Adventures of Akash by Aniruddha Banhatti (books for new readers TXT) 📕

Akash gets a new friend
By Aniruddha Banhatti

There was still some time for the classes to begin. Students in front of Fifth A were creating a ruckus. No one’s voice was distinguishable. There was a general hubbub rising from the class. And in that noise Sameer was asking Akash,
“Have you solved yesterday’s sum?”
“Yes,yes! I did!”
“Good! Then you will get three colored chalks!”
“Of course, I knew I would get those!”
“Akash is very clever”, Aparna said.
“Hmm! Clever!” Sudhir said disdainfully,
“He is just a stooge of the teacher! Teacher ka Chamacha!”
Sudhir was new in the school. He had come this year from Mumbai. He detested this small town and everything in it.
“You call me chamcha? Wait, I’ll show you!”
And Akash and Sudhir would have started their WWE wrestling match, but fortunately the bell rang, Aphale Sir came to the class through the corridor and the first period began.
What had happened was this : yesterday More Sir who taught maths had finished one chapter and he had given a sum from the next chapter that he himself had made up. So it was no use to look in guides for the answer. If you had understood what was taught till then, then only you could solve it. He had declared a prize of three colored chalks to anyone who came up with the answer the next day. Everyone in the class was sure that Akash would solve the sum. And true to their expectations Akash had done it! Now during the fourth period if More Sir accepted the answer as correct, he would get three colored chalks! Akash was expectantly waiting for the fourth period.
Sudhir was sitting behind Akash and he was burning with rage against Akash. Somehow or other he had to make Akash eat the humble pie. He wanted to make Akash a laughing stock in everybody’s eyes. He was lost in his thoughts. Suddenly he was aroused from his reverie by the collective laughter of the class.
Aphale Sir was saying,
“What happened, Sudhir? Your mind is elsewhere. Twice I asked you to read from the book from the point where Raju left off, and you are lost in some daydream!”
“Sorry Sir,” Sudhir said, standing up.
“Okay, now be attentive, and read from ‘tee vasanta rhutuchee suruwaat’ onwards. It’s on page number 27.”
Sudhir opened page 27, found the line and started reading aloud.
***********
There were five minutes between the first and the second period. Sudhir saw the strap of Akash’s sack hanging down from the desk, and his rage against Akash gave him an idea, and acting upon it, he stealthily put his hand forward and yanked the belt down with full force. The sack came down. All his notebooks with neat covers and the name of the subject written prominently on the cover along with other details were scattered on the floor. Akash had gone to the door, hearing the sound of the fallen sack, he came inside. Sudhir apologized for his clumsiness and helped Akash in gathering up all the notebooks. By that time the Sir of the next period had already entered the class.
“Thanks,” Akash said, taking the last notebook from Sudhir.
***********
The third period ended and the fourth one began for which Akash was waiting since morning. The usual shifting of places which happened before each maths period took place. Some of the students sitting in the front went behind; some sitting on the benches behind went to the last benches. More Sir who taught maths came in with three colored chalks, a fistful of white chalks and a duster. He kept all this on the table and asked,
“Children, I had given a sum last time, has anyone solved it?”
Akash had been waiting for this. He raised his hand. All the class looked at him.
“Bravo, Akash! I knew you would solve it! Come, show me the solution.”
Akash was happy, with just pride he started looking for his maths notebook. But he couldn’t find it! He asked Sudhir sitting behind him, but Sudhir said,
“No, I don’t know. I gave you all your notebooks.”
After some time, a confused Akash said,
“Sir, I can’t find my notebook. And I don’t remember the solution fully, it’s very complicated.”
All the class laughed loudly. Akash was embarrassed. He turned beetroot red and sat down. The three colored chalks danced before his eyes.
“Okay, don’t worry,” said More Sir, “Show me tomorrow, but as you carelessly forgot the notebook, no colored chalks tomorrow!”
For all of the fourth period Akash was thinking, where could have the notebook gone? He was damn sure that he had not forgotten it at home. Then where did it go?
The usual hubbub between two periods started after the fourth period ended. Akash suddenly saw a hand quickly shoot forward stealthily and keep a notebook on the lower plank of his desk. Akash acted fast and held on to the hand firmly. It turned out to be Sudhir’s! Then there was a grand skirmish between Sudhir and Akash. They had caught each other and were kicking and fighting and in the process they had come to the front of the class when the Sir for the next period arrived. This was their class teacher’s period. He was very strict. When he entered everyone ran quickly to their seats except Akash and Sudhir. Seeing the teacher they separated and stood there looking down.
“Ye—es??? What were you two up to?” he asked angrily.
“Sir, he started to”---- Sudhir started complaining, when suddenly Akash said in a voice far louder than Sudhir’s,
“No Sir, it was just in fun.”
“In fun?”
“Yes Sir, we were seeing who is stronger. We weren’t quarreling.”
“Okay, okay, I know both of you are Darasingh! Go sit at your places.”
Both of them went back to their seats.
***********
All of the fifth period Sudhir thought very hard. He was thinking about Akash. If he had told everything as it happened, Sudhir would have been in serious trouble. He would have been severely punished. Even the class teacher would have called his parents. I must not keep hatred about Akash in my mind. I must apologize to him, thought Sudhir.
When the school was over, Sudhir followed Akash and called,
“Akaaash, Akaaash.”
Akash stopped and looked suspiciously at Sudhir coming towards him, panting and out of breath.
“Akash, I am sorry,” he said and taking out three full length colored chalks from his pocket gave them to Akash.
“Oh!” said Akash with a pleasant surprise,
“From where did you get these?”
“From the staff room. I went there and told everything to More Sir.”
And from that day onwards Akash and Sudhir became very good friends!
**************
 
