Seeing the corpses.
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Author: Sohag Dewan
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Then it was late night. The time was the first part of Agrahayan month. Light winter is starting to fall. The village is covered with white fog all around. All the people of this village are now unconscious in deep sleep. Only one person is still awake. And he is Mr. Rafiq. Mr. Rafiq is a local He is a playwright. He is about 40 years old. He is not married yet. There is no one in the family except his mother. He lives with his mother in a small three-room tin house. He is not married at this age yet, so people in the area laugh at him. Of course, Mr. Rafiq doesn't care about what the people of the village say. He walks like him. He is very interested in art and culture. He has been involved in a well-known cultural alliance in the area for a long time. He writes stage plays. Sometimes he writes a couple of songs in the regional language of Feni as a hobby. He also gives his own melody and voice. The songs are very popular in the area. A few days later there is going to be a big fair in the area. There are also arrangements for cultural events Rafiq Saheb K has given the responsibility of writing a play. So he is busy writing till late at night. He almost wakes up that night. At night the environment is calm, there is no noise of people. And such an environment is ideal for writing. On a table next to his room, he sat down to write with a notebook and a pen. But tonight I know why his mind is not sitting on his writing. How depressed his mind is. Even then he is trying to write something because he can't sleep. He is also feeling inside the room. Mr. Rafiq wrapped a sheet around his body. Then he opened the window and looked outside. What a wonderful moonlight. The courtyard is full of moonlight. In that light the fog white line is clearly visible. He wants to go outside. Sitting right in the middle to enjoy the moonlight. At that time the wall clock sounded once. Looking at the clock, it was three o'clock at night. When it was so late, he did not even notice. At that time it seemed that he had to go outside to respond to nature's call. So he wrapped the sheet better. Then he gently unlocked the door and went outside. Len. He came out and felt a cold winter. The winter is getting better. As the night grows colder and colder. Responding to the call of nature, he thought how it is to walk a little from the road. It may cut the depression a little. So he walks towards the road. Gone.
What a serene silence all around. There is no response from the people. What a lifeless village. It seems that no living people live in this village. Only the sound of squeaking insects can be heard nearby. And sometimes the call of foxes from far away comes to his ears. The environment is nothing new to Mr. Rafiq. It is a familiar environment. Those who live in the village know that the villages are like this at night. After walking for some time, he thought it would not be right to stay outside. Now he should go back home. People are coming here. I was a little shocked to see people moving on this road so many nights. Normally there is no movement of people on the village roads at this time. As I approached, I saw Mr. Rafiq and there were four of them and one body with them. Another is giving direction from the front. The white cloth wrapped around the body is very dirty. It seems that the body was lying on the ground for a long time. So there are soil stains all over the clothes.
It seemed mysterious to know how to see the people with the corpse. They all had cloaks and long beards on their faces. The eyes were very small. It seems that there is nothing to say about the eyes. There is only a black hole. What a strange scent of perfume. The smell was so strong that it was almost suffocating. I have never seen these people before. Mr. Rafiq. They do not seem to be the people of this village. Mr. Rafiq must have known this village. Own village.
Mr. Rafiq greeted them and asked - "Where are you going?"
One of them answered "
- To bury the body. "
Mr. Rafiq asked again - "Why so late at night? Besides, there was a graveyard on the side from which you came?"
The man in front replied: "It is a barren corpse. I have visited many cemeteries. But no one is allowed to bury this body in the family or community graveyard. I heard there is a government cemetery in front. I am taking it there."
Mr. Rafiq was a little surprised to hear about the government cemetery. Because Mr. Rafiq did not know that there is any official cemetery in front. But there is a forest a mile away. It is in the possession of the forest department. It is not such a dense forest. Next to it is an abandoned government khas land. Yes. So did the forest department allow it to be used as a graveyard. Mr. Rafiq kept thinking.
After a while Mr. Rafiq asked again: "How did the man die ??"
The answer came - "snake bite"
Mr. Rafiq regretted hearing this. He wanted to know: - "Funeral prayers have been taught?"
- "Yes, no. No."
Hearing this, Mr. Rafiq became upset.
How do I know for the dead person that he became a Maya. A man has died but his close relatives did not know about it. They may still be waiting for his return, how sad his mind became thinking about this. Mr. Rafiq He is indifferent to anything. He does not believe in anything supernatural. He is an atheist. He does not even go near the mosque on Fridays except for Friday prayers. Funeral prayers are just a social ritual for him. He wants to say goodbye to her. He has never done this before. So he expressed his interest to go with them. They also did not object to it. He just smiled a little and agreed. He could be the secret of laughter.
