Antim sanskar - The last ritual

Today When I entered my chamber in the morning & Sharvan our peon brought the glass of water I noticed he was looking quite sad & silent not his usual self.
Otherwise he was a young fellow with a sweet smile on his face always.
But as the Associate professor in anatomy department in medical college I have many urgent works ,lectures to be taken ,students to deal with & I quite naturally I forgot all about it.
In the evening he brought his application for two days leaves to me, still he was looking glum.
I asked him why he wants two days leave. Is he ill or what ?
He said - He said - yes he is ill with fever.
I granted him leaves advising him to take medicine.
When I asked why he is looking sad , he was hesitant but than he told me about the scolding by Mrs. Kapoor.
Mrs. Kapoor was the wife of our Head of the department
Along with his duties in college he has to work at home of Prof Kapoor also, that I knew.
Prof Kapoor was my Head of the department as well as a good family friend.
I knew his family quite well. He has two daughters and one son. He had a large banglow in the campus & Sharvan used to do cleaning & related chores.
Mrs. Kapoor was a very good wife & mother to the children but she was bit sharp tongue though she was good by heart.
I told Sharvan not to be much worried about this scolding as sure Mrs. kapoor would forget all about it next day & she is not a lady who carries grudges long..
At this Sharvan smiled & said yes I know that.Memsahib is very good to him otherwise.
Next day I was away due to some my personal work & didn’t come to department.
On third day when I came to department. I felt a very different tense atmosphere in the campus.
Students were whispering in groups standing in hall,And lobby , lecturers were also huddled around in staff room; Prof Kapoor was not in his chamber.
When I entered my chamber I asked for a glass of water it was brought by Kalu as Sharvan was on leave.
I asked him to send for my associate lecturer Mrs. Joshi & when she came I noticed she was looking very sad .I asked her why the students are not in Anatomy hall doing there dissection.as per the time table.
She told me about the unfortunate events of yesterday evening. She told me that Amit The son of Prof Kapoor was missing since yesterday evening, nobody knows where he is? Has he been kidnapped or Gone by himself, nobody knows.
I was shocked to here this.
Amit was a young boy of around 14 years & was student of class 8<SUP>th</SUP> standard in a good public school. As for as I knew him he was a sweet & good natured boy. He was good at studies also.
As Prof Kapoor lived in campus only I told Mrs. Joshi to take care of the students & I went there.
Few of the staff was in the lawn & talking with each other.
Mrs. Kapoor was sitting on sofa & crying. Prof Kapoor was talking with police inspector .Both the girls were also sitting near their mum & crying at the same time trying to console their mum.
When I enquired about the event; Prof .Kapoor informed me that yesterday after coming from school he went to play in the nearby ground as he usually go there nobody took any notice, he was very normal behaving, had small talk with his mum & sisters as usual.
When he didn’t return till late, they become worried though not much and phoned his friends they told that today Amit didn’t arrived at all.
Now Both parents become worried & searched everywhere possible, phoned to his friends & relatives but he was nowhere.

Inspector was asking usual questions about any unusual phone calls, did somebody have a grudge against them? Prof Kapoor informed there were no such things.
At college we also asked students if any body has played a prank to tell us.
As I knew that medical students have quite fertile mind & in there long & hard studies some time they did play quite serious pranks but all assured that no body have any such inclination.

