🪙 Mrutyu Nanya🪙
COIN OF DEATH
On an evening of October 1998 people gathered around a bus station of a village named UDDIN BETGERI a small village in North Karnataka to witness a historical event for the village that is they were moving the Weight Machine, which was placed at the bus station 30 yrs back by a renowned company( which made such machines since Bristish era).
Two people a MALE-nurse and a local press informer were witnessing the process from the canteen window in the bus stand.Four people were sitting across the table of nurse and informer.
The first person among them an aged fellow around 60 yrs told the fellow canteen table mates that it is good that they are removing that WEIGHT MACHINE , as it is a nuisance to the village ,to this everyone turned their heads towards the old fellow ,the owner of the canteen Mr.Basappa who sat near cash counter laughed at the statement old fellow made and asked him why he was telling like that about the simple machine which just took 50paise coin to show our weight and also gave a photograph of the film stars over the card which it dispensed with the weight reading.
The old man was still till the room became quite and started to narrate a story-
"Look friends I don't mean to make fun of the machine or myself ,but there is a myth that the weight machine which they are about to remove from the bus station is POSSESSED 👹,30 yrs back when I was working as a tea maker in a shop across this bus station ,there was a saloon next to our tea shop and the fellow who worked there was MAHADEV ,he was a very modern minded fellow ,so he was very happy when this Weight Machine was placed at our small bus station and it also became a matter of pride to our village in those days .But..."
Everyone listening to the old man shouted at his incomplete story- " BUT WHAT ?"
The old man looked at his audience in the canteen having tea and munching on ONION BAJJI. He continued -" BUT ,one day MAHADEV came to our canteen and was in very worried state ,I asked him -"What is it MAHADEV?"
TO which he replied -" I can tell but you will laugh"
I was preparing tea and asked him -"Try me ."
He said- " This morning I went to check my weight in weighing machine placed at bus station, every time it dispensed a card with my weight with some FILM STAR photo and a good note written on the other side of the card but today it said -TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY COMRADE - MASTER IS HERE. I didn't get it."
To which I laughed and said - " Poor machine ,it is being used Left and Right by passengers ,may be the cards are over ,so may be they didn't put cards and ink necessary for it.Dont worry about such a silly thing."
To which the Hairdresser MAHADEV took a deep breath of relief and left to his home.
" Next day"- the old man stopped again .
This time the people of canteen looked at the old man with utmost curiosity.
The old man with heavy words told to everyone that the SALOON fellow MAHADEV was dead the next day.
To this everyone moved to the edge of their respective seats and asked -" WHAT ,HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?"
TO that old man replied- " HE DIED OF SNAKE BITE ,BUT THE THING WHICH HAUNTS ME TILL TODAY IS HOW DID THE MACHINE KNOW IT WAS HIS LAST DAY ?"
To this one of the young fellow in the canteen giggled and said -" WHAT you people ?,don't believe in such non-sense stories" and stormed towards cash counter to pay his bill.
Everyone at the canteen started to talk among themselves about the story of old man.
The old man had his single idli with sambar and left.
The nurse and the press informer also left the canteen.
The officer incharge of the bus station was looking after the safe transport of the Weight Machine.
The press informer went upto him and asked -
" Sir good evening Iam Mr.MURALI KRISHNA ,local press informer ,wanted to take a photo graph of this weight machine for an article ,I also request you and your staff to let me take a photo of you all with the machine. "
To this the officer churned his moustache tip with his fingers and obliged with his head nod.
One of the workers came running to the informer and stopped him and said - Let the machine be taken away ,don't publish about it, its a SATAN ( RAKSHAS).
But the other staff laughed at that worker and made the informer take the picture any way.
All this time the nurse who was waiting for his bus to home at bus station was looking at this and was getting entertained.
The press informer asked the officer -"SIR,before you move this machine ,let me check my weight for the last time ,it will be for the article".
The officer agreed .
But Murali didn't have the coin, he asked everyone for a coin of 50 paise, but no one had the change ,even at canteen there were only 1 rupee coins.
After seeing the informer's sorry face ,nurse offered the only 50 paise coin he had .
To which the informer was very happy ,and he strolled towards the weight machine and inserted the coin into the slot provided in the machine, and stood on the platform part of the machine so that it can weigh him and dispense his weight card.
Amidst this nurse hurried towards entrance of the bus station as his bus was about to leave and climbed up and sat in the moving bus.
By this time informer waited for the card to be dispensed.It came out and it read - Its your last day COMRADE,MASTER will see to it that you reach to your destination.
The old man from the canteen who also stood at a corner of bus station looked with his wrinkled forehead towards the informer as he took the card and ran away from the bus station as fast as he can.
The informer was worried the whole night and didn't get good sleep and even developed fever, for which his family members scolded him and told to go to near by GOVT hospital to get medicine.
The informer MURALI left the home in the middle of the night and walked towards hospital which was 2 kms from his home.
He woke up the doctor ,the doctor saw him and gave him prescription after listening to his non sense story of the Weight Machine,which the informer mentioned as the cause for his fever.
The Doctor also told him to go to the nurse in the next room and get the medicines ,and also told to get an injection for the body ache.
The informer thanked the Doctor and left to the next room to meet the nurse,to his astonishment it was the same nurse who gave him coin for the weighing machine who was on duty .
He gave him the prescription and said - " Hey its you ,sorry I have to return your 50 paise."
To this the nurse told -" it's ok ,you needed it for your article so I gave it."
" What's your name?" -asked Murali.
Nurse replied-"Mrutyunjaya."
The nurse laughed at the informer for developing fever for the story narrated by the old man in canteen.
Then the informer told about the card and its content to the nurse, and the face of the nurse also changed to blue and he also started to sweat.
The informer looked at the nurse and asked-" It's my card ,why you are getting worried?".
To this the nurse replied with the syringe in his right hand -" Even I had gone to check my weight in that WEIGHT MACHINE one week back."
Now the air of suspense in the room turned into criminal.
The informer looked into sleep deprived red eyes of the nurse and asked with a stutter in his voice -" What did your card say from the weighing machine?"
The nurse with syringe in right hand ,moved his left hand to his back pocket of pant and took the card he had and handed over it to the informer.
The informer looked at the card with a scared face as it read - Hello MASTER !! IF YOU DONT KILL THE COMRADE YOU MEET ,YOU WILL DIE WITHIN A MONTH.
- Dr.B-rainbow-91
