Bravo Chimpoo by Aniruddha Banhatti (world of reading .TXT) 📕

BRAVO CHIMPOO


BY ANIRUDDHA BANHATTI
 
Publisher

Mrs. Manju Banhatti,
Flat 102, Harmony,
Padma co-op. housing society,
Bibwewadi,
Pune 411037
Tel: 020-65270908
E mail : [email protected]
 


CONTENTS

ONE : DARWIN’S THEORY 4 – 9
TWO : COAST GUARDS 10 – 16
THREE : KIDNAPPED! 17 – 25
FOUR : CAR THEFT 26 – 33
FIVE : SCOUT GUIDES 34 – 38
SIX : MYSTERY SOLVED! 39 - 43 
ONE : DARWIN’S THEORY

While returning home from school, as usual, Nikhil started the discussion. Nikhil would do it, any subject sufficed him.
"Today, the teacher taught that monkey gave birth to man".
"And woman ?" asked Gauri.
"What nonsense ! Monkey will give birth to another monkey, I mean a cute little monkey. How can a monkey give birth to man, or woman, for that matter?" Lily asked her doubt.
"No Lily, it's not like that," Mintu started explaining,
" It is a theory. By a scientist called Darwin."
" Let it be!"
Scholar straightened his spects with his stick-like hand, and said,
"Now that the school is over, forget the scientists & their bloody theories."
"Hey! Look! What'sit?" Gauri said and the group halted.
There was really a monkey, sitting where Gauri was pointing, & the monkey actually had clothes on! As if to support Darwin's theory!
"This must be the monkey of the street monkey-wallah!"
All of them went near it. Waited there with curiosity to see if the monkey-wallah was nearby, But no!
Lily liked the monkey very much. Gauri & Julie too screamed "How cute!","How sweet!" The kids lost their fear & went near it. Scholar dared and put his hand forward.
"Hi friend, shake hand ", he said. The monkey shook his hand. Scholar was ecstatic & kept on shaking the monkey's hand. The monkey, too, seemed to be having fun. Then it pressed Scholar's hand severely. Scholar screamed & somehow priced free his hand from the monkey's grip. After passing some time with the monkey, the group started forth towards their homes. But when they looked back, anon! the monkey was following them, making piteous sounds.
All of them stopped again. The monkey seemed to tell them something. Only it couldn't talk. It was clear from its gestures that it wanted to go with them. The same thoughts emerged in Mintu's mind.
"Arre, should we make him our friend?" he said.
"OOOh! yee e ss !" All of them shouted happily.
"But what should we call him?" Lily twisted her nose & thought aloud,
"Ramu? Damu? or Raju?”
"No! Not a single of these names is good. Shall we call him Chimpoo?"
"But where to keep him?" Gauri brought to notice the first hurdle.
"That's a problem," Julie said, "Gauri, myself, Lily & Nikhil, we live in flats. So it leaves Scholar and Mintu. Out of you two, someone will have to make place for Chimpoo in the garden."
"No, no, not me," Mintu said, "When I had a puppy, my mother objected. I still remember her slap. Then, I had recently had a caterpillar in a match-box, it somehow went inside my father's shirt, and my memories are still green about that episode."
"Hmmmm!" Scholar thought for a while, "I don't have any problem. My Dad won't say a thing. Only thing is, our dog & Chimpoo shouldn't be enemies."
Thus Chimpoo's residence was fixed and all of them took Chimpoo along and started for home singing and shouting:

Our friend Chimpoo,
You know, Don't you?
He drinks soup.
Whoop whoop whoop. 


Our ancestor Chimpoo.
Ask Darwin, Won't you?
Ours is the best troop.
Whoop whoop whoop.

