Episode 6: The Library

There is always room for coincidence.

— Alva Noto

He looked around. There was no one. He struggled to reach the rustic wooden box which lay next to him. Much to the amusement of his daughter, he insisted that she gets this box immediately. He searched for its contents and finally found what he was looking for. There was an old album, now covered with a layer of dust. He used the sleeve of his Kurta to wipe the dust. He looked at the album, which was not touched for many years now. He found what he was looking for. If only there was a way to go back to the time when things were simpler.

“Sharmaji, don’t forget to come home early today. I don’t want to miss the trailers they play before the movie!” shouted Mrs. Sharma as Mr. Sharma kick-started his scooter and left. She smiled, she knew they would be late. She just hoped they reached before the interval.

“Gautami! You are still not ready! Stop playing with your sister’s toys. Get ready or you will miss your school bus!” Mrs. Sharma continued shouting as she tried to tidy up the house. Her younger daughter was following her sister’s footsteps in mischief.

The phone began to ring in the distance. Mrs. Sharma hopped her way across the scattered toys to answer the phone.

“Yes, Chanda, we will meet you for dinner at your place… we are going to the new movie today… yes, we managed to get the tickets… yes, the one next to the library building, Mr. Sharma called up someone, he has contacts… I will have to check… no, the dates have not yet come… should be sometime next month… she will be completing two years next month… you know how it is… I have already decided what name to keep… no, no I haven’t yet told Mr. Sharma about it… Yes, I know it feels odd not to call her by her name for so long… but you know how it was… and it is almost done… who is it?… oh ok… ha ha sure… will catch up with you during dinner”

Chandini, or Chanda as Mrs. Sharma used to call her, was her younger sister. They used to stay close by but could hardly meet nowadays. After the birth of her second child, Mrs. Sharma hardly had time for anything. She looked at her younger daughter who was trying to climb over the pile of toys which were yet to be tidied. She lifted her daughter and kissed gently on her forehead. “Take care my child” She said as a tear dropped down her eye.

“Sir, Commissioner Saheb has been calling for you since morning. Looks like something important” the head constable rushed to warn Mr. Sharma as he entered the police station.

“Maybe madam got to know of his affair” joked Mr. Sharma as the constables chuckled under their breath. “Get me the register!” he said as he pulled out the chart under his table, which had a list of important phone numbers.

“Yes, Sir… No, Sir… I was on my morning rounds… Oh is it? No problem Sir… I will take care of it… You need not worry… Yes, it should be just a rumor… Who will come to this village… No Sir… I will not take it lightly… I will inform everyone… Anything else, Sir?… One more thing… regarding the application which I sent you last month… Sure, Sir… I understand… not a problem… will talk to you next time, Sir… thank you-” The line at the other end went down. Mr. Sharma looked at his watch. He would surely be late for the movie.

“Silva!”

“Yes, Sir!” the head-constable came running

“Arrange for additional patrol in the Main Chowk, especially around the Church and the Library. The minister’s convoy would be passing along the Main Chowk today evening. Commissioner Saheb has asked us to be extra cautious”

“Sure, Sir… will send Lakshman and Bahadur to patrol the streets”

“No, Silva. We need to ensure proper arrangements are done this time. Elections are due in three months. We cannot leave anything to chance”

Silva let out a small burst of laughter. Mr. Sharma joined him and so did the constables standing behind them.

“This Commissioner Saheb will ask us to do anything for his promotion. I heard he is planning to join the party after retirement. Don’t worry sir, we will have proper arrangements done” Silva laughed again as he signalled the other constables to follow him.

“Beta, get ready. We don’t want to be late today, right?” asked his mother calmly as a little Anji was getting dressed up in his new school uniform.

“But, Papa?”

“Yes, I told him. Today after school, he will meet us near the Church and then we will take you to the fair near the Library and will get you two cotton candies. Now get ready soon”

Anji packed his bag enthusiastically and started running towards the bus stop, showing his mom how he would be devouring the cotton candies.

