The Ravines by Dimitri Friedman

Author:Dimitri Friedman [Friedman, Dimitri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9788129120205
Publisher: Rupa Publications India
Published: 2012-12-01T06:00:00+00:00

She was lying on her back, her body twitching with nervous ticks. All around her, the forest formed a protective vault, filtering the cool rays of a full moon. A raucous cry somewhere deep in the jungle snapped her out of her reverie. Man Singh lay beside her. Phoolan suddenly became aware of the presence of her lover and the surroundings, which seemed to be swarming with terrible memories. She realized that her entire life since the age of eleven had been spent running away.

'This is indeed the mighty Phoolan Devi's band consisting of a girl who had barely turned eighteen and an ascetic. Is this the Bandit Queen who has the state's entire police force hunting for her?' she asked aloud.

'Keep quiet,' said Man Singh, painfully lifting his head. 'You are delirious...it's the fatigue.'

They were resting close to a little stream after having drunk all the water that they could take, their stomachs knotted in hunger.

'Of what use is all this?' asked Phoolan. 'We had a narrow escape and everyone is dead. The police has the latest automatic weapons. The still-warm bodies of our friends lie displayed in the village square, like those of dogs, desecrated and cursed. The police have been granted extraordinary powers; they can confiscate our families' and friends' assets, can kill and torture with impunity. Nobody wants to help us any more. The only thing that remains is revenge. It is that which binds us together and it is also this hatred which is destroying us bit by bit as both the list of our enemies as well as the number of our loved ones killed continues to grow. Is this really what we want?'

'It matters little what we want,' replied Man Singh. 'We need to survive, that's all. Let us thank Durga for having saved us from that hell.'

'Our best men have fallen: Vikram, Bare Lal, Mustakim. The ones we loved the most. Our fight against the Thakurs makes no sense. We will never be able to defeat them this way because they have the money and the power. The corrupt police, politicians and the government itself is in their hands. As things stand now, we can no longer conduct raids to finance our operations, to get food, to pay informers, to buy ammunition, or hide. We have been reduced to hoping that our Mallah brothers and sisters will support and hide us at the risk of their own lives. But that, too, will end one day. A day will come when they will tire of the heavy load and they will disown us. Because someone like Mayadin would have promised them a little to betray us.'

Man Singh looked wonderingly at Phoolan's burning eyes.

'They cannot denounce us,' he said, 'for that would be betraying themselves.'

'Please! Enough of this idealism. These Mallahs were the first ones to rape me, they were the ones who hunted down my parents, beat them, robbed them and betrayed them. There is no loyalty which can stand against the lure of money or the fear of threats.

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