A Venture to Adventure-A duel with death- Kaushik Chakraborty

 A Venture to Adventure

A duel with death

Kaushik Chakraborty

Image Courtesy: Google Images

 

A small two-seater Fokker plane was on its way from Whitehorse to Dawson city in north-west Canada. It’s about just an hour’s journey. Captain Dave Richardson and his friend and first officer Joseph Procter were quite anxious to reach home early as it was their last return flight before the Christmas holiday begins. Lots of plans with their families for Christmas bubbling inside them anticipating the upcoming Christmas parties. Dave had loads of gifts, presents for his family and friends and cakes and chocolates for his beloved five-year-old son, Daniel. After getting due clearance from the Air traffic control (ATC), their flight took off at the right time at 5:15pm from Whitehorse. Both pilots were enjoying the last rays of the golden sun as it slowly faded away behind the horizon. During that time of the year generally the landscape of Canada was blanketed with thick layer of snow and ice and temperature hovers around -10 to -20 deg. C.  As darkness fell, the pilots then solely depended on instrument flying as the natural landmarks were no more visible. The plane set on autopilot was cruising at an altitude of 30,000 ft above sea level. Not much of air traffic was there at that time. Both pilots were relaxed and were enjoying some light talks and cups of hot coffee. As the plane flew further away, the pilots had some last conversation with the Whitehorse ATC before they handed over the radio controls to the ATC of the next zone i.e., Dawson city on a new frequency. Dave set the new frequency on his radio transmitter to tune into the ATC of Dawson city but couldn’t connect them. He waited for some time anticipating that a reduction in distance will perhaps lead to a better reception of the signals. But even after another 20 mins had passed, they failed to connect Dawson city ATC after repeated trials. Then things started getting a bit awry. Since Dave was handing the controls, first officer Joseph then tried to contact the ATC again and again but there was no response, as if the entire universe had plunged in an ocean of silence. It was almost 6:15 pm and by then they should have at least sighted the runway, if not landed. But it was pitch dark outside and without ATC’s help it was almost impossible to land the plane at their desired destination. As both the pilots were busy in trying to handle the critical situation, to add to their challenge a sudden mechanical alarm started ringing in the cockpit. Dave froze to see it was the “fuel alarm”. It was the last thing that they wanted. They needed to land the plane at the earliest, else the inevitable was going to happen. Last minute desperate attempts to contact the ATC was going on, when suddenly the left engine blew off due to dearth of fuel. The plane was then flying only on one engine. It was a mountainous terrain below. Dave held on to his controls and desperately tried to find a flat land where he could land his crippled plane. As he brought down the plane to a lower altitude, in the faint moonlight he could spot a nearby snow covered flat area on his left side. Taking a sharp left turn he aligned the plane with the flat area and as he was desperately maneuvering his plane, it dived down as the last trace of fuel burnt away from its second engine. He tried to crash land the plane on the snowy blanket as both friends bade goodbye to each other in choked voices thinking about the inevitable. It was a terrible touchdown. As it hit the ground, the plane bounced up and down on the snowy terrain several times and grazed on the ground for several hundred meters before it eventually came to a halt breaking into several pieces. The last thing Dave remembered was smashing his head on something and there was total blackout…

As Dave came in and out of consciousness he could not decipher where he was lying. Though bone chilling cold winds made him realize that he was perhaps lying on an open area on snow. A tremendous pain gripped his entire body and made him almost immobile. How long he was lying there he didn’t know. He opened his eyes as the first morning rays of the sun touched them. Despite intense pain, he slowly crawled out of the debris of the fuselage. He slowly sat up and tried to assess himself. His head was paining. He could see blood clots on his hand as he wiped his forehead. But then he realized that perhaps he was lucky enough not to suffer from any broken bones. Also, there was no fire due to the crash as there was no fuel left in the fuel tanks. It was indeed a miracle to be alive. As the intensity of daylight increased, he could assess the entire situation. Metal parts, sheared wings, broken engines, landing gears and other thousand parts of his plane laid strewn over a large area. There was not a single soul anywhere nearby who could lend them a helping hand. It was a hilly area covered with thick blanket of snow and ice everywhere and every direction looked the same as far as his eyes could see. White was the only colour which nature had in her display. He suddenly remembered that he was not alone in the plane. Where was Joseph? “Joseph, Joseph....” he cried out as loud as he could. He even felt pain while calling out and realized that his voice was also choking due to a sore throat perhaps due to a long exposure to extreme cold over the last night. He ran among the strewn debris everywhere searching frantically for Joseph. But he could not locate him, neither was there any response from him. He kept calling and searching for him, in every broken part which came his way. Finally, he could trace a shade of blue amidst the debris. Yes, Joseph was wearing a navy-blue jacket. For a moment his heart leapt with joy. He ran over to him and tried to pull him out, only to realize that Joseph was sandwiched between two badly mangled metal pieces. His body was lifeless. Tears swelled up his eyes as he frantically tried to free his body. Calling him by his name repeatedly and trying to pull him out of the debris. But his voice simply echoed in the hills and came back to him. He sat helplessly on the snow and cried out loud looking at the sky…” Why? Why?” Never had he imagined a day when he would have to handle his best friend’s body.

