Adventures

Life is full of strange surprises , some pleasant, some adventurous , some wild. And then there are people who are not satisfied with the adventurous experiences that life offers and want to add extra adventure to their lives. To some extent its fun. But again, there are people who are not satisfied unless they try the extreme and that is what this story revolves around.

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Life's Adventures Vs Adventurer's Life

Saleem, his wife Mehtaab and their little son Mubarak lived in a small hut very close to the sea shore in Orissa. By profession, Saleem was a fisherman who used to go out every morning rowing his boat into the mid sea and return in the evenings with as many fishes as he could manage. They could not afford a luxurious life but were happy with whatever they had.

Little Mubaarak was only 2 years old and the couple spent most of its time planning for Mubaarak's future. They used to save each penny of their earnings for Mubaarak. Saleem and Mehtaab were illiterate but they wanted to educate their only son and wanted him to become a doctor. Parents often want to see their children fulfilling their own dreams. Saleem's father was also a fisherman but he died after being stung by a poisonous aquatic creature. The poison was not very strong and he could have been saved only if their village had a doctor. But the nearest hospital was at a distance which had to be covered over a minimum of 5 hours in the locally available public transport. His father could not fight death that long and passed away on the way to the hospital. Since then, Saleem dreamt of making his son a doctor and Mehtaab supported him too. They used to sacrifice every small and big pleasure of their life and save money and they had been doing this since they got married. So the plans, expectations and dreams were all set for Mubaarak even before he came to his earthly existence.

Mubaarak, right from his birth, was a very naughty child. He had a tendency to do the forbidden.
He would try to reach things that were intensionally kept beyond his reach, he would try to taste things that he was not supposed to, he would try to do things that he knew his parents would not allow him to do. As he grew up, his interest towards things which commonly people would avoid, grew more and more intense.

Being born to a fisherman's family, he was an expert swimmer. Once he heard some villagers discussing that there was this cursed well into which many had fallen and died and that it has now been guarded by an iron wire so that no one can get too close. He immediately knew what he had to do next. He informed all his friends and acqaintances that he was going to jump into the well and come out of it that night. Every body tried to convince him not to do so but he was not one of those who would try to listen and understand what others say. He wanted to be the hero of the village and so he did what he had decided. As soon as his parents went off to sleep, he slipped out of his blanket and managed to come out of the house hiding in the darkness. He reached the place where the well was and he could see all his friends had accumulated to see his so called bravery. He crossed the iron wire and turned towards his friends one last time before jumping into the death well. Then he turned towards the well, closed his eyes and prayed to God. He was also afraid within, but the thought of becoming a hero in the village was so strong that it overcame his fear and there he was, all set to jump into the well. Ready, Steady an GO and splash came a sound from inside the well. All his friends of his age, 10-12 years, immediately ran from the place to inform the villagers. Within minutes the whole village was there standing beside the well and trying to pull him out. His unfortunate parents were also there. Saleem was almost ready to jump into the well himself to either save his son or die himself. Mehtaab was crying her heart out. They could not see their only son, their dream, their expectations, their life , their hope , everything drowning into the well. Just then they heard a noise from inside the well. They held the lantern to throw some light into the well so as to see what it was and they could see the smiling face of Mubaarak, fully drenched, climbing up the walls of the well. People tried to help him out with ropes and buckets but he didnot accept any help lest his bravery would not get all credit he thought he deserved for this action of his.

Finally, he was out of the well, standing there with his head held high in pride and satisfaction for having accomplished something he thought so great. And there right in front of him , was his father Saleem and mother Mehtaab, scared to death for the fear of losing their only son and the only ray of hope in their lives for whom they have been sacrificing every bit of thing they could to bring him up in the best possible way. But Mubaarak was so overwhelmed by his accomplishment that he didn't even realise what hell his perents went through in the last couple of minutes. He achieved what he wanted. All his friends thought he was the hero of the village. They began to look upto him as if he was their God. Mubaarak enjoyed all this attention and importance and kept doing such things which everyone else was either afraid to do or not allowed to do. This nature of his became stronger and stronger with time and by the time he was a 16 years old boy studying in the city high school, about 35 kms away from his village, inviting adventures became a habit he could not resist.

