Don't travel today ! it is Kanuma !!

Blog post of SVRao

“Don't Travel today! It is Kanuma..”

Today the 16^th January being Kanuma, the 3^rd day of Sankranti festival, there is a silence of lethargy all around. I being no exception got up very late in the morning and sipping hot coffee started brooding over nothings. There have been a plethora of activities around for the last few days. People were makinga hell of noise, some doing a bonfire of remains of old furniture, some pouring “Badarika” berry fruits, coins and blessings over children amidst traditional songs, celebrating feasts with relatives and friends etc. But today there is no activity around but happens to remind me of something unforgettable.And I start to reminisce:

It was some 35 years ago, may be in 1983, it happened. I had been to my in-laws' house at Visakhapatnam, having gone for 3 days of holidays (the weekend combined with the festival) for Sankranti, with my wife and child at the invite of my Father-in-law. It is customery to invite the daughter and son-in-law for a family get together for this important fesival and almost all the sons-in-law go to their respective fathers-in-law (and hopefully the latter doesn't go to his father-in-law) not minding the arduous travel in the big rush of trains and buses. The big cities feel sudden depletion of population with comfortable traffic on the roads as though there is an undeclared curfew.

Having taken sufficient rest, feast, fun and frolic I declare that I need to go back to my work-place on this day. There is a rampant belief that nobody should travel on a Kanuma day not withstanding the availability of seats and berths in plenty in the public transport. “Not even a crow would fly to the neighbour on Kanuma day” is a popular proverb in Telugu. Sankranti is a festival of harvesting and the farmers adorn and adore their cattle on Kanuma day as a thanks giving to the animals helping in the farm.

All my poeple try to pursuade me to stay back but being a young dynamic bank officer always rising to the occasion of work and call of duty that I am (suposed to be) I do not relent. So my wife decides to stay back with parents for a week and reluctantly packs my baggage. There were new cloths gifted by my father-in-law to both of us and of course to the child sweet and dear to them and some more items purchased by her in the nearby streets. I further added my two gold rings studded with precious stones that I always was fond of wearing, to be kept in the suitcase with some excuse. The train takes about 3 hours to my place of work and I decide to go by a long distance express train which starts about 6 o'clock in the morning.

I start off early in the morning from my in-laws' house, reach the station well in time and find almost empty train waiting. I comfortably get seated near the window and observe the beauty of the steel city under a thick curtain of fog-and -mist as the train goes past the lines. The Sun also was lethargic and reluctant to rise like the city of Vizag. I start observing the surrounding nature with my drooping eyes and the swing and rhythm of the train and slowly drop into a nap. I woke up with the shouts of Tea vendors on platform of a station and realize that I must have slept for about 2 hours. That means I should get down at the next station coming after an hour. 'OK', I say to myself and check my seat and baggage that I kept under the chair. And Lo! Where is my baggage? My suitcase is gone. I looked around and searched every seat in the train compartment, up and down all the berths. O My God! How come my suitcase is gone? It was there all through my thick and thin and never left me so far in all my travels and travails. Hmm. What to do? Just then I saw the conductor and ticket examiner near the entrance, approach him and narrate. He declred that my bag must have been stolen by a thief who could be travelling in the Coach observing who is sleeping and who is careless. He said he saw the Railway police at Tuni station nabbing a few such thieves with their booty. By this time the train already started and moving at speed. He coolly suggested that I should make a complaint with the Railway police at Samalkot where I will be alighting. I stared and lamented for my negligent sleep and not caring for my in-laws' advice not to travel that day or at least in the early morning. There being no crowd and myself sleeping I must have been an easy prey to the ruthless thief. Cursing my self to the core I got down at Samalkot station and registered my complaint with the Railway Police authorities.

Raching home I realized that my house keys- kept in the suitcase- were also lost. I beg the landlord to break open the lock and close the door with a fresh lock and key before leaving for office. Luckily my office keys were at home and I didn't lose. Else I couldn't imagine what could happen to the career of this dynamic young officer in the bank! At the office too I had to tell my story to almost every employee (and some customers too) much against my wish (and reputation). Almost everyone equvi-vocally said I should not have travelled on Kanuma day; rather take off and enjoy the holiday at my in-laws'.

