From Udhanpotan Saah Bagicha

This about a man; lean, dark and shabby, perhaps in his very late sixties what I remember. 'Budhu Kokai' everybody in Udhanpotan Tea estate from Bara Saheb - Hemen Kotoki to Chutki, five year old daughter of Jibon Kuki and Mina Kuki knew the angry old drunkard.  Budhu was a popular figure in our coolie lanes, you would always see him fighting and yelling at someone, even at his old goat. His wife was long dead and she bore him no children; he never married twice. He was not like this, he was a jolly fellow like most Tea Garden folks, always in merry mood and smiling and laughing and yes loved hariya the local drink. Never said no to any work assigned, very prompt and hardworking.

They say it was after his wife's death that he turned into this angry man, a mad man. Lot of story telling went around at time of her death, some say it was a failed witchcraft that killed her, she was desperate for a child. Budhu had been to town on that fateful day and only returned late at night to discover what has happened. He knew she was visiting some tantrik even after his repeated requests not to do so. They had big fights about it too.

After her death Budhu went in search of this tantrik, some say he found him and killed him; others believed he could never find the tantrik and became mad. His anger became more and more violent with each passing year. He drank a lot and would pick a fight with anyone and everyone. He stopped visiting the church and rumors spread Budhu has been taken over by the Devil. He lost his job, sold or gave away all his belongings for hariya. He passed his nights in an abandoned railway signal room on the southern edge of the tea estate beyond the big banyan tree. But for strange reasons he kept his goat; he would take her for grazing, bring her leaves of Jackfruit tree everyday and even give her a wash at times. Most of us have heard him shouting at the goat, but he would never hurt her.

Only other thing apart from hariya and that old goat, Budhu Kokai was very fond of Chutki, may be Chutki was the only person he was not angry with. He always told her stories about his adventures when he was a boy. He use to say, "Mina you are so lucky to have such a beautiful daughter, you should take good care of her and never be angry with Chutki. Are you listening Mina? Send her to School that is the only way she will realize her beauty, it is very important. Our Chutki should not become a dumb coolie like you. Do you even understand what I say, Mina? " After he died he was buried at the end of last the nala between his abandoned railway signal-room and the big banyan tree. There was nobody to put a flower at his grave that day and none from church came, no one mourned his death. His goat was sacrificed for Kali Puja feast that year. We all forgot about Budhu kokai too soon.

Now after these many years of his death you see so many flowers on his grave, there is a shade over it,  they clean it every day, twice. Only yesterday they even put up this new statue of him, it looks more like that Sai God from south nothing similar to Budhu Kokai I knew. People from all over the State come here to offer, there is always long queue every Sunday. I have even heard that some people came from as far as Kolkata and Mumbai. Its a shrine now, Budhu Kokai'r Dham they call it.

How it all begin? It was one of the hot Summer noon almost five years had passed since Budhu's death; end of July or start of August I don't remember exactly. That day at school Chutki's confronted couple of boys in her class over the ever trifling matter of boys being better than girls. Offended by her smart answers they poured ink on her shirt and when she complained Mukul Sir did nothing; he said it was by mistake and she should forgive them. A furious Chutki reached home only to find the door locked, Mina forgot to keep the key under the Tulsi tub, she sat on the steps for some time before she realized how hungry she was, insult, ignorance and now this. She could take it no more; hunger and anger. Now she was crying, she she stood up and walked out of the compound, into the lane. One after another coolie lines fell behind, Chutki kept walking without looking where she was going.  A number of people she passed by but nobody asked why she was crying and where she was going. She just wanted to far away from here, how could the boys be so rude, why did Mukul Sir not punish them, why did her best friends laughed at her, how could my own mother forget about me, why is the world not bothered to help me.

She reached the end of Udhanpotan, it was almost evening now, she was still crying but she could go no further. She was afraid and alone yet she did not want to go back. The only place she knew there was Budhu's grave, she remembered now how a few months before he died, he had come to her house, "My beautiful Chutki, if you ever be very angry and do not know what to do, come to me and yell at me, I will take all your anger". I cried and cried and told him all, all my feelings, all my aspirations, all my fears and all my anger. I do not remember when the sun had set and when it was night and when I fell asleep; until next morning someone found me near the grave and informed my uncle. They have been searching for me all night, even a police report was filed. Things only began to change when people started talking about how powerful Budhu has become after death, they said he fought with everyone all his life and now he has come back to help us. Even Mina went to pray at his grave after the last worst fight she had with Jibon. They say he takes away your anger and gives back peace. I don't know how true it is for others but for me I have never been angry since and peace he did give me.