The back door of the grey coloured hatchback opened and down stepped Bina. It was the time of summer vacations and Bina and her parents usually planned their trips around this period.
They drove to this state from the one they lived in. This was where the majority of Bina’s family was rooted and thus lived most of what she had known as family.
Bina looked at the old house. It was big and its architecture was something of olden times. Bina was in the last grade of the school and had begun to develop a fondness for things which were far before her time. She believed that life and people back then were more sorted than what one can see today. If you ask her, she will tell you how she was born in the wrong time period of human existence.
“So, what do you think? Quite different from all the houses you have seen till today, right?” asked Mr Borah, Bina’s father.
“It is different for sure. Why haven’t we been to this side of the city before if this house was always here?” asked Bina
“No one actually lives here; we maintain it for renting it out for various events to people. This time we planned a little gathering of our own here,” replied Mr Borah as he walked over to the car’s trunk to help Bina’s mother carry out the luggage.
“It’s nice and everything, but having never lived in a house so big, a part of my mind is always on the edge” spoke a voice
Bina turned to see Aswi, her cousin walking towards her. Bina smiled and hugged her.
“So, you are not quite comfortable here yet,” laughed Bina
“Not yet, let’s see,” replied Aswi
“Well, you never know what scary secrets the house might be hiding,” smiled Bina
Aswi looked at Bina with an irritated expression, “You might want to pay attention to the influence movies and tv shows are having over you.”
“Hello Aswi, I hope you are doing fine,” spoke Mrs Borah as she walked inside with two bags. Aswi followed her, taking a bag from her.
Bina walked in with her father.
The house was big. Bina was disappointed to find that most of what was old was only on the outside. Inside, the interiors had been changed to look like modern guest houses.
“You do know if the house retained its original interiors, you all would have probably earned more from those events you rent out the house for,” said Bina to her father while going through the channels on the television.
Bina’s father who was looking out the window responded, “Well it’s not that bad. The old interiors were a bit difficult to maintain. A lot of it needed extensive repair work. Have you checked the dining hall? It is still as it used to be.”
Bina switched off the television and headed for the dining hall. The hall was beautiful, retaining remnants from its days of gold glory. Potted plants and paintings could be seen all around. One painting was noticeable in particular, it was the biggest painting in the hall.
It was the painting of a man with a sword. But the attire of the man suggested he was not from the time when swords were commonly used. He was wearing a long black jacket over a white kurta, a hunting trouser and boots, on his head was a small white turban. He was slender and had a dark complexion, the big long moustache on his face made him look fierce.
“Wondering if he still roams around in the house in the middle of the night?”
Bina didn’t turn to see, she knew it was Aswi, “Why would I wonder that? I am wondering who he is and why the sword in the world of rifles?”
“Maybe he liked swords,” Aswi looked back at the helper who was placing plates on the table, “there, she might be able to help us out.”
Bina and Aswi approached the helper who smiled on seeing them come to her.
“Hello, can you tell us about the gentleman the painting?” asked Bina
The helper looked at the painting, “I don’t know exactly but, I know for sure that he was the ancestor of the family.”
“My sister wanted to know why the sword was in his hand. He could have easily owned a rifle in his time,” said Aswi
The helper looked at the time and resumed placing the plates while she spoke, “Well it is said he was good with sword and was quite proud of it. He used it to fight off bandits who attacked the nearby villages.”
“Interesting,” said Bina
Both the girls headed to their rooms to meet later at lunch.
“Bandits?” said Mrs Borah on hearing what Bina had found, “I think he was a bandit himself and was only fending off rivals in the area.”
“That’s not entirely true,” said Mr Borah in a defensive tone, “it is true that he started as a bandit, but when he started his family, he had a change of heart and settled down. He started helping the villages around to defend against other bandits.”
“What about the group of bandits he was part of?” asked Bina
“Well, I am sure they went on their way and settled down to have a respectable life,” replied Mr Borah
“Or they formed their own groups and attacked the villages,” said Mrs Borah laughing to which Mr Borah responded by pretending to ignore.
“Well, that would be stupid if he was saving the villages from his own group,” said Bina
Everyone gathered in the dining hall for lunch, three families including Bina’s had come for vacations. Bina sat next to Aswi.
“So, I heard you have taken interest in our ancestor in the painting,” said one of Bina’s uncle, Mr Bhushan
“Yeah, I heard how he changed from a bandit after settling down with a family and helped the villages around to fend off against other bandits,” said Bina
“Yeah, he was a bandit for a while, but only a little while. He didn’t harm any innocent people. Just stole their belongings,” said Mr Bhushan
“.. and stealing made him a better person?” asked Aswi to which her mother gave an angry stare
Mr Bhushan took a second and then spoke, “No, that doesn’t make him better, but he did a lot of good later on. He helped in developing the villages around and provided medical and education facilities. Did you know he even saved a woman whom a king had forcibly married.”
“What happened to the woman?” asked Bina
“He married her,” smiled Mr Bhushan, “she is also your ancestor”.
“Was the woman unhappy with the king?” asked Aswi
“I don’t really know,” replied Mr Bhushan
“So, the woman might have been happy there and then a bandit kidnaps her from her royal life and brings her here,” said Aswi
No one spoke another word of this bandit ancestor.
The next day, Bina walked through the garden looking at the flowers. She noticed an old man working as a gardener.
“I hope I am not disturbing you, but how long have you been working here?” said Bina as she walked to him
The old man smiled, “Well I am certainly not disturbed to see such a lovely face and I have been working here for a long time. I continued after my father.”
“Then you know about my bandit ancestor, right?” asked Bina
“What bandit ancestor?” asked the old man
Bina opened the photo she had taken of the painting in her phone and showed it to the old man.
“Him? Bandit? He might have only held the sword to make a pose for the painting. I am sorry to say this, but he was a good for nothing fellow, one of the children of a wealthy landlord. While the other children went away due to marriage or work, they left him here. He spent his life just idling around, living on the wealth that had been left behind,” said the old man
“But what about the bandit story?” asked Bina
“It’s a made-up story that has been passed down to preserve the family reputation, you know as was the practice among the wealthy in those days. My family has been living here longer than yours. One thing about the past you must know is that many people whom you might think are great, just might have been plain stupid, might have even looked uglier than their paintings.”
‘So, we are all descendants of a completely useless person,’ thought Bina
Bina noticed Aswi coming.
“So, what else did you find?” asked Aswi excitedly
“I am not sure you would like to find out,” said Bina
Early Morning Memories 
One response to “The Bandit Ancestor”
🙏🌹🐈⬛Grazie
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