Dave lied down on the ground in utter helplessness and shock over his friend’s untimely demise. He could not decide his future course of actions, what to do, where to go in this desolate landscape. For how long he laid there he didn’t know. But then he realized that expecting human aid in any form was a far-reaching proposition. Only his actions could decide his fate. He dug up an area with a broken metal piece with a sharp edge and slowly pulled Joseph’s body and laid him there for his eternal rest. Now what? He didn’t know his location of crash. His cell phone was badly damaged in the crash as he hit himself against something hard after the crash. It was of no use. He must try to contact his nearest ATC through his radio as that now seems to be his only lifeline. He entered the cockpit which was reduced to a mangled cylindrical piece as both the ends were broken away. He located the radio transmitter among the mangled heap of debris. He tried to fix the damaged pieces and knobs. Putting on the earpiece he could hear a faint blurring sound. “Hello. Hello, ATC Dawson city, can you hear me?” But his repeated requests went in vain. He tried to fix it, but the net result – even the blurring sound died out. Frustrated, he banged the remains of the radio on the ground and sat down helplessly. Will the rescue team come for his help? But how will they find him? For how long he would have to stay there? Will he also die there like Joseph? A thousand questions passed his mind, but there were no answers.

It was almost midday as the sun was up in the zenith. Dave was feeling hungry. He had his last cup of coffee more than 18 hours back. He had food in the form of cakes, chocolates etc. with him, but they were all for his family. How could he eat them without his family? What about water? He had only one bottle. He started searching the boxes of cakes and chocolates. He could find them under a rubble. Some boxes were broken, but luckily some were intact. But the bottle of water has frozen due to exposure to sub-zero temperature. He only took two slices of cakes from one of the broken boxes, as he didn’t know how long he had to stay there before he was being rescued. He needed to preserve his ration as long as he could. He was feeling thirsty. But he couldn’t drink ice. He had to melt them before he could quench his thirst. But there was no source of fire nearby. He was a non-smoker, so he didn’t have any matches or lighter. What an irony of destiny- ice-ice everywhere but not a drop to drink. He started licking some ice particles. His entire mouth started painting due to intense cold. Though he had a little food, but without water he couldn’t survive much. What to do? Suddenly he remembered that Joseph was a smoker. He even had a cigarette before boarding the flight. Did he have any lighter with him? Must be. He ran to the grave of Joseph and started digging out his body frantically. After removing the upper layer of ice, he was shocked to see Joseph’s face. Few hours of ice cover have turned his body into pale whitish colour. He started searching for every pocket of his clothing. Finally, he could trace a lighter in the left inner pocket of his jacket. Through its transparent body he could see it was still half filled with gas. He was relieved. At least this lighter could be his lifeline for the time being. He was about to close the grave but on second thought he stopped. He slowly took out Joseph’s jacket. Joseph won’t be needing them any further, but he would. “Sorry Joseph, forgive me for being so inhuman”- he pleaded to the Almighty with tearful eyes. He covered Joseph’s grave and came back to the broken fuselage- his now makeshift home. At least it provided some little relief from the chilling winds. He searched few small twigs from a nearby tree. Took a small metal sheet and bend it like a small bowl. Placing some ice on it he lighted the twigs with the lighter and held the metal bowl on the fire. Never had he felt so happy to see ice turn to water in a few minutes. He drank it to his heart’s content. His wounds on his forehead had dried up a bit. It was luckily not of serious nature. He fixed some cotton and medicine which he had found in his emergency medical kit. For the entire day he waited patiently looking at the sky to spot any rescue team. As evening fell, he was feeling very tired due to terrible mental and physical exhaustion. He laid down in a corner to avoid the path of cold winds, placing Joseph’s jacket on his body as a blanket and slept over.

