In the middle of the evening market, there Is a little shop which sells different things in different seasons. In summers, they serve flavored Soda, Squashes, and ice creams. And in winters, they generally rely on Boiled eggs and omelets. The owner of the shop is a middle-aged Sikh gentleman, called Manjeet Singh. He was famous for his fresh soda, delicious omelets, and funny anecdotes. His shop was quite popular among students who go to tuition classes and among those who bunk classes frequently.
Their daily Customers were Hunny and Bunny. If we talk about Hunny, his build doesn't look like a fourteen-year-old kid. He looked more like a grown-up man. His chest was naturally broad, and his arms were big. On the other hand, he is known for using his strength more than his mind.
Bunny was small, but a sharp guy. He analyzes things before taking any decision. He never flows with the emotions and knows when to start and when to stop.
They both were special customers of Manjeet and they always get flavored soda, irrespective of the season.
One thing which is common between them is their differences, which make their bond so strong.
And yes, they both are ultimate pranksters.
Just a week before, bunny talked to one of his classmates on phone for more than one hour in a girl's voice. That poor guy brought a bunch of red roses for a girl studying in another section. And no points for guessing, the principal called his parents to see her in her office. No one knows who did that prank, but yes, they are very good at it.
Sitting on the bench inside Manjeet's shop, and holding glasses of orange-flavored soda, they both were discussing the last night's match.
'You know Dada wears a piece of elephant tooth around his neck to perform well in every match.' Hunny said while folding the arm of his t-shirt.
'From where do you get this cheesy news, you dumbass?' Bunny said while poking his finger on his belly.
'Arey! I listened to it on the radio last night.' he took out his brand-new yellow color Walkman from his bag.
'From where did you get this?' Bunny asked.
'I bought it from my pocket money he said while taking out earphones from his bag.
'Pocket Money? How much can you save from the two rupees you get every day? If you have that much money, at least clear Manjeet Paaji's balance amount.' he raised his voice so that Manjeet could listen to their conversation.
'You know what, keeping an elephant's tooth is a black magic trick. You can't imagine how dangerous these black magic tricks are. ' Manjeet said without giving attention to monetary discussions they were having.
'Oh, Paaji how do you know all this?' Hunny said, relieved that Manjeet didn't ask for a month-old pending balance.
'Arey, I was in Himachal for more than ten years. I have seen all these things from my own eyes. I have encountered Chudails, Pishach, and many other demons on the hills. These things are not new for me.'
Hunny was less excited and more afraid listening to all this. But Bunny was chilled out, more eager to listen to the details.
'Oh then? What did you do?' Hunny asked again.
'I Didn't run away, never. I faced that lady in white, whose feet were backward. My eyes got red and she couldn't face my anger. She ran away like a kid. They only attack weak souls and I belong to the family of truck drivers. Anger is our trademark.' Manjeet's voice was raised. People who were busy with their grocery shopping started peeping inside the shop, thinking that an argument is going on.
'You are so brave Manjeet Paaji, just like our Taara Paaji. He was also a truck driver, you know. He went all the way to Pakistan to get her wife back.' Hunny said with a twinkle in his eyes.
But Bunny was silent. Something was tickling him from inside.
He stood up and gestured to Hunny that it's time to go home.
'What are you thinking Hunny?'
'He didn't even ask money for the soda we just had'
Bunny spanked hard on Hunny's back and both of them walked towards their home, which was very near to the evening market.
......................................................................................................................
The power cuts were common those days. In January, when the whole city was freezing, power cuts made less difference to anyone.
It was 9.40 PM when Bunny called Hunny on their landline phone and called him outside of his house.
After twenty minutes or so, Hunny came out with Walkman in his hands, without hands-free cable. He was listening to a remix version of an old song called Kaanta Laga.
'You know Bunny, the girl in the video of this song died because she made a tattoo on her arm. These needles cause cancer, you know.' Hunny said.
They start walking towards the gate of the street. Hunny was talking continuously but Bunny was revising the plan he made in his mind. He couldn't afford to make any mistake. He gave a washed handkerchief to Hunny and told him to tie it around his face.
'But what in the world you are trying to do?' he asked while tying up the handkerchief.
'You want to dance?' he asked
'Of course, I would love to. You know I learned that famous step, you want to see?'
He crisscrossed his feet and started jumping
'Aae Mere Dil Tu Gaye jaa
Hey aa Hey aa oh aa hey yaa'
He sang and danced, trying to imitate a Hindi film star.
'Stop jumping like a maniac you dumb ass' Bunny pushed him to walk faster.
They both hid behind a little wall near the street's gate.
'Hunny! Listen to me very carefully. Wear the Cap of your hoodie and don't remove the handkerchief, no matter what will happen.' he explained to Hunny in a mere whisper.
'When I'll tell you to dance, dance like a maniac. When I'll tell you to run, run like a maniac, do you understand?'
'Yes brother, but why the hell will we dance in the middle of the street, in the middle of the night? It's freezing man, and you want to dance.' Hunny complained.
