The Curse Of The Goddess Read online

The Curse Of The Goddess

  A Novel By

  Ratan Lal Basu

  Copyright 2011 Ratan Lal Basu

  Contents

  Chapter 1: The Nymph

  Chapter 2: The Curse

  Chapter 3: The Lady Professor

  Chapter 4: The Journalist

  Chapter 5: The Mysterious Bhutia

  Chapter 6: The Caves

  Chapter 7: The Plan

  Chapter 8: The Promise

  Chapter 9: Temptation

  Chapter 10: The Tantric’s Cave

  Chapter 11: Tantra Mystery

  Chapter 12: Adventure

  Chapter 13: The Tantric’s Trap

  Chapter 14: Bhutia Riddle

  Chapter 15: Shyamal’s Story

  Chapter 16: Operation Tantric

  The Author

  Chapter 1: The Nymph

  I

  A vast expanse opened up as soon as Nilanjan Roy alias Nil took a U-turn around the steep hill and the panoramic view below enchanted him. The narrow causeway had sloped down with continued bends and lost into the greenery enveloping the village at its upper end and tiny houses of the village below were visible through the crevices of the network of the pines and rhododendrons. The early morning fog had dissipated and ahead to the north the mighty peaks of the Kanchenjunga were now glistening in the sun and the sky above was clear except the patches of sooty clouds floating aimlessly across. The dark nimbus was still hanging motionless at the bottom of the mountain that had risen straight up to the snowy peaks. It is not likely to rain and the day would be a fine one, Nil thought.

  When he had got up early at dawn all his mates at the trekkers’ hut were fast asleep. All except Nil had gone to bed late, drinking and playing card games. Nil did not like to awake the cook boy who was still sleeping and lighting the kerosene stove he prepared a strong raw coffee. The foggy weather outside was charming and the coffee was invigorating. It was extremely cold and he put on a wind protecting jacket over the sweater and tucked with the collar of the jacket the back of the large cap he had bought from Darjeeling. He stepped out the lowly wooden door of the hut and closed it. A chilly breeze greeted him and he shivered as the coldness pierced through the thick walls of the sweater and the jacket. It could be near one or two degrees Celsius he guessed. It was all foggy outside and only the tops of the trees and the crests of the hills showed through the dense fog. Walking in this eerie ambience was enchanting and he started exploring the hills that were scattered picturesquely around the place. He took a causeway that had gone gently down to the north and the walk through the mystic fog exhilarated him. He had now walked for about an hour and gone way off from the hut. His companions were not likely to rise soon but a trip to the beautiful village may take several hours, especially the uphill return journey and by this time they would wake and would be worried about Nil. But he could still spend a few hours and return to the hut before they would wake. He could have a better view from the top of the barren hillock about two hundred meters ahead and even the peaks of Mount Everest to the west of Kanchenjunga might be visible from the top. The hillock was not very high likely to be about hundred meters and it had a gentle slope. So Nil decided to climb the hillock and proceeded toward the bottom of the hill.

  Approaching the foot of the hillock Nil was disappointed to find the approach to the way up cut off by a small stream originating from a cascading spring from the heights. The stream was not more than twenty feet in width and it was shallow. He would have to cross it barefoot, and the water must be very cold and the mossy stones at the bed, slippery. He hesitated for a while and finally decided to have a try. He ought not to give up after getting so close. All of a sudden a chilly gust of wind alerted him and looking up he noticed the mid sky now invaded by the nimbus which was now inflating and spreading like an unfolding blanket and he apprehended it would rain in no time. He knew the hazards of being drenched in this cold weather and so he hastened to return.

  It started drizzling and Nil tried to accelerate the pace of walking but could hardly move faster as the wind was coming from the direction of his movement. He stopped for a while for breath and was panicked to discover that the path he was walking along now was not the one to the hut and in haste he had lost way. He would have to move back and find out the way to the hut and that needed thinking in cool brain.

