Rushiraj Panchal, BJMC 3

(Voice over of an old man)

“Arey aao na

Ke jaan gayi

Jahaan gaya, so jaao

Arey aao na

Ke thak gayi hai zindagi, so jaao”

Black to Fade in, a muslim man in his mid 50s, with rough white beard and poor posture. Walking with the help of a shovel in his hand. In his all white pathani which looks new. Walks into a graveyard and greets the security guard like he has known him for years now. The day couldn’t be scarier to enter the graveyard alone, the silence of the dead lying there is deafening and the whistling of trees just adds up to the creeps that one can feel. There’s a storm coming, and every thunder is an alarm for it today but for him. He walks by the number of graves and seems to look like he’s counting them “98..99..100” his face gives a light smile and he taps the shovel on the ground twice. Continues to walk and finds an empty space. He draws a big rectangle on the ground with his shovel and then looks up to the tree to check if the tree will give shade to that space. 

He starts digging it and the ground has started to ruin the purity of his new pathani. The almost done with what seems to be another resting place for a dead soul, sorry do souls die though? I don’t know. He still indulges in his job and the sound of someone walking a fallen leafs distracts him. It’s a boy who seems to be in his early 20s, looking around with curiosity, certainly visiting a graveyard for the first time. The muslim man looks at him with disgust and shouts at him, “OYE!” and nods, calling him near him. The young guy goes to him and say “ji?” 

“Kiske saath aaye ho?” asks the gravedigger.

“Kisi ke saath nahi, meri school nasdik hai yaha se toh hamesha dekha hai iss jagha ko, aaj socha dekh aau”the young guy explained.

The muslim man isnt very happy with his answer so tells him to leave the place, “Dekhna hogaya ho toh niklo yaha se, yeh jagha tumhare liye nahi hai” 

“Haa main jaanta hoon, par mein jalne se zyada dafan hona pasand karunga.” in a very sensible tone, like he has thought about this a lot.

“Abhi bahot chote yeh saari maaslo pe baatein karne ki liye.”

The young boy sits down on the the edge of the grave that the muslim man is digging. “Aap kabse yeh kar rahe hai?” asks him with curiosity with a serious tone. The man wants to ignore him and trys getting back to digging but after 3 4 seconds of silence, he replies “27 saal” 

“Oh itni toh meri umar bhi nahi hai” tells it to himself and throws another question at the man “aap kitni din yeh kaam karte hai?”

“Rooz”

“Daar nahi lagta?” the young lad.

“Nahi.” the muslim continues with his one word replies

“Par yaha rooz log aate hai dafn hone?” questioning his previous reply

The muslim man drops the shovel on the ground and sits on the edge facing the boy.

“Haa, log rooz marte hai, jee chuke hai zindagi, jitni allah ne deni thi toh kya hi hogaya ke marte hai, mere ghar mein roti isse se aati hai.” the muslim man wipes his sweat and has some water. 

“Toh aapko koi farak nahi padta?” the curious kid.

The muslim man chuckles and its surpising for the young man.

“Raat ko neend kaam aati hai, aur jab aati tab usme sukoon kaha. lagta hai, anjaam toh pata hi hai keh kya hona hai toh jeene ka matlab kya? Fir soche keh maare usse phele jo maar chuke unhi ki kuch madad karde kya pata allah jannat mein hamara bhala karde”

The young man, “kuch aur kyu nahi karte zindagi mein jisse tumhe khushi mile, yeh murdo keh bich kyu reh rahe ho?”

“Toh yeh kon karega?”  offended by the young lad’s question, he continues “koi aur 25 saal ka jawaan aadmi kisi ki kabr khod kar aapni zindagi ko maut ka pegham de isse behtar main hi kardu, naahi chahta keh kisi aur yeh roz maurdo ka chehra dekhna paade kyuki yaad reh jaate hai. Saare chehre yaad reh jaate hai.” 

The thunder that was alarming them, has started crying now.

A large group of people comes in with a body. 

“Jao yaha se” the muslim man orders the young man.

The muslim man helps the group with the body and places it in the grave he was digging. 

His white pathani is completely ruined now.

The young man observes everything as that was what that drove him that. The muslim man after taking his reward, 500 rupees goes towards the young man and say, “bhuk lagi hai?” and tries to clean his white pathani

“Haa lagi toh hai..aur yeh kurta naaya laag raha hai toh isse aise kaam ke liye kyu?” 

“Is kabr keh saath, pura aakda dus hazaar ko chuhta hai.”