The year was 1977 and Nagaur was an underdeveloped small town . It was the district headquarters , so the basic structures like railway station, collectorate, court , post office, police stations were there and were located on the same road . But other than that there were no huge lavish buildings , shops, hotels or restaurants. People were educated enough to not been called illiterate. It was quite easy to get a job once you have passed your metric exam.
So when Madan Singh passed his metric exam with forty percent marks , he applied for home guard and selected for the same. People now called him ‛Home guard Madan Singh Ji’. His father who was always worried for his naughty, useless son, now bore a proud smile on his face and never missed a chance to brag about his son.
‛ You know last month he caught two thieves near the officer's colony.’ He often told the Pan wala in Vijaya Vallabh chowk.
It was a usual night for Madan Singh and his fellow home guard Basti ram. The midnight train to Jaipur had just left as they reached the railway station on their routine watch. The clock showed 12:30 and the noise of engine descended on the closed shutters of the town-shops.
As they were strolling their way back they saw a woman few feet ahead. At first they thought she was some passenger who got off the train. But soon they realised that something was wrong.
‛Hey! Stop there. ’ But she didn’t respond.
They walked towards her. As they walked a few steps they found that the distance between them and the woman was not decreasing . So they had to pace up, but the woman was fast. They walked faster but the distance remained the same. Now they were almost running but at her normal speed the woman was still ahead. As they were chasing they reached the post office which had a small Ganesh Temple in front. Now the distance reduced, the woman came closer. Soon she was at an arm’s length . Both home guards unintentionally stared at her feet probably thinking how she was able to outrun them so easily. The woman turned her body towards them but madan singh and Basti ram saw that her feet were still facing the opposite direction. Madan Singh had the shock of his life. He couldn’t speak or move. At this moment Basti ram held his hand and dragged him in the opposite direction. They ran , they ran without looking back.
Next thing they remembered was the next morning at their home. They sweared they had lost the count how many times they recited Hanuman Chalisa last night. Following week I heard Madan Singh’s father tell people that he had forced his son to resign from the home guard.