🧭 SAMAY YATRINI 🕰
(Time Traveller Girl)
An evening of April 1991, sat I at the shore of Lake Nili kere in the village named Vimanapatna in the city of sweets of north karnataka. Some myth is around the name of the village that centuries ago a scientist of Kadambar dynasty invented the first plane which was crashed during its flight test in our village and thus the name was given to pay tribute to the scientist and his work.
Oh sorry.....forgot to introduce myself , I am JAIDEV KUMAR a ten year old boy -student of 4th std of govt school of Vimanapatna ,son of a school teacher (science teacher).
My father had once mentioned that I was born on the same date on which the scientist who crashed the plane in our village was born centuries ago.( Don't know whether it's true but that's the way parenting works in India to encourage kids to study...phew).
Yeah I know you connected with me on that one..
So the story is not about plane or astrology or parenting, it's about me and my dream of inventing a time travel vehicle so that I can travel back in time to tell the scientist about the mistake he did during the flight so that he can land safely and doesn't end up killing himself in crash.But as many say to me that Iam a child of many imaginations and the time doesn't work that way as many theories, phenomenon, hypothesis point out its possible to time travel to future but to travel back is not possible. And of course many in village thought I'm crazy at 10 what would I be in future with such impossible junk ideas which resembled imaginary stories of feature films.
On the science exhibition day in Jan 1991, at our school I had made an experimental display of how plants release oxygen by using carbon dioxide and it took 2 days to capture the oxygen and I had to lit a match at the opening of apparatus where the oxygen (little quantity produced due to the small size of the plant in apparatus ) was present beneath the cork placed to block its escape.The spectacled teacher with half dyed moustache who was judging the exhibition came to me and asked to demonstrate the work I had done for the exhibition, I did ,I lit the match as I removed the cork,it sparkled few seconds at the opening of apparatus due to concentrated oxygen at the opening and I saw with amazement that this would be my moment of becoming renowned as next scientist of Vimanapatna , as I turned my head up towards the judge his eyes met mine and he asked "Can you show it again?" and I was like -"No sir it was captured after the wait for 2 days ,I can't do it again as I may need 2 days again to demonstrate it".
But the judge nodded in disappointment and told he didn't see anything come out of the opening of apparatus nor the lit match stick sparkled ,as he passed by to the next table contestant.
My father who was the teacher in my school stood at the door of the exhibition room entry and saw the discontent in my eyes and signaled his hand to me not to worry.(You know he meant S#!t happens).
Sorry for the language..
As I rode back to my home with my father in his HERO bicycle he asked -
-"Son what are you planning for next exhibition?"
I with no intention to tell my father that I no longer want to participate in such exhibitions I replied - "Time Travel Vehicle".
Father replied - "Great, would love to see that by next year".
I really had that plan but within a year it was not possible.
The next day with lots of pain in my heart about my failed exhibit the previous day I sat along the shore of NILI KERE lake to just count the fishes swimming to the side of lake to get their food.
A girl in her teens selling tender coconuts also came to the shore and washed her belongings and sat after quenching her thirst with the sweet water of the lake.
She saw me and asked - "are you from around ?"
I with hesitation replied "yes".
( The hesitation is due to the Indian parenting constitution-don't talk to strangers, don't eat what strangers offer and even they can kidnap you).
Yes you again connected with me..
The girl continued -" why are you so silently sitting at the shore alone?"
"DONT you have any friends to play along?"
I said -" I have but I'm not in mood today"
She offered me a coconut.
Of course I declined .
( Remembered Mom's angry face)
The girl asked again what's the issue ?
I narrated my mini biography and my dream and drama of the day before to her.
She started laughing holding her stomach and after ending with irritating giggles she said-
" FOR such small issue a small boy like you sitting at the shore of lake and worrying doesnt make sense "
My face turned red.
The girl spoke with intense voice -"But"..
I asked -"what but..?"
She replied -"TIME TRAVEL makes sense".
Now I rolled on the shore with laughter, a coconut selling girl talking about Time travel possibility with a science student like me -I thought in mind .
She packed all her things to leave and said - " hey- chote babu (small guy) ,every thing is possible in this world of ALMIGHTY ,only thing is you should give a try but with full sincere effort".
And she left.
I also strolled back to my home,it was evening 5pm.
My father was waiting with a charming face (how it looked after clean shave and lots of talcum powder on face ), with my mom ready with make up to leave for a evening movie show of Dr.KUMAR (the superstar of karnataka of whom my parents were great fans).It was an old movie of 1960s which was re-released in colour again .
I declined, but my father gave a look and I had to agree and walked along with them to the near by movie show tent which played the movie .
But all the way I was thinking about the girl I met,she seemed she was not from our village and her accent also didn't match our verbal dialect.And the main thing which poked me inside was her agreement to my idea of time travel -to which the whole village and my friends had laughed all the time.
I just sat next to my parents and started to watch the movie once we entered the movie tent ,the hero entered and the heroine danced to his songs and family drama broke out ,in a scene where I was about to get sleep like all the kids of my age would get during a family drama movie ,hero asked heroine if she would like to have some tender coconut to drink? ,to which heroine nodded -yes in agreement.
And then in the next scene there she was the coconut selling girl I met on the shore of the lake that day earlier ,selling coconuts to our hero on the screen ,I got shocked ,jumped to the edge of my seat and rubbed my eyes till they became red and wide open .To my surprise it was her ,the same girl I met on the lake shore .
How is this possible I asked to myself?
It's an old movie ,how the same girl can be there?
And it was like she turned towards me and smiled in the end of the scene ,and left after offering coconuts to our couple on screen.
And I really went n@ts..!!???!!!?
Again sorry for the language..
After the movie we had dinner at restaurant near by and came back home.
All night I didn't sleep.
And after months, I sat at the shore of the NILI kere lake (that is as I mentioned in the start about evening of April 1991) ,I thought and asked to myself the same question I had been asking to myself everyday since months that- "Who was that girl?"
"Why she met me?"
"Is she any magic girl? Or Jeannie?
"Did she meet me to convince me to continue my work on time travel?"
" Will I be able to invent a Time Travel Vehicle and travel back to save the SCIENTIST?"
" Will I ever get to see the girl again?"
"Was she any angel who was sent to meet me by the God?"
Or....
"Was she a -
TIME TRAVELLER - 'SAMAY YATRINI ' ?
-Dr.B-rainbow-91
