Bhimpur
It was just after the Second World War that the British were seeking a settlement for the workers near the Debsaria coalfields. The neighbourhood was filled with forests of sparse vegetation, with rocky terrain, and with little or no water either on the surface or under the ground. The wildlife was also not much to speak of. Though rainfall was normal in the whole area, the loose rocks and the eroded soil cover were not good for holding water. But the adjacent village of Budhia was prosperous. There the soil was of red laterite variety and was quite fertile. Apart from rice and wheat the farmers there also grew potatoes and tomatoes and innumerable varieties of leafy vegetables. Some farmers also cultivated jute because they could channel much water into their fields from a creek that mysteriously vanish into the ground just before entering the forests near the Debsaria coalfields. No doubt Budhia was an agricultural village but some labourers and a few officers also lived there.
With the prospect of opening of the Debsaria coalfields a new settlement had to be found nearby and no place was better than the vast uninhabited land adjacent to Budhia for everyone believed that the hidden creek can sprout somewhere there if found a proper outlet. A team of the waterworks department under the guidance of the Block Development Officer of Budhia was given the task to find such an outlet. In a month they had dug a number of holes in the vast arid expanse but all effort was futile. The creek was as elusive as ever. Everyday the workers went in the heat to toil over the hard rocks and now and then the BDO came for inspection. It went on for days and days. Often people traveling between Budhia and Chotanagpur saw the barren terrain dotted with holes. Sometimes they even saw workers making more holes.
It was two high profile people, traveling that same way from Budhia to Chotanagpur, that day in a Baby Austin. One of them was the young Mohit Ray, the BDO, and the other was the old Charles Tegart, the Superintendent of Police of that area. The driver and a constable, Bhim Singh, accompanied them. It was quite a hot day and the Austin was trudging along. Both the SP and the BDO were perspiring profusely and so both were silent. The BDO, looking around, was having vague ideas in exasperation, whether Rontgen’s invention could be of any use in his pet project of prospecting water in that area, when the Austin halted suddenly. On asking, the driver said that the engine has become very hot and he has no water to cool it down with. So they will have to wait for about half-an-hour to let the engine cool down gradually by itself. In the heat! This made both the BDO and the SP angry for they didn’t want to part with their drinking water just to quench the thirst of the car and themselves go the rest of the way thirsty. The BDO, unthinkingly, asked Bhim Singh to go and get some water. Bhim Singh was a dutiful constable. He obeyed orders strictly whatever the circumstances. It was his duty. So he picked up the can and went in the aridity.
At first he went and asked one of the workers where he could find some water, though he was well aware of the situation there. Maybe it wasn’t his ignorance but his innocence. When he was greeted with laughter in answer, he became determined. He will find water somehow. At least try his best to find water. He borrowed a spade from the worker and saw in the distance a huge tree inviting him in its shade. He went there. He didn’t go there to lie down and rest, but started digging the ground under the cool shade of the tree. He was quite a steady and sturdy fellow. With each heave he tore the earth’s surface in large rocky chunks and in no time, as if in a fairy tale, he found water. He knew that if he would go and tell this to the workers, no one will believe him and he didn’t wish to do so as they have just made fun of him. So he filled the can and came to the driver, whose head was under the bonnet of the car. He was surprised. He took the can and poured the water in the radiator of the car. He then started the car. The SP and the BDO, in the meantime, were busy talking about being dazed in the heat and had not noticed anything. The car started and then suddenly Bhim Singh shouted, “Wait.” He rushed out to return the spade, which was lying under the shade of the tree, to the worker from whom he had borrowed it and tell him about the water despite his jeering.
The SP and the BDO were astonished. They inquired from the driver and when they heard about the water, they rushed out after Bhim Singh. By that time Bhim Singh was trying to convince the worker that he has really found water, but to no effect on the worker. The worker was sure that what so many of them could not do in over a month, how a constable could do in a few minutes. He was not even willing to go and see the spot. The BDO called out, “From where did you find the water, Bhim Singh?” Bhim Singh pointed at the spot. They could not believe it and yet there it was in front of their eyes, under the shade of the tree. All the workers stopped their work and rushed towards the tree. The BDO asked him again, “What on earth made you choose that spot?” Bhim Singh thought, “Was it intuition? Or was it because of the shade?” He couldn’t decide, so he kept quiet. He became a hero instantly. News spread fast.
Within a month the place turned into a village for there was water now. Tegart suggested, the BDO recommended, and the government accepted. The place was named “Bhimpur” because it was Bhim Singh who first found water there. The BDO often thought why he didn’t have the idea that the big tree’s roots would obviously lead to a water table under the ground. Maybe if he would have had the idea the place would have been named “Mohitpur” instead.
