ContentsMan Overboard3Vasantha MurthiWhen Papa Scolded Me12Ira SaxenaTo The Memory Of A LionThe Triumphant Smile18Tara Tiwari27K

Sumitra Karmakar Steamy Stories

sickness may please stay in their cabins. Thank you."There was panic everywhere. An old lady pray- ed aloud, "Oh God! Have mercy on us. My only son is waiting for me in Singapore."A gentleman consoled her, "Don't worry, Madam, it's only a warning. We may not be affected at all."Another lady, who was sitting beside me, look- ed very ill. "Not rough weather! I'm already sea- sick. A rough sea will be the end of me!"I could not understand why all the elders were so upset. I remembered the several sea adven- tures I had read. Excitedly, I turned to the elder- ly gentleman sitting next to me. "Uncle, won't it be thrilling to face a storm on board a steamer? Have you ever been on a ship during a storm?""It can be quite unpleasant, you know," he re- plied rather severely. "I remember a time when the ship on which I was travelling ran off course. We were wandering on the ocean for a couple of days."I remembered my class teacher, an English wo- man, telling us in class one day, "When I crossed the English Channel on my way to Singapore, there was a big storm near Gibraltar. The ship rocked to and fro. Everything in the cabins roll- ed up and down. Even the heavy pianos in the lounge went crashing against the walls."This made my imagination run wild. Turning to 'Uncle' again, I said, "Wouldn't it be fun if the storm broke when we have lunch? Then the tables, with all the food on them, would run away from us. And the chairs, with us sitting on them, would be a merry-go-round."Everyone round the table stared at me in hor- ror. I thought to myself, 'Oh, these adults, they've no sense of adventure. How dull they are!"The storm didn't break, but in the evening a strong wind started blowing. The ship rocked to and fro, rocking and rolling to the music of the wind. Huge waves were dashing against it. Even though the deck was slippery, I was running around. That's when I noticed Uncle leaning over the railings. I ran up to him, thinking he too, was enjoying the experience. "Good morning, Uncle, isn't it lovely?" I asked him.But he wasn't well at all. He was retching over the rails and looked rather blue about the mouth. I felt sorry for him. "Can I be of any help? Shall I call the doctor?" I asked him.He couldn't reply, but only held up his hand. As another bout of retching shook him he leaned over the railings. At the same time a huge wave lashed the ship. It lurched violently and the man tumbled over the railings into the wild sea. For a second I stood rooted to the spot. Then I ran like someone possessed, shouting, "Help! Help!5 Man overboard! Save him!" I must have made a lot of noise. I heard footsteps hurrying even that early in the morning.Tears streaming down my face and shouting incoherently, I ran full pelt into an officer."What's the matter? Why are you making so much noise?" he asked in a stern voice, I was surprised to see it was the captain."Oh Sir!" I blurted out in relief. "A man fell into the sea. Please save him.""Where?" he asked, immediately on the alert. "There," I said pointing a finger.He did not wait for more details but ran at once to a room full of officers. "Man overboard," he cried. "Stop ship. Drop anchor. Quick!" His instructions were immediately obeyed. The cap- tain then raced to the upper deck. I kept trailing behind him. "Lower the life-boats and crew into the sea towards the helm," he said. "There is a man overboard." Here again the men quickly obeyed him.People started crowding the deck. "What's happening?" somebody asked me.Word soon went round. Everyone was tense. Only an occasional, "There he is!" could be heard. Someone asked, "Who is he?"Another replied, "Don't know."Meanwhile two life-boats moved towards the man. I stood close to the captain. In his anxiety,he gripped my shoulder tightly and I winced."You're hurting me Sir," I protested."I am sorry, my dear. The sea is very rough today. I hope my men can reach him in time. My ship has never lost a passenger before," he said crossing himself. He was watching the rescue operations through a pair of binoculars that hung round his neck.The boat was too far for me to see what was happening. I tugged at the Captain's sleeve. "What are they doing, Sir? Have they rescued the man?" I asked him."They've caught him by the arms and are pull- ing him towards the boat." He was giving me a running commentary. "Oh what bad luck! A sud- den current has swept the man away dragging two of the sailors with him." He sounded nervous. Just then he noticed the passengers crowding against the railings. "Keep away from those rail- ings!" he shouted. "We don't want another accident." The ship had dropped anchor but was heaving up and down.I borrowed the captain's binoculars. Now I could see the rescue operation clearly. The crew in the rescue boats threw a strong rope to the two sailors in the sea and shouted, "Catch". Both of them were good swimmers and soon had caught hold of the rope. Then, with powerf

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