Ghoul in The Village
Sudhakar was the only merchant in the large village of Sambalpur. He was a clever man. Unfortunately, he used his cleverness only to exploit the people. He swindled the villagers through several means. One of those means was to lend them money at a high rate of interest, against the jewellery which the borrowers pledged with him. Generally, the borrowers failed to pay the loans which swelled with interest, on the promised day. The jewellery they pledged became Sudhakar's property. Sudhakar died, rather suddenly of a heart attack. After his funeral rites were over, his only son, Rangu opened his trunk. What he saw amazed him. The trunk was bursting with gold ornaments and silver coins. The sight of the wealth scared Rangu much more than it delighted him. His father had many foes. He was afraid, some of them would try to steal the wealth. His home was not a safe place for so much treasure. He could not sleep at night. He thought deeply about doing something to put an end to his anxiety. At last, a novel idea struck him. Just outside the village stood an old banyan tree. As it is, the tree was known to be the dwelling place of a number of ghosts.
Now, Rangu told some villagers that he had seen a ghoul roaming around the tree. He also confided to them his suspicion that it was his father, Sudhakar, whose spirit had turned a ghoul! What Rangu told a few people, soon became the talk of the village. At night several villagers noticed a white figure sitting on a branch of the tree, dangling its legs, or just circling the tree in an easy stroll. There was panic in the village. Rangu took note of the situation and was quite happy. It was of his making. He had buried his father's treasure under the tree. At night he donned a white gown and loitered around the tree or sat on a branch. Nobody dared to go near the tree. That made the buried treasure safe. He knew that after a few days it would not be necessary for him to pose as the ghoul, for nobody would come out to the open at night. His speculation proved correct. Soon people stopped coming out after the nightfall. The village became the haunt of thieves. They freely stole away cows from sheds and crop from the fields as no one was outside. The villagers even stopped going to the weekly market which was situated some miles away. That was because it became dark by the time they returned from the market and they had to pass by the banyan tree. This was a boon for Rangu. He could sell goods at his stop at twice the normal profit. It was at this stage that Govind, the wanderer, reached Sambalpur, followed by his dog. Soon he heard from the villagers all about the ghoul. Immediately he took a vow to rid the poor villagers of the menace.
To begin with, he took note of what the people believed- that it was Sudhakar's spirit that had turned a ghoul. As soon as it was dark, he stealthily climbed the banyan tree and waited. After an hour he saw a man approaching the tree. The man had brought a packet with him. Standing under the tree, he unfolded the packet. It was a white gown. The man donned it and then strolled there in a leisurely manner for about two hours. Then he took off the gown, folded it, and began walking into the village. Govind slowly got down and followed the fellow. He took note of the house which the fellow entered. In the morning Govind enquired and learnt that the house was the late Sudhakar's. He also learnt what kind of a man Sudhakar was. Slowly things began to get clear in his mind. Govind went behind the village temple and put on a set of false beard and moustache. Then he went to Sudhakar's house. "Are you there, Sudhakar?" he called out. "Who are you?" asked the surprised Rangu, coming out to the veranda.
"I am Jogi Chowdhury's son. You are Sudhakar's son, I suppose! Where is he?" asked Govind, taking a seat inside Rangu's house. "My father is no more!" informed Rangu. "I see! That explains why he failed to return us the ten thousand rupees which he borrowed from my father when he was in the town last time. But you are there to pay on his behalf just as I am here to receive on behalf of my late father. Please arrange to pay back the amount," said Govind. Rangu was surprised. Govind acted in such a natural manner that it was difficult to think that he was lying. At the same time, Rangu could not think of handing over then thousand rupees to a stranger at his mere asking! "Gentleman, I know nothing of the loan. In any case, I am not in a position to pay you the amount because I have no money to pay!" said Rangu. "Don't try to bluff me. Your father collected a heap of jewellery from the people. You can pass on to me some of them!" said Govind. "Come and see for yourself all the nooks and corners of my house. If there is any jewellery, you can carry them home!" declared Rangu with enthusiasm. He then dragged Govind into all the rooms in his house and proved that there was no trunk or box in the house which could contain anything valuable. Govind smiled to himself. He understood that Rangu was so brave in showing his house because he hid his wealth elsewhere. "I don't care to know what you have and what you don't have. You must pay back what your father had borrowed. Why don't you sell your house?" demanded Govind.
"Look here, gentleman, don't try to hoodwink me. You ought to know that my father's spirit has turned into a ghoul. If I report your conduct to the spirit, he would crack your head!" said Rangu. Govind burst into a hearty laugh and then said, "I am happy to hear this. My father's spirit too has turned into a ghoul. As a ghoul, he has succeeded in realising our dues from several people like you. Let me then bring your case to his notice. Let my father's spirit come and tackle your father's spirit. Beware of the consequence!" Govind left Rangu's house, leaving Rangu in a pitiable state of mind. Rangu had found it easy to scare human beings under the guise of a ghoul. But how can he stand a real ghoul if it comes to confront him? He decided to bring the buried treasure back home so that he would not have to guard it any more. He was afraid of Jogi Chowdhury's spirt meeting him under the banyan tree. For the last time, he went near the banyan tree. It was the dead of night. Although he covered himself with the white gown, he was shivering inside. He sat down and dug out the treasure. Just then someone gave out a fearful cry and jumped from the tree and grabbed him. Rangu was too frightened to struggle. Govind bound him to the tree. Instructing his faithful dog to guard the captive, Govind ran into the village and shouted, "Come out, friends, and enjoy a glimpse of your ghoul!" Soon he gathered a number of villagers who followed him to the banyan tree. "You! Rangu!" they exclaimed when Govind removed the mask from Rangu's face. Rangu, you too have suffered much on account of this sinful treasure. Why not use it for a noble purpose and live in peace?" Govind proposed. Rangu agreed to spend the treasure for building a school and a dispensary. All were happy. In fact, Rangu himself was quite happy. Govind took to the road again.
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