  He, however, did not find any time to think and plan as it started snowing heavily making everything invisible around. He looked frantically for some shelter but none to be found in this barren hill. The hillside close to him was inclined outward and no nook could be found for shelter and the extreme coldness made him frantic. It would be wise to move downhill and whatever way he took he could somehow reach the village below, he thought. He accelerated pace and almost started running downhill. He suddenly skidded on stray pebbles and started rolling downhill. Fear of falling down into the gorge and death overpowered his sense of pain and freezing cold. Soon he lost sense.

  II

  Nil opened his eyes with efforts and everything appeared hazy at first. He felt languid and tried to recollect what had happened to him but reminiscences were all hazy and incoherent. He closed his eyes again and dozed for a while. Then again he opened his eyes and slowly his vision became clear as the tapestry covering his sight disappeared. He discovered himself on a wooden cot in a small room with slanted asbestos roofs, wooden walls and lowly glass windows through which the distant hills, vales and the clear sky were visible and he racked his brains to realize how he happened to be there, in the strange surroundings. He was covered with a heavy rough blanket but he felt the pinch of the cold weather on his bare face and head. He wore the cap which was lying by the pillow and drew it closer. He turned aside and looked into the inside of the room which had a small door at the right corner. A Lepcha boy of about twelve years with a shabby tattered coat and bare head was standing a few feet from his bedstead and looking indifferently out the glass window at the other side. His unclean round face was chapped at places and covered with specks and coagulated mucous.

  Gradually the haziness of his memory disappeared and he could remember everything since the morning – his misadventure at dawn, the snow storm, his losing way and being senseless. But how come he happened to be here in the strange ambience? Did this boy rescue him and brought him over to this room? That was impossible he thought. The tiny boy could hardly carry his bulk. It must be someone else. May be it was the father of the boy or some older companion. He should ask the boy and get everything clear. His mates at the hut must be worried by now. They had to be informed somehow – by this boy or his older companion. He looked out the other window and noticed far away below the roofs of some houses of the village peeping through the network of pines. So he was close to the village but must be at the outskirt, he guessed. He now felt hungry and thirsty.

  ‘Hey’, he called the boy with effort as weariness had almost choked his voice and his voice sounded like ‘eh’ which gave the boy a start and he promptly looked back and a sweet smile played on his chapped lips. He looked happy to find Nil regaining consciousness and hastened close to his bedstead and asked in a sweet effeminate tone, ‘kasto chha daju?’ (how do you feel my elder brother?)

  With utmost efforts Nil cleared his voice and blurted out, ‘ramro’ (well). Then he asked the boy if he could get him some warm water for drink.

  ‘Certainly’, the boy replied with alacrity and his small but shining eyes revealed that he was intelligent. ‘I may also prepare tea for you if you like.’

  ‘Sure. Strong tea without milk, but get me some water first.’

  The boy turned for the door and before he could reach the door a tall Lama in deep red robe, shaved head, large forehead and bright e
yes appeared at the door and said in a heavy voice, ‘how do you feel now young man?’

  ‘Well, but languid.’

  ‘Take spice tea and all your weariness would be gone.’

  ‘Where am I now?’

  ‘You are at my cottage at the outskirts of the village. The village downhill is only a few minutes’ walk.’

  ‘Is it you who had rescued me from the deadly snowstorm and brought me over to this place?’

  ‘No,’ the Lama smiled affably, ‘I rarely get out of this place. It’s the blessed girl Doma who has rescued you. She has a divine power and can sense who is in danger around this place and promptly moves to the spot to rescue the victim.’

  This gave Nil a start, a girl had rescued him. She must be strong. Is she beautiful? Nil queried himself.

  Suppressing his sudden emotion Nil asked, ‘where is she?’

  ‘Gone out to inform your friends at the trekkers’ hut and she’s likely to return soon and I believe your friends would accompany her.’

  ‘How did she know that I had been in the trekkers’ hut?’