Anyway, Bhim Singh was promoted and made a havaldar. He was posted at the Bhimpur police outpost of Budhia police station. Bhim Singh was happy that a village was named after him. All new persons he met, he told them that Bhimpur was named after him. He had to repeat his story a number of times because there was no one else to repeat it on his behalf to all the people. The workers, who were witness to the miracle, were from other villages and had other work than to spread the story of Bhim Singh. But Bhim Singh made sure that all of Bhimpur and Budhia knew about it. His family was to stay in Budhia because his son was in school there and there was no school in Bhimpur. The people of Budhia knew Bhim Singh well and never doubted his claim. In Bhimpur also people heard his story seriously and didn’t say anything for he was in such a high post of a havaldar. Surely they did not want to incite him against themselves. It took months and one day Bhim Singh was sure that almost all the people living in Bhimpur knew about his story and respected him for it. No doubt they respected him. He did his duty well. He was the chief of the outpost. He had ten constables under him. He kept Bhimpur crime free. And now and then the inspectors of Budhia visited the outpost to praise him.
Bhimpur gradually grew into a healthy village, though it didn’t have any health center or school. But Budhia was nearby. Water was all in Bhimpur. The colliery labourers’ first need was water and they got it. Some traders also came and settled there. It was mainly huts all around except for the police outpost and the Debsaria coalfields officers’ enclosure, which could be called buildings in their true sense. The population was also on the increase steadily to give it a look of a village rather than of a colliery workers’ settlement. The population was mainly Hindus but some Muslims were also there. No one particularly noticed that the village also lacked a temple and a mosque. The well was all for the people and there was no skirmish among them for God’s gift of water. One well sufficed them all.
Bhim Singh’s family visited him often at Bhimpur. He also went to Budhia sometimes but only for short duration. Whereas, when his family visited him, they stayed for almost a month. His wife, his son, all liked Bhimpur as much as they liked Budhia. His wife made friends with the women when she went to bring water from the well, which lay at the center of the village under the shade of that big tree. His son also played with the boys of the village whenever he visited his father.
One day an old Sufi saint was passing through Bhimpur and gained instant popularity there. It was as if the people living a humdrum life were waiting for such a one to come their way. The Sufi saint settled there. People thronged at his feet. Both Hindus and Muslims. He taught them to live in piety, in peace, in happiness, in honesty. People listened to the old man in devotion. He told them stories of Kabir. He told them to shirk all their differences and be one. So people joined his congregation as one, without any differences. Bhim Singh also liked him and his teaching. His family also came to pay their respect to the Imam baba, as the saint was fondly called. Imam baba’s fame spread far and other people from Budhia also visited him. And in due course people from other adjoining areas also came to Bhimpur to see Imam baba. It was good for Imam baba that in his old age he found a place where he was highly respected and he could die in peace. He did indeed die in peace within a couple of years. All the people of Bhimpur contributed money and built a memorial for Imam baba. The BDO himself came to inaugurate it. It became a sacred place in Bhimpur. Its entire people came to pray at Imam baba’s memorial.
Bhim Singh was very optimistic about his son. He was studying hard and was sure to do well in life. In Budhia once he had seen a map in his son’s hand and he had asked what it was. His son had answered it was that where they lived. And when he asked, “Where do I live?” His son pointed at the vast Indian subcontinent with “India” written over it. As years passed by he had often asked his son the same question again and again and every subsequent time his son had pointed at the map with more precision. EASTERN PROVINCE. BUDHIA. And then! Bhimpur was not on the map. Bhim Singh was disappointed. His son grew up. India got independence in the throes of partition. After independence when Bhim Singh saw on the map the small India, he thought how much smaller Bhimpur might have become. He lost all hope of ever seeing Bhimpur on the map.
The years of peace and prosperity helped increase the population of Bhimpur enormously. It was now a big village. A small semblance of class hierarchy had crept into Bhimpur society. No longer was Bhimpur a colliery workers’ village. There were now small farmers as well as some landowners in the village. Now the village had two wells. One was dug up near Imam baba’s memorial and was known as “Imam baba ka kuan” (Imam baba’s well). The other well, which was under the big tree, was called the “Tila ka kuan” (Well on the raised ground). This well was no longer centrally located in the village. It was towards the western side, whereas the other well was on the eastern side. All round the big tree could be seen a number of threads tied up by Hindu worshippers. A number of round stones could be found under the tree where people poured water and put incense sticks in Hindu rituals. But all the people still used to go to Imam baba’s memorial. Both the Hindu and the Muslim population had increased considerably through matrimony and immigration from other places and thus a number of Hindu priests and Muslim maulvis had sprouted up from no where. The tension of partition had brought jitters in Bhimpur but nothing had spilled over the brim.
