Chapter I - The Paniila

The paniila was dry, vast and didn’t have any sign of life. Not even a blade of grass grew there. The place was so silent that even the slightest of wind that blew was audible. The vastness of the paniila somehow made the order feel small. They felt as if they are into the vastness of sand and rocks occasionally meeting a salt lake and some strange looking animals. Except for same snakes, rats and scorpions they didn’t meet anything that moved. The sand dunes grew larger and similar as they went on. Soon they lost all sense of direction and were lost.
“Perhaps we should rest a bit. It’s confusing at this place. Everything looks the same and the heat is scorching and adding to the confusion”. Machua was both confused and tired walking in the hot sand. The water in their fox skin container was the only thing they had to cool them off and it was so limited that they didn’t use it too often. Dukku and Lastuka were nodding their head out of exhaustion and agreement with Machua. But Salunkenta was in no mood of stopping. They were just beginning the journey and tiring now itself was more like an insult to him. But he was the leader and it was never about him now. He should ensure the safety of the order.
“We cannot stop now, not here at least. We need to move into the shadows nearest to us. I can see some rocks there. We can reach there and rest. The heat will bake us to death if we sit idle. And also, we need to eat as soon as we reach that place. Keep cool, and take out some leather and put it on your head that will help”. Sammu was the only one not speaking. He was listening carefully and then told, “Yes, but I think that rocks are far away and we have lost direction. It will be easier if we rest at day and walk at night in the journey as the night sky is a friend for those who seek direction. For now I can say we should go the rocks and we will reach it by evening. We will stay there till tomorrow afternoon and then start moving at night”.
“That sounds like a good plan to me. But staying so long with our limited resource, we may end up not getting out of the paniila.” - Said Dukku.
“Yes, but I know for a fact that there are large animals in this place that can solve our problem for food if we can hunt them down and there are lakes in this place and around that we may even find some trees to get fruits from. So that is a risk we can take”.
“Okay then let’s move, we need to reach that rock by evening. Drink water, but cautiously. Our resources are limited and the obstacles are huge. Let’s go. Let’s go!” Salunkenta took everyone by arm and started to walk again. All of them tried to give themselves a shadow by putting something on their head. But the sun was too strong and they were tiring out soon. They were completely exhausted and the sun was almost down the horizon when they finally reached the rocks.
“Lastuka and Sammu, you prepare the food, and try to make a small fire by arranging woods from near the rock and I, Dukku and Machua will find if we can get some animals to hunt”
Sammu and Lastuka collected some firewood from the bushes and started a fire from the flints they brought with them. It was completely dark when the other three came back. Lastuka and Sammu by that time built a bed for the five of them using the bushes and got the fire growing. Lastuka also had some of the smoked meat roasted and was waiting nearby the fire with Sammu looking at the stars mesmerized.
“This is what we could get”. Said Salunkenta throwing 3 rabbits towards the fire. Lastuka peeled the rabbits out of its skin and poked sticks straight through their asses and out of the mouth. With the help of a crud stone knife, she tore open the stomach of the rabbits and hanged them on the fire. She also hanged the peeled skin near the fire to dry up.
“It will be ready in some time. By that time let’s get some more woods, else the fire will not last the night and it’s already starting to be cold out here. Then we can rest and decide on what to do in the shadows of this rock” – Lastuka.
As she said, everyone went to collect some woods, and returned with a heap of bushes. But the bushes were thin and so burnt fast. It was doubtful that the fuel they gathered will be enough for them for a night. Leaving the rest to Mother Nature, They finished their dinner and were ready to go to sleep. “Someone should guard while the others are sleeping”, said Sammu. “The paniila is not safe so let’s take guard in shifts”.
“Yeah I think he is right. Let Lastuka sleep, we four will take guard in shifts,” said Salunkenta. “So who’s taking the 1st shift”? Sammu volunteered and so everyone went to sleep as Sammu stood guard with a spear and a small stone hammer that looked more like a pestle. When the moon was just above them, Sammu went and woke Salunkenta up.
“I am tired and if you would want you can take guard. I will go to sleep”. Salunkenta got up and with his knife and spear, he went to stand guard. Sammu was tired and within no time fell asleep.
The stars and the moon with the burning flame of the huge fire they built in the shadow of the rocks and silence of the paniila, made the moment pass slower than ever for Salunkenta. He had to fight his sleep and for that he took a piece of wood and with his stone knife started carving on it. While he was carving, he looked around and found Lastuka asleep nearest to the fire. Her bronze colored body with her open hair made her looks even more irresistible. She was looking like a goddess in heat, sleeping near a big fire. A sudden shiver went though Salunkenta’s spine. The twinkling stars and the glimmering fire made the sands shine as if they were water and Lastuka was asleep on her bed made up of leaves from the bushes looked like a lonely sailor sleeping in a raft on the river of shining sands. Her dress was disoriented and the cleavage of her curves was most prominently visible. Such beauty, such innocence, made Salunkenta to rise and go near her. He sat near her head and looked down. He was not sure, what he was doing, and then suddenly, Lastuka turned to her other side facing Salunkenta in her sleep. This startled Salunkenta and out of guilt, he stood up.
Suddenly there was a sound of a herd running. It resembled that of oxen. They were coming from the east and were fast and restless. Everyone woke up and took a spear each and made a circle. In the darkness of the paniila, in the light of the fire and stars it was hard to see anything, but from the sound it was clear a herd of very powerful animals was coming towards them. No one spoke anything yet they understood what to do. It was as if a universal thread of communication was binding their brains to act together. They went nearer to the fire and made a circle around with spears pointing outwards.
Large, huge yet skinny animals, tall yet elegant looking, ran fast yet looked lethargic. The animals had a hump on their back which was bigger that any bull. They were wheatish brown in color. They had thin legs and long neck. The tail was short and eyes big. They were weird yet cute looking creatures. “What are they”? Dukku asked in a tone of astonishment and everyone except Salunkenta shook their head meaning I don’t know.
“These are paniila animals. They run, leave and stay at the paniila. Kolantha once told me. They are fast and drinks vey less water. Not very tasty to eat but can lead you to water holes in the paniila”- said Salunkenta.
“Then lets follow them” – Dukku.
“No they are going the other way. We need to get to east. They are going west. And that too we have enough water and food for now. Just let them pass”.
“Okay, then but I feel we should follow them to get some nice food. If we get a water hole we might get some fresh meat and fruits. That would help us”.
“These animals travel miles at one stretch. Following them may take us away from our path. Also, we have to rest, and Sammu hardly have had any rest. He has been of a lot of help and is tired. Let’s stay and we will continue tomorrow afternoon and throughout the night. If what our ancestors were right which they should have been as they mastered the paniila for eternity, We will find a place to stay whenever we require it in the paniila, like we got one today. So just relax and let them pass”.
They waited there for a while in alert and the herd passed. They were nearly 100 of them, children included. They rushed away as if something was after them. Dukku was watching them go with disgust.
“I think they are afraid of something. They say here in the paniila, string sand storms comes that even shakes the mountains. Our ancestors believed that it’s the foul breath of Satan, but Kolantha told me once that these are just Mother Nature wrath on these cursed lands. He told me once this land was green with water and trees and animals of all kind. But Mother Nature once got angry with the animal here for they didn’t give her enough. So, this is barren and full of just sand and the foul breath of Satan blow the sand to not let plants grow here.” –Said Salunkenta.
“So we must stick together. For now everyone go to sleep. If the storm comes, the guard will call us we will stick together near the fire. Now go and take rest. Tomorrow is a tough day ahead”.
Everyone went to sleep except Salunkenta who was still on watch. He was again in the silence of the desert alone with the sound of the crackling firewood and the slow yet steady wind that blew with it sands that could coarse down even the smoothest rock.
Again he saw Lastuka in her innocent sleeping position near the bronze light of the fire. She looked awesome and due to the heat of the fire and excitement of the herd of the paniila animals, little drops of sweat were dripping down her check from her forehead. He didn’t go near her again for he was guilty about the way he felt about a women who he should protect as the head of an order. The Samansadasuryas believed that a women especially as clever, powerful and charismatic as Lastuka had the right to choose her mating partner. So it was not her mandate to reciprocate to the feeling of Salunkenta.
After some time Salunkenta was tired and his eyes were heavy as if it would automatically shut and make him cut off from the world around him.