The next morning, he started feeling the sting of hunger. He only had two slices of cakes the day before. He again had two more slices which was certainly not enough for him. But he had to curtail his intake and ration his demand to cater to an uncertain future. He came out of the fuselage and looking at the morning sun, he could at least make out which was the east, as there was no other way out to determine the directions. He was supposed to fly in a north westerly direction from Whitehorse to Dawson city. As far he knew, there was no such mountainous terrain in between Whitehorse and Dawson city. Then how come he had landed in such a desolate mountainous area?  Had he by any chance drifted in any other direction? Such terrain was common in Alaska, which was further to the west. Where was he now? Was there any fault in his plane’s navigational instrument? May be that was why he was unable to connect his radio transmitter to Dawson city as he was perhaps moving further away from it instead of going near it. A thousand speculations passed Dave’s mind, but he could not get any answer. Then there was only endless wait for the rescue team to arrive. But how would they track him down? In the mornings it will be difficult for planes to track the debris of a white plane at the background of ice-covered terrain, and that too because the ice gives a glaring reflection against the sunlight. But what was bothering Dave was that for more than 24 hours he was unable to see any plane in the sky. Was it not the conventional flight route? In that case the possibility of tracking him down would be even grimmer. Dave was continuously swaying between hope and despair. At times he felt like screaming on top of his voice and let the world know he was trapped there. But he could not afford to lose hope. He had to hold on and return home to his loved ones.

Three days passed away, but Dave could not spot a single plane in the sky. He tried to venture in some directions to check out his exact location or if he could find any help nearby. But the place was surrounded by icy, hilly terrain with no human civilization nearby. As if he was trapped amidst an ocean of snow and ice. He had slowly started to lose hope. Had they stopped looking for him? No, no they must be still searching for him, he had to hold on. Gradually Dave could feel that intense hunger and thirst was making him weak day by day. The gas in his lighter would last only for a day or two at the most. Then what? What lies ahead of him- a slow death by starvation and thirst? Had God kept him alive to see this sort of miserable death? Dave could not think anymore. He felt so weak that he just felt like lying down. He closed his eyes in despair. For how long he laid there he didn’t know, but suddenly some familiar sound reverberated in the atmosphere. He opened his eyes and looked up in the sky. He could see nothing. He kept looking here and there as the sound still haunted his ears. It must be a plane. Suddenly from the back of a cloud he could spot a plane. But it was a commercial airliner, way too high is the sky to spot him. He still stood up and started to scream at the top of his voice waving Joseph’s blue jacket. If only they could see him once. But alas! The plane slowly disappeared as it flew further away. Dave’s weak body fell on the ice like a stone. He felt that he was losing hope. But again, he stood up mustering all courage. “I have to hold on” was his only motto in life then. How could he die without seeing his beloved son Daniel? He must be waiting impatiently for his dad to return home who would be bringing him his favourite chocolates. The picture of Daniel’s smiling face breathed in a sudden burst of energy in Dave. “Oh! God give me strength to hold on, I can never afford to leave my family this way. Without me how will they live?”- Dave prayed with utmost belief in the Almighty.

The pangs of hunger were getting unbearable day by day. Reluctantly Dave had to slowly consume all the cakes and chocolates he had and by the sixth day they were almost exhausted. The lighter also ran out of gas.  Dave could not produce water any further. In case of extreme thirst, he reluctantly had to chew and suck some ice which he knew was a dangerous thing to do. Chewing ice would eventually dehydrate him even faster. He had started feeling a peculiar numbness in his fingers. As he opened his gloves, he could see some of his fingers turned bluish white. He froze in fear. Dave knew these were the signs of frost bite. This could turn to gangrene if not treated immediately and he could lose his fingers. He started rubbing his hands as hard as he could to provide little warmth to his almost frozen fingers and improve blood circulation through them. He searched for some cotton from his medical kit. He wrapped the cotton around the numb fingers and tied them with his handkerchief. Then again wore the gloves on them. He felt slightly better.  Sheer existence was becoming challenging for Dave day by day.

