Ferry Crossing by Manohar Shetty

Author:Manohar Shetty [Shetty, Manohar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789351181156
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2013-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

The Africa Boat

Laxmanrao Sardessai

‘A ship! A ship!’

A cry rose from the black corporal’s lips. He was trembling. He spun round and thumped his musket on the floor. He looked through the sea mist, his eyes peeled, and then, as if to dispel any doubt, he turned to me and said, ‘Don’t you see the Africa boat?’ Through the thick mist, I could see the faint dark outline of the ship.

Imprisoned on alien soil, these black soldiers jumped and danced at the sight of a vessel—however big or small. The approaching ship conjured up an image of Africa—a lush green paradise, a snug cottage thatched with bamboo and dry grass, a granary, and the company of young women. Huge, clumsy alligators in the Zambezi. These images grew in their mind’s eye and then, the excitement, the waiting and the wanting overwhelmed them. That’s when they called their black comrades from their scattered posts in the Fort and danced with joy. They clapped and whistled, drumming on empty tins to express their longing to return to their homeland.

Nicolav seemed to be the only one disappointed by the sight of the ship. He gripped the bars of the window and with a sad expression, turned to me and said, ‘The two years of our contract are over. We’ll be going back next week.’ His tone implied that he did not want this to happen.

The scene before us was the usual frenzied dance of the blacks, mad with the prospect of seeing their homeland once again; yet there was something more precious than that pulling Nicolav away.

He pushed his hand through the window for a cigarette, put the musket down on the steps and sat down. He lit the cigarette I had just given him and then looked at me like a caged animal. After a while, I asked him, ‘You don’t like Africa?’

‘I love Africa but I don’t want to go there just yet.’ His broad face darkened, but I detected a hint of tenderness in his voice.

Could Nicolav be in love? The thought went through my mind like a dart. But the love escapades of these corporals had become legend over the last few months. No sooner had they laid their hands on their wages, they ran to the lanes where they could buy love and paradise for a few days. There were some twenty-five odd prostitutes who had set up shop under small thatched roofs just outside the Fort walls. For a few days, these men would call the chosen ones their wives and even boast about their beauty and skills. As the month came to a close, the thatched roofs of those houses seemed to come apart. Came the new month and new wives replaced the old ones. The roofs came up and went down as passions rose and fell. Through all this tidal wave of passion, however, they never once lost sight of their homeland and the boat that would take them there.

Nicolav did not reveal his innermost feelings to me that day.

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