It was during the winter that the priests often met under the big tree around a bonfire. One day they called all the respected Hindus to join them. A proposal was placed. They wished to construct a temple in the village. All who were gathered agreed to contribute for the noble cause. But they could not decide on a single God or Goddess, from the vast Hindu pantheon, to dedicate the temple to. All had a different deity as their personal favourite and they would not deter from their stand. Someone proposed to dedicate the temple to all the Gods and Goddesses but the priests opposed this. The wrangling went on for several days. Whenever two or more people met there was an argument. The Muslims, who were obviously neutral, intervened and tried to desist the Hindus from making any temple. But they were severely reprimanded in the heat of the moment and sidelined. The maulvis did not like this at all. They brought out a diktat that if a temple was built then they would prevent all the Hindus from entering Imam baba’s memorial. But no one cared about the diktat. The wrangling went on for about a month.
Then suddenly someone came up with the idea of dedicating the temple to Bhim, one of the five Pandavas in Mahabharata. It would be most appropriate for Bhimpur was certainly named after him. But the priests opposed saying that Bhim was not exactly a God in the Hindu pantheon. Someone argued that Hanuman was also not exactly a God. Someone said, “What about the devtas? Are they Gods?” Then someone asked, “Was Imam baba also a God?” No. “So why do we have a memorial for him instead of Bhim after whom the village is named.” This clinched the issue. No one had any prejudice against Bhim. And everyone agreed that Bhimpur was certainly named after Bhim of the five Pandavas. So they decided to dedicate the temple to Bhim, the one who could fight with the mace so well.
When Bhim Singh heard that the people wanted to dedicate the temple to Bhim he was nonchalant. But when he heard the reason for it, he was dumbstruck. He rushed to the priests and told them his story; he called the elders and recalled his story. All they said was, “A story is a story. This is something else. It is a serious matter.” He could not reason with them. The old havaldar Bhim Singh no longer commanded the same respect as in olden days. The villagers were no longer strangers at Bhimpur and the police outpost at Bhimpur now had a permanent inspector, Majid Khan. Bhim Singh was just a havaldar and merely followed orders. So Bhim Singh rushed to Majid Khan. Majid Khan heard his story with half his mind and somehow concluded that Bhim Singh wanted the people to dedicate the temple to Bhim, the havaldar, rather than to Bhim, the Pandava. He dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Bhim Singh was aghast. He could not bring the people of Budhia to convince the people of Bhimpur about the truth of his story. He went to the memorial of Imam baba and wept there.
In two weeks a semblance of a temple was erected. Bhim Singh did not contribute anything in the fund for constructing the temple. It was decided that the priests will take turns in worshipping the idol in the temple. They also bought a cow for the temple. Hindus started going to the temple regularly. Few Hindus still visited the memorial of Imam baba despite the maulvis’ diktat. The maulvis could not prevent them themselves, so they went to Faki Malik, the most respected and well to do Muslim is Bhimpur. Faki Malik asked his sons, Adnam and Sammi, to guard Imam baba’s memorial along with the maulvis. Adnam and Sammi were hardly past their teens and were brought up in religious surroundings. Every Friday they used to go to Budhia with their father to pray in the mosque. They used to think that Imam baba’s memorial was their very own property because since childhood they had seen their family collecting all the offerings placed at the memorial. They also saw towards the maintenance of the memorial. A stream of thought had grown in their mind that since the Hindus were kafirs (non-believers) they were outcastes and to be looked down with contempt. Being young they were also rash and unscrupulous both in thought and deed. But they were the darlings of the Muslim community, especially for being volatile and uncompromising. It was they who were guarding the memorial of Imam baba when Bhim Singh went there to pray. There was a scuffle and Bhim Singh chased them away with his lathi.
While Bhim Singh was praying in the memorial, Faki Malik along with his piqued sons and the maulvis were interrogating Majid Khan at the police outpost. The maulvis argued that any person who enters the temple becomes unclean and thus can’t enter Imam baba’s memorial. But Majid Khan argued back that Bhim Singh wanted the Hindus to dedicate the temple to him and since they haven’t done so, he will not enter the temple. Thus he was free to go to the memorial. He then dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Adnam and Sammi started shouting, “He chased us with a lathi. What are you going to do about that?” But Majid Khan had already waved his hand and they were dismissed. Adnam and Sammi were on fire.
Bakr-Id was near. Revenge was on the minds of Adnam and Sammi. The day before Bakr-Id was any normal day. The Hindus went to the temple. The Muslims were busy fattening their sacrificial animals. The Hindus increasingly thronged the “Tila ka kuan” and avoided the “Imam baba ka kuan”. The Muslims did just the reverse. The priests of the Bhim temple did the puja and fed the temple cow, which was tied, just outside the temple. As evening drew, darkness came. Some people were thinking when their village would have electricity because already there was a proposal placed to bring electricity in Budhia. Night felt and all went to sleep except for two people. In the morning the fields nearby was filled with blood. Instead of the cow, outside the Bhim temple, was now its slaughtered carcass.