  ‘Very easy. You’re a Bengali from outside and all outsiders put up at the hut as there’s no other place for the outsiders to stay here.’

  The boy returned with a glass of water and Nil gulped it hurriedly. ‘Need more?’ The boy asked. ‘No, you now get the tea’, Nil replied. The boy smiled affably and left.

  ‘Okay take spice tea and biscuits and thereafter take rest till the girl returns.’

  The Lama left and Nil’s mind drifted aimlessly. ‘How does the girl look? Must be pretty and charming.’ A feeling of thrill coursed through him to think of the girl embracing and carrying his unconscious body. He turned toward the outer window close to his bedstead and looking out watched the valley lined with pines and rhododendrons and the distant hills looked deep blue with patches of white cloud stacked in the crevices and the snow plastering the crest scintillating in bright sunshine. There was no sign of the snowstorm in the clear sky, but the coldness was pinching. He drew down the cap and tightened the back close to the collar of his jacket and covered his head and face with the blanket keeping only the eyes outside. He was amazed to think of the fickleness of the weather here. ‘Hills are always unpredictable like the young girls’ Nil said to himself and was again thrilled to think of his rescuer. The umbrella like foliage of the large pine tree bending inward from the edge of the hill that had sloped steeply down to the valley, was swaying in the gentle breeze spreading in the air powdery spores that hung on the air for some time and floated down to dissipate slowly. The shorter pines were still covered with snow and looked like white umbrellas. His cot was small and there was a similar cot at the other end of the room and it was heaped with blankets and pillows and there were a few small stools and a small wooden table in the room. On the rope diagonally tied across the room were towels and red robes and on the wooden shelves jutting out of the walls were stacked heavy books. ‘These may be sacred Buddhist texts’ he thought. At the corner of the room there was a large statue of Buddha and the image of a grotesque goddess alongside. There were flowers at the feet of the deities and utensils of various designs and small instruments for worship. He had once seen them in a Tibetan museum at Gangtok.

  ‘Daju cha.’ (here’s your tea elder brother).

  Nil looked back and found the boy standing with a large porcelain cup and some biscuits. The boy pushed the table close to the bedstead and placed the cup and the plate of biscuits on it. The spice tea was a bit pungent but Nil liked it and got refreshed after a few gulps. The boy stood like a spring doll and watched him taking tea and biting the biscuits. The biscuits whetted his suppressed appetite and he felt morbidly hungry.

  ‘Can you prepare some food for me? I feel very hungry.’

  ‘We’ve only egg-noodles. Like it?’

  ‘Why not?’ Nil said in a lively tone, ‘prepare it as early as possible. Hunger is biting my stomach.’ The boy nodded and left. Nil was surprised to hear the vigor of his own voice which was choked only a few minutes ago. The spice tea had worked like magic, he thought.

  Nil now looked again out the window at the distant hills and fragments of reminiscences started streaming relentlessly through his mind. He was drowsy now and in intermittent dozes odd dreams started drifting through his mind.

  In the mystic world of his dreams he got transported back to his adolescence running across a lush green field, hand-in-hand with the neighboring girl Mili. All of a sudden the field turned into a barren hilly tract and Mili’s face turned into that of a Lepcha girl and suddenly everything changed and he was with his college mates taking cold drinks from a Calcutta stall at College Street which again turned into a church and he was now alone stepping down a staircase into a dark pit and his legs skidded and he started falling in the fathomless pit and his sleep broke and he was relieved to realize it was just a horrible dream, but he was perspiring even in this cold weather. He removed the blanket for a while to cool off.