At night as he was trying to sleep in the broken fuselage, he could hear chilly winds roaring outside. It was a deafening blizzard raging over. It appeared as if the sheer power of the bone chilling winds sweeping across the terrain would lift entire broken fuselage and throw it away down the hill along with him. The fuselage was shuddering violently in the gusty winds. That night was the most nightmarish night in his entire life. He curled himself up amidst the rubble and kept on tossing from side to side in a desperate attempt to keep himself warm. But his efforts were futile. The bone chilling winds were like stabbing him with thousand knives all over his body. He felt perhaps that was his last day and he would not be alive to see the next sunrise. The picture of his wife, son, parents, and friends started flashing in his mind. He was unable to sleep the entire night. In the early morning hours as the blizzard subsided, he managed to take a nap. When he woke up it was afternoon. He tried to get up, but he could not. For last two days he was literally starving. His entire mouth had run dry. He licked a few ice crystals. He suddenly felt a few drops of water in his mouth. It was nothing but his tears running down his cheeks and entering his mouth. He would perhaps die here in that snowy terrain, and nobody would ever find his body. Dave slowly went in a trance. A picture flashed in his mind. It was Daniel. He was crying in his mother’s lap. They were a few people gathered in somebody’s funeral. Whose funeral it was? He saw it was Dave lying in the coffin and Daniel sobbing by his side calling him repeatedly to get up and play with him. Dave jumped up. Why did he see this? Was his end near? No way, he mustered all his strength and literally crawled out of the fuselage on the thick snow. He saw that due to the blizzard last night, the entire topography had changed. There were huge piles of snow all round. The fuselage was barely hanging at the edge of a rock face overlooking a deep ravine. It had literally shifted by several feet due to the blizzard. He looked around. By that time his eyes were tired of watching the colour white. The eternal colour of peace then appeared as a colour of death. But he could not afford to surrender. He had to live for Daniel. He had to live for his family. But how could he? Nature had virtually stripped him off basic amenities of life. As Dave crawled on the snow inching out of the broken fuselage, he suddenly heard a familiar sound. He thought it might be an illusion. But the sound was increasing. Dave looked up and could not believe his eyes. It was a helicopter flying over. Dave tried to stand up, but his extreme weakness held him back. He tried to scream but his voice was almost choked. He could barely raise one of his hands towards the sky in a bid to signal his presence. The helicopter flew away. Dave dropped his head in despair. How could God be so unkind to him? Perhaps this was his last chance to survive. He might not make it any further. He could hear the sound of the helicopter fading away. Dave dropped his face on the snow and tried to cry but could not, as if all his tears had also dried up like his strength. The fading sound should have stopped completely by now. But its intensity was again increasing. Dave looked up again and to his utter disbelief he could see the helicopter circling around. He could not believe his eyes or ears. Was he hallucinating? No, it was getting bigger and bigger as it was coming closer. Mustering all his strength Dave stood up. His feet were shaking due to extreme weakness, but he waived at the approaching helicopter frantically with his blue jacket. Had they seen him? Dave was ecstatic. This was perhaps his last chance and he had to make it. By this time the helicopter was hovering over his head. The copter landed a few meters away from him and a man jumped down and ran towards him.

-Are you Mr. Dave Richardson?

Dave smiled and said, “Yes, do you have a little space in your helicopter to accommodate me for a lift?”

- I must appreciate your sense of humour even at this condition. We had been searching for you for a week and had almost lost all hope to find you.

Dave knew he was saved. As the copter pulled up, in the fading sunlight Dave saw the remains of his plane’s fuselage and bade goodbye to his friend for the last time. His experience in the last six days was more like a duel with death. It was a duel well fought, but he did not dare to say that he had won it, as he knew that he was almost on the verge of tipping over. With teary eyes and folded hands, he looked up in the Heavens to thank the Almighty to give him another chance to relive and reunite with his family.

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Science Fiction-The Spectacular Spectacle-Kaushik Chakraborty

The Spectacular Spectacle

Kaushik Chakraborty

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

Giridih

“Dear Roma,

It was indeed a great pleasure to go through your research and findings on your “electronic vision”project. I am sure it is a ground breaking invention and can open up a new dimension in the field of science. It will bring hopes to millions of blind people around the world and can potentially end the curse of blindness permanently from mankind in future. I have gone through your findings in great detail and have found it to be almost flawless. But I am appending a few points for you to ponder and if you incorporate them, I think it can improve your invention even further.

Wishing you all the best

Yours truly

Prof. Trilokeshwar Shonku.

Tears of joy ran down Prof. Romashankar Trivedi’s eyes as he read the letter again and again from the legendary scientist Prof. Shonku, whom he has idolized from his childhood, praising for his findings and declaring it as a ground breaking invention. He even gave him some tips to improve upon his findings. The letter literally boosted his energy a thousand times and he started working with new enthusiasm and vigor.

Blindness is one the biggest curse on mankind since time immemorial. When light reaches the retina in the eye and an image is developed, it moves to the remainder of the brain through the optic nerve. The optic nerve is the second cranial nerve, and is the connection between the brain and eyes. As soon as the information passes from the optic nerve to the remainder of the brain, it is sent to the occipital lobe, where vision is processed. The occipital lobe is located in the back of the brain, above the cerebellum, and forms the center of the visual perception system. The last part of the brain associated with vision is the visual cortex, where sensory and motor information is incorporated with vision. Damage to the optic nerve avoids any information from being sent from the eyes to the remainder of the brain and this causes blindness to man in major cases.