Two days passed but Amit didn’t returned, No phone calls for any ransom.
Meanwhile Sarvan had returned to duties, on hearing this sad news he was also very sad.
On third day some student informed me that in the evening Sharvan was seen carrying a large sack on his cycle carrier.
My anxious mind sprung to many unpleasant thoughts ,I remembered the talk with Sharvan about his scolding by Mars Kapoor ,his leaves & on thinking again it looked like he was bit apprehensive & anxious ,not his usual self since coming back from leaves. Actually he was hired this year only & we knew him for few months only though his behavior in these months was quite normal
My mind labeled him kidnapper of Amit, I founded the theory that he wanted to get revenge for his scolding.
I thought for some time & then went to Prof. Kapoor’s house. I casually enquired about Sharvan,did they think he could do such thing?
Mrs. Kapoor said No ,I don’t believe that .Sharvan is a nice boy.
yes she scolded him once in while but she can’t think of him doing so horrendous act.
Still Me & Prof kapoor informed police.
Inspector Dikshit came & Sharvan was summoned from college.
Initially he interrogated him in normal tones but Sharvan was looking very agitated & nervous, making us believe that he knew something & is hiding that from us.
When enquired about the parcel he was carrying other day on his cycle he become very nervous & could not answer properly.
Now we all have our imagination running ahead of us, He had approach to the instruments in anatomy lab, he must have killed Amit and sure it must have been body in the sack on cycle.
The inspector asked him to carry him to his house for search & I also went along.
Sharvan was residing in the slum area behind the college. He opened the lock of his room with trembling hands. It was only one room, No he was not married, he didn’t have any relative.
In the small room search was quick & soon we found a big earthenware pot reeking of formalin.
When it was opened everybody was shocked to see small pieces of a body emitting formalin smell. Sharvan was weeping & couldn’t answer anything.
On closer examination it appeared that body parts were not very fresh but quite old & preserved in formalin nicely.
Just than my mobile phone rang and it was Prof. Kapoor Saying in a jubilant voice that Amit has returned back safe & sound, he himself went away, lured by a friend.
Prof Kapoor said that now there is no need to search Sharvan ’s place.
But now we couldn’t leave the search after finding the body parts.
Whose body parts were they, did he murdered some body else & hid him like that?
On hearing Amit ‘s return Sharvan seemed a bit relaxed & when I asked him to tell the truth He narrated it in few simple words & we were left speechless by the story behind the body parts.
Sharvan was the only son of his widowed mother , They were very very poor ,She worked hard to raise him & put him in school , he passed Tenth class and when he was 17 -18 years old he went to Bombay to earn money along with a neighbour. He didn’t return for one year. meanwhile his mother become very ill & due to lack of treatment died.
As there was no relative & nobody knew the address of Sharvan the neighbors informed police & police informed municipal cooperation. They took the body away & as a unclaimed body gave to local medical college for the teaching of the stud dents.
On returning from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Bombay</st1lace></st1:City> he found about sad demise of his mother & the way body was disposed. He remembered that since child hood his mother used to say that my son would do all the rituals when I would die, will do the agni sanskar.It is a son’s last duty for his parents but due to bad luck & circumstances he couldnot do that.
.He didn’t have even last glimpse of his mother.
After few days musing he went to medical college & by making friendly And emotional talks with a elderly peon asked him to please let him see if his mother was there. The old peon agrees & he found that his mother was there in anatomy hall on table no 6. Students were dissecting some part of her every day.
He was Very Sad but couldn’t do any things. He was haunted by his mother’s word of last rituals performed by a son
After few months there was a vacancy for post of peon in department of anatomy & he applied & prayed to God for his employment & God heard his prays & he was employed
Luckily he was peon in anatomy hall & thus he was able to keep the parts of his mother body after dissection & carry them home. As all the parts after dissection were disposed of in a crematorium by peons he could do it .
As They were preserved so no decomposition. Now the whole dissection was completed in one year duration & that day he brought the last parts of his mother’s remains & was ready to do last rituals & agni sanskar of his mother after so much wait.
But meanwhile this kidnapping of Amit Happened & he was scared doing the rituals that if somebody find out he would be held responsible. Now that Amit has returned home he was asking me to please allow him to do the last rituals of remains of his mother.
We were overwhelmed & speechless to say anything
His determination & love for his mother was giving a glow to room .
Next day He did all the rituals & whole of the department including Prof Kapoor & myself & Police inspector were there to paying last homage to his mother.