Tales from Randhor

By Hanumantha Hari

Tales from Randhor is a collection of stories about life in the idyllic village of Randhor. Set in the midst of

a flower draped valley surrounded by snow covered mountains is this tranquil, near perfect village. This

place is far away from the reach of today's technology and its attendant gadgets such as phones and

television. Habited by various animals and birds unique to this lovely village, the residents for the most

part peacefully co- exist with nature. Randhor is replete with adventure and the mystery of the

mundane but interwoven with the influence of the Ramayana.

Tales of Randhor will delight as it skillfully leads the reader through its various stories by portraying

different facets of village life, long forgotten by many. For instance, the story "Motor Car Comes to

Randhor", gleefully highlights the reactions of the villagers when Motilal decides to buy an automobile.

The story, "Modern Medicine" focuses on the tug of war in the minds of the residents who have to now

choose between the young doctor's allopathic medicines and the medicine man's ancient wisdom of

healing with the help of plants and herbs native to Randhor. And what about the story of the monkeys?

They sure outnumber the people in the village. Yet for a while their future is not certain as they are

prone to mischief and frequently annoy the village folk.

These stories and others will give the reader an insight into the everyday lives and adventures of the

simple and fun-loving residents of Randhor. And at the end of it, perhaps you will want to take a trip to

Randhor yourself, at least in your mind's eye, and re-imagine the way these village folk live in this

peaceful Shangri La.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662474842

Book preview

cover.jpg

Tales from Randhor

Hanumantha Hari

Copyright © 2022 Hanumantha Hari

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-7483-5 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-7484-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Foreword

Hidden Wealth of India

Motor Car Comes to Randhor

Monkeys and Lord Ram

Modern Medicine

Queen of Randhor Forests

The Day of Adventure

The Treasures of Randhor

The Traveling Circus and the Tailless Monkey

The Postman

About the Author

To Bina, Anjali, Rahul, and Vyshali, for their patience in putting up with my constant reminders to read and provide their feedback on Randhor. I especially thank Bina for the reviews and grammar corrections, which were needed. Also to my mother-in-law, Manjula Ananthapadmanabhan, who so patiently, and full of good intent, listened to all my readings and looked forward to the publication.

Foreword

Utopia, Shangri-La, paradise, heaven on earth, lands untouched by time and sorrow, greed, and want. Is there truly such a place on earth? A place where we can live life to the fullest, enjoying everyday simplicities, untouched by the busy flurry of daily living in the big cities?

That paradise is Randhor. I have been there and dream of going back to the unhurried joys of living in that magical little town. I invite you to take the journey with me to this wondrous place. Let us bid adieu to the hustle and bustle of the rat race and take a brief respite. Let us travel together across rapid streams, climb rarely scaled snow-laden mountains, and traverse over scorching desert sands into the lush green valleys of Randhor.

Let us pause to take in the wonder of verdant green trees loaded with fruit and colorful flowers generously spreading their fragrances to attract a wide variety of insects and birds. Let us meet the people who live here, some of whom who are over a hundred years old. These people know nothing about war. The children here know nothing about expensive toys that we so eagerly gift our children for Christmas. These children are content to find joy in the bounty of nature. Yes, once you experience Randhor, you may never want to go back to the world you claim to be yours.

Come with me to Randhor, my Randhor. Let us make it yours as well.

Hidden Wealth of India

Haren and Balak were on their way to a mela several miles from their home, the village of Randhor. It was a perfect night; the light from the heavens illuminated the winding path they travelled, and the twinkling stars above added to their festive mood. Born and brought up in the same village, they had been close friends since childhood and had shared almost every feeling and thought between them. They had a couple of hours of walking to do but walking was not unusual for them. It was more of an enjoyment on this occasion, and this was a time for gossip.

As they proceeded to the mela, they observed the people from their own village, as well as from the adjoining villages, and they noticed several familiar faces going in the same direction they were. Haren pointed to Bansibaba, the milk dairy owner. Look at him, getting fat. He must be making a lot of money, drinking all the milk he is supposed to be selling you know. I heard he has two types of seers for measuring milk, one with a false bottom so that you end up getting less, though it looks like you're getting a lot.

Balak added, I am sure he also puts a lot of water in the milk. That is why we are so thin and he is so fat.

Balak pointed to a woman from the neighboring village. Look at that woman, Ramlal's daughter, she's been married for two years and already has two kids.

Once in a while, a bullock cart would overtake them as they walked at their leisurely pace, and at times, they jumped on it to get a ride for some distance. It was a quiet night, and the only sounds that broke the silence were the sweet sounds of the bells dangling from the oxen as they sauntered steadily through the night. The jingling was faint at first and then became louder and louder until it was upon them and then faded again far into the distant night. Haren was hit by a sudden idea. "Why don't we pick up Kishen from the nearby Gomath village so that we can all go together to see the bioscope, have dinner at the mela and exchange stories all night? He sure knows a lot of stories about the people in his village. If we take all the stories he tells us back to our village, we can become very popular with our people."

The decision was made to pick up Kishen, but they had to take a diversion through the forest. It was a bold decision, but they had taken this path infrequently since childhood. They walked through the dense forest and the sound of the bells from the bullocks began to fade away into the distance and an eerie silence fell, broken only once in a while by the hooting of an owl or the call of a jackal. The moonlit night enabled them to walk without having to trip over the uneven ground or small boulders in their path. They were amazed at how clearly they could see almost everything around them because of the light from the skies. The moonlight cast shadows of the trees and rocks around, giving them strange and scary shapes. The