Prof. Romashankar Trivedi has been studying on this system of vision for a long time. After consulting with leading ophthalmologists he was determined to do something to give back vision to blind persons. It is the result of this determination that for the last seven years Prof. Romashankar Trivedi has been working on the project of what he named as “Electronic vision”. Ultimately his hard work paid off. He has developed a spectacle with a special glass. The glasses have the ability to absorb light as it passes through them. If it is worn by any blind person, he will be able to see just like any normal person. When a blind person wears the spectacle, the images trapped by the glass is transmitted through the side arms of the spectacles to a metallic band worn behind the head

which stimulates the visual cortex of the human brain through some complicated wiring thereby synthesizing a clear picture of the information supplied. Thus the vision is regained bypassing the damaged optic nerves.

Quite understandably Romashankar was thrilled with his invention. He was even thinking of filing a patent for his new invention. But Prof. Shonku’s “few points” as mentioned in his letter has really stumped him over. He has decided to wait for some time before filing his patent. What a genius this man is! His electronic spectacle’s capabilities can be enhanced many folds if he is able to add the new features as per Prof. Shonku’s instruction. But this is a top secret and he has not revealed this feature to anybody. He has to add a small “feature” in his spectacle to enhance its “normal working” even further. He could really feel the excitement in his nerves anticipating the final product which he is going to present the world in a few more days.

The next morning as he was busy in his laboratory with his new spectacles, the doorbell rang. Mahendra, his domestic help, opened the door. There stood a young man in kurta pyjama. As per Romashankar’s instruction he was let in and asked to wait in the drawing room. Shortly afterwards he entered the room. Seeing him the man stood up from the sofa with folded hands to greet him.

Romashankar noticed that he was a man of average height and built, nothing extraordinary to remember. With a neat hairdo and a side bag hanging from his left shoulder he introduced himself as Mr. Pratap Bose, a journalist from a local newspaper.

- Tell me in what way I can help you, said Romashankar.

- Sir, I want to take your interview. I will not take much time. I am sorry I did not have any prior appointment as this assignment was given to me on a very short notice by my boss. I hope you don’t mind. I have come to know that you have made some invention which can help blind persons to regain their vision. I was so excited to know this that I could not wait to meet you in person.

- From where did you get this information?

- Its our job, Sir, to keep information, he replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

- Well, yes I am working on it, but it still is not the right time to disclose my work to the world. You will come to know about it in the right time. Mr. Bose was very inquisitive and started asking Romashankar many questions regarding his invention. Initially it was like a normal conversation and Romashankar was answering all his queries with his usual elegance, but slowly he started having a queer feeling. He could sense that Mr. Bose is not just an ordinary journalist, but has some other vested interest. He was trying to dig deeper and deeper in his invention. At one point of time Romashankar had to stop him.

- Look here Mr. Bose, I am not in a position to disclose all the details of my invention. I think whatever you have gathered for now is enough for your interview. I have work to do, pleaseexcuse me. Mr. Bose appeared to be a bit morose with this sudden break but he had to discontinue after Romashankar’s reluctance to carry on further.

Romashankar went back to his laboratory and was once again engrossed with his invention. For the next two days he kept an eye on the daily newspaper expecting his interview to be published, but even after thoroughly scanning them he could not see any publication of his interview.

After a few days of hard work he was finally able to incorporate Prof. Shonku’s “tips” in his spectacles. Now it’s the time to test it.

Mahendra has just then called him for lunch. Sitting on the dining  table some mischievous idea played in Romashankar’s mind. While Mahendra was about to serve him he stopped him and said, I want to show you a magic. Mahendra was taken aback.

- Magic?!!!

- Yes magic. Go and bring my scarf from my wardrobe.

Mahendra obeyed as instructed. On receiving the scarf he asked Mahendra to turn around. As soon he turned around Romashankar blind folded him with his scarf.

- Now serve me.

Mahendra was totally surprised. “I can’t see anything, Sir. How can I serve you?”

- Can’t you see anything?

- No, how can I, you have tied the scarf so tightly I can’t see anything. I am even afraid to walk.

Romashankar started smiling. He slowly took the “spectacle” from his pocket and placed it over Mahendra’s eyes and the metallic band behind his head.

- What is this?

- This is my spectacles. Can you see now?

- How can I see, my eyes are still covered?

Romashankar took out a small black remote switch from his pocket. “Can you see Mahendra?”

- No, I can’t.

