A little girl in a red frock wearing silver anklets came running down the muddy road creating a swirl of dust behind her. The imprints of her tiny feet were left clearly on the muddy path. The mud was dry and had a distinct fragrance. She was afraid of being chased by people wearing a black mask.
She ran home and huddled on the lap of her grandmother. She knew her grandmother is one of the boldest ladies and being with her gave her the power of elephants. She hated how scared she was feeling otherwise. She proactively built fence around her home to protect herself and her family against all the evils on Earth. It was her favourite thing to do anything that protects her home and people.
One night when her grandmother was away travelling, the news of black masked goons was doing the rounds. She was with her mother, little sister and a cousin. She didn’t know what the goons were after. The little girl loved reading story books and it was not very tough for her to imagine the goons as evil and hurtful who don’t hesitate to take away the lives of humans for money.
The phone rang. Her mother attended the call. It was from a distant neighbor. It was true that the goons were nearby. No matter how much the mother tried to keep the information away, the little girl heard this and her heart started to pound like never before. Her little legs trembled in fear. She frantically crawled across the house doing her best to cover the windows with sacks and wooden planks. She was afraid of the gap between a wall and the ceiling on one of the corners of the house. She knew that anyone could sneak in the house through this space. She stood there helpless hugging her cousin staring at the fearful gap.
Her cousin tried to distract her by telling her stories of fairies from novels. But little girl was smart. Nothing stopped her from being afraid.
After an hour of dreadful silence, there was a familiar sound outside the home. It was the sound of her dad’s scooter. She ran out carrying the lamp of kerosene to recite everything to her dad. He held her tightly and assured her that the goons are not near. He assured her that the cops are all around watching out for goons. This relieved her fears. She never wanted him to leave the home.
After 2 days, the goons were identified as Naxals. They were not there to loot the money. But they were a bunch of rebels waging guerilla war against the government and policies. No harm was done to any locals.
This is a true story which happened in the year 2002 in the Western Ghats of Kudremukh. The little girl in red frock is none other than yours truly!
Note: The featured image is taken from the movie Schindler’s List. This is not to draw any parallels with the story associated with the image.
Chayagraha 