A riot was in the offing. Gradually more and more people were gathering near the Bhim temple. All Hindus were outraged. The Muslims were busy preparing for the festival of Bakr-Id. A few rumours had reached them, especially to those who were entirely in the dark. But they had a lot of work to do and could not gossip. Bhim Singh was also unaware of the whole situation because he was with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and his grandson. They were returning to Budhia early in the morning after vacationing for more than a month in Bhimpur. He had gone a long way with them and had not yet returned when a crowd led by the priests and the elders of the village besieged the police outpost. The Hindus demanded strict and immediate action by the police against the Muslims. The altercation went on with Majid Khan for a long time and when the crowd came out of the police outpost they were angrier than before. Majid Khan had dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Bhim Singh, on returning, on his way back, heard about the matter from various people and he was not pleased with the situation. He was afraid that something drastic might happen in no time.
Bhim Singh could also gauge from the talk of the villagers that the mob might attack Imam baba’s memorial and destroy it. This made him more apprehensive. He went straight to the police outpost and without asking Majid Khan ordered one of the constables to hurry to Budhia and bring enforcement from the police station there. When he met Majid Khan, he found him absolutely unflustered. It took a lot of time for Bhim Singh to convince Majid Khan of the gravity of the situation. At last Majid Khan agreed to at least guard Imam baba’s memorial.
Meanwhile, the angered crowd was becoming bigger and bigger as the tension rose. Some of them brought axes and spades with them. Seeing them others also got themselves armed with whatever they found handy. By this time the Muslims had also felt the coming of danger. But they had their weapons of slaughter in hand. Faki Malik assembled the Muslims near his house in preparation for protecting the memorial of Imam baba. Adnam and Sammi were sent out of town. When Majid Khan came to the memorial with seven constables and havaldar Bhim Singh, the two mobs were close by but out of sight. Only Majid Khan had a revolver and when he saw the two mobs approaching from opposite sides, he raised his revolver and fired in the air. The Hindu mob started baying for Muslim blood. Majid Khan fired a shot at them and the mob suddenly became a deluge coming out of a dam suddenly bursting. The Muslim mob followed soon. Before the enforcement could arrive a good fraction of the population of Bhimpur was dead. Among the hundreds dead were Faki Malik, Majid Khan, two constables, and havaldar Bhim Singh. The memorial of Imam baba was also destroyed.
Years passed by, but after that incident Bhimpur was not the same Bhimpur. Twenty years later Budhia district was divided and Bhimpur district was born. Bhimpur village proper was now a big village adjoining Debsaria town. It could now be pointed on the map of India. The population has increased at an alarming rate. The Muslim population has almost overtaken the Hindu population. The center of the village has now shifted towards the south where the function was to be held. The “Tila ka kuan” was now known as the “Hindu kuan” and the “Imam baba ka kuan” was called the “Musalman kuan”. Apart from a number of tube wells, two more wells were dug up. One was the “Colliery kuan” towards Debsaria where the colliery workers lived and the other was on the pakki sarak (metalled road), where the people have gathered to watch the legendary civil servant, the octogenarian Mr. Mohit Ray, coming to inaugurate the function. The village now has a magnificent mosque where Imam baba’s memorial once stood. The maulvis of the mosque were Adnam and Sammi. The Bhim mandir was now a large complex of temples housing different deities. The village now has electricity and the police outpost was now a proper police station. And the district has its own BDO, Baldev Singh. Also in the outskirts could be seen a ramshackle health center and the ruins of a school building. The big tree has now aged, as can be ascertained by the number of threads tied round it, and is also showing signs of wear and tear. A lot of buildings can be now seen in Bhimpur especially along pakki sarak, where the BDO was now leading Mr. Mohit Ray to the podium. When Mr. Mohit Ray unveiled the memorial dedicated to havaldar Bhim Singh, there were tears in the eyes of his grandson, Baldev Singh. Whereas, all the villagers assembled were very surprised.
