Raghu

Smoke is coming out from a small hut which is just behind the Raghuji temple of Mujpura village. (This small village, which is a dwelling for not more than 500 people, is at the heart of charotar region of Gujarat,India) Toralba, Raghu’s wife, is engaged in preparing tiffin for Raghu on a small “Chula” (Chula is a small fireplace used for cooking in which wood or coal is used as a fuel). It’s a dawn time and as usual Raghu is listening to bhajan’s (Prayers) on Radio. This radio is special as he got it as a gift from his brother in law when he got married with Toralba and here came his most favorite bhajan…
“Ekla javana manva, ekla javana, sathi vina,sangi vina, ekla javana…” meaning is “one will have to go alone, without friends, without families!!!”
Raghu, a camel cart driver, is living in a small hut with his four daughters and a beloved wife. Toralba is pregnant in a hope that they would have a son. Raghu belongs to “Bharwad” cast, which is very orthodox and rife with many superstitions and having no son is considered to be an evil’s curse. He couldn’t pursue his studies and started working as a camel cart driver with his uncle at an age of 10 years in an aftermath of his father’s accidental death and subsequent financial woes. Though uneducated, he is a person with courage, having deep faith in god. His best friend and a witness of his all joys and grieves is “Dharam”. No, he is not any human being like Raghu but this is the name of his Camel. Raghu’s father claimed that Dharam’s ancestors belonged to the desert of Arabia and he is one of the best breeds of camels. Raghu earns his livelihood with his camel cart and transferring grass bundles, wood pieces etc. from one place to other are his daily chores. Daily early in the morning he goes out for work and comes back in the evening, he burns midnight oil for the sake of his family. He is very much concerned about the education of all his kids which he remained deprived of due to adverse circumstances.
From past 2-3 days he seems to be very busy and comes late night at home, he has got a very good deal. Actually it’s a summer time and Mr. Shah, a renowned tobacco merchant of the whole district has purchased tobacco from many farmers so now Raghu and few other camel cart drivers have been assigned a task to move the row tobacco from farms to a main godown(i.e.warehouse) in a nearby town. Daily after getting home he calculates how much more money he needs now to transfer his daughters to a private school from government run public school.
Today is the last day of this assignment and he is moving last lot of tobacco from farms to warehouse. He is going to receive a hefty payment today as Mr. Shah has decided to give some bonus amount to all camel cart drivers. While passing through a narrow passage from a farm to a main road, he is dreaming off his daughters studying in a better school, he dreams of giving a better life to his beloved life and their kid who is in her womb. But this joy is not going to last for long as fate has something else in store for him. Suddenly a pain starts in his left part of chest, he thinks it might be a minor problem but gradually the pain is becoming unbearable. He is not sure what to do so he stops the cart and decides to take some rest but it’s becoming harder to tolerate and there is nobody around whom he can ask for help. A silent black out is covering his eyes gradually and he loses his consciousness. After a momentary silence Raghu opens his eyes and he finds himself in a bed. Toralba, his daughters and his uncle are in front of his eyes. By seeing his eyes open, Toralba hugs him with happiness and still Raghu is clueless about what happened to him.
“Where am I and what happened?” asks Raghu.
His uncle replies, “You fainted on a passage and nearby farm workers carried you over here, you are right now in Civil hospital of Nadiad.”
“But what happened to me?” I didn’t have this kind of pain before, is everything okay? Where is Doctor?”, he is eager.
“Doctor has made some tests and it will take 2-3 days to get the report of those tests, don’t worry, everything would be okay” his uncle tries to soothe him.
Raghu is tensed now and doctor asks him to stay in hospital for a week. After 2 days he receives test results. He has been diagnosed with valvular stenosis. He doesn’t know what it means; he doesn’t have any idea about what heart valve is. Doctor explains to him that to cure this he’ll have to undergo a surgery, if it is not done within time then it would prove to be fatal for him.
“But how much would be the cost of surgery”, he asks.
“30,000 rs. Minimum” doctor replies.
“30,000!!!!”, he is shocked. He has never seen that much amount at one time in his life. He is worried more for his family rather than himself and clueless about from where to get money.
His uncle has a suggestion for him and asks Raghu to sell his camel and a cart to get required mullah.
“Should I sell Dharam for my operation? He is not just a pet animal or a means of earning livelihood, he is a companion who remained with me in all my sorrows and joys, how can I sell him? ” Raghu exclaims with tears in his eyes and for the first time in his life he feels helpless and sick against circumstances.
At this point of time, face of life seems very harsh and a person of great fortitude kneels himself against a will of the omnipotent!!! He sells Dharam and a cart to a cart merchant in his village for 27000 Rs.
He is to be operated after 2 weeks. It was risky to keep such a big amount with him so he decides to deposit this money in bank. He didn’t have knowledge of banking so asks his friend where to keep money. His friend suggests him to deposit money in Charotar Co-operative bank which is a largest co-operative corporation in a nearby town Anand. He puts his money in bank and now keeps on counting days.
2 Days are left in Raghu’s operation. Toralba and his youngest daughter are with him. All of a sudden, Ranchhod, Raghu’s fellow camel cart driver rushes into his ward with a newspaper in his hand. He is breathing speedily and his appearance is like a messenger of doom. He shows the headline of newspaper to Raghu: “Charotar co-operative bank scam: all depositors lose their money”. Raghu is expressionless as this news is the last nail in the coffin of his hopes. He fights the last battle to get money from bank but he is dwarf against rich and politically powerful people who are involved in scam.
Death seems imminent and he decides to spend last days of his life at his hut. 3 days after shifting to his hut, on one gloomy afternoon a life bird leaves a mortal body. Raghu’s body is out of his hut and few hours are left of its funeral. Evening colors from a sky are vanishing gradually and a dark shade of night is spreading its dominance. After doing it for a whole day, intensities of tragedic cries of Toralba and her daughters are getting mild against the voices of evening chants from a nearby Raghuji temple. After a while it starts drizzling and it seems gods are regretting for being so much stoic. The Radio is still on and playing the same Bhajan…
“Ekla javana manva, ekla javana, sathi vina,sangi vina, ekla javana…” (“One will have to go alone, without friends, without families!!!”)