I was born in a small workshop in Bangalore. I have a yellow skin and my size was the largest amongst my friends in the workshop. I had a cousin Rosy Chatri whose color was pink. Rosy and I usually chatted for long hours in the evening. She told me that the purpose of our life was to protect the humans from rains. She was pretty smart and wise; she got all her knowledge from “uncle chatri” as she called him. He was old and black and was in the workshop for getting his rib repaired. I loved my life then, I had to sit in a rack all day besides Rosy and listen to the outer world stories from her which she got from uncle chatri.
Rosy came closer to me one morning and looked at me with a worried face.
“Dude you heard the news?” she asked.
“What news?” I got scared.
“We are being transported in the evening and we are going be sold soon” she informed.
“Sold? And we will be out in rains?”
“Yes” she cried. “I hope we get good masters”
I wondered where we are going to be sold and how my after life would be. One thing I was sure of, it was not going to be as easy as workshop.
We were packed in a box with lot of other chatris and the box was stuffed in a huge truck. I tried to find rosy around but couldn’t find her. She was definitely not packed in the same box as me. Everyone around me was new and I was scared. The truck carrier got dark when the door behind us closed.
I tried to sleep in the journey but the box was bouncing too much for me to sleep. All the other chatris around seemed older than me and were comfortably napping. I wondered if they knew how their after life is going to be.
“Hello” I heard, voice coming from besides.
When I looked, one of the chatris had his eyes open.
“Hi” I said. In the dark I could vaguely make out that his skin was blue.
“I am Pappu” he said. “Are you from the Banglore workshop too?”
“Yes” I acknowledged. “My name is Tikku, Tikku chatri”.
“Are you not sleepy?” Pappu chatri asked
“Can’t sleep, haven’t traveled before” I told him.
“ I am travelling for the first time too” Pappu Chatri told me.
“Do you know where are we heading?” I asked Pappu chatri.
“Yes, I heard one of the workshop laborers discussing with the truck driver. Manipal is the place” Pappu Chatri informed.
I could have never imagined what happened to me next. I was about to discover the glory and mystery of this place “MANIPAL”.
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