Purulia, West Bengal
When Bugai Shabar reached the cockfighting arena, it was already late in the day. Upon arriving at the field, he began looking for a match to fight. Bugai’s rooster was quite sturdy. He had previously defeated many roosters in the fighting arena. So, it was not easy to find a pair for his rooster.
Nitai had brought his rooster from a long distance. His rooster was also quite strong. As soon as Nitai placed it in the arena, Bugai’s rooster pounced on it. The two roosters were soon put into the fighting arena. In an instant, Bugai’s rooster was killed by a knife wound. Nitai took the winning rooster and started heading home on his bicycle. It was just evening, a winter night. The road was almost deserted. Suddenly, a bear from the opposite side of the road charged at Nitai. In the foggy night, Nitai couldn’t make out what was happening. He desperately ran away.
Tarak couldn’t quite understand the situation. He saw a man returning with a rooster hanging from his bicycle. Why did he suddenly run away like that? Then he looked at himself and understood what was actually happening. Tarak, dressed in the bear costume, was running to the field across the road. There, his friend Rakhahari was waiting for him. Rakhahari performed in the Chhau dance as a peacock. He rides Kartik on his back and fights with the demon. Kartik, dressed in a mask, just moves his head and handles the bow and arrow. The real fight is done by Rakhahari. That’s why he has to practice regularly. This is according to the instructions of his guru’s guru, Dhunda Mahato.
Tarak is quite brave. He is an eighth-grade student at Golamara High School. He is also good at studies. However, since Tarak is good at performing ulfa (acrobatic stunts), the ‘Baligara Chhou Dance Party’ has included him in their team. Currently, he performs ulfa in the party run by Deben Mahato, the son of Dhananjoy Mahato, and collects applause from the audience.
Dhananjoy Mahato is amazed to see Tarak’s bravery in the performance. One day, he called Tarak and said, “Chhau dance involves the successful manipulation of six parts: two legs, two hands, the head, and the chest. Mastering this well preserves the heroic aspect of Chhau.”
However, Tarak doesn’t understand much of this. He has learned it all just by watching. Now, performing ulfa is as easy as a simple task for him. For the past seven or eight years, he has been performing ulfa on the sand of the Kansai River. As soon as he hears the beat of the dhamsha and sanai, his body feels as light as cotton. Then, someone makes him perform ten to fifteen ulfa (somersaults) in the air continuously. Through these acrobatic skills, he earns some money in his parents’ struggling household and hands it over to his father.
On one side of the field, they have created a stage by spreading sand. There, Tarak, dressed in the bear costume, sits on the peacock and sometimes performs ulfa in the air, landing on the sand. Since the Chhau dance season will start next month, they now practice regularly at the stage.
Today, he was going there energetically. But, thinking he was a real bear, the man dropped the rooster and ran away. Now what to do? Tarak stood there thinking. Can a bear ever run on two legs like that? Didn’t the person understand that?
Forced to do so, Tarak removed the bear costume. Then he took the abandoned bicycle and raced in the direction where the man had fled. After going a short distance, he saw the man standing nervously under a mahua tree by the roadside.
As soon as the man saw Tarak, he came closer and said, “Well, the bear didn’t eat the rooster after all.”
Tarak replied, “How could it? I chased it away as soon as I arrived. By now, the bear must have gone to enjoy the breeze near the Kansai River. There’s nothing to fear.”
Nitai still wasn’t convinced. He looked at Tarak. This little boy had chased away such a big black bear. He couldn’t believe it.
Seeing this, Tarak jumped into the air and performed a somersault, landing smoothly on the ground as if his legs had springs. Finishing the somersault, Tarak said to Nitai, “This is how I chased away the bear with a somersault. That’s why the rooster survived.”
Without saying anything more, Nitai disappeared into the darkness. Tarak stood under the mahua tree for a while and then, taking the bear costume in hand, set out in search of the peacock.
Tarak’s friends call him “Dragonfly” due to his appearance. He is quite popular among his school friends. Despite his delicate appearance, Tarak is quite strong.
The Bengali teacher, Natbarbabu, is from East Bengal. He often uses the local dialect while speaking. Natbarbabu was previously a teacher at Manbhum Victoria but has now been transferred to Tarak’s school. Natbarbabu loves eating fish. However, where can he find good fish in this dry, sandy land?
He came out of his office and called Madhab, saying, “Make sure to get a three-kilogram rohu fish from the market and bring it here. Don’t be late.”
Madhab replied, “I’ll get it from the market in the afternoon. Fresh rohu is available at that time. I’ll hang it on your bicycle when you return from school.”
Natbarbabu, who loves fish, has often returned home with fish hanging from his bicycle in this manner.
Abhi informed Tarak and the others, “Today, Madhab da will bring a three-kilogram rohu fish from the market for Natbarbabu. Let’s have a feast with Natbarbabu’s favorite fish today.” Abhi’s mischievous idea was at play.
