From the pen APN

The night of 17th Nov, 2012 became joyful & lively, when the magnificent stage of SARGIPHUL 2012 glittered with colourful lights and when the amazingly talented sons and daughters of the soil (Malkang iri) showcased the treasure-trove they carry in them. They danced; they sang, laughed and amazed the 2000 viewers present at that time. The wave of extracurricular activities and talent haunt came to an end at around 12.15am. After distributing prizes to the winning participants when I removed the ‘guest of honour’ badge from my over-coat, it was already 1 am. It was chilling cold and the night was too dark and starless. In the cold I pined for the comfort of my home and, therefore, I decided to cover the distance of 55 kilometres on bike although the cold was most unfriendly, harsh and close to the freezing point. I started off from the District headquarters. It was one of the deadliest nights. One of my colleagues, Mr.Rushi Pradhan, was sitting in the hind seat and he had caught me very tightly as a natural response to the chilling winds. We might have covered about 7 kilometres and the town lights behind us had already disintegrated in the pitch darkness of this post Diwali night. The headlight of my bike was now the only human presence on that forested road. I repeat it was now around 1.15 am and for a moment I was flustered. I saw a colossal hairy figure approaching towards us most royally. It was the biggest bear I had ever seen in my life. I was frightened but I felt as if I saw God. I rushed my accelerator and hurried away. I felt the bear god-like because of the following reasons and the reasons are: 1. We believe God is big and great. And that bear was also big and great. 2. God appears when you take a lot of pains. The bear appeared when I took a lot of pains in cold. 3. God is both truth and beauty and so was the bear. It is because when I saw the bear, I was reminded of DEATH and death is the other name of eternal truth. So we can say that the bear displayed eternal truth. In addition, the wonderful creature walked elegantly in the most peaceful demeanour and I saw it as the best expression of BEAUTY. 4. My prayer-fulness was intensified to the nth degree when I saw the bear so close to me....... And now I believe GOD exists because I am alive till date.