An Encounter with Enigma………….

Normally I love to rite about the finest feelings of human mind.But this is a different one.

An Encounter with Enigma………….

 It happened last Sunday, 20th May 2007.…I was at Chennai on 19^th and 20th  was a Sunday. Since I had to attend few important meetings at North Kerala on 21^st and 22nd, I reached Kannur- a city in North Kerala and checked in Mascot Beach Resort by noon. The hotel was situated close to the sea and was relatively in the remote area– Burnasseri where the Kannur Military cantt was also situated. Though it was only 3 kms away from the railway station, it looked much alienated . Unfortunately my little and ring fingers of the right hand sensed senseless. Because of that, the other three fingers too experienced temp disablement. Initially though I ignored it, it grew to a cause of concern. I was sure that it had happened due to compromised blood transmission to that area. So wanted to keep the body warm with a swim which could have rectified it....

Since the pool was crowded with tourists, I returned to the turf area facing the sea, lied down on a bench to undergo a sunbath. In between, had a small nap too….One girl, aged around 25 came near me. Her wet clothes confirmed of the direct arrival from pool.

"U wanted to swim?" she asked me…

"Ya…But it was crowded…." I replied….

"Ya…...we came as a group......and will be vacating by tomorrow noon . So we wanted to best utilize"

"Its ookey..no prob"….

"R u an Indian"?

"Why"?

I was wearing only half pants….Looking at my face and body she continued………….

"U look like a roman/Greek fellow….some sort of Homer's character"

"Julius Cesar or Mark Antony or Achilles or Andrea Del Sarto?"……

"I don't know….but u have got the physique and look of a Greek guy"

"Where r u from?"

"Am from Patna.. Completed my PG in Visual Communication….wanted to go to Mumbai to find suitable job….."

"Good.. What's yar name?"

"Krithi Bhatia and u?"

"Aditya…."

"This place is so lovely…we came here last Monday….me , my parents and cousins….I wanted to scribble something…stories, poems….everyday I wanted to do it…but u know, it was full of funny activities till now…I wish to scribble something during today night….Sea can kindle a lot of emotions…I want to blog and planning to register with rediffiland to publish…"

"Good, which types of stories u wish to"?

"Romantic poems….. Do u scribble?"

"I try "

"U know…I am becoming famous now …ppl read my poems…and appreciate a lot"

"Oho….nice to meet a famous person"

("Sanju…don't be too mischievous to that poor girl…..Let her live…." Nildari whispered from my heart……

" Nila….I didn't approach her...in fact she came to me…"…

" Leave her Sanju…."

" agreed...")

I took the cap which was gifted to me by Spice Jet.., and kept it over my face…..

"Buddham Sharanam Gachami" I recited loudly……

"What?"

"Buddham Sharanam Gachami"….I continued again….

Gazing at me, she rushed back……

I lied there for another one hour…..The finger problem remained over without any improvement….

Got up by around 6pm ….things really became worse by then….it was difficult to carry even the tea cup with right hand….after moving back to the cottage, I telephoned to reception and briefed…..

"Baba…can I meet any doctor today?"

"No sir…Being Sunday, it would be difficult…I will send a bottle of Tiger Balm…Plz apply it...u will be ookey…"

But application of Tiger Balm too did not help to improve the condition.…..Some how I finished my bath, wore a white kurtha and Kerala Dhoti….In-between, by around 8pm, I received a phone call from Reception….

" Sir, the transformer which directs the power supply to these area broke down….It will take a minimum of 6-8 hours to repair…We could manage the lights with generator but AC will not function…Please bear with us"

I moved to the turf where the night buffet was already begun. Wanted to eat something but carrying the plate with the right hand became impossible…

"Hello Aditya…I thought U have gone out…." It was Kirthy again….She came near me with a plate half of Chicken and rice…

"Don't u wish to dine? Wish to have some NV?" she enquired….

"No man…I am pure veggie…" I replied…..

"No eggs too?"

"No…No NV, No Eggs and No Onion…"

"Following Jain system"?

"Ya….but today even eating veg is a problem…."

I described about the finger problem….

"Don't worry, I will help you…wait for a minute"...Keeping the plate on a table, she went inside and brought a safety pin….

