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Hanuba
It goes back to the day when I was in school a 7 year old.... fresh faced chubby kid
As usual I was returning from my school at two 'o'clock in the afternoon, dreaming in the school auto as it meandered across the dwindling lanes.....Soon I was at the main entrance, I opened the main gate of my house scampered, inside and along the drive way ...as a yummy meal of pav bhaji was waiting for me ..... I was still to reach the locked entrance past the garden and trees, before I could press the bell I heard a knocking sound on the main gate and I turned back to look, And there.........draped in yellow and whitish dhoti and enahphi , a Hanuba shaman (old man) with white hairs he was just knocking loudly and waiting patiently for some offering but I recollected my mother's wise words and before he see's me I planned...for a camouflage, I remembered my mother's wise words, that-
always beware of strangers don't talk to them and stay away of man in yellow and whitish dhoti, they are hanubas who kidnap children and send them rocketing to sky with other spirits they roam around with large Vermilion mark black, white,red on forehead and sometimes carry a monkey with them and if they don't carry a monkey with them they for sure carry a stick to beat the children and take them away, my mother would often tell me stories of stranger's, kidnapped children enslaved by spirits and sometimes children found dead and so on and forth...
Returning back from my reverie I was scared to bits and before that man could see a tiny kid I just managed to ring the bell quickly, and turned left in a laney place and scampered on the stairs in the corner of the house I was planning to enter the another portion ,a good place to camouflage, if that, hanuba( old man) might open the main entrance gate and might look for the tiny kid ,after all I was once informed by mother that they have magical powers and can fly high and descend or ascend from sky...although he didn't yet, I scampered on the stairs leading to a portion,but alas! the portion was locked so thinking quickly I planned to jump down on the other side but thought it to be a very heroic but leg breaking act, so I quietly descended the stairs and ran towards the back yard gate just next to stairs so I ran and after meeting some trees, bees, birds and some creepy crawlies but this time I wasn't scared of the crawlies....i was only scared of hanuba or hanubi ( old woman) I knocked at the backyard gate while from other side my mother had already opened the entrance gate, few minutes after I had rung the bell before going on a stair spree ...although to my disbelief it was quick, as she usually use to serve lunch to other family members at this time but today she opened the door quickly and found my bag lying there, she was anxious, first she shooed away the so called hanuba and then she picked my bag and was wondering that maybe I am hiding in front garden from monkey or something, but meanwhile I had entered the house from the backyard door when bobok (grandmother) opened the back door and I ran past the rooms and into the huge gallery ,& I hugged my mother, I am at safe I told her then smiling happily she followed in with my stuff and after lunch she asked me to recount what had happened and so everyone was all years but as I recounted to everyone's delight and my dismay everyone started laughing hearing all that............ .. My mother said it was hilarious and so was it and then she said it was her stories that set me on so for such self defense and alert mode, but really a good thing, I suppose 😁 !
© kalika singh
As usual I was returning from my school at two 'o'clock in the afternoon, dreaming in the school auto as it meandered across the dwindling lanes.....Soon I was at the main entrance, I opened the main gate of my house scampered, inside and along the drive way ...as a yummy meal of pav bhaji was waiting for me ..... I was still to reach the locked entrance past the garden and trees, before I could press the bell I heard a knocking sound on the main gate and I turned back to look, And there.........draped in yellow and whitish dhoti and enahphi , a Hanuba shaman (old man) with white hairs he was just knocking loudly and waiting patiently for some offering but I recollected my mother's wise words and before he see's me I planned...for a camouflage, I remembered my mother's wise words, that-
always beware of strangers don't talk to them and stay away of man in yellow and whitish dhoti, they are hanubas who kidnap children and send them rocketing to sky with other spirits they roam around with large Vermilion mark black, white,red on forehead and sometimes carry a monkey with them and if they don't carry a monkey with them they for sure carry a stick to beat the children and take them away, my mother would often tell me stories of stranger's, kidnapped children enslaved by spirits and sometimes children found dead and so on and forth...
Returning back from my reverie I was scared to bits and before that man could see a tiny kid I just managed to ring the bell quickly, and turned left in a laney place and scampered on the stairs in the corner of the house I was planning to enter the another portion ,a good place to camouflage, if that, hanuba( old man) might open the main entrance gate and might look for the tiny kid ,after all I was once informed by mother that they have magical powers and can fly high and descend or ascend from sky...although he didn't yet, I scampered on the stairs leading to a portion,but alas! the portion was locked so thinking quickly I planned to jump down on the other side but thought it to be a very heroic but leg breaking act, so I quietly descended the stairs and ran towards the back yard gate just next to stairs so I ran and after meeting some trees, bees, birds and some creepy crawlies but this time I wasn't scared of the crawlies....i was only scared of hanuba or hanubi ( old woman) I knocked at the backyard gate while from other side my mother had already opened the entrance gate, few minutes after I had rung the bell before going on a stair spree ...although to my disbelief it was quick, as she usually use to serve lunch to other family members at this time but today she opened the door quickly and found my bag lying there, she was anxious, first she shooed away the so called hanuba and then she picked my bag and was wondering that maybe I am hiding in front garden from monkey or something, but meanwhile I had entered the house from the backyard door when bobok (grandmother) opened the back door and I ran past the rooms and into the huge gallery ,& I hugged my mother, I am at safe I told her then smiling happily she followed in with my stuff and after lunch she asked me to recount what had happened and so everyone was all years but as I recounted to everyone's delight and my dismay everyone started laughing hearing all that............ .. My mother said it was hilarious and so was it and then she said it was her stories that set me on so for such self defense and alert mode, but really a good thing, I suppose 😁 !
© kalika singh