  Mili was his lone friend from the very childhood. After he got admitted to a Calcutta College Mili regularly wrote him mails and he replied promptly. In summer and puza vacations he used to return to his village and could meet Mili who was then studying at a local college. They used to meet under a tree at the bank of the river at the outskirt of the village and talked hours on end about their future. After he had passed the B. Sc. exam with first class he got admitted to the University of Calcutta but Mili was plucked and her parents arranged for her marriage. Mili wrote him about her predicament as she was not willing to marry anybody else but Nil and requested him to come back immediately and convince her parents. He learnt from his mother that they may postpone the wedding only if they were assured that Nil would marry Mili within two years. But how could he marry before he passed the last exam and got a job? He desired her no doubt but he had nothing to do at that moment. So he did not reply Mili and in disgust she consented to the arranged marriage, but later on he learn that she still loved him.

  After Mili’s marriage he lost interest in everything and his results of the M.Sc. exam was not satisfactory but fortunately he got a lecturer’s job at a Calcutta college and he readily accepted it as with his results it was no longer possible to get a chance in the Ph. D. course in any US university and thus his long cherished dream was shattered.

  Many girl students and some female colleagues wanted to be intimate with him, may be because of his extremely handsome appearance, but he always dissuaded them. Then he came upon a saffron clad religious man and became his disciple. The man appeared very wise and Nil along with other disciples was highly impressed by his wisdom and he suggested Nil to be an ascetic and never to marry.

  One day the man was arrested for stealing gold ornaments from a temple of goddess Kali. The police also interrogated and harassed Nil and other disciples of the fake religious man. Nil got completely disillusioned and frustrated. Then all of a sudden he came upon Mili again.

  It was two months’ summer vacation and Nil was touring various hill towns. At Simla he came upon Mili whose husband was then working at a private firm at the hill town and she had two children. She discovered him at a fancy goods stall. He at first could not recognize her as the lean girl had now become a robust full fledged lady. She called him aloud, ‘hey Nil, you’re here?’

  Finding Nil glancing at her with bewildered eyes she giggled and in a moment he could recognize her and replied. ‘I’m here to visit this hill town, but how come you’re here?’.

  Her eyes brightened and Nil’s heart fluttered to find her devouring him with her glance. They explained to each other how they happened to be there and then she invited him to her husband’s flat. It was not far off from the stall and after she had purchased porcelain tea cups and plates they proceeded on foot to her flat. They felt as though they had been back to their childhood days and both were ebullient and talkative. Her hubby was now in office and children at school. He sat in the large well decorated drawing room and she went inside
to get changed and prepare coffee and some food for him. He told her to prepare coffee only as he had taken heavy breakfast only a few minutes ago. After twenty minutes she returned with the coffee. She was now only with a mini skirt and lingerie above hardly covering her huge boobs. Nil felt embarrassed to have an immediate hard on. As soon as he had finished the coffee she hugged him hard uttering madly, ‘I love you Nil, I love you’ and her tongue was inside his mouth in no time. Nil could not restrain himself.

  He stayed at Simla for about two weeks and every night he felt moral prick and vowed not to meet her again but when she came to pick him up at noon he could not keep his vow. After return to Calcutta he was languishing in guilt consciousness. Soon he got a mail from Mili that she was missing him badly and coming to Calcutta very soon. He did not reply her and left Calcutta so that he was not again trapped into the vice. To avoid Mili permanently he sought a job outside Calcutta. The non-academic atmosphere at the college was also against his ethics. Nil started working as a free lance journalist and remained outside Calcutta for some time. He completed his Ph. D. in the mean time. His guide introduced him with Rajib Mitra, a business man running several private educational institutes. He soon joined Mr. Mitra’s institute.

  From his very childhood he liked hill trekking and so when he learnt that some of the journalists known to him were going out for a trek at Sandhak-Fu hills he opted to join them.

  III

  ‘Your friends are coming. I’ve seen them at the turn of the road uphill and they’ll be here in no time.’ The voice of the boy drew Nil back from the past. He hesitated to ask if the girl was with them. He wanted to get rid of Mili because of her overwhelming lust but he still loved her and could not forget her and no other girl, however beautiful, could attract him. But now he again felt spontaneous attraction for the Lepcha girl even before seeing her.