"Open both hands "

She pricked on each fingers …….

"Do u feel any difference between the fingers of both hands? "

"No…. almost same….."

"Then it is ookey Aditya…It is coz of blockage in the vain that transports blood….My cousin is a physio…I will call her .She will help you…"

"Its ookey Krithi…..don't disturb her…any way I will be meeting a doc tomorrow…."

"Why u wish to meet a doc..?? it is a silly matter."

"No man…I wish I could manage the night…."

"It's your wish"

"Dharmam sharanam Gachami" I recited…

"Means"?

"Being a family man, it is my dharma to keep myself away from beautiful girls like you and your cousin sister……"

"Samkhm sharanam Gachami"..She replied immediately

"Means?"

"Samkhm means union or company…So It is always safe to be away from the company of mischievous guys"

"Hahahaha…tit for tat….I am flat by now….."

In between, the service boy came and served a piece of butter naan, paneer, portion of fried rice and a glass of juice.

"Ookey Krithi…am leaving ….want to sleep early…C'ya in the morning….."

Moving back to cottage, I tried to sleep…In between Niladri called me over cell….Time was around 9 pm. Since AC was not working, it was hotter inside. I again moved out , sat on a chair and watched the sea…Krithi Bhatia was seen sitting on the turf facing sea with her laptop and arranging the power supply with the help of an electricision. My cell sounded again.….

" Sanjuuuuu"

"Yes baba..boliye"

" Are bhayya…now I am traveling by the Mangalore train from Chennai…..and will be reaching Kannur station by around 1.30 early morning…It stops there for 5 minutes…Am on the way back to Payyannur. Just now only Bharath confirmed that u r in Kannur….Can we meet if possible?"

It was from my very old friend Siraj who is working in Dubai….

"Ya..I will be in the railway station by that time"…

Since the cab by which I came to Kannur from airport was already send back, I rushed to the reception to hire another one…but both cabs belonging to the resort were already left to airport for pickups….

"Sir…one cab is on the way to Wynad from airport to drop somebody…That will be late…Other one might reach here by 12 midnight….can u please wait?" receptionist requested me……..

"Lemme try…."

My waiting crossed over the midnight…But the cab did not arrive…

"Sir it might delay again for another one hour…coz the passengers wanted to dine…"receptionist informed politely….

"It is better to walk down to railway station"

"Sir, please avoid the cantt area….and it is risky to walk down coz of the power cut and dogs"

"No problem…I will take care"

I went back to my cottage, wore a jeans, took my cell…a small torch was attached to it…But unfortunately the battery power was only just manageable…

" Hey…where r u going" ?? Krithy asked me from the turf…

"For a midnightwalk"

Midnight walk? R u mad Aditya??…it is total darkness. can't u hear the hauling sounds, dogs barkings?"

"But no option man…I have to go to station to meet a friend ..Why are you sitting here alone? U could have invited your mom or cousins too"

"I don't afraid anyone. Security man is also with me na….Aditya, am Getting into emotions…..I wanna scribble some thoughts"

" Romantic? Emotional? Sentimental?"

"Will tell u later…..Aditya take utmost care"

"U too"

I left the resort…It was utter darkness every where….No where I could sea a flash of light….Number of dogs played between my legs…..Unknown place, untiming, utter darkness, temp insensitivity on the right hand, inadequate cell battery power , all put together made the situation horrifying….I slowly walked in guess. The dim light from my cell directed the way…..Though I regularly stay over there, I had never explored the surrounding area by walk….

After completing appx: one km, I reached a place from where the road diverted to both left and right. Time was around 12.40 midnight…Dogs continued to lick my shoes….Suddenly I heard a sound…from around 10 mts in front of me…It was a female noise..

 "Beware of dogs, they might bite"

I stood over there for a minute…The lady repeated the sentence again…

"Who r u"? I asked her loudly………

"That is not your concern" She replied immediately………..

"Come near me or else I will approach to you"………..

"Don't try to approach me…. I will jump at you" she replied ……….

"No, U can't…I am approaching you" …I answered boldly….