Amit Shankar Saha was born and bred in Calcutta. He is currently pursuing PhD research work in English Literature at Calcutta University. His interests lie in academic research and creative writing. His works have appeared in e-journals like Cerebration, DesiLit Magazine, Muse India, Humanicus, Rupkatha, Boloji, Pens on Fire, Many Midnights, Palki, Kritya, A Long Story Short, Writing Raw, Word Catalyst Magazine, etc. as well as in print journals like Families and Pegasus. He has also contributed to the Chicken Soup for the Indian Teenage Soul (Westland publishers) and Chicken Soup for the Indian College Soul (forthcoming). His website is https://sites.google.com/site/amitshankarsaha/
It was just after the Second World War that the British were seeking a settlement for the workers near the Debsaria coalfields. The neighbourhood was filled with forests of sparse vegetation, with rocky terrain, and with little or no water either on the surface or under the ground. The wildlife was also not much to speak of. Though rainfall was normal in the whole area, the loose rocks and the eroded soil cover were not good for holding water. But the adjacent village of Budhia was prosperous. There the soil was of red laterite variety and was quite fertile. Apart from rice and wheat the farmers there also grew potatoes and tomatoes and innumerable varieties of leafy vegetables. Some farmers also cultivated jute because they could channel much water into their fields from a creek that mysteriously vanish into the ground just before entering the forests near the Debsaria coalfields. No doubt Budhia was an agricultural village but some labourers and a few officers also lived there.
With the prospect of opening of the Debsaria coalfields a new settlement had to be found nearby and no place was better than the vast uninhabited land adjacent to Budhia for everyone believed that the hidden creek can sprout somewhere there if found a proper outlet. A team of the waterworks department under the guidance of the Block Development Officer of Budhia was given the task to find such an outlet. In a month they had dug a number of holes in the vast arid expanse but all effort was futile. The creek was as elusive as ever. Everyday the workers went in the heat to toil over the hard rocks and now and then the BDO came for inspection. It went on for days and days. Often people traveling between Budhia and Chotanagpur saw the barren terrain dotted with holes. Sometimes they even saw workers making more holes.
It was two high profile people, traveling that same way from Budhia to Chotanagpur, that day in a Baby Austin. One of them was the young Mohit Ray, the BDO, and the other was the old Charles Tegart, the Superintendent of Police of that area. The driver and a constable, Bhim Singh, accompanied them. It was quite a hot day and the Austin was trudging along. Both the SP and the BDO were perspiring profusely and so both were silent. The BDO, looking around, was having vague ideas in exasperation, whether Rontgen’s invention could be of any use in his pet project of prospecting water in that area, when the Austin halted suddenly. On asking, the driver said that the engine has become very hot and he has no water to cool it down with. So they will have to wait for about half-an-hour to let the engine cool down gradually by itself. In the heat! This made both the BDO and the SP angry for they didn’t want to part with their drinking water just to quench the thirst of the car and themselves go the rest of the way thirsty. The BDO, unthinkingly, asked Bhim Singh to go and get some water. Bhim Singh was a dutiful constable. He obeyed orders strictly whatever the circumstances. It was his duty. So he picked up the can and went in the aridity.
At first he went and asked one of the workers where he could find some water, though he was well aware of the situation there. Maybe it wasn’t his ignorance but his innocence. When he was greeted with laughter in answer, he became determined. He will find water somehow. At least try his best to find water. He borrowed a spade from the worker and saw in the distance a huge tree inviting him in its shade. He went there. He didn’t go there to lie down and rest, but started digging the ground under the cool shade of the tree. He was quite a steady and sturdy fellow. With each heave he tore the earth’s surface in large rocky chunks and in no time, as if in a fairy tale, he found water. He knew that if he would go and tell this to the workers, no one will believe him and he didn’t wish to do so as they have just made fun of him. So he filled the can and came to the driver, whose head was under the bonnet of the car. He was surprised. He took the can and poured the water in the radiator of the car. He then started the car. The SP and the BDO, in the meantime, were busy talking about being dazed in the heat and had not noticed anything. The car started and then suddenly Bhim Singh shouted, “Wait.” He rushed out to return the spade, which was lying under the shade of the tree, to the worker from whom he had borrowed it and tell him about the water despite his jeering.
The SP and the BDO were astonished. They inquired from the driver and when they heard about the water, they rushed out after Bhim Singh. By that time Bhim Singh was trying to convince the worker that he has really found water, but to no effect on the worker. The worker was sure that what so many of them could not do in over a month, how a constable could do in a few minutes. He was not even willing to go and see the spot. The BDO called out, “From where did you find the water, Bhim Singh?” Bhim Singh pointed at the spot. They could not believe it and yet there it was in front of their eyes, under the shade of the tree. All the workers stopped their work and rushed towards the tree. The BDO asked him again, “What on earth made you choose that spot?” Bhim Singh thought, “Was it intuition? Or was it because of the shade?” He couldn’t decide, so he kept quiet. He became a hero instantly. News spread fast.
Within a month the place turned into a village for there was water now. Tegart suggested, the BDO recommended, and the government accepted. The place was named “Bhimpur” because it was Bhim Singh who first found water there. The BDO often thought why he didn’t have the idea that the big tree’s roots would obviously lead to a water table under the ground. Maybe if he would have had the idea the place would have been named “Mohitpur” instead.
