his experience he lay still without moving sweating profusely he could not search for his blanket .

He woke up again with a jerk to the crowing of the c**k he saw the time in his watch it was 4 am the c***s are the first one to see the sunrise ,he  stay still and kept his eyes open as he could see few orange colour clouds in the sky  he turned to see the rest of the team fast asleep all covering their head with their blankets he suddenly remembered his blanket which  was snatched in the night he slowly slid down and tried  to search with his toes he went more down and touched some soft thing he again turned his feat and tried now he felt some hairy thing the moment he wanted to pull his leg in fright his leg was caught tightly and there was scream which echoed through the large hall and all got up throwing their blankets some stood up squeezing their eyes and only two people were shell shocked to see each other the intern doctor who was holding the leg of doctor Desh and doctor looking at him in disbelief. The inter put the leg down  and apologised to dr. Desh as he was sleeping in the row below dr.Desh on the floor his head was directly under Dr. desh so when doctor slid down to search the blanket with his feet he touched the intern doctor’s head he got scared and held on to the thing which was tickling his head  all started laughing and Dr. Desh could hardly smile after all that he went through in the night it was difficult for him to react.

.All got up and folded their blankets and getting ready for the morning routine but only Dr.Desh was lost in hid thoughts and quietly searching for his lost blanket he very casually took a round of the hall but could not see it he did not know whom to ask ,he did not want to give one more opportunity to the young interns to laugh at him so he kept quit , when they went out to the canteen to have breakfast prepared by the villagers Dr. Desh saw his blanket under a wooden bench and a dog had snuggled in it and sleeping ,he sighed  a relief and saw at the blanket very intensely as if trying to ask the blanket if it was the dog who had pulled it from him or something else , he just shivered at the thought of the events in the night seeing him so quiet and engrossed in thoughts the interns asked him what was bothering him he just smile took a sip of tea and said just the tough task which lay ahead just that nothing else not to worry and all should be ready and keep their bags ready as today was the day they will  go with imlu for their further journey in a way Dr. Desh  was consoling himself that tonight he will not be sleeping in that place so he was more eager to leave the place than continuing his mission in the tribal village. 

Around 10 am Imlu came with few people took all the supplies on their back and started walking all the doctors thanked the villagers for their hospitality and started following Imlu and his men in a row as they had to cut the shrubs and then make a way so they could not walk side by side they had to  follow in a single line Dr. Desh was still under the night trauma he was wondering how did he hear a girls laughter as they had no females in their team , and in the village he did not see many youngsters more of children who were  malnourished .but atlast he choose to believe it might have ben young lovers who had come out to make out in the night and had entered the hall and flicked his blanket and they slept on the wooden bench , this version of the story he preferred to believe now he felt as if a big boulder from his shoulder was removed .He gulped water from his bottle and started walking and talking with the interns suddenly he got some sort of energy he also missed his wife and two dogs back home ,he thought to himself when he goes back home he will tell the incident to his wife and he smiled to himself . After walking for an hour the team was very tired as the path was stony and with lots of thorny shrubs their skin was itching but Imlu advised them not to rest as they have to walk really fast before it starts raining again  and the real tough path has not yet started he laughed and said this is the real trekking which you people are so found of in the city. This is the hard way to survive in the remote areas the rest of the country does not even know human beings are living in this remote area .This world is very different from the outside world here needs are limited ,greed does not exist its pure world people have less needs and desires so they can survive in this tough situation, they cry when they lose their loved ones which happens very often they think their Lord the supreme has taken away their loved ones . they don’t allow outsider’ to come and spoil their Race they do not want modernisation they fear people from the outside world .Imlu wanted to tell more but he stopped he wanted them to reach the Helmet before it is too late he had somehow convinced the head of the tribe to allow few doctors to visit and help the race as women were falling sick and fertility rate was reducing so he tried to explain to the adamant head of the Tribe if action is not taken fast then the tribe will perish ,the number of old people are increasing and children are either dying or there is no new birth.S o the tribe head had agreed to allow this group of doctors..

When they reached a flowing fresh water river it was straight like a fairytale beautiful  scene lots of huge tree the branches of the tree were touching the river as if wanting to play with the flowing water  birds were busy in their nest fishes were jumping while going down stream as if beckoning them to come and catch them.Imlu saw the delight in everybody’s face he laughed aloud and told them to keep their luggage down as they will rest here for a while and catch some fish and fry them and it ,they had walked continuously for three hours it was around 1 in the afternoon in the forest it becomes dark fast .All kept their bags down and rushed towards the river to splash cold water and wash their feet which was aching ,Imlu’s men had started to prepare the lunch they had lit a fire some went to bring fruits and leaves and few were catching the jumping fish the fishes were very fat four big ones were enough to feed the whole starved team .

Dr. Desh after washing his face and drinking the fresh water  fell asleep as he had not slept properly in the night . He woke up to the smoky smell of the fish wafting through the air and  his stomach started growling in hunger .As he had not eaten his meal in the morning the happenings of the night had disturbed him so much he had lost his appetite now after walking for a long distance he could not control his hunger he digged into the fish savagely and ate the fruits too and drank water from the river to his heart’s content and then fell on the green grass looking at the white sky he missed his wife so badly today he  missed his dogs also but he being the head and a senior  doctor he could not brood he has to keep a happy face as it was going to be tough as they go further .As they start walking again Imlu tells them to start walking fast as now it will start becoming dark as further ahead it will be dense forest and wild animals come to drink water , so no talking and to keep silence and only concentrate and walk they all start to walk though initially it started with fun know after Imlu spoke about wild animals fear gripped everybody they started keeping one hand on each others shoulder and walking Dr. Desh was the last in the row. 