“I am sorry… This minister would be passing through our village and I have to be there… I will try to be there as soon as I am done… No… No… You guys start without me… I will join you directly there… You can do one thing, call Chanda for the movie. If I am done early, I will come directly to the movie hall… who will ask me tickets?… Otherwise…otherwise wait for me outside the library… I will pick you up from there and we will go to Chanda’s place for dinner from there directly… I will call the theatre and ask them to keep your tickets ready. You can pick it from there directly. See you. Bye. Take care.”

“Don’t worry sir, all arrangements are done. There will be no problem.” The commissioner spoke in a reassuring manner to the minister

“Thanks a lot” Said the minister as he signaled his staff to leave the room

“And regarding the other thing, which I had asked you-”

“Don’t worry Sir, everything has been taken care of, just like how you wanted”

“Thanks. And where have you planned it?”

“There is an old Library, near the Main Chowk of this village in your path”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Sir. There can be no better place than this. You leave everything to me, Sir. I will take care of it.”

“I trust you. After this there will be no looking back for you. I will take care of you”

“Thank you, Sir. It means a lot to me.” The commissioner smile vanished as he looked at himself in the mirror

The State transport bus came to a halt, creating a mini tornado in the dry and dusty junction. Around a dozen tired and hungry workers alighted the bus. Drenched in sweat and hungry, they sought directions to the place they were asked to assemble. One tall better-built man, who looked like their leader asked them to wait under a tree while he planned to make some provisions for them. He returned with a bullock-cart in some time and asked others to board it as they rode their way towards the village center.

The Library in the village was to be torn down and a new one was supposed to be built. The old library was a British guest house which housed guests of the Empire who used to take this road towards the Capital. When the Britishers left, they left behind, among many other things, a huge stock of personal memorabilia and books and records. The guest house became both the library and the museum and over time earned its name in the village’s history.

For anyone who ever visited the place, it was just an old building with no architectural significance. Based on the need, it became the post office, the police station, the government guest house or the election poll booth. For the villagers, it was just an easy landmark with a huge garden, where people could meet. The library, however, got its due every election season when those asking for votes engaged in a mandatory photo-op in front of the, now, dilapidated stairs.

As part of a grant received by some foreign institution, the Gram Panchayat decided to uplift the Library and in the process bring the village back its once-lost charm, pride and dignity. After much pleading the minister had agreed to inaugurate the construction commencement of the new Library. Today would be a day they would remember for the rest of their lives.

“Please wait here. The principal is talking to someone else now. She will call you shortly”

Anji never liked the principal. She reminded him of a feline character in a cartoon show he used to watch. He noticed his mother was feeling a bit anxious and nervous. He could not recollect anything he did which would have led the principal to call his mother to school. Definitely, a bad handwriting, would not warrant this.

“You can go in now”

“Good afternoon Mrs. Silva. How are you?”

“Thank you, Madam. I am doing good. How are you?” said Anji’s mom now adjusting nervously in her chair.

“You have such a bright boy. I am sure he will make you proud one day”

Anji’s mom looked at Anji, who was trying to sit attentively trying not to get distracted by the butterfly which was wavering over the flower pot in the Principal’s office

“Mr. Silva is not here?”

“Sorry Madam, he could not come. It is really difficult for him to get a leave.”

“I understand. I hope you understand why I have called you here.”

“Madam-” Anji’s mom tried to defend, but she knew the pointlessness of the exercise.

“Madam, give us one more month” She tried to muster some courage and she continued speaking “We have arranged for some money. It should be coming soon”

“Mrs. Silva, that money would only suffice to pay last year’s fee. We are already a semester into this year. Ideally, we expect the parents to pay the fees before the start of the academic year. We granted you an exception because Inspector Sharma put word for you last year. Look Mrs. Silva. I know your position. But this matter is no longer in my hands. The trustees have decided”

“Madam this is not Anji’s fault. If you say like this, what would happen of him? Where will we go mid-year. Give us one last oppurtunity. I promise you by the term end. We will pay fees for both the years.”

