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Salam Saheb
My late father was a
Surveyor with the Indian Government and he had a transferable job.
Throughout his tenure in the Survey of India, he was posted to beautiful
small towns and hill stations all over India. In the mid 50’s he had the
transfer orders to be in the “Land of Kings” i.e. Rajasthan. He
was asked to report at the Mount Abu Office which is a beautiful
small hill station in Rajasthan alternatively known as “Oasis in the
desert”.
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As a Surveyor, Dad had to
do go to remote places to do the field work. In his stint at Rajasthan,
he once had to go to Bikaner during summer along with his co-workers.
They worked in harsh climatic conditions at the site. Rajasthan has a
tropical desert climate with practically no rainfall. Sometimes Dad and
the others had to share a bucket of water amongst them and go out for
work. Life was not easy for them.
I would briefly describe
the work of a Surveyor. A Surveyor calculates and draws how the earth
surface looks like. With the help of instruments and after
collecting the required information, they prepare charts and maps. Their
work demands them to be in far away distant places. They had to give
detailed, precise description of a place or region. They are the
maker of maps.
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On that particular day, Dad and
his colleagues had gone for their routine work. After mid day just when people
had finished their meal and got ready to work, there was a sand storm, and they
were off the beaten track, isolated and lonely. They had lost their way. The
terrifying wall of dust moved across the landscape, and ultimately enveloped
them in a thick fog. The
team of Surveyors waited patiently for the storm to get over. When the sky was
clear they got on the camels back. Meanwhile it had become dark but the sky was
clear with twinkling stars. Dad was caught up looking for the constellation,
(configuration of stars). He was busy looking for the brightest star, the
Pole Star (Dhruv Tara). The Polaris could guide them to their way back home. |
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Suddenly someone from the team noticed a
train of camels slowly coming closer from the opposite direction. One of
the locals who was with Dad whispered in fear “Sahib Daku”
A cloud of nervous murmur filled the place.
People were shaken and frozen with utmost fear, few actually too numb to
speak. Finally one of them hesitantly declared, “Let us hurry and leave
the place” Dad was the senior most and so the others were waiting for
his orders. He was cool and firmly said “No, stay where you are and let
them come” Dad knew that if they flee, they will double the danger for
themselves; If they can face the danger, the danger will be reduced to
half. |
A few of them did not like this and gnashing
their teeth in anger spoke in a hushed tone, “Well! Sir, instead of
protecting us, you are putting our lives at stake?” But dad was
determined, and he knew what he was doing; He would face the dacoits.
After a few good minutes, the camels came closer, and the men riding on
them were horrifying and scary. They had their faces covered and one
could only see their bloodshot eyes. They stopped by and one of them who
was leading, said, “Salam Saheb, Sarkari aadmi ho?” Dad nodded his head.
They must have seen the surveying equipments which Dad and his people
were carrying. The leader added “Saheb apna kaam karo, hum sarkar ke
aadmi aur aurato ki izzat karte hain” and one by one without doing any
harm to anyone they left.
When the dacoits left the others were
relieved but now the new challenge was to find their way back. The road
had disappeared and thick layers of sand carpeted the land. For a while
Dad did not know what to do but he gathered courage and he did protect
his people; he located the Polaris and with the help of the pole star
guided everyone back to their destination.
This world is a strange place. Some people
are recognized for their work and earn name and fame; some deserve more
but go unnoticed. Dad fell in the latter category. When he was two
months shy of 61, he left us quietly for the Heavenly abode. He was
brave, dutiful, honest and straight-forward. He spoke truth, was a man
of determination, had confidence and above all an extraordinary
Surveyor.
Contributing Writer Minakshi
Chakraborty is a habitual writer.
minakshei@yahoo.com
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