As soon as, he joined the city high school, he was eager to stay in Hostel. He gave several excuses to his poor illiterate parents like he would be able to do joint study and would be able to access the school library even at night. His parents also thought that travelling to school up and down everyday, laeves him too tired to study, so its better for his carrer to move to the school hostel. Though the hostel fees was much more than what any fisherman like Saleem could afford , but all their savings of their lives helped them accomodate the extra costs. They were ready to do anything to get their son the best possible education they could afford.

Thus, Mubaarak started staying in the hostel and used to visit home only in the weekends.

One weekend, he informed his parents that he was going on an excursion and would not be able to come home. He had lied. He was going out with his friends to satisfy his hunger for adventure.
The Weather guys had informed a day earlier that there is a threat of cyclone in the mid sea and that all fishermen and sailors should avoid the sea for the day. That's when Mubaarak decided to conquer the sea. He and his friends went to the shore that was closest to the city. They managed a boat somehow and then they were all set to sail. At the last moment , one by one all of Mubaarak's friends backed out. Mubaarak hated such show of fear and cowardice. He got angry and decided to sail all alone. His friends tried to convince him against going into the sea but Mubaarak had a hitler's mind. Once decided, he would not and he could not back out.

He sat on the boat, cut the rope and started rowing. He looked behind just once to say goood bye to his friends and made a mockery of them for they were scared of the cyclone whereas he was not. His friends only kept praying for him and kept shouting for him to come back. They were calling him as long as he was visible. But the mighty waves of the cyclonic sea took him out of sight pretty soon.

Mubaarak's friends waited for him to come back till the evening but as it grew dark and the waves went higher and higher, they came back to their school. Till late night when Mubaarak didn't return, they decided to inform the school authorities and his parents and so they did. By the time Saleem got the news, it was early morning of the next day. He immediately rushed towards his boat to get it ready to sail through the sea and search for his son. Mehtaab tried to stop him many times, but he was a mad man then. He could think nothing. He only knew that his son was in trouble and he had to save him. He went out into the sea. Mehtaab was waiting in the shore all day, without food without water awaiting her husband and son. In the evening she could see her husband returning. She outstreched her hands in anticipation of her son too. But as Saleem's boat came closer , she realized that Saleem was alone. Upon reaching the shore, Saleem could not utter a word. He only hugged Mehtaab tightly and broke down into tears. Mehtaab knew her son was lost in the sea and perhaps would never come back again. Even if he survives the untamed sea and the cyclone, he would not survive the hunger and the thrist , and even if he manages to survive that, he would probably serve as the fishes' food. With Mubaarak, all their hopes, their dreams, their expectations, their only reason for survival was lost. The cost of Mubaarak's adventure invitations was paid by Saleem and Mehtaab who were left behind to grow old without anyone to support them and nothing to look forward to.

Many years later, a tourist family had come to visit the fishing shore in Orissa and there was a young boy in the family. The boy was very excited to see such a huge endless water body. He was trying to break free of his mother's hold and rush towards the sea. An old man with wrinkled face and torn clothes was sitting nearby observing the boy. He stood up with great difficulty because of his old age and body ache and went close to the boy. The boy was a little scared to see him at first and so was his mother. The old man gently kept his hand on the boy's head and said, " Life is already full of adventures, you do not need to invite them.". Just then , an equally old lady came shouting " Saleem! Saleem!, Where are you? " . "Here I am, Mehtaab" , said the old man and walked away. The little boy and his mother kept staring at the old man as he limped his way towards the old lady standing at a distance, wrapped in a black shawl. Saleem's dry eyes and shaky voice had told them a story they were still trying to comprehend.