R.I.P. by Roopa Sarah Thomas

Dressed in remnants of tattered glory and oblivious to a festering wound, he sat by the gate of our building for over a year. It was his long unkempt beard and dreamy eyes that earned him his name, "Rip Van Winkle." He did seem as if he’d woken up after twenty years of deep sleep, to find a world that had changed beyond comprehension. And we guessed that he was sitting by the street, staring intently into every face, looking for familiarity.

Our gossipy watchman obliged with his story when asked. Chewing pan and settling down comfortably on our carpet, he began his tale of a successful officer in the corporation. Blessed with a beautiful, loving wife and a satisfying job, there wasn’t much our protagonist craved for. But fate had decided otherwise. One evening, the unsuspecting man was poisoned by his wife, before she eloped with her lover. After a dramatic pause and enjoying the reaction he was getting out of us, the watchman continued, "But he survived." Pointing his index finger to his temple, he then whispered, "Poor thatha became mad afterwards". And wiping off a few imaginary tears, he then got up saying that he’d better get to the gate before he was accused of being too lazy.

Amused, we let him go. "He watches too many movies", we joked, wondering how much of what he said was true. A safe distance away from Thatha (as the people called him), we watched for signs of madness. Crouching beside a heap of rubbish he had collected over a period of months, he stared into space. Occasionally, he would write on bits of paper, with a half-eaten pencil. No one was allowed to look at what he scribbled for hours. And if someone forcibly grabbed his paper, he’d transform into a violent man, screaming obscenities. Mostly he was quiet and dazed. But during the full moon nights, he’d grow violent and mournful. He’d spend the night howling and abusing women in general.

Surprisingly however, not too many people considered this raving lunatic ordinary. Despite being confined to the street, he had fans who had given him the position of a demi-god. Actors, sportsmen and businessmen flocked from all directions to seek his blessings. After parking their expensive cars to one side, they’d approach him humbly. With folded hands, they’d squat beside his aging figure and seek advice. Sometimes women came to him for luck and others came to hear about their future. Pointing thoughtfully to the skies, Rip (as we called him) would scribble something on a sheet of paper. His devotees would then leave after handing him some food, money and clothes. (Rip never begged and if you dared to give him food or money assuming he was a beggar, he’d throw it back in your direction).

To many people in the colony, he was the black mark in their shiny, spotless and fancy neighborhood. In the midst of tall, sprawling buildings sat Rip beside a small makeshift hut that a good Samaritan had made to protect the man from the rains.

The corporation men and sometimes NGOs made futile attempts to take him away. Tired of reasoning with him, they sometimes used force. But he’d scream and abuse them and they would eventually give up. The street children used these moments to pry into his belongings. To everyone’s surprise they found bags filled with rags and hundred rupee notes. From then on, Rip also had to deal with people who were trying to rob him off his money.

But luckily for him, since he achieved the status of a demi-god, many people began to fear him. "He will curse you. So don’t talk about removing him from here," explained the ironing lady. Meanwhile, his fans increased. More and more popular figures were seen squatting humbly by this shrivelled up figure. Sometimes, in the night, I watched him stare into the skies wearing a small smile. His tired eyes glistened as he pulled a sheet closer to his frail body. He was indeed the product of a scientific world that placed importance on logic and reason. He was part of a world that had banished blind faith and superstition. And yet, as he sat smiling at the skies, I wondered if he was simply amused at being able to live off such a world, after being placed on a pedestal by those very people who supposedly gave in only to logic and reason.