The Unshorn Valley

The Unshorn Valley

The emerald green farms soothed Ramon’s eyes as he prepared to touch down at his hometown, Unshorn Valley, a small town in the famed hill station Ooty. The train slowly hiked up soaking him in the cold breezy clime.

For reasons unknown, Ramon didn’t know much about the town. Neither was he allowed to visit this place by his parents. Whenever his relatives used to show up and talk about Unshorn  valley, his parents would send him away. They wouldn’t talk about the place to him.

Once he even expressed his desire to go on a vacation to the valley, but he was turned down. “Don’t talk about that place again. It’s the most deadliest place on earth.” His father said.

“But my great grandpa used to live there, right?”

“Yes. He was a fighter. He stood up for his rights. But the world made a mockery of it.”

Talking about Unshorn Valley to his parents was ruled out afterwards. He was quiet for some years.

Then the time finally came to knock on that buried desire to go to the banned place. Now all grown up and enjoying the last year of his teen, Ramon ventured up for this adventure of exploring his secretive hometown.

The train shrieked to a halt at the station forcing Ramon to focus on the name board of the station. Anshan valley.  

Confused Ramon picked up his bags and asked a tea vendor through his compartment window, “Isn’t it “Unshorn” valley?”

The tea vendor sniggered. “It surely is. And so is Anshan. Can’t you smell Alex in the air?”

What was it supposed to mean? Alex was Ramon’s great grandfather. How did he suddenly talk about him?

Ramon didn’t take any chances as he quickly got down from the train. He had done his bit of research and was sure that his destination had arrived.

“Is anything famous here?” Ramon started his “investigation” soon when he met up with an auto driver waiting outside the station.

“Famous? Except for a notorious reason, this place is known for nothing.”

Ramon was excited. He felt his job of finding out the truth behind the secret of Unshorn valley got easily accomplished in the first inquiry itself.

“Oh... Notorious? Something spooky?”

“If you could call it that way. Wait. I’ll directly take you to that exact place where it all started.” The auto driver started his vehicle.

Ramon was all the more excited. He was just about to board the three wheeler when suddenly a young girl approached the same auto.

“It’s urgent. Can you please drop me at the Cathedral?”

The driver looked at Ramon. “Sir, it would be a sharing fare.”

“Okay. No problem.” Ramon got into the auto.

The hilly region looked just too beautiful to be true. The place was adorned with greenery everywhere, something that Ramon found too rare. He was taking in every single bit of the rusticity and cherishing it.

“He is going to the Deville’s place.” The driver suddenly broke the silence.

Ramon was glad that his family name looked popular in that area. He exulted, “I am also a Deville. Ramon Deville.”

“Oh!” The girl tried to control her laughter. “I am Nancy by the way. Are you the great grandson of Alex Deville?”

“Yes. I am his great grandson. I was forbidden to come here actually. I don’t know what secret lies here.”

The driver laughed aloud and said, “So you are a descendant of the great Alex Deville.”

“I suppose so.”

“So listen.” The auto came to a halt outside the compound of a dilapidated two story building. “This used to be a cotton factory where Alex Deville used to work as a supervisor. Right behind it, he used to stay with his wife and kids. Then one fine day, he along with other workers got fired without any prior notice. At that’s the time your granddad took this brave decision...”

“Not granddad. Great grandpa. He was a fighter. He stood up for his rights. My father told me.” Ramon cut him.

Both the driver and Nancy exchanged glances. “Err... did your father tell you how he stood up for his rights?” The driver asked.

Ramon pondered a little. “No.”

“I doubted it. Your father just couldn’t have come up with it.”

“Why?”

“Because of the way Alex protested. He vowed not to take shower until called up again by the factory.”

Ramon was not sure if he heard it right. “I am sorry? He did what?”

“He didn’t. That’s why the whole town stank.”

Nancy laughed aloud leaving Ramon red faced.

“The factory didn’t consider this unique...” The driver struggled to find the right word... “if you can call it as “plea”... so he continued this protest till his last breath.”

“What?” Ramon was totally staggered.

“Yes. Not one or two years. Alex didn’t take shower or bath for a whole 17 years. Didn’t even shave. He grew his beard and hair so long. Yuck... That’s why many call this place “Unshorn” too.” 

Ramon didn’t see anything like this coming. He didn’t even think about the place’s name too deeply.

“You can still smell Alex’s odour in the town’s air.” The driver inhaled deeply. “It stinks badly, man.”

“This can’t be real.” Ramon looked at the ruins of the building. “This is indeed a very deadly secret.”

“Yes. Very “Deadly”. That’s why your great grandma too left him and settled abroad with the kids. Wonder the stink had spread to the whole country that time which made her shift countries.”

Completely embarrassed, Ramon went back to the auto and said, “Sometimes things are exaggerated to the unbelievable levels.”

“He isn’t exaggerating. In fact he is wrong. It wasn’t 17 years of protest but 19.” Nancy said. “My grandma used to say, whenever that man passed by our house, his odour would aggravate some kind of tension amongst the cattle that were in our backyard. The animals used to howl uncontrollably.”

“There you go. You too are writing your own story.” Ramon took his mobile and dialled his father.

“Hello dad. I am at Anshan valley. Just tell me one thing. At least now. What my great grandpa, Alex Deville was famous for in this town?”

“Why... when?”

“Just answer me, dad.”

There was a moment of pause. And then came the answer. “He was just allergic to water.”

“Oh yes! Allergic to water.” Ramon started laughing. “For how many years?”

“19 years. But he did brush his teeth.”

“Thank goodness!” Ramon cut the call and turned to both the auto driver and Nancy.

“Mr. Alex Deville, the unshorn, was considerate enough to brush his teeth.”

“Hmm... one question.” Nancy asked. “Did he brush daily?”

“Let’s hope that he too had a nose which worked well and smelt odour and bad breath sometimes.” Ramon remarked as he burst out laughing.

THE END