Anyway, Bhim Singh was promoted and made a havaldar. He was posted at the Bhimpur police outpost of Budhia police station. Bhim Singh was happy that a village was named after him. All new persons he met, he told them that Bhimpur was named after him. He had to repeat his story a number of times because there was no one else to repeat it on his behalf to all the people. The workers, who were witness to the miracle, were from other villages and had other work than to spread the story of Bhim Singh. But Bhim Singh made sure that all of Bhimpur and Budhia knew about it. His family was to stay in Budhia because his son was in school there and there was no school in Bhimpur. The people of Budhia knew Bhim Singh well and never doubted his claim. In Bhimpur also people heard his story seriously and didn’t say anything for he was in such a high post of a havaldar. Surely they did not want to incite him against themselves. It took months and one day Bhim Singh was sure that almost all the people living in Bhimpur knew about his story and respected him for it. No doubt they respected him. He did his duty well. He was the chief of the outpost. He had ten constables under him. He kept Bhimpur crime free. And now and then the inspectors of Budhia visited the outpost to praise him.
Bhimpur gradually grew into a healthy village, though it didn’t have any health center or school. But Budhia was nearby. Water was all in Bhimpur. The colliery labourers’ first need was water and they got it. Some traders also came and settled there. It was mainly huts all around except for the police outpost and the Debsaria coalfields officers’ enclosure, which could be called buildings in their true sense. The population was also on the increase steadily to give it a look of a village rather than of a colliery workers’ settlement. The population was mainly Hindus but some Muslims were also there. No one particularly noticed that the village also lacked a temple and a mosque. The well was all for the people and there was no skirmish among them for God’s gift of water. One well sufficed them all.
Bhim Singh’s family visited him often at Bhimpur. He also went to Budhia sometimes but only for short duration. Whereas, when his family visited him, they stayed for almost a month. His wife, his son, all liked Bhimpur as much as they liked Budhia. His wife made friends with the women when she went to bring water from the well, which lay at the center of the village under the shade of that big tree. His son also played with the boys of the village whenever he visited his father.
One day an old Sufi saint was passing through Bhimpur and gained instant popularity there. It was as if the people living a humdrum life were waiting for such a one to come their way. The Sufi saint settled there. People thronged at his feet. Both Hindus and Muslims. He taught them to live in piety, in peace, in happiness, in honesty. People listened to the old man in devotion. He told them stories of Kabir. He told them to shirk all their differences and be one. So people joined his congregation as one, without any differences. Bhim Singh also liked him and his teaching. His family also came to pay their respect to the Imam baba, as the saint was fondly called. Imam baba’s fame spread far and other people from Budhia also visited him. And in due course people from other adjoining areas also came to Bhimpur to see Imam baba. It was good for Imam baba that in his old age he found a place where he was highly respected and he could die in peace. He did indeed die in peace within a couple of years. All the people of Bhimpur contributed money and built a memorial for Imam baba. The BDO himself came to inaugurate it. It became a sacred place in Bhimpur. Its entire people came to pray at Imam baba’s memorial.
Bhim Singh was very optimistic about his son. He was studying hard and was sure to do well in life. In Budhia once he had seen a map in his son’s hand and he had asked what it was. His son had answered it was that where they lived. And when he asked, “Where do I live?” His son pointed at the vast Indian subcontinent with “India” written over it. As years passed by he had often asked his son the same question again and again and every subsequent time his son had pointed at the map with more precision. EASTERN PROVINCE. BUDHIA. And then! Bhimpur was not on the map. Bhim Singh was disappointed. His son grew up. India got independence in the throes of partition. After independence when Bhim Singh saw on the map the small India, he thought how much smaller Bhimpur might have become. He lost all hope of ever seeing Bhimpur on the map.
The years of peace and prosperity helped increase the population of Bhimpur enormously. It was now a big village. A small semblance of class hierarchy had crept into Bhimpur society. No longer was Bhimpur a colliery workers’ village. There were now small farmers as well as some landowners in the village. Now the village had two wells. One was dug up near Imam baba’s memorial and was known as “Imam baba ka kuan” (Imam baba’s well). The other well, which was under the big tree, was called the “Tila ka kuan” (Well on the raised ground). This well was no longer centrally located in the village. It was towards the western side, whereas the other well was on the eastern side. All round the big tree could be seen a number of threads tied up by Hindu worshippers. A number of round stones could be found under the tree where people poured water and put incense sticks in Hindu rituals. But all the people still used to go to Imam baba’s memorial. Both the Hindu and the Muslim population had increased considerably through matrimony and immigration from other places and thus a number of Hindu priests and Muslim maulvis had sprouted up from no where. The tension of partition had brought jitters in Bhimpur but nothing had spilled over the brim.
