Varanasi Again – 35: We saved our souls

Arriving at the boat we found the boatman sleeping inside it, thankfully, and shook him awake.

‘Chalo, let’s go,’ I barked at him.

Maybe it was the urgency in my voice, or maybe it was the premonition of things having gone wrong, the poor fellow sat up quickly, and jumped out of the boat in a flash.

He had already started to push the boat away from the bank when all three of us jumped inside it, rocking it, and looking behind us all the time at the light which continued to come closer, and burn brighter.

We huddled inside the hull of the little vessel, muttering prayers, our hearts beating fast, and loud.

Pull, pull, pull……the boatman pulled the oars quickly, rowing the boat non-stop till it was mid-stream, which was when he finally relaxed, and exhaled in relief. We all looked back – the light was stationary now, but still there…..flickering…..

What was it? The question resonated for long in my mind, even after we had come back to the hostel, even after the night was over, even after several days had passed. We had seen just the light, not the person, or the thing that carried the light…..

Who, or what was it that we saw on that bank of the Ganga that night? The question still haunts me as, I know, it must haunt my two friends, for we never talked about that night, never broached the topic again, forcing it out of our minds, trying to forget…..

To be continued……..

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