Romashankar tapped on the switch with his thumb. For a moment Mahendra’s body shivered with a slight shock. Then suddenly Mahendra was overjoyed. “I can see, I can see. Oh! My God!! I can see. But I still have my eyes blindfolded, Sir. But I can still see. How is it possible?” He was overjoyed and ecstatic. Romashankar was overjoyed too. His eyes turned misty by imagining how his spectacles will change the life of a blind person and return him back to normal life. He embraced Mahendra.

- “Now can you serve me?”

- Yes, of course. Mahendra was so amazed at his creation that he started dancing around the room like a small child.

- Now look up towards the ceiling. What can you see?

As Mahendra looked up he said. “I can see the fan rotating fast.”

- Can you see or count the blades?

- No, it is rotating too fast to see or count the blades.

Now Romashankar again started tapping another switch in his black remote.

- The fan is slowing down, said Mahendra.

- Keep watching it.

Romashankar kept on tapping at the switch as the speed of the fan appear to come down even further. After sometime Mahendra said, “The fan has totally stopped. But I can still feel the air it is circulating. How is it possible? Romashakar was overjoyed.

- Yes!!! I have done it. Thank you Prof. Shonku. You are a true genius. I have been able to bring down the speed of light passing through the glass of my spectacles and finally halted it to zero. Time has frozen in my spectacle.

He went near Mahendra and opened up his scarf. To his utter amazement he saw that the fan was running at its usual speed just like before. Then how did I see that it has stopped?!! Mahendra still could not come to terms with Romashankar’s “magic” and was looking dazed. That day the lunch appeared to be truly sumptuous to Romashankar as he was overjoyed with his success.

That night Mahendra could not sleep properly. He kept on thinking about the wonderful magic Romashankar had shown him. What a magical spectacle!! The next morning he was preparing breakfast for Romashankar. Meanwhile Romashankar went to the wash room to freshen up.

Mahendra could not resist himself. He slowly crept in Romashankar’s laboratory. The spectacles were lying on his table. He slowly took it up and put it on his eyes. Nothing apparently happened. He tried to figure out how it works. Trying different ways he still could not do anything. It appeared to him as just an ordinary pair of spectacles with an extra metallic band at the back. Just then Romashankar entered his laboratory. Seeing Mahendra fiddling with his spectacles he started smiling. Mahendra did not notice him as he was busy with the magical spectacle. Then suddenly Romashankar broke his silence. Trying to hide his smile he asked “Where is my breakfast, Mahendra?” Mahendra was highly embarrassed as till now he has never touched any instruments pertaining to Romashankar’s laboratory. He immediately kept the spectacles on the table and said,

“Sorry Sir, I am just bringing it.” As he left Romashankar could spot that Mahendra’s hands were wet. Perhaps while preparing his breakfast, he was also doing some dishes. He slowly picked up the spectacles and found that its side arms and the glasses were little wet. He has disturbed. Water is not good for electronic instruments. He slowly rubbed it off with a clean cloth and kept it near the window in the sunlight to dry it out. Meanwhile Mahendra served him breakfast. He warned Mahendra not to touch his spectacles with wet hands as it is not just an ordinary pair of spectacles but a highly sophisticated electronic instrument. Mahendra apologized for his mistake and went away. After having breakfast Romashankar became deeply engrossed in his work once again.

At around 11am the doorbell rang. Mahendra came and informed him that a man has come to meet him. He handed Romashankar a visiting card. The visiting card read, “Mr. Ganpat Singhania”, M.D. Singhania Opticals. He thought for a while, then instructed Mahendra to tell the man to wait for him in the drawing room. After about 10 minutes Romashankar went to meet Mr. Singhania in his drawing room. As he entered, the man stood up and forwarded his right hand to shake hands with Romashankar. He was wearing a plush royal blue suit. A pair of steel framed stylish spectacles adorned his eyes. Two gold rings decorated his middle and ring fingers of his right hand as he stretched it out to greet him very warmly. There was a mark of elite class in his overall appearance.

- Good morning Prof. Trivedi. Really honored to meet one of the greatest scientists of today’s time. I have been thinking to meet you for quite some time but was unable to manage my time. Finally, I have managed time to meet you. Indeed a great pleasure to meet you inperson.

- Thank you for the compliment. Nice meeting you too. Please take your seat. Tell me what Ican do for you. By the way what will like to have tea, coffee or juice?

- Ah! Thanks. I will prefer a cup of hot coffee.

Mahendra went inside to prepare coffee for them.

- Yes, Mr. Singhania, as I was telling what can I do for you?

- You must have seen my card. I am into business of optical.