Mr. Rafiq started following them. On the way, Mr. Rafiq suddenly asked: "Which snake is biting, do you know anything?"
The man in front replied: "In Calcutta! He was chopping rice."
- "Where did you come from? Nothing known?"
-Yes, no. But it seems to have come from some part of North Bengal to harvest paddy. "
Mr. Rafiq knows that now is the time to harvest Aman paddy. After a few days, Mete will go from house to house for Nabanna festival. At this time, many people come from North Bengal to harvest paddy in their 'Parashuram' area of Feni district. However, he came alone. Rafiq Saheb kept thinking about this. Besides, the snake infestation has increased in the village lately. To Mr. Ojha. Mr. Rafiq repeatedly said to take him to Parshuram Upazila Hospital. If necessary to take him to Feni Sadar Hospital. But who cares. The people of the village still believe in that superstition. Due to which Chhalim lost his life.
Suddenly a silence came around. Mr. Rafiq said nothing more, he started walking with them quietly. Seeing the movement of their departure, Mr. Rafiq realized that what he had thought was right. They were going towards the forest. At night, no one walks on that path even during the day. However, there is no wild animal in this forest. Some animals like fox and Bagdash live in this forest. It is a forest created by the forest department. It will not last for more than 30-35 years. At one point they reached the edge of the forest. Going there, Mr. Rafiq saw three people already there. And they spread banana leaves on the ground. They took the body and laid it on the banana leaves. Mr. Rafiq noticed what a three people were there. They are looking at him with their eyes. It seems that they did not expect the presence of Mr. Rafiq at all. One by one they are hanging on their shoulders like beggars. Mr. Rafiq got scared at first. Then he saved his courage and asked - "Where is the grave? .
One replied, "The grave is dug in the forest."
- "Are you waiting for someone then" Mr. Rafiq wanted to know.
- "Hmm"
Once again the smell of that strange perfume started coming to my nose. Mr. Rafiq moved away from them. And on this side they are all sitting around the corpse.
After a while, one of them saw Mr. Rafiq coming towards him. The three approached him, took out a packet wrapped in banana leaves from his shoulder bag and extended his hand towards Mr. Rafiq. Mr. Rafiq accepted it without saying a word. After the man left. Mr. Rafiq opens the packet and sees the meat kebab in it. It may be in beef or buffalo meat. Mr. Rafiq doesn't want to eat it, what an aversion he is having. He started to have a different feeling. What a delicious kebab. It seems that he has never eaten such a delicious meat kebab before. He has eaten a lot of kebab of beef or mutton. But it tastes completely different. No.
Suddenly, the togbag togbag sound of the horse's hooves was heard. Gradually the intensity of the sound began to increase. He realized that someone was coming towards him on horseback. At one point, a man came on horseback and appeared. But his presence is much longer than everyone else. His face is white and fair. Seeing him, everyone else moved away from the corpse. The matter seemed suspicious to Mr. Rafiq. He started to get a little scared. So he moved away slowly.
Suddenly he saw the man go straight and put one foot on the chest of the corpse, then with both hands he grabbed the corpse with one hand and pulled it hard. At the same time the hand broke and came into his hand. Just then the rest went and jumped on the corpse Everything seems to be different. What a horrible scene. One is trying to break the skull with something like a mugur. And another has brought a big bone from inside the forest. This scene can no longer be tolerated. The current began to flow. Suddenly he remembered the kebab. What kind of kebab was the kebab he ate a while ago? Isn't it a kebab of dead human flesh? He was about to vomit thinking. Then Mr. Rafiq ran straight to the village without thinking. While running, he saw one time he reached in front of his house. When he came to the front of the house, Mr. Rafiq lost consciousness.
The next morning Mr. Rafiq woke up and saw that he was lying on the bed inside the house. He was surrounded by some people from the village. Everybody started asking what happened last night. But Mr. Rafiq could not say anything. His body is still very weak. Another terrible incident took place last night. The body of Karim Munshi's son Chhalim was stolen from the village cemetery last night.
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Then a few days passed. In the meantime Mr. Rafiq recovered completely. But he had some new problems. How sad his mind is all the time. He has stopped writing completely. Besides, he likes any food cooked at home. No. He wants to eat something now that he can't tell anyone. Is that food? What he can't tell anyone?
Note: The story was written in 2011. It has been renovated in 2019.