THE DESIRE TO LIVE:
A ruthless truck driver hit a young bull on its abdomen and
hind limb. A crying yell of that calf bull echoed in that new apartment which
was in process of storey building. The injured victim dragged itself and fell
flat on a sand bed. Other grown up bulls and its mother paid a curtsy visit to
their child but could not help him to get up as he had sustained a fracture of
the pelvis bone. Two days passed off and everyone around thought that it’s
going to die soon. No water and no food made the little bull weak; the abdomen
got swollen up due to some internal bleeding. The truck driver repented for the
mistake, he was told by others that -- killing a cow or a bull amounts to
insurmountable misery and suffering and there is no escape from it unless
someone follow certain rituals as per Hindu sastra. So the driver shaved off
his hair and started taking care of the injured bull but there was no
improvement. The injured fellow lied down without food and water. The country
dogs started cleaning the ticks from the black coat of the bull. Slowly the
beautiful velvety black coat became a dull one with passing days resembling a
black withered umbrella cloth.
After a week the driver was sacked from his job, as after
that accident fresh problems started coming up about the authenticity of the
land where the building was coming up in haste. Some Samaritan fed the injured bull
with cabbage leaves, potato and skin of jackfruits but was on that sand bed
under the sun and open sky. His mother started to give him company by sleeping
near her son at night.
As the rains came four people with the help of a samiyana
lifted the young bull and shifted it in to that building which was under
construction so that it gets protection from sun and rain. This was done with a
selfish motive as a marriage function was coming up nearby house. Left to its
fate the mother left her bullson who started making feeble attempts to stand up
but the broken bone prevented him to stand even for a few minutes. After a
month when everyone around were thinking of where to bury the bull were
surprised one morning to watch a limping fellow all skeleton and bruised abdomen skin grazing grass.
Neither orthopedic surgery nor abdominal surgery was performed on this
poor animal but only the affections of the country dogs that used to give him
company at night and his mother’s sympathy made his fate take a U turn in life.
Someone informed that the truck driver died after a fatal accident and the
house builder’s son got divorced after the recent episode. The bull has
survived the insult of the truck and is able to walk with a dragging left hind
leg, appears to have put on some weight and the gloss on her black skin is
slowly returning to its normal texture.
The controversial apartment has become a resting house for the stray
dogs, our young bull son and few cows during rains and nights. Some say nature
has its own ways and means of life and the word impossible is not in its
dictionary.
Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy
Written on Janmastami day-2013
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