Later I telephoned to my Regional office at Vizag, sought the help of a few friends to put a word to the Railway Police authorities at Waltair (Vizag) junction.

Days went off heavily.

My Regional office friends' influence must have worked.

After 3 days a police officer visited me in my office cabin and took the details of the things lost in the train (including the suit-case). After another 3 days I got a call from the Waltair railway police station to come and present my self before them. So I catch the afternoon train and reach their station on the signal end of the platform, in the evening. Luckily the officer concerned with my case was present and he again cross checked the details of my items lost. Offering me tea, he then with a cool gaze in his eyes said “Look Sir, since you are working as an important officer of the bank where we have accounts, we try to help you. The items lost by you are lost for ever. They must have been disposed off long back by the thief. However, since you have friends in us we bought a few items and a suitcase for you using some common pool of money which we keep for such cases.. You can declare them as your lost articles and own them under due process.” I said to myself “What is this I am hearing? Why should they buy for me and with what kind of money?”.

I told the officer “Sir, thank you so much for your generosity. But it is much against my conscience that I accept your goods. You may better give them off to some other poor and needy person”. He again told me with the same gaze “Mister, you are not realizing the difficulty. We will be calling you every alternate day to come to any Railway station of our choice and present yourself to identify your goods. Each time we may call you to different stations like Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Kazipet or even Secunderabad. Can you afford to come leaving your office every alternate day? And anyway we cannot present your lost articles”.

”Oh My God! What a difficult proposition! Slowly I muttered “But Sir, why all this trouble?” The officer said sternly “Otherwise how do you expect us to close the case? Your friends told my senior bosses too to help you? What else you expect?”. I realized the predicament I put everybody in! After sipping the tea I said “Ok Sir, as you please. But kindly call me to a nearby station and close the case early.” The officer smiled at last and said “That's a good decision. Now please check these articles and confirm. The same will be given to you within 2 weeks.” He shoved a sutcase on the table. I find that they kept the articles with a list inside a cheap-looking suitcase like a godown keeper keeps goods with a bin-card. I find the articles as listed by me in my complaint but all at about 20% of the cost of articles that I lost originally. The gold rings too were so light and cheap that only the micro-weights of a sensitive balane in a chemistry lab can properly weigh them; else they could be blown off with the breeze of our breat !

Much against my will I nodded and took leave of the police officer after profusely thanking him.

Rest of the story is for anybody's imagination. After about 10 days I happened to attend a Railway court (of weekly sessions) at Tuni station at about 11 O'clock and declare before the Magistrate that the suitcase and the articles produced by the police are mine. There was a farce of the police catching the thief with the booty and the thief in turn identified me as his victim on the fateful day, all in front of the magistrate, before my declaration. Everybody played their role in this episode perfectly, including me. I started walking off with my newly earned suitcase and articles gifted by the police replacing the role of my beloved in-laws, after signing the relevant papers in the court.

However the drama did not end without a flash-finish!

As I was walking to catch my return train to Samalkot, I heard a voice clling me “Sir, sir..” I looked back and found that it was the thief identified for the episode that day running towards me. I missed a heart beat and stood there helplessly. That thief approached me and said “What about my kick-backs?” I was stunned and inquired “What do you mean?” He explained “Sir, because I agreed to your version and the version of police, you got back your articles. I have to suffer at the hands of the police now. Please give me something for this favour”. It was the shock of my life. A thief asking for a return gift for the theft! What to do? I cursed my fate, gave him a 100 rupee note with a forced smile of a millimeter on my lips and finally proceeded to catch my train on the other Platform.

Well friends, That is the story of a cursed travel on a Kanuma festival day.

So now, will you travel on a Kanuma day –that too against the wish of your beloved wife ?

I know it is only a superstition or a method of pursuation to take rest and not to travel. My incident of losing baggage is only a confidence. But still the people who came to know my story keep quoting it to tell others about perils of Kanuma !!"  I leave it to you now.. Bye!

{Disclaimer: all the characters and incidents in this are ficticious!}

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SvRao (16^th January 2019)