'Don't use your mind so much, your knees will start aching. just do what I tell you to do.'
Hunny held his knees and nodded.
Bunny was looking at his radiant, digital watch again and again. And suddenly, the voice of an old scooter's engine was audible to them.
'Wear your cap and follow me' he said
Bunny started walking more like a zombie in the middle of the street. And behind him, Hunny, who looked like a mountain, started dancing like a monkey. The man on the scooter reduced his speed as he came nearer to them. Now Bunny started making strange metallic voices, which was so creepy that even the dancing Hunny was shivering.
The man left his scooter on the road and ran backward for a while. Bunny started running behind him. The man, who was wearing a blanket around his shoulders, removed it and threw it on the ground, and ran for his life. He was shouting for help at the top of his voice.
Bunny stopped as he listened to the gates opening of various houses on the other side of the road. He ran behind the parked cars and scooters before anyone could see him. He looked for Hunny behind the street's gate.
A cold sweat moved from his forehead to his cheek when he saw Hunny still dancing like a maniac in the middle of the street.
He threw an empty plastic water bottle towards him to catch his attention. And it worked. Hunny stopped dancing and hid near Bunny, behind a white color Maruti 800.
Bunny punched hard in his belly when he felt something rock solid under his Hoodie.
'Kaanta Laga
Haye Laga
Bangle ke pichhe'
His Walkman, which he was hiding under his Hoodie, came to life and started playing that retro-Remix song, whose model died because she made a tattoo on her arm.
'Hunny close this shit and run for your life, you dumb ass'.
They ran without looking back, and thankfully, no one saw them.
'Who was that Man? And why you did this to him?' Hunny asked him.
'You didn't recognize him? He was Manjeet Paaji. He came to ask for the money for the soda we had in the evening.'
'You little devil, why you did this to him? And why the hell you made me dance like shit in front of him?' he said holding Bunny's neck tightly in his arms.
' Didn't you see how afraid he was? I wanted to see the bloodshot eyes of the proud offspring of the Truck driver's family.' Bunny was laughing and catching his breath, trying hard to come out of the reach of the strong arms of Hunny.
They both were sitting on Parked scooters in the middle of the night near their homes.
'I can't forget your dance till the last breath of my life, you dumbass.' Bunny lied on the scooter, laughing like a maniac.
Hunny was embarrassed for a moment and then joined him in the laughter.
Bunny punched hard on his belly again.
'Bangle ke pichhe
Teri beri ke niche'
They both sat on the floor, enjoying the uncontrollable laugh and ReMix Version of the song playing on Hunny's Walkman.
......................................................................................................................
The next evening they both went to Manjeet's shop to see him and to drink lemon soda.
'What happened Paaji? Are you sick? You are looking weak.' Hunny asked in uncontrollable excitement.
Bunny poked his elbow in his belly, gesturing him to shut his mouth.
'Arey Hunny Bhai, you won't believe what I saw last night. As a daily routine, I was going to feed leftovers of eggs and bread crumbs to the stray dogs near the main road, when I saw two deadly ghosts walking on the road. I understood the situation very well and parked my scooter near the park. I ran behind them with my bloodshot eyes. They both ran away. But you know ghosts suck up your energy from distance. If they had caught some weaker guy like Bunny, they would have made Keema of him.' Manjeet said in a single breath.
They both control their laughter.
'I was down with a little fever last night, but now I'm perfectly fine. What will you have? Lemon or orange?'
'Paaji you are so brave, just like Taara Paaji. Long live Manjeet Paaji. Long live Taara Paaji.' Hunny said lifting his fist in the air.
Manjeet was smiling. He was happy with the delicious pudding served to his ego. But something made his smile fade. It was the real incident that happened last night.
They both sat on the bench, enjoying their respective sodas. For a change, they paid money and started leaving from there.
'Hunny Bhai, you both must be very careful. There's a big fat ghost in your locality, who is known for dancing like a maniac on the middle of the road.' Manjeet said with a sense of care in his voice.
'Sure Paaji, we'll take care of it' Bunny replied.
They were laughing like hell to their home.
......................................................................................................................
That night, they both were sitting on Parked scooters in front of Hunny's house. He was holding a torchlight and told Bunny to bring his bicycle. They attached the torchlight in front of his bicycle to have a better vision in the dark.
Hunny was riding and Bunny was sitting silently on the carrier behind him. Hunny was whistling and Bunny was smiling, remembering the prank they did last night.
Suddenly Hunny applied brakes with all the force he had. Bunny slapped his back and told him to ride. But Hunny was all numb. Bunny tried to see the situation when he saw two figures in all white right in the middle of the road. The bigger one was dancing, spreading his arms in the air. The smaller one was dragging his feet and slowly coming towards them. They couldn't move for a while. It was Bunny who dragged Hunny from the Bicycle and they both ran for their life, screaming at the top of their voices, leaving their torchlight attached bicycle on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment