My Rambles

Aadil! Aadil! Aaadil! Everyone was shouting and running all over the Resort with a torch in their Hands. It was pitch dark in the garden and the shadows seemed to be playing hide and seek in the flickering dim lights nearby. The garden was dense with foliage, plants, trees, and creepers making the skin crawl with fear. The rain had stopped about an hour back, the leaves were still dripping and the air felt heavy even for breathing. The silence was thick except for the occasional croak of a frog lost and looking for its friends. 

It was a summer of 95, I was in 5th standard and had come to Jim Corbett National Park near Nainital on a school trip. We had started in the morning, packed in our school buses, brimming with excitement and carefully hidden anxiety. We had reached the resort by 5 PM in the evening and after light snacks in the dining area were shooed away to our rooms.

I was sharing my room with 2 friends. The rooms were connected to the dining area through a long gallery, with rooms on one side and a garden on the other. There was daylight when we had crossed the gallery to come to our rooms. However, when we stepped out to go for dinner we froze. The garden was dark and corridors were dimly lit. We looked at each other and dashed for the dining hall with almost eyes closed and heaved a sigh of relief as we entered. We were no runners but were sure that we had broken a world record. We looked in all directions to ensure that no one had noticed us.

“Hahaha…hahaha..” We heard some students laughing at us. We also laughed sheepishly but ignored them for the rest of the evening and resolved to go back with the larger group.

The next day was fully planned. We went for morning safari in open Jeeps in Jim Corbett National Park. The air was fragrant because of the rain previous night and there were puddles of water all through the path. We sighted some birds, deers, nilgai but alas no tigers. However, our spirits were still high as the weather was amazing and we had thoroughly enjoyed the jeep ride. On the second day of our safari, when we were just starting to feel drained, a huge Tiger leapt over our jeep almost caressing our hair with its toes. We were thrilled with excitement and fear. Thankfully, his dinner was served elsewhere!

Aadil! Aadil! Aaadil! I was in my room when I heard the shouts echoing all around. There was a loud knock at our door. We were scared. It was our teacher. She instructed us to follow her. We were taken to one of the rooms where many kids were huddled together. Some of the kids were crying quietly. We found out that all students were being gathered in few rooms as one of the kids named Aadil was missing. He was from the group which had laughed at us on the first evening.

He was last seen in the dining hall having dinner and thereafter had started with his friends for his room but vanished somewhere in between. Everyone waited and waited. It seemed that we had been sitting there forever. Teachers along with hotel staff looked in all the rooms, counted all other kids to ensure no one else was missing. They had checked all the washrooms and common areas. Even rooms of other guests in the resort were checked to eliminate any mischief on their part. Now they were combing the garden with torches inch by inch. I overheard someone saying that the police had been intimated and will be here any moment. 

With each passing second, my heart filled with dread. I wished I could turn back the clock and bring the wheels of time to a stop. I looked at my friends and they looked back at me. Our hearts were thumping so loudly, we were sure everyone in the room could hear us. Some kids were still sobbing whilst others were sitting hushed on the bed, sofa, floor wherever they had found space to squeeze in…craving for human contact and reassurance.

I gathered all my courage and went to the teacher and mumbled something. At first, she didn’t catch..then she gave me a long look…

Since the incident on the first night, Aadil and his group had been bullying us and making fun of us. They had not left even a single chance to humiliate us in front of everyone. 

Earlier in the day, just after dinner, when I had seen Aadil lagging behind his group in the corridor, a plan had taken shape instantaneously. I had quickly explained it to my friends and we all had been delighted. In the morning I had noticed an unlocked utility cupboard just around the corner. As he was reaching the corner, we sneaked behind him and quickly overpowered him, shoved and locked him in the utility cupboard. Through the heavy oak doors, we could barely hear him thudding the door. 

We had celebrated our victory and ingenuity. We intended to release him in about half an hour before the 8:30 PM curfew. Our room doors were locked from outside to ensure our safety around that time. 

It was a hasty plan and we had not really through much beyond the capture. He was found missing just in 10 mins and his friends had complained immediately. All students were rounded up including us and we never got our opportunity to free him. Aadil was rescued safely from the cupboard around midnight. He had cried himself to sleep in the cupboard.

The next few days were a lesson; I was reprimanded every second by everyone-teachers, parents, school watchman and even our local vegetable vendor.

I became infamous and was the first suspect if anything went wrong anywhere in the years to come. But I had learnt my lesson. Since then, I have pulled-off numerous pranks without getting caught. Haste makes Waste!