  The boy told that he had seen them at the last bend where the causeway to this cottage was connected with the downhill track to the village. They were likely to come in about half an hour, Nil thought. The boy told that he had seen two men along with the mystic girl. The two men were for sure his fellow trekkers. His heart leapt up as the thought of the girl. ‘How does she look? Could she be ugly? It is impossible’, he thought. The way the Lama talked about her she ought to be beautiful. He could not hold himself. Half an hour seemed to be eternity. He sat up on the bed and felt his debility was gone. He was no longer feeling chilly. The vital heat had returned. He could now go out and look for them.

  ‘Help me out of bed’, Nil requested. The boy promptly came close to his bed and extended his hand. No much effort was needed for him to get down the cot. He got his jacket and cap fastened tightly and felt comfortable. As he made for the door, the boy who was closely following him now said ecstatically, ‘daju, you’re perfectly fit now.’ Nil came out of the room and stepped down the wooden stairs to the small courtyard of the cottage. The distant hills now looked hazy as clouds were again gathering around the crests and moving slowly toward the mid sky. They were pure white cirrus different from the sooty ones that meant rain or snowfall. He noticed below three humanoid figures in the crevice between two clusters of pines in a flash and they disappeared again behind the thick pines. Now it could be a matter of ten minutes or thereabouts.

  He stepped forward to the corner of the steep slope that went down straight up to the bend of the causeway leading to this place. He stood leaning against the pine that had taken a kinky bent into the slope of the hill and he watched the gentle breeze playing on the foliage spreading like an umbrella. The entire path zigzagging up to the Lama’s cottage was now distinctly visible and he discovered them turning the last bend and climbing the last part of the causeway about fifty feet away. He could recognize two of the fellow trekkers, Jibes Tribedi and Suresh Thawre and the girl was in a multi colored robe, a red ribbon fastening neatly her thick black hair and her round face was devastatingly pretty. Nil grabbed the pine trunk hard to restrain the trepidations of his heart. He felt terribly nervous. He could not make out how to initiate talks with her. He started constructing sentences and dismissing them and trying again. Then he heard the loud ‘hello’ form the two friends who rushed toward him and shook hands warmly. Doma stood close by with a charming smile in her lips and her eyes shining mystically.

  ‘Oh, we feel relieved to see you perfectly well’, Jibes said.

  ‘We were really worried to learn about your condition from the hill girl, and did not waste a moment to start for this place’, Suresh said panting, as the uphill journey had already made him breathless.

  ‘You better get inside and talk,’ Doma said in a sweet voice and they made for the cottage and Nil felt with relief that the company of the friends had helped him overcome the nervousness and he told Doma in a normal voice, ‘I don’t find any words to thank you for saving my life.’

  Doma said politely, ‘you need not thank me; it’s not me but God who hath saved your life.’

  The three of them were served with spice tea and locally made biscuits. Doma came into the room and shrugging off all his nervousness Nil inquired about how she had found and rescued him. She displayed a sweet smile, squinted and a mystic glint played in her small but beautiful eyes. She slowly unraveled the entire incident with minute details. Snowfall had a special attraction for her since her very childhood and she liked waltzing under snowfall. This day too she was exhilarated as snowfall started all of a sudden without any prior indication. She was then gossiping with her brother and sisters. She immediately got dressed up in warm clothes and with her large umbrella went out into the snow and she had to open the umbrella to protect her head as the snow was now falling in hard beads. She started singing and dancing in tune with the ringing noise made by the beads as they struck the hard rocks. Suddenly her sixth sense gave an alarm and she felt someone must be in danger. This queer feeling used to come from the depth of her mind if somebody in this hill region was ever in danger, and nobody could explain this supernatural faculty of Doma. The Lamas and the monks explained this to be a rare gift of the god, she being the favored and blessed one. This caused her much embarrassment as everyone revered her and considered her different from them. She felt her special power only if somebody was in danger. Otherwise she was an ordinary girl but nobody would believe her and considered her to be a heavenly nymph born as a human.