It was during the winter that the priests often met under the big tree around a bonfire. One day they called all the respected Hindus to join them. A proposal was placed. They wished to construct a temple in the village. All who were gathered agreed to contribute for the noble cause. But they could not decide on a single God or Goddess, from the vast Hindu pantheon, to dedicate the temple to. All had a different deity as their personal favourite and they would not deter from their stand. Someone proposed to dedicate the temple to all the Gods and Goddesses but the priests opposed this. The wrangling went on for several days. Whenever two or more people met there was an argument. The Muslims, who were obviously neutral, intervened and tried to desist the Hindus from making any temple. But they were severely reprimanded in the heat of the moment and sidelined. The maulvis did not like this at all. They brought out a diktat that if a temple was built then they would prevent all the Hindus from entering Imam baba’s memorial. But no one cared about the diktat. The wrangling went on for about a month.
Then suddenly someone came up with the idea of dedicating the temple to Bhim, one of the five Pandavas in Mahabharata. It would be most appropriate for Bhimpur was certainly named after him. But the priests opposed saying that Bhim was not exactly a God in the Hindu pantheon. Someone argued that Hanuman was also not exactly a God. Someone said, “What about the devtas? Are they Gods?” Then someone asked, “Was Imam baba also a God?” No. “So why do we have a memorial for him instead of Bhim after whom the village is named.” This clinched the issue. No one had any prejudice against Bhim. And everyone agreed that Bhimpur was certainly named after Bhim of the five Pandavas. So they decided to dedicate the temple to Bhim, the one who could fight with the mace so well.
When Bhim Singh heard that the people wanted to dedicate the temple to Bhim he was nonchalant. But when he heard the reason for it, he was dumbstruck. He rushed to the priests and told them his story; he called the elders and recalled his story. All they said was, “A story is a story. This is something else. It is a serious matter.” He could not reason with them. The old havaldar Bhim Singh no longer commanded the same respect as in olden days. The villagers were no longer strangers at Bhimpur and the police outpost at Bhimpur now had a permanent inspector, Majid Khan. Bhim Singh was just a havaldar and merely followed orders. So Bhim Singh rushed to Majid Khan. Majid Khan heard his story with half his mind and somehow concluded that Bhim Singh wanted the people to dedicate the temple to Bhim, the havaldar, rather than to Bhim, the Pandava. He dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Bhim Singh was aghast. He could not bring the people of Budhia to convince the people of Bhimpur about the truth of his story. He went to the memorial of Imam baba and wept there.
In two weeks a semblance of a temple was erected. Bhim Singh did not contribute anything in the fund for constructing the temple. It was decided that the priests will take turns in worshipping the idol in the temple. They also bought a cow for the temple. Hindus started going to the temple regularly. Few Hindus still visited the memorial of Imam baba despite the maulvis’ diktat. The maulvis could not prevent them themselves, so they went to Faki Malik, the most respected and well to do Muslim is Bhimpur. Faki Malik asked his sons, Adnam and Sammi, to guard Imam baba’s memorial along with the maulvis. Adnam and Sammi were hardly past their teens and were brought up in religious surroundings. Every Friday they used to go to Budhia with their father to pray in the mosque. They used to think that Imam baba’s memorial was their very own property because since childhood they had seen their family collecting all the offerings placed at the memorial. They also saw towards the maintenance of the memorial. A stream of thought had grown in their mind that since the Hindus were kafirs (non-believers) they were outcastes and to be looked down with contempt. Being young they were also rash and unscrupulous both in thought and deed. But they were the darlings of the Muslim community, especially for being volatile and uncompromising. It was they who were guarding the memorial of Imam baba when Bhim Singh went there to pray. There was a scuffle and Bhim Singh chased them away with his lathi.
While Bhim Singh was praying in the memorial, Faki Malik along with his piqued sons and the maulvis were interrogating Majid Khan at the police outpost. The maulvis argued that any person who enters the temple becomes unclean and thus can’t enter Imam baba’s memorial. But Majid Khan argued back that Bhim Singh wanted the Hindus to dedicate the temple to him and since they haven’t done so, he will not enter the temple. Thus he was free to go to the memorial. He then dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Adnam and Sammi started shouting, “He chased us with a lathi. What are you going to do about that?” But Majid Khan had already waved his hand and they were dismissed. Adnam and Sammi were on fire.
Bakr-Id was near. Revenge was on the minds of Adnam and Sammi. The day before Bakr-Id was any normal day. The Hindus went to the temple. The Muslims were busy fattening their sacrificial animals. The Hindus increasingly thronged the “Tila ka kuan” and avoided the “Imam baba ka kuan”. The Muslims did just the reverse. The priests of the Bhim temple did the puja and fed the temple cow, which was tied, just outside the temple. As evening drew, darkness came. Some people were thinking when their village would have electricity because already there was a proposal placed to bring electricity in Budhia. Night felt and all went to sleep except for two people. In the morning the fields nearby was filled with blood. Instead of the cow, outside the Bhim temple, was now its slaughtered carcass.
