While travelling across the country, we come across many tales of wonder. This year I happened to be travelling across the most beautiful hills of North-East India. The amazing flora and fauna of the region was a feast for the senses. Meeting people, experiencing their culture and exchanging tales by the fireside was an unforgettable experience. One day, we stopped at a small hamlet for the evening, a home-stay. The absence of electricity proved a boon. The warm glow of the fire, good food encouraged the neighbours to come and share the conversation. That evening I heard a strange tale of a lizard. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction.
Kaley was a cowboy at heart. A school dropout, Kaley would often hang out in the nearby town, helping out in his brother-in-law’s shop. Being a young boy, he had only one thing in his mind – girls. Kaley would always try and impress the girls with his outlandish fashion sense. One week it was spikes for earrings, another time he had streaked his hair pink and green. His accessories included a long metal chain attached to his mostly empty wallet, pointy shoes with metal caps, tapering pants and a colourful scarf around his neck. Though not blessed with uncommonly good looks, his mild demeanour and a winning smile endeared him to all.
In the past few years, Kaley had been caught up in the winds of change. He had actively participated in the political struggle – hunger strikes, protest marches, poster campaigns- Kaley had been the local star. The struggle for political dominance continued for twenty-nine months. Soon an agreement with the government brought stability to the troubled region. Kaley was rewarded by his leaders with the much coveted golden goose – contracts for construction work. New clothes, new look and a new car made Kaley a new man.
Prosperity is like a bright street light at night- it attracts all kinds of nocturnal creatures. In Kaley’s case, it was a lizard. One night, while hanging out with his friends at a roadside eatery, Kaley heard about a villager who had caught a very rare lizard in the remote jungles. He had gone to gather wild honey in the jungle when he happened to catch this rare lizard. Given the right client – it would fetch a lot of money in the international market. Such tales often abounded in these hills with many foreigners being arrested by the police for trying to smuggle out rare beetles and butterflies. This was the first time that they had heard about a lizard.
Kaley and his cronies were quick to locate this hapless villager and strike a deal with him. They would pay him handsomely and also keep the entire thing under wraps from the wildlife department.
The lizard was a wondrous creature, able to change colour, glow in iridescent hues and strike at the root of all greed in Kaley’s heart. It appeared to respond to human voices, display an almost human-like nature. With every passing day, it endeared itself to Kaley.
Using all their resources they managed to find a buyer to sell this amazing reptile. The negotiations started and soon an astronomical figure of one crore was offered to Kaley and his gang. They talked, they drank, they bickered and with every gulp that they poured down their throats – the lizard seemed even more beautiful and expensive.
“No, one crore is too less! Let’s double the price, ask for two crores!”
They sent their demand across- it was too much, said the buyer. He will relent, they thought – the lizard is a magical creature.
Kaley and his friends were obsessed with the lizard. A most wonderful creature, the creature of their dreams. “The lizard is sleeping, don’t make noise”, they said.
“The lizard does not like bright lights, draw the curtains”, they cried.
While they were waiting for the buyer to relent, a problem arose. The lizard stopped eating and appeared listless. What were they going to feed him?
“Insects? No. Too lowly for our lizard.”
With their feverish thinking, they hit upon a brainwave – feed him glucose, that white powder of energy. They thought that the glucose would revive him. So, will due approval from all partners the lizard was given healthy dose of glucose water. After bidding him goodnight, they all went to dream about ways to spend their money.
Next morning the entire neighbourhood heard a wail of despair from Kaley’s house. Everyone rushed to help. Death had crept into the house taken the lizard’s soul along with him. The lizard was on its back- his legs in the air. Overnight, it had shrivelled up and its colourful hues faded to a dry grey. Its eyes were unfocussed and covered with a white film. The poor creature looked like it had just crawled out from some deep hole and died. Its temporary home, a cheap cardboard box, had now become its coffin. The trials and tribulations of human adulation had been too much for our magical lizard. The ultimate elixir had proved to be poison for the reptile. It was now beyond any human help.
After the blame game was over, the partners in crime decided to call the buyer. Their logic being if the lizard was so expensive while it was alive, maybe it’s dead body would fetch at least half the price.
After listening to Kaley, the buyer’s response was curt, “I wouldn’t even pay for the glucose. Goodbye.”
Last heard, Kaley had not slept or eaten properly for a week.
The embers of our fire slowly died down and the neighbours returned to their houses. A fantastic tale – is there such a lizard? Well, we also grew up reading about fairies and goblins. Maybe the lizard was a visitor, a symbol of things best left undisturbed.
-Sajid Ahmed
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