The Shehnai Virtuoso by Dhumketu

Author:Dhumketu [Dhumketu, Dhumketu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deep Vellum Publishing

Mungo Gungo

Nobody in the entire village knew his name. Everyone called him Mungo. When saying ‘Mungo’, the image of a thin, scrawny, small-eyed, somewhat deformed-looking human form appears before our eyes. Some kind person must have thought that it wasn’t right to call a helpless stranger ‘Mungo’. That person must have had some understanding of poetry so, with an alliterative playful combination that was fitting, he changed the name to ‘Mungo Gungo’, making the boy known throughout Bhanderiya village by that name.

At first, Mungo Gungo sustained himself by beseeching and begging. Once it so happened that, during the height of the monsoon, water was flowing in the massive reservoir of the village as profusely as in the ocean. At one end, in a part near the bank, the water was a bit shallow. Many fun-loving boys were playfully pretending to dive and drown there. What other work did Mungo Gungo have? Wherever he went, he would sit for a few hours. Today also, in just that manner, he sat watching the boys’ games. Right then, one of the more jocular boys thought of playing a prank on Mungo Gungo. So he showered water on him. Mungo got completely soaked. And all the boys burst out into noisy laughter.

But then, of course, Mungo was quick to take offence. He did not have speech, so his anger would manifest itself as an animal’s – unintelligible, garbled, unclear, repetitive screeches and cries. Today, Mungo added the company of pebbles and clods of earth to those shrill shrieks. As a result, seven or eight boys came out of the water and ran to catch him. Mungo ahead, the boys behind. It was quite a scene.

Mungo was not paying attention and stumbled into a pothole in the street. In that pothole, the water reached up to his waist. That was the perfect opportunity to dunk him. Eventually, the boys caught him and bathed him in the reservoir water. Only then did they let go of him.

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