“What’s that”, - Salunkenta said to himself and from the distant east there was a roar coming as if thousands of lions were roaring together to drive them away. It was scary and in the midst their sleep no one was aware of it. Salunkenta knew at once what it was. It was the sound of the foul breath that brought with it sand to create new mountains and force to dismantle the already existing.
“Everybody wakeup”, Salunkenta was shouting at the top of his voice. But it was as if everyone of the order were enchanted to sleep till eternity. He went near Dukku first and woke him up and told him to wake others. He then went to Lastuka and touched her at her shoulder and she jumped off with her knife at her hand. She was so startled that she could have cut the throat of Salunkenta in one flick of her wrist. Salunkenta was shocked yet he knew it was no time to panic. He stayed calm and just told, “Listen the storm is coming. Wake up we need to stick together and face this mighty test of Mother Nature”. It took time for the beauty to recognize the words Salunkenta just told and the roar of the surging wind was growing louder. Dukku managed to wake the other two and they came near the fire. They looked towards the direction of the roar, but due to the darkness nothing was visible. They waited for sometime hoping for a demon to come front and roar, but it was the storm. The sands began to fly and the wind gathered speed. Slowly they realized that the roar had now engulfed them. They held each other’s hands and stuck near the fire. But the wind made the fire burn fiercely and small charcoal particles burning red under the dark sky began to dance with the wind as if a whole civilization of glow flies were celebrating the winds.
The fire now was getting even more intense and unpredictable and flames were hotter than ever. Smaller branches and pieces of wood with fire were now making it impossible to stand near the fire and the wind was now even pushing the members of the order in different direction.
“Hold each other’s hand and move towards the rock. We will hold the rock and wait till this storm passes. Get Lastuka in the middle, she is physically the weakest”- Salunkenta said and was surprised for his inner feeling for Lastuka had inherently made him to protect her before any other. He knew it would be Sammu who would be the weakest and yet he wanted Lastuka to be safer than Sammu. They held each other’s hand and moved towards the rock. But it was too late. A nearly one feet long dry wood piece completely on fire flew towards Salunkenta. Salunkenta ducked and he knew that he did a mistake.
“NO! AHH! SAVE ME!” Lastuka started shouting and her hair was literally on fire. Salunkenta could not understand and stood up and made Lastuka sit and buried her hair and head in the sand in one single flawless movement of his hand. For the first time he felt he had enough energy to drag an elephant to death single handedly. “You all move towards the rock and cling on to it. I will be her with Lastuka”. The others followed his order and moved towards the rock. Due to the rising wind and sand, the visibility was almost nil and in the light of the dancing fire that was now freely flying everywhere, it was impossible to see beyond two to three feet. Salunkenta ducked with Lastuka under him and curdled around her and stuck low in the sand putting his bag on his and Lastuka’s face. They were now looking at each other at and understandably unnerving closeness. The wind outside was growing stronger and time stopped for the two. They were now looking deep into each other’s eyes and almost forgot the presence of a storm and flying fire woods. They stayed low and were nearly half buried in sand and the bag near their faces protected them from the sand. The storm was now slowing down and from the distant horizon in the east a slight ray of reddish orange light was peeking into the paniila. The storm stopped.
“Lastuka! Salunkenta! Lastuka! Hey here they are”. Dukku was the one who pointed out the presence of the huddled pair near the fire that was just a pile of blacked out sand and some unburned heavy wood with a little charcoal.
“Salunkenta, are you okay”, said Machua. Then was that both of them realized that the storm was over and the need to cuddle each other in the sand was no longer present. Out of embracement, Salunkenta jumped up and said “yes we are okay”. Looking at Lastuka to acknowledge the fact he told. Lastuka just nodded apparently still looking at Salunkenta and told, “Yes we are fine”.
It was both the guilt of feeling the way they felt and the joy of feeling so, that made them feel uneasy as if out of breath. “Its morning already and I think Salunkenta and Sammu should rest as they never completed their sleep. By that time we can make some fire and cook some smoked meat. And then we can think what to do and where to go next”, - Dukku.
