Tales of Bhola Grandpa by Manoj Das

The Author and Text

• Manoj Das is an Indian award-winning bilingual writer who writes in Oriya and English.
• He has written numerous novels, short stories, poems, travelogues, and articles on history and culture.

Bhola Grandpa's Story

• Bhola Grandpa lives with his wife at the western end of the village in a hut overshadowed by a large bokal tree.
• A small troop of monkeys lives in the bokal tree, but Bhola Grandpa and his wife do not mind it.

The Incident

• One moonlit night, the narrator and his party return from a festival, with the narrator riding on the village chowkidar's shoulders.
• Bhola Grandpa suddenly lets out a loud wail, surprising everyone in the party.
• An enquiry reveals that Bhola Grandpa had taken his grandson to the festival, holding his two fingers tightly, but didn't realize when the fingers slipped out.
• Bhola Grandpa continues as before, unaware of the loss of his grandson, until someone asks him what he's gripping.
• The grandson is eventually found taking shelter under a cow's belly, thanks to the efforts of two sharp-eyed men sent by the narrator's father.