I moved towards her….wanted to switch on the cell video…But the concern of imminent battery down had prevented me.….I kept my right leg ready for action in eventuality…Reaching around 5 mts closer to her, I tried to find her face…She was short and was wearing a saree…and she did not move at all….number of dogs surrounded us…..Though it was difficult to carry the cell with my right hand coz of temp disablement, I some how fixed it in between middle and right fingers so that I could free my left hand to push her if she jumps at me….the sound of her breath was very much clear……For few seconds we both did not talk at all……I heard some howling sounds raising from near by…..It was a terrible standstill all over…..The echo of Some body's bawl bounced over there…Though I was too closer to her, her face was not clearly visible….She stood there like a statue without any movement. Expecting a sudden attack from her, I raised my right leg almost 2 inches up so that my action would be faster….

"Tell me, who r u"? I asked her…

She once again laughed….

 "Why so much of concern? U do your job and lemme do mine"

"How do u know that I am walking and that too towards you?"

"Don't u know that the wind carries sound and smell "?????

"Who r u?" I asked again…..But she kept mum……

I moved further close to her…………

"I told na , don't move…." She became outrageous………….

I reached just a handstrectch away from her.By next second I was sure, that either she would jump at me or I would catch her. I pointed the cell torch towards her. A beautiful face scintillating one blossomed in front of me…She might be below 30, I was sure. But why she is here? At this time? At this place? What she has been doing  here? That too in utter darkness….??? Questions rushed in the speed of light. I wanted to ask her….But…

Silence continued to brood over…..She stared at me. I was not nervous at all...Instead I was very much cautious. She gave an order to dogs in a language which was unknown and unheard ... Interestingly dogs stooped barking immediately. In between my cell gave a warning signal about the imminent battery down. I really wanted to act then. I knew I was between death and devil. If she dare to jump at me, I knew how to handle to…but if the attack would be in different form ??? She seemed to be the darling of darkness. If the light goes off, she would become the winner…So I had to act first and fast…I positioned myself to bend forward. But before I could move by an inch, she jumped vertically about two meters height and ran towards the left…..All the dogs followed her….The whole area suddenly vibrated with howling noises and dogs barking. I wanted to follow her to unravel the mystery...but, by that time the battery was completely down….Staying over there for another 5 minutes, I proceeded towards the railway station.

"Why she did not attack me? Even she could have followed me and attacked from behind…But why she did not intend???……I tried to find a convincing answer.

Train was late by 20 minutes and stopped over there for another 20 minutes to fill water in compartments….after meeting Siraj, I left railway station by 2.15 am early…to explore the area again ,I did not hire an auto / taxi. But by that time, the power supply had resumed.  I walked towards my cottage. Surpisingly Krithi was seen watching the sea and scribbling something .

"Hey still there ? That too alone?" I asked her….

"Ya…I told u na….am not afraid of any body…but Aditya why so late….?"

"Confronted with an interesting incident, U wanna hear it?"

"Excited ..tell me now itself…."

I briefed her…Her body began shivering, eyes filled with fear…..

"Adi, u have taken a big risk…."

"No problem….am going back to the cottage…. I have to rush to Kasaragod by early morning…..what's your plan?"

"I wanna sit here and complete my blog"

"Ookey….if that lady whom I did confront two hrs ago is a human being, by this time am sure that she might be in deep sleep…But if she is a devil, for sure, she will reach here in search of me…any way u r here na…tell her that am in Cottage number 404."

( Sanju- why u wanna make her afraid?"….." Nila asked me from my heart…..-

"Hey, she just told me that she doesn't afraid anyone i.e. why I played…."I replied to Niladri )

"Ookey Krithi….we will meet….."I said a bye and walked towards to my cottage..

 I walked down about 5 meters….suddently Kriti called me loudly…………

 "Aditya can u come for a minute"??…

"Ya..sure"..I turned back and moved towards her….

"R u an Indian???" This time she asked with so much of scare….

"No…am the rebirth of a Greek lord…."….I continued my fun with her…..

 "Can u hear  howling sounds from that direction? " I asked Krithi pointing my fingers to the direction where I did confront the lady.

Interestingly she did not dare to look at that direction….Instead she stared at me for few seconds. Her face became blurred…Lips quivered….Eyes became red….and body shivered dangerously….Staring at me sharply, she walked backwards with her laptop…After moving back few steps slowly, she ran fast towards the cottage, shut the door with a big bang…..