  Like her earlier experiences, this time too, Doma went into sort of trance, moved ahead like an automaton being driven by some unknown force beyond her control and reaching at the spot she was panicked to find Nil lying prostrate like a corpse, snow beads lashing him mercilessly. She held her hand to his nostrils and was relieved to find him still breathing though mildly. She immediately lifted him on her back and by instinct his hands entwined her neck. Holding his hands tight on her chest by one hand and the umbrella by the other, she proceeded toward the village cautiously as any false step could be fatal.

  The eyes of the two friends got enlarged to hear about the strength and prowess of the girl and blood rushed to Nil’s head to visualize himself on her back entwining her neck and his hands resting on her chest.

  Coming near the Lama’s cottage, she thought it would be wiser to carry him to the cottage as the village was far down and she could not waste time considering his precarious condition. Moreover she also felt a bit tired after carrying his bulk to this distance. The approach to the hut was a steep rise and coming to the bend from where the causeway had emerged, she called aloud the boy and seeing her both the boy and the Lama climbed down and helped her carry Nil into the outer room of the cottage. Laying him on the cot the Lama loosened his garments, covered him with heavy blankets and examined his breathing and eyes. The Lama immediately held to his nostrils an herbal medicine for inhaling till his breathing became normal and thereafter forced open his mouth and dropped some powder on Nil’s tongue. He assured Doma, ‘don’t worry, the danger is over now. He would recover in half an hour. There’s no doubt this Bengali young man is a trekker
and you may find his mates at the government trekkers’ hut. In case they are out trekking drop the word to the caretaker or attendants. So hurry up and go to the hut; his mates might be worried over his delay in returning.’

  Doma immediately started for the trekkers’ hut. It was good luck that the trekkers had taken it as a rest day and all of them were in the hut. Learning about the incident, Jibes and Suresh immediately got ready to accompany her to the Lama’s cottage.

  Nil and his two friends thanked her for saving Nil’s life and she with a sweet smile said, ‘it’s not me but God who hath saved his life. In fact, I was forced to do this by the power of God which had nestled in me for the time being.’ The Lama supported the view of Doma and explained that everything in our lives happen by the will of God and we are but playthings at the hands of the almighty.

  The girl now looked intently at Nil’s forehead and asked how he had got the trident mark on his forehead. Nil smiled and said that he had this since his birth and it was a mystery to everybody and there had been many explanations so far, but the rational ones opined that this was but a freak of nature. The girl called the Lama and showed him the sign and talked for a while in a local dialect. The Lama started nodding his head again and again and Nil and his friends realized that they were talking about the sign on his forehead but could not understand what they were talking. However, their gestures assured them that there was nothing mischievous about the sign. While asked the Lama said, ‘this is the sign of Lord Shiva and a very sacred sign for a Hindu. We’re in some problem and he with this auspicious mark may be of some help. I’ll explain this to you later on.’

  Before they left Doma once again had some talks in their dialect with the Lama and asked them,

  ‘what is your trekking schedule for tomorrow, would you leave the hut early?’

  ‘As we are all very tired we’ve decided to trek some small hills tomorrow and would leave the hut late, say at about 11 a.m.’, Jibes replied.

  ‘When would you return to Calcutta?’

  ‘We’ll trek three more days and thereafter leave for New Jalpaiguri from where by train to Calcutta.’

  ‘Okay, tomorrow I’ll visit your hut long before your trekking starts.’

  His friends asked Nil again if he was in a condition to undertake the troublesome uphill journey to the hut. He felt now perfectly well and responded smiling, ‘it would be no problem.’

  ‘In case he feels uncomfortable on the way don’t hesitate to return and the girl would later on accompany him to the hut whenever he is completely fit,’ the Lama reminded them.