- Yeah, I have seen it. So how can I help you?

- Well Prof. I deal with various items dealing with optics from spectacles to microscope, all sorts of lenses, from ophthalmoscopes required by eye surgeon’s to examine patients, to binoculars, telescopes etc. I not only import export them but also manufacture them. My sprawling business is spreading over almost 16 cities in India including all the four metros as well as many small cities. We even have branches in various parts of Middle East and eastern Asia like Singapore, Taiwan, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur etc. Not to boast, my turnover is around 500 crores a year. Almost 600 odd people work under me. I am a very busy man you see and handle my business almost single handedly. Though I have a few trusted men to help me out, but I keep total control with myself. I was in Dubai last week. Just landed yesterday evening. So I could not come to meet you earlier.

- Well, I understand about your sprawling business Mr. Singhania. But I cannot understand in what way I am related to your business?

Mr. Singhania smiled. “Well professor, I have come to know about your recent invention about a spectacle which can give vision to blind people. I was thrilled to hear about it. What a noble idea!! You are a truly blessed man. God will definitely bless you for this great initiative to help out millions of hapless people around the world. As you know that I am a man working in the field of optics and vision, your invention has truly excited me. May I have the honour of seeing it once? Please…”,

Mr. Singhania begged.

Romashankar was elated to hear the praise showered by Mr. Singhania. Asking him to wait, he went back to his laboratory to bring his spectacles. It was still lying on the table beside the window soaking in bright sunlight. By this time, it was completely dry and there was no trace of any moisture left. Romashankar handed over the spectacles to Mr. Singhania. He immediately took it and looked at the spectacle curiously by turning it in various directions trying to figure out its specialty. “It appears to be an ordinary spectacle except this extra metallic band. What is this used for?” Saying this he tried to wear the spectacles.

- It does not work in that way. Place the metallic band behind you head and then it sits perfectly on your face.

Mr. Singhania obeyed as instructed. The band fitted tightly on his head. “But how does it work?” Romashankar was noticing Mr. Singhania’s excitement while he was exploring the spectacles and was having a sense of satisfaction deep within him. Then he asked, “From where did you know about my invention?”

- Well, it’s my job you see to keep a track of latest inventions in the world related to optics, Mr. Singhania smiled. Hearing Mr. Singhania’s words, immediately something flashed in Romashankar’s mind. These were almost the same words being spoken by that journalist who visited him few days back. He was forgetting his name. He tried hard to remember it. Mr. Singhania interrupted his thoughts…

- Do you remember Pratap? Mr. Pratap Bose?

- Yeah, yeah, now I remember. But how come you know him?

- Surprise…Pratap is actually my secretary. I sent him last week to gather information about your invention. Hope things are now clear to you Prof. Trivedi. Sorry, I had to misinform you that he was a journalist. Otherwise perhaps you would not have shared so many details with the secretary of any odd businessman.

Hearing this Prof. Trivedi became a little annoyed. Guessing his annoyance Mr. Singhania said,

- Apologies, Prof. Trivedi. But believe me I have no bad intention. Actually I wanted to buy the license of your product to manufacture it in mass scale and also sell it around the globe. Don’t worry I will offer you a handsome amount for this license and am sure together we can play in crores. For the rest of your life you can simply sit back, relax and enjoy your life. Whatever Pratap has described to me about the spectacles, if that is true, I am sure I can sell it for at least one lakh rupees per piece if not more. What do you say Prof.? A smile of confidence flashed on Mr. Singhania’s face.

By this time Romashankar was really taken aback. How can Mr. Singhania think of his business plans all by himself without even asking for his opinion? He became very annoyed that he has also fixed up a price for his invention. In a cool but stern voice Prof. Trivedi replied,

- Mr. Singhania, I think you have forgotten that I am a scientist, not a businessman. I have been working on this project for the last seven years with an intention to serve the mankind. To do something for the blind people on this earth from whom God has taken away the light of the world. We scientists have some ethics and responsibilities towards the society as a whole. I have never thought of any commercial implication of my invention. It is purely done with an intention to serve the mankind and not to do business with it. How on earth you have decided everything on your own without consulting me? I don’t agree with your proposal.

- Oh! come on Prof. every invention whatever has taken place in this world has been commercialized. Without that what is the use of inventions? Some day or the other somebody will have to manufacture it. Anticipating that I have come to you with a business proposal. I am sure nobody can give you a better deal than me. If you want I can fix a higher margin for you. Tell me frankly how much do you want? I am not going to let you down. Every damn thing in this world has a price and am ready to pay for it. Tell me your price.