He was scared but wanted to end this ordeal as fast as possible . He wanted to reach the destination as soon as possible and get over with the mission and return to his family .They could hear animals howling , birds and bees were all making horrible deadly sounds .They  started  walking fast suddenly Dr.Desh felt someone is following him he ignored the feeling and just concentrated on reaching the destination after some time he felt there is more than one person behind him his hand on the intern ahead of him tightened he started sweating he just wanted to run ahead of everybody ,he could now hear giggles ,he knew this is something very weird and he is going to have horrible experience again he started praying to Jesus he prayed lord take me safely to the destination so that i can complete my mission my service to humanity and let not the evil if they are around me disturb me or distract me from my commitments .For some time he felt the following stopped ,he thanked the lord and again wanted to walk fast in the process he dashed the guy in front of him many times he was irritated he was the same person who had caught his leg in the early hours of the morning,he looked at Dr.Desh suspiciously but could not say anything as he was their senior and heading the mission .

At last after walking for three hours they were nearing the hamlet they could now see few people going about doing their work they were almost naked very few elderly males had some clothes on them rest had dry leaves around their lower body the female population was also dressed in the same way their chest was covered with lots of fish bones and animal bones they looked scary .when the team entered their habitat they all stopped to see them it was very first time they were seeing so many men fully covered and so fair they checked them out and clapped their hands as if they were seeing some kind of animals  they made horrible gestures too all the interns were now scared as the ladies came near them and started touching them Imlu gestured them to keep quiet and let them touch , The team did not like this a bit but had to keep quiet .

After some time the tribe head and his wives came out of the main house they clapped and told everybody to go to their hut and noone  was allowed to come out they were asked to rest and go to sleep as it was getting dark .The Head of the tribe asked the guest to be seated comfortably in a big hut prepared especially for them they were asked few questions Imlu replied on their behalf. The elderly tribales looked pleased but showed lot of concern .Imlu was very lovingly trying to explain to them why it was necessary to take their help .

At last the head of the tribe ,to have some drink and food and go to sleep as it was dangerous to roam around he told them there will be few men outside their hut to chase of the wild animals so they need not worry and tomorrow they can meet again and talk..All were scared and listening to what the tribe head said did not make it easy for them they were served some delicious intoxicating drinks and meat this helped them to soothe their wounded spirit and tired body .The guy who was sleeping near Dr. Desh’s leg kept himself away from him he was avoiding him and had planned to sleep as far as possible .

At last all fell asleep like log .the night went off without any drama .In the morning they got up very late as they were allowed to rest as long as they wanted .latter around 11 am Imlu came to wake them up and get ready to go and take bath in the river as the the water would be warm at this hour. And then they can have lunch and start their program by discussing with the tribe head.all very happily went to the river and were taking bath and going towards the hut to change .Dr.Desh was also swimming in a relaxed way when suddenly he heard a young girls whispering in his ear” I knew you would come “ he immediately swam towards the shore and stopped to look at the spot from where the voice came though he was shaking now he wanted to see who is troubling him he thought of sharing it with Imlu what is happening around him.he ran towards his dormitory were all others had got ready and waiting for him  .

He changed and acted as if nothing had happened and they went to have lunch ..After that they had serious discussion with the tribals …The day was hectic distribution of supplies giving away clothes . took the entire day though once Dr.Desh wanted to bring up the issue of the young girls voice being heard he did not ask  as all the other guys were with him,he finishes his work and as he goes towards the hut he is pulled and taken away a few distance and thrown on the ground he see nobody but again hear the same young girl talking to him and this time she is angry she asks him doctor why did you leave me alone .

why  did you not take with me as you had promised tell me .and she starts wailing .the doctor is asking her pleading with the unseen girl to leave him alone as he does not know who she is why is she troubling him ,he has not harmed anybody for that she suddenly jumps in front of him and he loses his balance and falls down again he gets hurt badly on his forehead she puts her tongue out and looks menacingly at him he tries to call out for help but his throat has turned dry his legs don’t move and she is sitting in front of him in a  very deadly pose as if  she will devour him he closes his eyes when she looks at him and comes very near he prays to the lord he begs almighty save me from this ordeal i have not harmed anybody i have come to save the tribe from getting extinct  oh lord i have a wife I love her and when he opens his eyes he is in the dormitory surrounded by his interns and few tribals all are looking at him in concern they are relieved to see him gain conscious .

His head is bandaged they tell him he was found unconscious near the river .When he did not reach the dormitory they got worried and alerted the tribals they searched him near the river unconscious and his body temperature was high. They ask him to eat some food and also give him medicines and then he falls asleep they decide to be constantly keeping a watch on him .The tribe head is upset that their guest is not well.. Two days pass Doctor does not talk much about the incident he does not tell them what happened to him .when they are trying to find out why did he go towards the river in the night as it was forbidden for them to venture out then what made him go there .He does not remember going towards the river but the girls horrible face talking to him and threatening to kill him is to scary to relive he closes his eyes and and tears flow down his cheeks the tribal head calls for Ammai the oldest living member of their tribe he tells only she can find out what is wrong with Dr. Desh