Trans-Ray-tions

Episode 1 - Bats

{Based on 'বাদুড় বিভীষিকা' (Badur Bibheeshikha) by Satyajit Ray...}

I hate bats. I simply cannot stand the sight of them.

When one of those black creatures often flies in through the bars of the windows of my Bhawanipore flat in the evenings, I had to forcibly stop what I was doing. In the summertime especially, when the blades of the fan rotated about at full speed, if a bat entered at that moment and started to orbit around it, my anxiety would escalate up. If that 'thing' hit the blade and fell on the ground squealing, it would then reach its breaking point – I then had to move out of my room on such occasions, and tell my servant Binod to get rid of that creature somehow. 

It so happened that one time, Binod had killed one of those with my badminton racket. Gross! Just gruesome!

To be honest, not only do I feel uncomfortable around bats but also a sense of terror numbs me. And the face! Oh God! – it was neither a bird nor an animal – on top of that they have this strange habit of hanging upside-down on the branches of trees. I wished every day that they became non-existent. It had been such a common occurrence back in Kolkata that I had started to believe the creature had some relation with me!

But the matter then reached its borders, for I wasn't expecting 'it' to be hanging from the ceiling beams in the room at Shiuri! It would be impossible for me to stay over there if that 'thing' wasn't driven out!

Before I go further with the matter, some background details should be given...

I had got the location of the house in Shiuri from Teenkori uncle, who was a friend of my father. He was a doctor and had practiced at Shiuri once upon a time. Now, after retirement, he was currently residing in Calcutta. He still had many contacts back at his earlier residence in Shiuri, and so, when I had to go over there for a 7-day trip, I went to his place and asked for a place to stay over there.

'Shiuri?' he asked. 'Why? What are you going to do over there?'

I told him my reason: There were many burnt-brick temples that had been built in the ancient times, and were still standing in some parts of Bengal. I wanted to do research on them, which – based on my findings – would be later compiled and published as a book. There were so many such temples scattered over here and there, yet the sad truth was that no one penned down or had any knowledge about their history...

'Oh right, you were interested in architect, I forgot.' Teenkori uncle said. 'So, you have an interest in those things, eh? Alright, but why only Shiuri? There are many such kinds of temples found at many places in Birbhum. Not only that, but also many good temples exist in Surul, Hetampur, Dubrajpur, Fulbera, Birsinghapur – but are they worthy of being written in a book?'

Anyway, Teenkori uncle gave me the location of the house.

'I guess you don't have any objection to living in an old house? It belonged to one of my patients – currently residing in Calcutta. As far as I know, there is a guard living who looks after the house. It's quite big. I had saved that man from sheer Death three times in a row - he is forever indebted to me. I think he wouldn't object to you living over there for a week – he would happily accept it.'

And so it was. But when I arrived at the house via a cycle-rickshaw from the station with my luggage, the first thing which I saw on entering was a bat.

The bat.

That disgusting creature called 'bat'.

I called out for the old guard of the house. Jesus, this was becoming a nuisance! Why did I have to see bats every now and then?