Dennis Meredith, The McCluskieganj Retiree Who Lives in the Past

At McCluskieganj, everyone will tell you that Dennis doesn't like to speak, that he lives in the past with motors and equipment from the 1960s, and that once people left, he turned into a hermit.

A little sign that reads Hermitage is located on the road that goes to the railway crossing. As you go down the path, a tiny gate may be seen on your left. In the distance, a dog barks, and the view is blocked by towering trees with creepers draped like curtains.

You used an English accent. as a woman. How was I to say no? It's been a while since this garden has been looked properly, Dennis remarks as he leads the way. His father migrated here after retiring from the Jharkhand iron ore mines, while his mother was an Adivasi. Two homes were purchased by his father on 8.36 acres of land. That just cost Rs 7,500, he claims. Dennis, the only son, worked in Asansol until moving back to the Gunj when his father passed away.

He saw the location deteriorate over the years. You have time at hand. You have the opportunity to recall. Like the village drunk who passed away in the coffin where he had started to sleep in his last days. Like Harry Mendies, who, while out hunting, used the lead from a bullet to write the receipt for the sale of his land on a sheet of paper.