A riot was in the offing. Gradually more and more people were gathering near the Bhim temple. All Hindus were outraged. The Muslims were busy preparing for the festival of Bakr-Id. A few rumours had reached them, especially to those who were entirely in the dark. But they had a lot of work to do and could not gossip. Bhim Singh was also unaware of the whole situation because he was with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and his grandson. They were returning to Budhia early in the morning after vacationing for more than a month in Bhimpur. He had gone a long way with them and had not yet returned when a crowd led by the priests and the elders of the village besieged the police outpost. The Hindus demanded strict and immediate action by the police against the Muslims. The altercation went on with Majid Khan for a long time and when the crowd came out of the police outpost they were angrier than before. Majid Khan had dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Bhim Singh, on returning, on his way back, heard about the matter from various people and he was not pleased with the situation. He was afraid that something drastic might happen in no time.
Bhim Singh could also gauge from the talk of the villagers that the mob might attack Imam baba’s memorial and destroy it. This made him more apprehensive. He went straight to the police outpost and without asking Majid Khan ordered one of the constables to hurry to Budhia and bring enforcement from the police station there. When he met Majid Khan, he found him absolutely unflustered. It took a lot of time for Bhim Singh to convince Majid Khan of the gravity of the situation. At last Majid Khan agreed to at least guard Imam baba’s memorial.
Meanwhile, the angered crowd was becoming bigger and bigger as the tension rose. Some of them brought axes and spades with them. Seeing them others also got themselves armed with whatever they found handy. By this time the Muslims had also felt the coming of danger. But they had their weapons of slaughter in hand. Faki Malik assembled the Muslims near his house in preparation for protecting the memorial of Imam baba. Adnam and Sammi were sent out of town. When Majid Khan came to the memorial with seven constables and havaldar Bhim Singh, the two mobs were close by but out of sight. Only Majid Khan had a revolver and when he saw the two mobs approaching from opposite sides, he raised his revolver and fired in the air. The Hindu mob started baying for Muslim blood. Majid Khan fired a shot at them and the mob suddenly became a deluge coming out of a dam suddenly bursting. The Muslim mob followed soon. Before the enforcement could arrive a good fraction of the population of Bhimpur was dead. Among the hundreds dead were Faki Malik, Majid Khan, two constables, and havaldar Bhim Singh. The memorial of Imam baba was also destroyed.
Years passed by, but after that incident Bhimpur was not the same Bhimpur. Twenty years later Budhia district was divided and Bhimpur district was born. Bhimpur village proper was now a big village adjoining Debsaria town. It could now be pointed on the map of India. The population has increased at an alarming rate. The Muslim population has almost overtaken the Hindu population. The center of the village has now shifted towards the south where the function was to be held. The “Tila ka kuan” was now known as the “Hindu kuan” and the “Imam baba ka kuan” was called the “Musalman kuan”. Apart from a number of tube wells, two more wells were dug up. One was the “Colliery kuan” towards Debsaria where the colliery workers lived and the other was on the pakki sarak (metalled road), where the people have gathered to watch the legendary civil servant, the octogenarian Mr. Mohit Ray, coming to inaugurate the function. The village now has a magnificent mosque where Imam baba’s memorial once stood. The maulvis of the mosque were Adnam and Sammi. The Bhim mandir was now a large complex of temples housing different deities. The village now has electricity and the police outpost was now a proper police station. And the district has its own BDO, Baldev Singh. Also in the outskirts could be seen a ramshackle health center and the ruins of a school building. The big tree has now aged, as can be ascertained by the number of threads tied round it, and is also showing signs of wear and tear. A lot of buildings can be now seen in Bhimpur especially along pakki sarak, where the BDO was now leading Mr. Mohit Ray to the podium. When Mr. Mohit Ray unveiled the memorial dedicated to havaldar Bhim Singh, there were tears in the eyes of his grandson, Baldev Singh. Whereas, all the villagers assembled were very surprised.
Amit Shankar Saha was born and bred in Calcutta. He is currently pursuing PhD research work in English Literature at Calcutta University. His interests lie in academic research and creative writing. His works have appeared in e-journals like Cerebration, DesiLit Magazine, Muse India, Humanicus, Rupkatha, Boloji, Pens on Fire, Many Midnights, Palki, Kritya, A Long Story Short, Writing Raw, Word Catalyst Magazine, etc. as well as in print journals like Families and Pegasus. He has also contributed to the Chicken Soup for the Indian Teenage Soul (Westland publishers) and Chicken Soup for the Indian College Soul (forthcoming). His website is https://sites.google.com/site/amitshankarsaha/
