The night curfew

Jyotsna felt a sudden curiosity firing her neurons. She stepped out of her bed and went straight to the roof of the building. Anwar was already sitting there with Etan and Brojen, the notorious twins. They were the nosiest boys she had ever know, both in the sixth grade. With a smile she reserved for the worst of crimes, she asked Anwar, “what’s the ghost of Raja Kirshna what’s-it?”

The three of them gave her a weak smile. Brojen twirled his right hand and did a sort of a bow and Etan said, “When the factory workers came here ten years ago, when all this was just a huge jungle with an empty factory building and a few huts scattered here and there, the local dwellers, the adivasi’s here talked about a legend. They believed that the ghost of Raja Krishnachandra made travellers lose their way and lured them in.”

“Where did he lure them into?” she asked flinging her legs across the thin walls separating the two buildings.

“No one knows. Probably deep inside the jungle. There, it is believed, the ghost king converts them into creatures like him. Floating heads with glowing eyes to hypnotize the travellers.”

“Has anyone seen their lair?” asked Anwar impatiently.

“They say that no one has ever returned except a man some thirty years ago. Some say he has gone mad.” Etan replied.

“Imagine Anwar escaping the monster not once, but twice.” Said Etan.

“And coming back alive” said Brojen.

Anwar’s cheeks went a shade darker than red. Jyotsna looked at Anwar and asked loudly, “Do you guys know what happened to Nelson?”

Anwar flushed! He stammered, “He was with the night he went missing.”

Etan looked at him with hungry eyes. “You crossed the jungle with Nelson. You crossed it with her. How come you never took us?”

“It’s not funny” Anwar snapped. His eyes were red. “He was left behind as we ran. Probably stumbled over a branch or something.”

“He was clumsy. Everyone knows that” Jyotsna said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Jyotsna’s mother cried out loud and she jumped down the wall.

“I’ve to go. Bye” she bolted. It was way past her bedtime.

When Jyotsna and Anwar entered the school the next day, the first thing they saw was that an extra chair had been laid out on the staff table. A large man in tight clothes was sitting on it, looking over the hall with his hands folded and legs crossed. He looked like a cross between a bull and a dragon because of his size and the acid green dots on his shirt. He wore an expression of intense dislike on his face. After the common prayers, the principle, a bald and aged man with more wrinkles on his face than on his clothes introduced the man.

“Everyone, please welcome Mr. Thomas Fire. He will be your new physical education teacher.” Announced the Principal. “Fire sir retired as a police officer a year ago and, on my special request, he has agreed to devote his free time to the betterment of the youth. He was an excellent hockey player in his college days…” he droned on and on. Soon a chatter broke out amongst the kids.

“A former police officer?” Mahadev said.

“Look at the absolute size of that man” awed Etan. Brojen nodded.

“Don’t you know what it means?” Said Jyotsna with impatience.

“What?” Snapped the four together as others leaned in to listen to her.

“It means, the principal is worried and wants someone to look after the kids.”

“Or”, said Anwar, “we were missing a gym trainer and the principal called in this beast?”

“Oh, ha ha” Jyotsna faked a grin.

When the classes finally started, Jyotsna barely grinned once. Every one of the teachers gave them so much home work that she felt they were taking out their childhood grudges on them. Even her favourite Narendra babu gave them no less than fifty five math problems to solve in one night. When the clock struck two twenty, everyone sighed a breath of relief. The last period on a Saturday was usually physical training and they had got used to spending it as a free period until Fire sir came.

He entered the class like a prize fighter, swinging his arms flexing his arms he spent years on training. A natural silence fell. His dark face was stern and his demeanour was such that no one moved a muscle, except him.  

“So, I’m your new Physical Trainer. Retired police inspector”, he started to scribble on the blackboard in an untidy scrawl, “Represented Mohun Bahgan in Beighton Cupand won the cup three years in a row, winner of the 1956 Police Gallantry award for the Tarapore murders.” He stopped. Turning around, he flashed his eyes at Parvati who was dozing next to Mahadev and yelled, “You there, wake up. School’s not over yet.”

One of the boys sniggered. Fire sir quickly moved his gaze over to the kid and said, “The next time I catch you sniggering, I’ll throw you out of my class.”

They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on various sports and their field and players. But one thing was clear to Jyotsna. The school needed a watchdog and had got one. Something was not right.

When she reached home, her mother cooed her in and served hot food. She ate and quickly went upstairs to meet Anwar. Etan and Brojen were also there.

“They think we are beast of burden” Anwar complained.

“So much work! Exams are months away. What are they playing at?” Brojen complained.

“Didn’t I tell you to skip school today?” Etan complained.

Jyotsna crossed her arms and said in a loud voice, “They set us work to keep us busy. That’s why they hired Fire sir. To keep an eye on us.”

“Pfft”, Etan jerked his tongue out, “it’s not ‘that’ serious! I mean only one boy has gone missing, hasn’t he. And it’s not like everyday a boy disappears!”

“A boy goes missing and it means nothing to you?” Jyotsna snapped.

“That’s not what I meant”

“But I wonder why they are taking such measures. Hiring a police officer!” Jyotsna said.

“Elementary my dear Watson!” Said Anwar in a pompous voice.

“What!” Jyotsna snapped.

“They hired an ex-cop to keep an eye on the students. What’s the mystery?” Anwar shrugged his shoulders with a made-up grin.

“Oh Anwar”, Jyotsna said irritably, “anyone can keep an eye on a bunch of kids. This is not about our security, this is about the school’s security.”

“What makes you say that?” Jumped in Etan.

“I don’t know! Just a hunch”

Just then a sharp voice of a man echoed. The four of them ran towards the roof railing to see the source. A three wheeled rickshaw with a loudspeaker on top was moving slowly on the asphalt road below. It announced in a peaky voice, “The panchayat of Kaligram Village has announced a night curfew in the village. All business activities to cease after six in the evening. The Madhuban forest area has been cordoned off for all the citizens. Any child or adult found roaming the streets after the curfew will be fined a sum of fifty rupees.”

The village was turned into a ghost town after dark.