Akash chases away a ghost
By Aniruddha Banhatti

“Aalaaskaa? Aalaaskaa?”,
came the sound from the tree. It meant,
“Have you come? Have you come?”
Actually Akash was a bit afraid, but only a bit. He gathered his courage and replied to the tree,
“Ho, Aalo.”
It meant,
“Yes, I’ve come.”
“Alaskaa? Alaska?”
Again the sound came from the tree. Akash listened to the sound carefully, and then started from there for coming back home.

What had happened was like this : This summer vacation Akash and his parents decided to spend with Bhaukaka at Kankavli. Kankavli is in konkan region, and konkan region is very famous for ghosts, ogres and all other deadly fauna of that type. Within only two days, Bhaukaka’s son Ashok bombarded Akash with hundreds of ghost stories. All these ghosts were supposed to be local, living, means being dead in that region for hundreds of years. Akash said, listening to all these stories,
“Hoof! Ghosts don’t really exist. You must be knowing that?”
“Oh really? Then go to the peepal tree of Desai’s in the night and then only you will believe.”
“Of course I’ll go. I’m not afraid. And if there is a ghost, I will fight with it and drive it away.”
“It won’t be visible to you. Only it will keep on asking you –Alaska? Aalaskaa?—Have you come? Have you come?--“
“Let it ask! I will answer it –Gelaskaa? Gelaaskaa?—Have you gone or not? Have you gone or not?—“
“ Phht! Look at the ghost fighter! You won’t be brave enough to go near the tree, I bet!”, Ashok had said in disdain.

And as a result, akash had come here near the Desai’s tree in the night and he had heard the famous ‘Alaska? Alaska?’ sound coming from the tree. He was a bit afraid, but he was also thinking of something when he returned home.

Akash slept soundly for the night and he was off somewhere right from the morning. Ashok wondered three four times,
“Where the hell has he gone?”,
but then he got busy in playing cricket with his friends and forgot about Akash.
Right! Akash had gone to the Desai’s peepal tree. He stood below the tree and thought, how come the sound comes only in the night? Why not in the day? And then he heard the sound. Due to wind, two branches were rubbing on each other and making a sound like ‘Arrakkarra, Arrakkarra.’ He observed closely. He was sure now, whenever heavy gusts of wind blew, the sound came. Then turning around the tree, he actually spotted which two branches were rubbingtogether. But still he was puzzled. This sound was a bit different. It was Arrakkarra Arrakkarra, but during night the sound was definitely Aalaskaa? Aalaskaa? It was very much as if a human voice was asking in Marathi ‘Have you come? Have you come?’ so what was the explanation? Akash tried to remember the sound in the night. What was different in the night? First, it was very calm and quiet in the night hence the rustling of the leaves was very much clearly audible. Second, there were cicadas or raatkide, i.e. cricket like insectkts which made a heavy racket of a peculiar sound. Again there was a gust of wind and again the sound continued. Arrakkarra, arakkarra. Akash closed his eyes and tried