  All the way to the hut Nil remained obsessed with the thought of Doma, her shining eyes, sweet accent of speaking Hindi and also of her talks with the Lama about the trident sign on his forehead. He responded laconically to the queries of his friends who, thinking him to be exhausted because of the horrible experience, decided not to disturb him. They started hollering and exclaiming as new views opened up in every turn of the zigzag track.

  It was almost dark when they reached the hut. All the trekkers were relieved to find Nil perfectly fit and in vigorous health. They had already seen Nil and his two companions from a distance and ordered the cook to prepare momos and coffee. Nil was now terribly hungry and devoured a lot of momos and two cups of strong coffee without milk and sugar. The porters and the guide assembled around them and looked at Nil with deep reverence, he being the blessed one to get the help of the divine girl. They had strong belief that everything was ordained by god to get him acquainted with the nymph who was known and revered by every hill people around the place. Nil’s inadvertent venture, being in danger and being rescued by the girl, all were pre-arranged by god. Their belief was strengthened when Nil told about the interest of Doma and the Lama in his trident mark and their desire to seek his help to resolve a problem.

  The guide told Nil and his trekker friends the legends about the girl who, according a Nepali Hindu monk, had been an apsara dancer (celestial nymph) in the court of Lord Indra, the king of the Hindu gods. In the heaven she had seduced the husband of a powerful goddess and the angry goddess cursed her to be born as a human being. After her birth as a Buddhist Lepcha girl, she prayed to Lord Buddha, who blessed her with the assurance that if she could perform some pious deeds she would be free from the curse and would once again return to the court of Indra. The Lord now had made arrangements to facilitate her pious deeds and they believed Nil was a part of that divine design.

  Nil could not sleep well that night and dozed with mysterious dreams. His mind was preoccupied with the myths of Doma and his miraculous involvement with her and the problem of the Lepchas.

  In his dream he found himself in a vast flat ground by the side of a half frozen lake encircled by snow covered lofty peaks. He realized it was the Kailas mountain and the lake was Manas Sarovar, the abode of Lord Shiva. He was in god’s attire, the garments sequined with scintillating gold threads. His large crown was adorned with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other gems. He was ushered by the horned Nandi god into the foggy place and found Lord Shiva in deep meditation and an apsara prostrating at his feet. The apsara was none but the Lepcha girl Doma. He wanted to move forward to reach near her but being pushed by Nandi god he fell on the snow and started rolling down and his sleep broke. He again fell into doze and now he was racing after a girl in a vast barren field mystified with a mellow blue light. The face of the girl interchanged between Mili’s and Doma’s. The distance between them got shortened and as soon as he tried to touch her, she vanished and reappeared at a distance beckoning Nil. He again got closer and the girl vanished again and his sleep broke. Next time he discovered himself in a semi-dark cave, amidst horrible ghosts. The ghosts started closing in with clenched teeth and he shrieked out loudly. The trekker nearest to him asked, ‘what happened?’ Then he came over to Nil’s bed and removed his hands from his chest and said, ‘don’t sleep on your back with your hands on the chest.’

  Nil blubbered out in sleepy voice, ‘sorry for disturbing your sleep.’ He turned to the side but could not sleep for the rest of the night. Next morning all the trekkers got up early and started packing up necessary things for the day’s trek. The guide started giving instructions showing the map of the hills to be trekked. Doma came at 9 a.m. and got right to business,

  ‘we are in a fix and we seek Nil’s help. The Lama is willing to talk with him about the matter. Can you please spare him if, of course, he is willing to help us postponing trekking? We’d arrange for his return and he would join you at New Jalpaiguri on the day of your departure.’

  ‘We’ve no problem if Nil himself is willing’, the leader of the team replied.

  ‘Gladly’, Nil replied promptly and he looked ecstatic.

  ‘But don’t fail to reach New Jalpaiguri on time’, the leader reminded Nil.

  Nil bade good bye to his friends and proceeded for the village with Doma.