To Beduk ... Mee Beduk
Meaning – “That is frog, I am frog”. Bizarre title! Aroused my interest to read the story. That was over a decade ago!
When I was still in primary school, we had subscribed to a Marathi magazine: ‘Kishor’ [Anybody heard of it of late? Is it still in circulation?]. First sunday of every month, my sister and I used to eagerly wait for the paper boy to deliver it. What followed was not too unfamiliar tussle (you can even call it altercation!) as to who gets to read it first :-).
‘To Beduk, Mee Beduk” was one of the stories from this magazine. I won’t say I liked it; but it appealed to me in some strange way, I didn’t know why then. It is not mystery, neither a comedy. Oh, why stretch it further, here goes the story (in my words, the pages of that magazine are long lost…) :-
Late in the evening, a little boy was paddling on his way back home from school. Looking for little adventure, he decided to take different route. On the deserted street, he paddled monotonously. There was a pond by the roadside. Gazing at the motionless liquid, the boy stopped. He noticed a little frog wandering merrily, hopping in and out of water. Staring at the frog, the boy was lost in thoughts, he seemed oblivious of everything.
Suddenly, a queer sound screamed passed his ears. Unable to move, he stood their helplessly. A circular disc zoomed over the pond. Was it UFO? The world went dimmer. Impalpable claws of darkness clutched him. He lost consciousness.
The boy opened his eyes. He could not move. All limbs strapped! He felt like specimen lying on laboratory table. On a table next to him, was a frog, completely dissected. The boy recognized it; it was the same frog he had seen by the pond, now lying vivisected. Almost dumb by shock and unable to scream, the boy managed a shriek. It seemed to cause panic around him. Two strange creatures, which he now noticed, uttered queer sounds. Swiftly and quikcly they operated the strange machinery in that grotesque lab. Before the boy could realize, he sank back to unconsciousness.
The boy opened his eyes. He got up quickly and looked around. He was standing by the pond. There was nothing … except the frog hopping around merrily... He murmured to himself, “To Beduk, Mee Beduk”.
The story still appeals… and I still don’t know why.
When I was still in primary school, we had subscribed to a Marathi magazine: ‘Kishor’ [Anybody heard of it of late? Is it still in circulation?]. First sunday of every month, my sister and I used to eagerly wait for the paper boy to deliver it. What followed was not too unfamiliar tussle (you can even call it altercation!) as to who gets to read it first :-).
‘To Beduk, Mee Beduk” was one of the stories from this magazine. I won’t say I liked it; but it appealed to me in some strange way, I didn’t know why then. It is not mystery, neither a comedy. Oh, why stretch it further, here goes the story (in my words, the pages of that magazine are long lost…) :-
Late in the evening, a little boy was paddling on his way back home from school. Looking for little adventure, he decided to take different route. On the deserted street, he paddled monotonously. There was a pond by the roadside. Gazing at the motionless liquid, the boy stopped. He noticed a little frog wandering merrily, hopping in and out of water. Staring at the frog, the boy was lost in thoughts, he seemed oblivious of everything.
Suddenly, a queer sound screamed passed his ears. Unable to move, he stood their helplessly. A circular disc zoomed over the pond. Was it UFO? The world went dimmer. Impalpable claws of darkness clutched him. He lost consciousness.
The boy opened his eyes. He could not move. All limbs strapped! He felt like specimen lying on laboratory table. On a table next to him, was a frog, completely dissected. The boy recognized it; it was the same frog he had seen by the pond, now lying vivisected. Almost dumb by shock and unable to scream, the boy managed a shriek. It seemed to cause panic around him. Two strange creatures, which he now noticed, uttered queer sounds. Swiftly and quikcly they operated the strange machinery in that grotesque lab. Before the boy could realize, he sank back to unconsciousness.
The boy opened his eyes. He got up quickly and looked around. He was standing by the pond. There was nothing … except the frog hopping around merrily... He murmured to himself, “To Beduk, Mee Beduk”.
The story still appeals… and I still don’t know why.
posted by Shrikrishna at
11:32 AM
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2 comments
