Seven on a cold December evening; a family of four with an accomplice were making their way through Chambal, a maze of deep ravines and scrub forests known to provide refuge to outlaws since the thirteenth century.

?        “Mama Mama, I am hungry,” shouted a young Sameer, sitting on the backseat of the 1980 Fiat Padmini besides his mother, Seema and elder sister, Jyoti. His father, Gopal, tight lipped, tensed and fidgety, in front.?

         “Sanjay, we need to cross this Ghati before night sets in”, Gopal instructed the chauffer. ?

         “Yes sir, I am doing my best. The road is extremely tortuous. I have to be careful and not speed up”, answered Sanjay.

         ?“Gopal, just relax! There is nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be fine. We will easily cross Chambal before nightfall”, commented Sameer’s uncle, Ram.

         The mother retrieved a jute bag from under the back seat and pulled out a transparent plastic box, taking out a aluminum foil covered roti roll and handing it out to her son.

         “Ma, when are we going to reach Delhi?” inquired Jyoti. ?

         “In some hours beta. Don’t worry. You just close your eyes and when you wake up, you will be at home”, Seema said, rolling her eyes at the innocent question.

         On the left side of the highway lies a vast stretch of barren mustard colored land with very few patches of vegetation. One could see some one to two floor pale white houses in the far horizon.

         ?“That must be a village? Mama!”

         ?“Yes, Jyoti it’s a village!”?“Mama, Mama can we go there” squealed Sameer excitedly.

         ?“No, we have to go home. We will go there some other time. Go to sleep Sameer”

         Cradling Sameer’s head in her lap, Seema started humming a nursery rhyme. Moments later, she felt her daughter fall asleep against her shoulder.        ?“Gopal and Ram, do you want something to eat?” asked Seema.

         ?“No darling, we are fine. I just hope we cross this region before the night sets it” answered Gopal.

            As Gopal was speaking, the car suddenly made a loud noise and started skidding. The children woke up to a start and even the half asleep Seema clutched to the door handle with her children holding to her waist. Sanjay tried to apply brakes but the car did not stop. He releases them and pushes them back again and this time he got the car to a halt.

“What happened? What happened?” cried everyone in the car.

“Nothing serious. I think we had a flat tire and because the road is not leveled, the car started drifting. There is nothing to worry Sir. I will just take 5 minutes to change the tire”, said Sanjay.

“Okay Sanjay, you go change the tire and till then we will just stand outside and take some fresh air”.

 Sanjay rushed to the dickey to look for the spare tire and the tool kit. He found the spare tire and tool kit but he could not find the Jack to lift the car.

  “Sir I cannot find the Jack”

 “Sanjay look properly it should be there”

It took him 20-25 minutes to find the Jack. It was lying below the driver’s seat. He remembered last time when he had flat tire he was rushing to a place so he just put the jack in the cabin. Sanjay quickly changed the tire as the family got off the car for fresh air and to stretch their bodies. It was 40-45 minutes past before the group resumed their journey. However, by this time the night had set in and soon it started pouring too.

After another 5 minutes, the car stopped again.

“What happened now?” inquired Ram.

            “Let me go out and check”, answered Sanjay.

            He got off the car and to his amazement; the other tire got punctured too. “Not again, what are we going to do now? We just had one spare tire! We are middle of nowhere with outlaws all around us”, cried Gopal.

This time even the generally relaxed Ram also seemed tensed.

“Let us go out and look for someone who can tow our car”, says Ram.

“You go Ram. I cannot leave my family here alone. Sanjay and I will stay here”

“Okay Gopal I will go now”.

“Mama – Daddy what we will do now?  shrieked Jyoti.

“Don’t worry Jyoti, Ram Uncle has gone to get help. He will be back with help in no time”.

Ram walked a little but he could not see anything and there was no one on the road because as people generally avoided this region at night. He looked on the other side of the road and all he could see was a house with 4-5 incandescent bulbs. He went back to the car and told Gopal about the house.

“Umm…Do we have any other option but go and check out the house. We can’t stay in the car for a long time. It’s dangerous.”

The group – Sanjay, Seema, Ram, Gopal and the children – took out their umbrellas and started walking towards the house slowly.

 

The house appeared ghostly in the night. Gopal knocked on the front door and was greeted by a gentleman and Gopal explained their situation to him. The gentleman asked them to wait for a moment as we went back in to call someone. Another man, with a long moustache stretching till his side lobes, dressed in the kurta with a shotgun attached to his belt came out and asked them to accompany him in a room. The family was reluctant to go in at first but they had no choice. . The house looked like an old mansion with antique furniture. As they were walking through a hallway, on the right wall, hung a set of swords and on the left, a set of rifles. The family was taken to a room where an old lady lay on a bed, surrounded by a group of people. It seemed as if they were family members taking care of the old woman. The group was asked to stand in a corner.

“Ram, I am scared. Should we just go back to the car?”

“Yes Ram, even the children are scared”.

Sameer and Jyoti were clutching to their mother, who looked as frightened as them.   

Ram replied, “I don’t know. It looks as if we are in a dacoits house. I am scared too. But if we ignore them, they might harm us. These people are very short-tempered you know”.

            As the family was talking, an elderly man, who looked liked the head of the family, approached them. He first went and hugged Ram and then Gopal and greeted Seema with a Namaste.

“Welcome! Welcome! Friends! You are our guests and you have arrived on an auspicious time. It’s my son’s wedding tomorrow so we are having a small function in the house. Do not worry. I will send someone to check for your car and until then you can rest in our house and enjoy our hospitality”.

            The family was shocked. The man seemed to be an outlaw and yet he was so polite. The headman called some ladies and asked them to take Seema and the children with them.

“Should I go Gopal?”

“Yes, go. Nothing is going to happen. Relax”. “Sanjay, you go with the person they are sending to get the tire repaired”.

“Okay Sir”

Meanwhile, Seema reached a room where there were at least fifty ladies, sitting in a circle surrounding the bride, who was dancing. Everyone seemed so normal as if it was not a dacoit’s house. Seeing the bride dancing, the kids got excited too.

            “Ma, can we also dance? Can we also join the group?”

            “No beta, we are going to leave in another half an hour”

            “Ma Please! Please! ”

            “Okay go but I will be watching you from here”

Some ladies came and offered food to Seema and kids, who all looked happy and gay now. In the other room, even Ram and Gopal were having a great time. They were chatting with the family members, eating and laughing.

            After an hour, Sanjay came back with the tire. The family was ready to go now. They thanked everyone in the house for their generosity and resumed their journey.  Delhi was 10 miles away when the sun rose.