Spoor

“The pay is much better; The position is senior than the one I am
working now. It will be a bit difficult to stay away from family,
but I will try to come as often as the opportunity presents itself. I
I am not thinking about anything long term, two years at most and I will be
back here,” Jatin explained as he sat with Udant on a sofa in Udant’s
home.

Jatin had met Udant on his first job, and what formed next was a close
bonded friendship.

“Well.. Do what you feel is best for your future. You have to be very
careful though; you have not stayed out of this city before, it is a
new experience which will have challenges of its own,” said Udant.

“A former colleague from my cousin’s office lives there, he will help
me settle in. Besides I will return in 2 years, nothing more than
that,” Jatin turned towards Udant with a comparatively more serious
expression, “I hope I can count on you if any emergency arrives at my
house in my absence.

“You don’t have to worry about anything. Just go and do your work”

Udant looked at the package on the table that Jatin had brought.

“It is for you. Go ahead and open it,” said Jatin

Udant opened the 3-ply corrugated box. It contained a 5.5 inches x 7
inches brass elephant. The figure was plain with no designs or any
form of markings over it. It looked familiar though.

“Thank you, it is beautiful. I feel I have seen it somewhere else as
well,” Udant said while observing the elephant.

“Yes, you have seen it, at my home, in my room. They were in pairs; I
am taking one with me and giving you the other one,” replied Jatin

“It is nice. You are taking one with you? Are you sure you want to
give one away if they are so special to you?”

“I always wanted to give you one of them, but I was apprehensive about
how you would go about it.”

“Why apprehensive? We have given each other several things over the
years, none of them have been subject to apprehension,” said Udant

“This is different. It is said that these brass elephants bring good
luck. I know you may not believe it, but it actually works. It has
been passed down for generations with that belief,” replied Jatin

“Whether it carries good luck or not is different matter, but do
realise you are giving away a family heirloom”

“I know.. one of the elephants was given to me and the other one to my
brother. While I kept mine carefully, my brother did not share the
same sentiment, he just tossed it into a cupboard and forgot it. He
did not mind when I took it from him. So, it is better with you, I
hope.”

“Well, it’s in better hands then. Something like this must have a
story behind how someone came about it,” Udant enquired with
curiosity.

“There certainly is a story, although there is not much to it,” Jatin
replied, “my great-great maternal grandfather, Mr Seshadri found them
in the jungle, wrapped in a cloth.”

“What was your great-great grandfather doing in the jungle?”

“He had gone hunting. There was a time when people used to hunt for
sport. My great-great grandfather thought he was one of them. Sporting
his imperial moustache, he would maintain his hunting rifle with
pride, but hadn’t yet found an opportunity to use it.

One day Mr Seshadri’s friend invited him on a hunt and he gladly
agreed. They rode on horses into the jungle and got down at a specific
spot to wait for a possible catch. Mr Seshadri, eager to use his
rifle, moved his eyes to notice any movement. That’s when someone
screamed ‘there has been a tiger attack, one of the beaters has been
taken’. There was a momentary silence of a few seconds and then
everyone followed the direction in which the tiger had taken the
beater.

Mr Seshadri stayed back with one of the other beaters. He sweated
profusely and his legs refused to move. He had never imagined hunting
could be such a fearful experience and tigers can actually take away
people so easily, quite contrary to the tales of bravado associated
with famed hunters.

Mr Seshadri turned towards the beater who watched ahead in a state of
shock. The beater spoke, ‘the tiger hasn’t left, it’s here somewhere’
and that’s when Mr Seshadri heard the most heart wrenching sound, it
was that of a tiger roaring.

The rifle left the hand, all hope left the mind, the soul yearned to
leave the body. Mr Seshadri turned around and ran straight into the
forest. He may have heard the beater scream something, but he did not
wait to focus.

The branch of a tree got hold of Mr Seshadri jacket, making him head
for the ground. His head hit something hard, but it was not a rock, he
got up to see something wrapped in cloth and then he heard movement
and it was coming nearer. Mr Seshadri held the cloth wrapped item and
closed his eyes awaiting his fate.

The beater found Mr Seshadri that way. It was probably a heart attack;
the fear was too much compared to the excitement he had imagined. The
beater returned with the body and Mr Seshadri’s belongings back to Mr
Seshadri’s house along with the clothed item.

‘He was holding on to it during his final moments,’ the beater told
Mrs Seshadri before leaving.

Mrs Seshadri believed the brass elephants had a meaning which was more
than what one could simply look at. Hence it was kept in the family
for good fortune.”

Udant looked at the brass elephant and said, “Well it will surely be
the thing with the best backstory in the household. Thanks again for
giving me something so unique.”

Jatin smiled.

Written by Anuran Chatterji

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