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 Ankan Guchhait Medipur, Contents | The name of the village was Egrapatna. It was a small settlement beside the Suti Canal, surrounded by paddy fields and all kinds of trees, both big and small, standing tall in every direction. Every evening, all the village children gathered under the large banyan and peepal trees in the field near the Huli Stage beside the canal. Then began their favorite games, tag and hide and seek. Around them stood small houses, stacks of hay, Arjun trees, and rows of palm trees. There were Bubun, Tumpa, Raju, Papai, Moli, and finally the smartest of them all when it came to games, Gupi. Gupi even called himself “Master Gupi.” That afternoon, light clouds drifted across the sky, and the air carried the sweet scent of ripening rice. As everyone gathered under the trees, Tumpa said, “Today Bubun will do the counting! He’s the slowest, so we’ll get extra time to hide.” Bubun protested angrily, “Why slow? I take my time on purpose! That’s how you make the game exciting!” But everyone just laughed and ignored him. The game began. Bubun leaned his forehead against the tree trunk and counted: “One, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty. Here I come! Ready or not!” Everyone ran off to find hiding places. Some hid behind the storage shed, some behind the grain bins, and others among the reeds by the canal. But Gupi was the most serious of all. “Today,” he thought, “I’ll hide somewhere nobody can ever find me.” He slipped into the broken shed of old Joydeb’s abandoned house, the most secluded corner of the village. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the broken roof tiles. Cobwebs and dust covered the place, while tiny sparrows chirped from their little nests. Gupi curled up in a corner and grinned to himself. “Today I’ll be the champion of hide and seek!” Meanwhile, Bubun began searching. The first person he found was Raju because Raju accidentally sneezed. “Gotcha!” Bubun shouted. Startled, Raju replied, “Oh no! I was holding my breath and keeping my head down the whole time!” Next came Papai. Papai was always secretly busy eating chocolates, so the rustling sound from his pocket gave him away. Finding Tumpa and Moli took a little longer, but Bubun eventually found them too. Now there was only one question: Where was Gupi? They searched everywhere, the reeds, the grain storehouse, the shed, the bamboo grove, but there was no sign of him. Everyone started saying, “Gupi always chooses strange hiding spots. Maybe he’s crossed to the other side of the canal?” Moli suggested, “Let’s all look together. He must be sitting alone somewhere unimaginable.” The search continued. Meanwhile, Gupi sat inside the broken shed, laughing quietly. “They’re all fools! They’ll never find me.” Suddenly, a metallic rattling sound echoed through the shed. Clang! Clang! Gupi jumped. The broken roof tiles above him began to move. Then he heard a loud meow. “Meooowww!” A large, extremely proud tomcat named Baghai, belonging to Joydeb’s grandmother, leaped straight onto Gupi’s head. The cat was startled. Gupi was even more startled. “Hey! Hey! Don’t step on me, Baghai! Help!” he screamed. The frightened cat sprang away and ran out of the shed. Gupi rushed after it, but at that exact moment part of the roof collapsed. Covered from head to toe in dust, soot, and dirt, Gupi stumbled out of the shed. Outside, Raju, Papai, Tumpa, and Moli were exhausted from searching. Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose from the direction of the broken shed. Tumpa exclaimed, “What’s that? A ghost?” As the dust settled, they saw Gupi himself. His clothes were covered in dust, a roof tile sat on his head, bits of straw clung to him, and spider webs dangled from his feet. Everyone burst into laughter. The village fair had never heard such loud laughter before. Bubun said, “So this is your ‘Master Gupi’ trick? If that cat hadn’t shown up, you might never have come out!” Trying to save face, Gupi replied, “A game is a game. It needs a twist!” Papai immediately laughed and said, “A twist? This twist got you caught first! Gotcha, you’ve been found!” Everyone roared with laughter again. Finally, they all agreed: “Today’s hide and seek champion is Baghai the cat! After all, he was the first one to find Gupi!” Gupi felt a little embarrassed, but then he laughed too. Because hide and seek in the village was never just a game. It was friendship, memories, and endless laughter. As evening fell and the scent of rice fields drifted through the breeze, the children returned home happily. And Gupi thought to himself, “Tomorrow I’ll find an even better hiding place. I’ll fool the cat too!” But his friends knew one thing for certain: Whether Gupi hid well or not, he could never play a game without creating a funny twist and making everyone laugh.
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KISHOR BARTA | E-mail : kishorbarta.eng@gmail.com |