Shouting such nonsense, they came near their homes, on one side of the street were the bungalows of Scholar & Mintu. On the other side, there was Sarvesh Society where Gauri, Lily, Julie & Nikhil lived. These four went to their homes. Mintu went inside his bungalow & Scholar entered his bungalow, with Chimpoo's hand in his hand, a little afraid.
Scholar entered through the door. Their dog, Caesar, glanced at Chimpoo, and then all hell was let loose. Caesar's barking, Chimpoo's screaming, their running here & there, & Scholar's efforts of controlling Caesar caused a great commotion. Adding his own heavy voice to the commotion, Scholar's Dad came to the ground floor.
"Hey there! What's going on?” He thundered.
Seeing Caesar chase Chimpoo all over the hall, he rasped, "Caesar!"
Caesar immediately ceased running, & stood obediently near Scholar's Dad. Chimpoo stood trembling holding Scholar.
"Yes, speak up, Scholar, What's this?"
“Dad, this is Chimpoo. Our ancestor."
"Nonsense!”, Dad said,
"All our ancestors are framed & put on the wall. Form where did you get this monkey?”
"Dad, we found him on street. And then he started following us."
"See, Scholar," Dad said,
"I always give you whatever you want. Is it not?"
"Yes Dad," Scholar said, His Dad really doted on him because Scholar didn't have mother.
"But how can Caesar & this monkey live together? So, don't get angry, but you will have to abandon this little monkey."
"Okay Dad," Scholar said.
He was sure that within two days his Dad would permit Chimpoo in the house, at least, in the garden. He caught hold of Chimpoo's hand and went in the garden. By that time Mintu was also there in his garden. He jumped the dividing fence and came near Scholar.
"What happened?" He asked Scholar.
"Nothing" Scholar said,
"Tonight, we will arrange for him somewhere in the garden. Then tomorrow, we will make some other arrangement".
"Do you see that wooden box? Lying near your compound? We will keep Chimpoo inside & cover it with that plank there."
Scholar looked at it. It was quite a big box.
"Hmm", he looked at Chimpoo.
"Good idea. For the night we will have to keep him shut in the box. But there is no other way."
"Yes tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we will do some nice arrangement. Till then, this will have to do."
When they came back, Chimpoo wasn't there with them. There was a big wooden box with a largish plank fixed on top near the gate, by the side of the compound wall of Scholar's bungalow. The box was deliberately kept out side the garden, on to the road side, for, during the night, Caesar was let loose in the garden.
But Scholar and Mintu did not know what the night had in store for them, and for Chimpoo, too!
 
TWO : COAST GUARDS

The bungalows of Mintu & Scholar & Sarvesh socity, were on the 13th road. Some mysterious movements began on the 14th road, the next parallel road. There was a public phone booth on the 14th road. A black, hefty, red eyed heavily mustached man, wearing a lungi with checks and a snow -white under vest pushed the glass door of the telephone booth & entered in it. He picked up the receiver and dialed the number. When the phone on the other end started ringing, he deposited the coins and started speaking.
"Hallo boss" he said.
"Who is it?" The boss said from the other side.
"It's me, Subhanya."
"Ho! What's it Subhanya?"
"Boss, everything is ready. Are you sending someone to take it?"
"Yes. I will send someone, where is it?"
"In a big wooden box. By the corner of the third bungalow on the fourteenth road"
And then the curious phenomenon, which happens from time to time during telephone conversations, happened. Read the following conversation & you will know what happened.
"Oh, I see, By the corner of the third bungalow on the thirteenth road?” Said the boss.
"Yes boss, By the corner of the third bungalow on the fourteenth road.”
"Okay. I am sending a car. Thirteenth road, third bungalow."
"Yes boss. Fourteenth road, third bungalow."
Click.
Click.
Both of them put down the receivers. Did you notice the communication gap? And this communication gap caused all the drama of that night. It was past midnight. And a long, old Chevrolet car turned on the thirteenth road. In the car there were two persons. One of them wore black goggles, even though it was night. His name was Ganpat & he was famous as Ganadada. The other was the driver Ramu. Ramu asked Ganadada,
"Ganadada, why do you wear these goggles at night?"
"So that no one should recognize me."
"Who does recognize you? For that matter?"
"Shut up. Enough of those jokes."
"Okay."
"And now, slow down. Yes. Here. Yes. Stop here."
The car stopped by the wooden box kept by the gate of Scholar's bungalow. Ganadada and Ramu got down.
"Yes. This is the box." Said Ganadada.
"Come on. Let's lift it and put it in the dickey."
Both of them lifted the box.
"Careful" said Ganadada, "There are precious idols & what not inside"
"Hmm"
Slowly they put the box in the dickey. Chimpoo woke up inside his box with a start as the car started. He felt the speed of the car, but it was dark all around.
After some time the car stopped. Chimpoo heard the sound of the sea from the half-open dickey. He could feel the refreshing wind through the cracks in the box. Ganadada and Ramu again got down. Once again they lifted the box out of the dickey.
They walked towards a rock where they put the box down. Ramu took a small torch from his pocket and put it on top of the box. Then, they went back to the car.
Now the sound of the sea was near. Chimpoo forced the top plank on the box open. The torch rolled on to the sand. Chimpoo was able to lift the plank from one side. He jumped out through the slit