I was very happy and
excited when I was transferred to
Ranchi from Kolkata. Its picturesque beauty of Ranchi always enchanted me. My
duty was heavy but on Sundays I enjoyed to spend my
time with nature, I used to take my bike
and visit famous falls like Hundru, Johna, Dasam and many more places.
Days were passing, I was
adjusted to new place. One day I was going to nearby market place to buy some stationery.
It was busy market place, I was in a hurry, suddenly someone called me “how r
u?” I was surprised! looked at the person calling me .I saw a well built, tall
young man smiling at me. I didn’t know him, he said “oh! U r in hurry; ok I
will meet u again” I was astonished! I looked around to have careful look at
him but he was not there. I started thinking who was the man? Had I met him
earlier? I was so much engrossed in thinking about him that I forgot what for
I came to market. I went back.
In office at lunch hour
I told my colleague Sudhir about the morning incident .Sudhir intensely listened
to my story and enquired about the look
of the man; when I described the man as tall, well built and his hair was
cropped like army personnel , till then Sudhir was joking ,hearing my description,
suddenly he became serious and answered
me in one word ‘be careful’. I asked repeatedly the reason for such comment but
kept quiet and left the lunchroom.
Three or four months had
passed, since then I had forgotten the incident. One morning my senior manager
called me and he gave a new task. A big amount of unpaid bills were lying with
a business man for long time, in nearby town Patratu I have to go and settle
the bills. It was no big deal for me. I agreed happily as I had seen in my laptop,
the road was very good with twists and turns around the hillocks, and also
there is a beautiful lake before entering the town. I had a mind to visit the
beautiful town now I got an assignment there which will fulfill my wish to
visit the town.
Next morning early
morning I started for Patratu. Really it was a beautiful road with sharp
hairpin bends that I had never seen before, I enjoyed the drive, the scenic
beauty of the hillocks enchanted me. Just before entering Patratu town I could
see beautiful large lake with blue water; in which flocks of migratory birds
added to the beauty of the lake. I stopped there and watched the birds for a
while and then I went to my work place. I found my client in his office at
market place and started my work with him.
When I finished my work
it was evening, sun was setting, I said goodbye to my client. The client called me and asked me where would I stay in
the night ,I was surprised and said it is only evening I will take some snacks
and tea somewhere and then I will start for Ranchi, my destination. The man did
not like my answer he asked me to stay in some hotel for the night as the road
to Ranchi is not safe. I laughed at his fear and said it is only evening I will
reach my destination at about ten O’clock that’s not mid night for big town like
Ranchi; saying this I started my bike. After taking tea finally I started for
Ranchi at about eight in the evening. Road was beautiful, it was looking more
beautiful with moonlit night. I was also feeling happy as my job was done in a
peaceful manner. I sped up the bike; I was enjoying the twist and turns of the
road along the hillocks. Suddenly I could hear someone moaning and crying for help,
I looked around and saw a man lying in a pool of blood by the side of the road and
crying for help and he was moaning in pain. I went near him I was aghast to see
a man in military uniform bleeding profusely crying for help. I went to him and
asked how this happened to him .He said that he was struck by a heavy vehicle
when he was going towards Patratu and the driver of the vehicle looted him and
they took his bike also .From then he was here crying with extreme pain and
asking for help no one has come forward till now. Again I was surprised how can
people ignore such an injured man? I asked him if he could sit in the pillion
seat in my bike, he agreed and I helped I him to sit carefully in my pillion
seat and again I started; this time at a high speed so that I can take the
person to Ranchi hospital at the earliest. I told him to grip me tightly
and I started talking to him or else he
will lose sense I thought .His name was Thomas Kurian. After a while I felt my
pillion seat is empty I looked back to my utter surprise there was no one at my
back seat .I stopped and looked at the road whether the man has falen down
losing his sense but no one was there I could see only clear empty moonlit road . I was thinking what can happen
to Thomas has he fell from my bike much earlier I could not feel it? How can
this be possible? He was talking in a low voice all the way. I was in a fix by
the time I saw a car coming I stopped the car and explained everything and
asked them if they have seen a military man fell down on the road? And I was
surprised by their answer “No one was there you please speed up your bike and
reach your station at your earliest” saying this they started the car and sped
away. While starting their car again the driver said we are daily passenger in
this road I request you to flee from this place earliest. I was shocked by
their behavior but there was no other way I started my bike. I reached Ranchi
at eleven O’clock.
Next day I went to my
office and narrated the incident to my colleagues all of them started praying for my wellbeing.
I was very much surprised and asked about their behavior. Then I could hear a
story of military person who was killed in a road accident on the same road and
his soul targets one person. In the first meeting he says “I will meet you
again”. When you told us you met a man in the market place and he said the same
thing to you, we were worried, and when you
went to Patratu for office work,
we repeatedly told you to be back before the sun set but you didn’t give
importance to our request. The man you saw is an unsatisfied soul he is seen
regularly on the road asking for help as he didn’t get help at the time of his
accident. Then I remembered when I met
him first time in the market place I noticed his
hair cut it was like a military man and then I met the man, Thomas, on the way
back to Ranchi was a military man. My friends became worried, according to him
this man will never spare me, he will meet me at any place at any time there is
no life risk but people become psychic after seeing him for a long time at
different interval. I was stupefied by knowing about the sad
story of Thomas. It stirred my mind so much that that I couldn’t concentrate to my work. My heart was filled
with the thought of Thomas only. To me it became an unsolved problem how a
human being does not get liberation
even after his death. Even after death how Thomas is roaming as an insatiate soul
asking for human help. What does he want? How do I know? Does he
want to give us some message? With this thought I become so engrossed that I
started to become forgetful about my daily routine.
One day I went for a walk,
when I was passing near a church a thought came to my mind. Next Sunday I went
to church with white flowers and met Father Franklin there. I sat near him and
narrated the story of Thomas. Father listen it with deep concern and told me
that he had such type of experiences in his life before such souls want to give
some message which we can’t understand. Father suggested that I should conduct
a prayer for the departed soul of Thomas Kurian. I told him that I didn’t know
anything else than his name, that too I
could know by the soul only. Whether he was married or not, which place he
belonged nothing about him except his name. Father said that doesn’t matter. Thomas’s
purpose
of meeting me was to give message to me or to do something for him? I
also thought it’s time to do something for Thomas. I agreed to Father’s
proposal and arranged a prayer ceremony for him. My colleagues also took part
in the ceremony. We all prayed for his soul to be in peace. After that prayer
ceremony I stayed for long
time in Ranchi but never met Thomas again.
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