Although Tarak is brave, he doesn’t want to get involved in such schemes. Natbarbabu maintains strict discipline in class. One of his punishments is ‘Ram-Gatta,’ which is something you never forget once you experience it. Tarak has never had ‘Ram-Gatta,’ and he doesn’t want to either. So he ignored Abhi’s suggestion.
However, when Abhi challenged him, saying, “He won’t be able to bring the fish from Natbarbabu’s bicycle no matter what,” Tarak couldn’t stay calm. Abhi didn’t know how Nitai had fled in fear upon seeing Tarak, who was dressed as a bear, and abandoned the rooster. If Abhi had known that, he wouldn’t have issued the challenge.
As Madhab went to the market to get the fish, Tarak also rushed to get the bear mask and the furry black costume.
No one dressed as a ghost came to frighten Natbarbabu and steal the fish from him. Nor did anyone block the road with a log to cleverly snatch the fish away.
Natbarbabu was riding his bicycle cheerfully along the gravel-paved road, occasionally glancing at the fish hanging on the right side of the handlebar. He was thinking, “It won’t be long now. Once I get the fresh fish home, I’ll tell my wife to fry a few pieces tonight. Otherwise, the taste of this fish will diminish by morning.”
At that moment, the bear charged out from beside a palash bush. Natbarbabu had never seen a bear in the middle of the road like this. He had grown up in marshy land where he had seen plenty of fish, snakes, turtles, and frogs, but seeing a lively bear jumping around like this terrified him immensely.
He cried, 'I’m dead, I’m dead, the bear is going to eat me!' and started rolling on the ground with his bicycle. He didn’t even have the courage to get up and run away.Meanwhile, the bear thought, “Would it be right to approach Natbarbabu? What if he recognizes me? Then it’s ‘Ram-Gatta’ for sure!”
Since it was not yet dark and the road was clearly visible, the bear couldn’t snatch the fish from the bicycle. Moreover, if anyone came in response to Natbarbabu’s cries, it would be problematic. Reluctantly, the bear started its game. It climbed to a high spot, performed two consecutive somersaults, and gave Natbarbabu a chance to escape a little.
However, fish-loving Natbarbabu wasn’t going to abandon the fish. Holding on to the fish from the handlebar, he started running backward. Seeing this, the bear realized it was in trouble. It had to confront Natbarbabu directly; otherwise, it would lose the fish.
The bear then started chasing Natbarbabu on two legs, abandoning its four-legged gait. When it got close, it suddenly performed three somersaults in the air with a swoosh and growled to scare him.
Unable to protect the fish any longer, Natbarbabu threw the three-kilogram rohu fish at the bear and said, “If you love fish so much, why don’t you catch fish from the pond instead of eating my fish?”
How could the bear hold such a large fish with its mouth? To Natbarbabu’s surprise, the bear grabbed the fish with both hands and ran on its hind legs toward the palash jungle.
Once the bear disappeared, Natbarbabu’s fear significantly diminished. He looked in the direction where the fleeing bear had gone and said, “I’ve never seen a bear like this in my life. This bear’s antics can make even a human feel defeated.”
A large stage has been set up on one side of the school field. In the front row of the stage are chairs for the Headmaster and other teachers. Natbarbabu and others are seated there, while the students are in the back.
As every year on the school foundation day, various events have been organized this year as well. Among them, the main attraction is today’s special performance by the ‘Baligara Chhau Dance Party.’ The main theme of the Chhau dance is ‘Environmental Protection.’
In Deben Mahto’s troupe, the performers who energize the Chhau dance events are not very old. These lean, agile boys need a fairly large stage. The whole stage becomes lively with their somersaults and stunts.
Today’s performance, themed ‘Environmental Protection,’ will showcase how a courageous village boy and his quick thinking saved an entire sandalwood forest from being smuggled.
At night, a gang of thieves was preparing to cut sandalwood trees in the forest with a lorry. Suddenly, they saw a black figure coming towards them. As it got closer, the thieves realized it was a furry bear. In order to save themselves, the thieves abandoned their saws and retreated. The bear then began its performance on the stage.
“How is the boy jumping so high in that elaborate costume?” Natbarbabu wondered in amazement. As the bear began to show off with somersaults in the air, the thieves, terrified, ran towards the green room one by one.
At that moment, Natbarbabu’s long-unanswered puzzle finally fell into place. As students and teachers applauded Tarak’s somersaults and cheered on the field, Natbarbabu quietly got up from his chair.
Headmaster Nikhilbabu asked Ganeshbabu, “Why did Natbarbabu go back on stage? He could have just applauded from below!”
But Natbarbabu was not there to applaud. He went straight and grabbed the bear, pulling off the mask to reveal Tarak. Then, he gave Tarak four ‘Ram-Gattas’ in quick succession. Muttering, “You had the audacity to steal my fish!”
With the mask in hand, Tarak was jumping around the stage while Natbarbabu chased him. Seeing this, Director Deben Mahto intervened and saved Tarak, thereby sparing Natbarbabu’s ‘Ram-Gattas.’ Otherwise, Natbarbabu would have unleashed all of them on Tarak’s head today!