BLACK HORSE DOWN.
A new priest had arrived in the unit and the commandant was a man who believed in keeping gods happy was not long in calling him to his house.
The Panditji was reputed to have repaired the teetering careers of many senior officers.One supremo even took him everywhere with him on postings and would not not take any step without checking the hiccups of constellations and mood of the gods.The commandant got boondi laddoos made in deshi ghee and cardamom flavoured tea made for the refreshment of the priest and took a bath and wore his spotless white kurta payjama to await the arrival of the man who could talk to the stars and hear the whispers of the gods.He had sent his black ambassador car for the priest and had also got a fresh can of Ganga Jall,just incase his fortunes needed tobe washed.
The priest had a short "bodi"but a large girth from where his day started.He ate six ladoos while his wifi receiver was warming up to catch the whisperings of celestial bodies.The Commandant sat with serenity and waited for the learned man to start.The priest drank a cup of tea and opened his charts and asked the officer,
"Sahab have you lost anything costly recently?"
The commandant scratched his head and considered whether the loss of a pair of slippers that his pet labrador had hidden in the large garden of the flagstaff house be considered a significant loss.
"Not really Panditji but recently the value of my shares invested in MDH chicken masala company have fallen badly."
"Tch tch,Sahib that is all because of Shani standing in the seventh house of Rahu.Do you also feel angry all the time and worried about your ACR." said the Panditji.
"Panditji you have absolutely diagnosed my condition.I keep feeling angry from morning till evening and I am not sure about my coming ACR despite my best efforts."
"Sir there is no time tobe lost.Lord Shani is not very happy with you.I will tell you an "Upaay"(solution).You must everyday go to the temple and pray and after that feed Gudd(jaggery) and Chana(gram) to a black horse for thirty days non stop and after that light a mustard oil lamp under a Peepal tree."
The Panditji collected his dakshina of five hundred and one rupee,said Hari om,Hari om three times and the black ambassador dropped him home.
Every morning the commandant started going to the equitation stables carrying a bag of gram and jaggery and fed the black horse affectionately.He and the black horse seemed friends from a past life.
One fine day the sugar levels of the black horse shot up from eating kilos of jaggery and he sat down and closed his eyes and never got up again.The head Risaldar of the horses called up the young captain who was the equitation officer and said,
"Sir there is one small bad news,the black horse is very unwell."
The equitation officer put on his khakhi pith helmet, kicked his motorcycle and flew down the Trishul and past the Gole market and shot into the ivy covered horse shoe arch of the equitation lines.Risaldar Hanuman Singh gave him a bow legged clicking salute and led him to the Troop Number One stable where the black horse lay silent and unmoving.The equitation officer went and checked his pulse.There was no pulse beat in the shining black horse.
The hours dragged and the captain scratched his head.Tommorow the commandant would come with his bag of gur and chana.The incident was grave and he thought he must report it to the commandant.He called up the colonel admin and asked him to arrange his meeting with the commandant.
The commandant's office was huge and when he entered and stood at attention,the commandant,a tiny man was sitting behind a huge desk and only his head showed above the desk.
"Yes why did you want to see me." he asked tersely.
The captain steeled his nerves and said,
"Sir I have a good news for you."
"What's the good news?"
"Sir that black horse has died."
The commandant sat stunned as if struck on the head by a police man's baton.Then he screamed in anger,
"Is this a bloody joke.How dare you call it good news.Its a very bad news and I will not leave you for this.How dare you let the black horse die.You will pay dearly for this."The commandant was in a fury.
The captain was wily and quick witted,like Birbal explaining a thing to Akbar,he said,
"Sir it's good news actually because your Shani had been transferred to the black horse and that's why he died and now you are a free man."
Suddenly the commandant started laughing and jumping in joy and thumping his desk.He congratulated the captain and said he would strongly recommend him for chief's commendation card and he was the best instructor in whole of NDA.
The captain took a deep breath,saluted the commandant and came out.When he got back to the equitation lines,the Risaldar of the horses met him,
"Sahab how was the meeting with the commandant sahib."
"Sahab for the present things are taken care of but I am sure his Shani will again return.Do we have another completely black horse."
"Sahab we have that horse called Pickpocket but one of his legs is white,rest he is completely black." said the equitation JCO.
The young captain said,
"Sahab paint Pickpocket's leg black for I suspect Shani wont be long in reappearing."
Xxx xxx.