LAMBY
He prised the 60s Lambretta from the crowded dingy shed and pushed it out.
The 80 odd nuts and bolts holding the vintage Li 150 series scooter together, shuddered as the wheels rattled and bumped on the bylanes of bhendi bazaar.
Once on the road, he tried to kick start the engine, but the engine failed to crank after a couple of tries.
The mercury had dropped by 5 points since last night.
Unknown to many, petrol is not used in its liquid form by the engine for combustion. It is turned into a vaporized form that mixes with air. Cold weather doesn't allow the petrol to vaporise easily, making it difficult to initiate the combustion.
He was giving a full throttle onto the engine, to vent his frustration, when someone behind him whispered, " Try the choke".
'Of course; silly me', he thought to himself, pulling the choke lever which sucked in the extra fuel by venturi effect, spluttering the 60 year old engine into life.
He turned around to thank the samaritan, who by now was part of the bustling bhendi bazaar fraternity.
He didn't think much of it, later that day or the next.
The day after, however, the vehicle decided to misbehave again. The choke, too, had failed this time.
And when he had resigned himself to push the scooter to the garage, he heard that voice again, " The fuel gauge is empty, switch on to the reserve mode".
"Phew!," he thought to himself. At least he wouldn't have to face an extra bill from the mechanic this month.
Again, the helper had vanished into thin air, much before he could be thanked for his help.
A few weeks elapsed, before he heard that voice again.
That day had started on a sour note, with him forgetting his lunch box and ended once again with him facing the wrath of his manager for not submitting the files on time.
The shadows had started to lengthen and he had to collect his daughter from her friends house.
On this occasion, though,the lamby was not upto any of it's tricks again. He kick stated it and was about to set off home, when he heard it.
Loud and clear, even at 7 pm in the midst of bhendi bazaar chaos.
" The break pads have worn off. You should be careful, especially if Pallu is going to be with you later ".
Even in that late December winter evening cold sweat appeared on his brow. His heart made a double sommersault and jumped into his mouth.
How did he know about the break pads?
How did he know about picking up Pallu?
But above all
Who and where is he?
There was not a soul around him for 10 yards.
Yet, he had heard that voice warning him. He was sure he wasn't hallucinating.
He tried the breaks.
The break pads indeed were not working.
He got off the scooter, trying to rationalise.
"I am Avi", in the absence of anyone around him, that sounded eerie.
"But where are you?
Why can I not see you?", he stuttered with borrowed pretentious courage, trying to hide his cowardice.
"Spirits are not seen, are they Prabhakar? " the eerie feeling metamorphosed into panic and a numb feeling decended all over him. A few seconds later adrenaline kicked in.
He tried to steady himself against the scooter, the palms of his trembling hands drenched in his own sweat.
Fright and flight, often go hand in hand..
"I am not here to harm you. In fact, i have helped you on the past few occasions, haven't I? " the spirit asked genuinely."
Those words gave Prabhakar some solace.
Even in that tricky situation, he found some courage to ask, " What do u want? And why are you after me?"
"What does anyone in life want?
To love and be loved.
To talk to someone and to listen to someone.
All of our other activities are really around this island of love.
When we find that true love, all our battles get realigned.
The difficulty is in finding the true love."
The spirit was speaking spiritedly.
Prabhakar became thoughtful.
Then suddenly realised the gravity of his situation.He was standing in the Bylanes of bhendi bazaar, listening to a ghost discussing love!
"Listen, I have to go and get the break pads sorted out. It was nice talking to you ". He couldn't believe he said that to a ghost!
"The pads are perfectly fine'" the mechanic replied.
How is it possible? , wondered Prabhakar.
The breaks were not working when he had checked them earlier.
Could it be Avi. ..He wondered.
Over the next couple of months, as the dialogues between them became more frequent,
Prabhakar's neighbours and office friends suspicions of him becoming loopy strengthened.
"Today, can I meet the real Avi. " Prabhakar now talked to Avi as a friend. "Whose soul are you, why are u not yet liberated? "
"My soul is linked to your scooter ", Avi replied. Noticing Prabhakar's smirk, Avi added," It's not just humans that one develops an attachment towards."
"This 2 wheels and the heart that runs them has witnessed history unfold." Avi's tone was exceptionally melancholy today.
"The brown colour that you now see on these panels, used to be bright red. That red colour was the talk of
'char bangla', where lamby spent her childhood. There was joy on her face, but not a iota of pride that you see in the Bullets and Harley Davidsons of today."
Avi paused for a few moments and then continued.
" After her first 2 owners, not many bothered to paint her again. Occasionally, someone would tie a garland of jhendu flowers at Diwali, otherwise ' make up ' was not in lamby's fortune".
Lamby has witnessed the delicate, subdued hands of the 60s newlywed bride as she sat on the back seat, maintaining the distance between her husband, and the tight embrace of today's pairs, that leaves little room for imagination.
There were times when Lamby was the fulcrum of the happenings in a society.
At Ganesh Chaturthi, the idol at Pradhan kaka and kaku would be brought on Lamby.
Pradhan kaka would sit behind holding the murthi and Fernandes uncle would drive lamby.!
During Visarjan, Choksi uncle would drive lamby with the murthi and jump in the well along with the murthi shouting, " Bappa Moryaa".
The children in the 'Ever shine society' will remember even now how Santaclaus would ride as a pillion rider on Christmas day on the back of lamby with a rucksack full of toys for the kids. The kids were unaware, but the society member missing was obviously
the Santaclaus! "
During her 6th home, lamby witnessed human nature at its worst and at its best.
Some kids had vented the air from her tyres,
and Gaikwad, having missed his train, vented his fury on them.
The women however got together that May.
That weekend in May, all the housewives prepared pappad and loncha for the whole society. Gaikwad's eldest then drove lamby to the 'Ganna corner' and they all relished the Ganne ka ras whilst rolling those papads.
Gaikwad's eldest, drove to his FYBcom exam venue on lamby. Yet, before he went, he touched everyone's feet in the society.
Silly faith of those times. .
Lamby has faced kicks from many.
She's not averse to those kicks.
But, she feels that those who kick her, should care for her, speak to her.
Not leave her to rot.
In 70s, Sinha sirs feet touched lamby.
There are some feet that grace us by their presence. Sinha sir's feet were such. He neither abandoned his students nor his lamby.
To both, he led them on the right route taking them in the right direction.
The day Sinha sir transgressed an undefined border, his students may or may not have shed a tear, but lamby wished that the ocean would swallow her up."
"Lamby has been part of history and soon she will be history herself. She has heard the sobs and the laughs.
She knows the strength behind some tears and the weakness of those laughter.
For the tears and smiles represent the pent up emotions that are subdued under surface and ready to erupt. They carry behind them untold stories.
Stories that may unravel over time. And hence, they are part of history too.
Lamby's heart will ebb out soon.
Time and tide will eventually grind her into her elements "
And that day too arrived.
"Bhai, Yeh to bhangaar hai.
Baba Aazam ke jamane ka gaadi.
125 rupaya milegaa iska.", the mechanic said tossing the spanner into his tool box.
From that day, Prabhakar didn't hear Avi's voice.
Ever.
Lamby was now rusty,
very much like the rusty old concepts of devotion, gratitude, selflessness, honesty, love and faith.
Like those old values that she had witnessed from the bygone days,
Lamby too, was now confined to history....