As decided Salunkenta and Sammu slept for dome time and the other three, went to collect some wood to make a fire again. Lastuka went to get the smoked meat and poked them by a stick and made a garland out of it. Then she hung it above the fire that Machua and Dukku made. By that time the sun was out and heat was growing. Though they were in the shadow of the rocks and the canyon formed by the rocks, the heat was supposed to dry out all moisture in the air and make the place even arid. They called the other two to have breakfast.
Lastuka gave everyone two pieces of the cooked meat and some corn to eat. The water was sparse so, they drank less and sat around the fire for some time. When heat started to rise, they extinguished the fire and sat in the shadow of the rocks.
“So, what do you think we should do? The paniila is more dangerous than we thought and our water resource is depleting. Walking in the night is good, but at day resting is hard, especially if we don’t find a shadow. And worse if a storm like that of yesterday comes again; we don’t chance a stand in open ground” – said Dukku.
“Yeah, but if a storm comes, we need to lie down on the sand and cover your eyes and put a skin on your head to allow you breathing. That helped me and Lastuka. As of the water problem, I think we will get water holes at places in between. At this point of time, we must not be hopeless. Because, hope drives the weak in a harsh jungle. Let’s hope we will be fine and will reach our destination”. – said Salunkenta.
At evening they started walking again. This time they were fresh from the rest, and walked slow but steady. The stuck together and went in straight distance going around the sand dunes rather on them. This saved energy that they wasted in climbing the sand dunes.
The night was eventless and went smoothly. They appeared to be in the correct direction and located the brightest star to their left. They made sure in there route round the sand dunes, they were maintaining their direction by keeping the star to their left as told by Bhagnati: “The path is difficult and uneven. See the stars. Only the brightest star of the sky that doesn’t move can help you find your way, but make sure it is to the left of you”.
Even in the emptiness of the paniila, they always found life teaming up in bizarre forms and living in the paniila. Snakes that crossed the sands diagonally, Scorpions that dug sands and stayed inside, Vultures in search of corpse circling the emptiness and variety of insects that had the least chance of surviving stayed in the paniila. At places, rocks formed bizarre shapes mostly shaped by the storms. The bones and skulls of animals beyond recognition were always there to find. The rocks were left as marks of the great Banjaras. Drawing of hunting and moving were always found on these rocks.
“May be the great Banjaras lived through the paniila for long time. The drawings on these rocks are old and can only say that once this emptiness was teaming with caravans”. – Lastuka told pointing to a painting of a man hunting a boar.
“Yes, the great Banjaras are told to be good painters, singers, dancers and hunters. They could pass their time in great journeys by dancing and singing together. I think these paintings are part of that journey. Before settling down near the great Sindhayan, some of them started a journey into the paniila and never returned. It might even be possible that we will encounter villages like that of ours in our journey created by these Banjaras”. – said Salunkenta.
“We will rest today near these rocks and will hope our water supplies last”. – Salunkenta.
They made their beddings again with little available bushes near the rock and slept on them having a lunch of smoked meat and corn. Next in the evening, they started walking again.
After 3 days of walking, the paniila started to look never ending. The water supply and the food were getting over. The men were becoming more and more agitated. Salunkenta was starting to lose faith in his destiny.
“No! I can’t walk any longer. You all leave and I will stay back and die. I will not be able to walk”. – said Lastuka.
“See the burden of a woman. I knew she was weak”. – said Dukku.
“Well if you knew everything why didn’t you tell? She is just tired. So are we all. In this godforsaken place where there is no food no water and no shade, getting tired is normal”- said Salunkenta.
“Stop it! It’s just been 5 days into the journey and we have started arguing. Soon we will be fighting and killing each other. I am okay. We will walk again”. – said Lastuka
Her feet were worn out in the hot sand and blisters covered her feet’s palm. Even then she tried her best to conceal it from others by putting a leather socks on. But the leather did less good. In the heat being covered meant the blisters will grow and sweat made her legs even miserable. The next day morning brought with a hope. In the horizon towards the east there appeared to a big river glistering in the morning sun. Dukku was the biggest and the bulkiest. So he was the thirstiest. At the glimpse of the river, he ran towards the river in the hope of reaching it first. Everyone else followed him running towards the river. But the river was no river of water but that of light reflecting on the shiny sands of the paniila. After a run for it Dukku understood it’s no water but light, they stopped.