- Sorry Mr. Singhania, you have come to the wrong place. My invention is not for sale. You can leave. I have engagements and work to do. Give me back my spectacles.

There was a sudden change in the facial expression of Mr. Singhania. His smiling face was suddenly full of creases in his forehead. “I have not come across a man like you Prof. I thought you are an intelligent man. But your attitude appears to be like an arrogant fool. Sorry for saying this but…”

Romashankar became very angry and lashed back at him. “How dare you speak to me like that? Give me back my spectacles and get lost from here.”

- I am not accustomed to hear NO Prof. Think again and answer me in affirmative. Saying this he slowly put his right hand in his right pocket, took out a revolver and pointed it towards Romashankar. I don’t like to force you Prof. but don’t test my nerves.

Meanwhile Mahendra was about to come inside the room with two cups of coffee placed on a tray. But seeing the situation he became nervous and stood there at one corner. Romashankar saw him and slowly eyed him some instruction. Mahendra left immediately with the coffee. Mr. Singhania was in no mood at that time to observe this nonverbal instructions of Romashankar. He once again sternly asked him, “For the last time Prof. are you with me for the deal?” Romashankar stood there motionless for some time unable to decipher what to do. Then he slowly put his right hand in his pocket and pulled out the small black remote switch. “Pity on you Mr. Singhania. You are showing me a revolver? You think you are all powerful with it. But you are forgetting that I am scientist. Don’t ever challenge a scientist. Do you know what it is?” He raised his hand showing the small black remote. “Give me back my spectacles and leave or you will repent for the rest of your life.”

- What is it? Mr. Singhania frowned without paying much heed to it. I offered you the best deal but a fool like you doesn’t deserve it. So I take it for FREE. The last word was spoken with extra stress.

- Very well then face the consequences and don’t blame me that I did not warn you.

Romashankar tapped that switch. There was a slight shiver in Mr. Singhania’s head. He could not understand what was going on.

- You wanted to know how it works, isn’t it. Now see the magic. Romashankar tapped the remote few more times. The suddenly Mr. Singhania uttered a shrill sound,

“Ahhh!!! My eyessss…” and fell down. His revolver fell off from his hand. He was wreathing in pain and trying desperately to open the spectacles. But the metallic band fitted tightly behind the head did not come out so easily. He was screaming on top of his voice. 

“Oh! God my eyes. Help me.”

By that time Romashankar quickly picked up the revolver. He pointed it towards Mr. Singhania. His face was red with anger. “Get up and hands above your head. If I can give vision, I can take it back too.” Just then a police jeep stopped in front of Prof. Trivedi’s house. Inspector Sikdar rushed inside.

- Come in Mr. Sikdar. You are right on time. Mahendra did a good job. Take him in your custody.

Mr. Singhania was howling and crying in pain with his hands covering his eyes. Romashankar took out the spectacles forcefully from his eyes. Mr. Sikdar was shocked to see that Singhania’s eyes were blood red and he couldn’t see anything.

- Prof. Trivedi retorted back, “You wanted to take it for FREE Mr. Singhania since I did not accept your deal. Now if you turn blind after this ordeal, don’t worry, I will give it to you to regain your vision FOR FREE.

Mr. Singhania was whisked away by police. Mahendra was dazed after watching the entire proceedings. He was terribly afraid after seeing Mr. Singhania’s condition.

- How did this happen? What did you do, Sir?

- Prof. Trivedi smiled. I did nothing. This was Prof. Shonku’s brilliance. I simply designed a spectacle which can pass the light to human brain like any normal spectacle. This metallic band which is the electrode transmits the information to the brain to regain vision. With my invention one can only see the live pictures. But Prof. Shonku had secretly given me the formula which enabled me to develop a special glass which can trap light. Light can be passed through it at different speeds and can even be stopped and stored in it if necessary by which one can see like a video recording of incidents happened earlier or even can see the image like a still photo. You remember the spectacles was lying in the direct midday sunlight for several hours for drying. During this time it had soaked ample sunlight. With my remote switch I simply unleashed the power of few hours of sunlight in a few seconds. If

you can’t look at the midday sun directly for even a second, just imagine what will happen to your eyes if you are forced to look at the sun for hours altogether. The tremendous intensity of midday sun burned his eyes even if he had closed them. But he deserved it. But I also learnt one thing from this. In future I have to write a line of caution to all the patients who will be using this spectacle “Not to keep it in the sunlight for long”. Mahendra, bring the coffee, let’s have it together.

THE END

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| Special Monsoon Issue,2020 | July-September 2020 |রিমঝিম সংখ্যা।

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