“Don’t cry Mrs. Silva. I am really sorry. If there was anything I could do, I would surely have done something. If you don’t mind, I suggest you to enroll him with the municipal school. It will be lot easier for you. I can write a recommendation letter asking them to allow-”

Mrs. Silva grabbed Anji’s hand and stormed outside the room. As she was about to close the door, she turned and said “Anji does not need your charity. After today, my son will never rely on anyone’s favor.” She slammed the door shut and walked out of the school.

“Di! Open the door” Chanda was shouting from the window

“Wait I am coming”

“No power?” asked Chanda as her sister opened the door trying to catch breath

“I turned off the bell from inside. You know how she is. She hardly sleeps and will get up with the slightest provocation.” The sisters smiled

“Where is my princess. Don’t tell me you are keeping her asleep when her favourite aunt is here.”

“Let her sleep Chanda. Otherwise she will not let anyone in the hall watch the movie”

“Ok… ok… will let her sleep.” Both the sisters gazed at the small girl sleeping peacefully with her finger in her mouth.

“You will have some tea”

“No, it’s ok. I had before leaving”

“It’s ok. You can drink again. As if I don’t know you.”

“Di, tell me what name have you chosen for her?”

“I am not supposed to tell anyone. The official letter will be declared only after she completes two years. We can name only after that”

“They are a bit different aren’t they?”

“Chanda, don’t get started again”

“Frankly, I never liked him or his family. They are a bit weird. Also, I never liked the fact that you had to go against our father’s wishes to marry him. Father still has not forgiven you.”

“Chanda!” Mrs. Sharma shouted angrily “Mind your tongue. You are talking about my husband here. I don’t say anything to father does not mean, you can also start”

“I was just saying-”

“I know what you wanted to say-”

“Ok… Ok… leave it now. I think you have woken her up now. Time for her aunt to play” Chanda rushed to pick the toddler up who was crying now.

As the tea boiled over, memories of her past came back to rushing.

The workers got down near the Main Chowk. For a distant village there was quite a huge hustle around. They checked amongst themselves, there was no festival today. The leader walked towards a big building where he could see some crowd, hoping some of them would be able to answer them.

There was a man sitting smoking a local variant of nicotine who was surrounded by four others who were busy peeping into an old magazine.

“Excuse me, Sir” the leader approached the man sitting and spoke humbly

“Yes”

“Can you tell us where this place is Lab-ry?” he fumbled to say the word

“Are you new to this place?”

“Yes”

“Whom have you come to meet here?”

“There was some construction work here. We came from our village for that. We were asked to meet the head person in this place”

The bunch of people sitting there began laughing as the bumpkins in front of them looked helpless.

“How much money have you guys got?”

“Why, Sir?”

“Don’t argue with me. Just reply to what I have asked you”

“Do you see those police officers there?” he continued, now pointing his fingers towards the men in uniform who were setting up barricades “They work for me. If you try to be smart, I will throw you and your coolie friends into the prison where you will get a special taste of our hospitality.” He laughed as his companions joined in the laughter.

“I am sorry, sir. We have just come for some work. If you tell us where this place is, we will be on our way and not disturb you”

“But you have already disturbed me. Now I can’t let you go so easily”

“Sir, I would like to take your leave”

“Wait. You will not move till we allow you to go” quipped the guy who was holding the magazine

“Hey coolies, Yes you guys, all of you come here” The guy with the magazine continued, pointing towards the workers who had taken shade under a large tree.

“Sir, please. We are poor people. We have just come for some work and we will leave as soon as we are done. We don’t want any trouble-”

“Or else, what? Are you challenging us?”

“No Sir, you have misunderstood me-”

“Ok, so I have misunderstood you. You bloody third grade people. You lift your face and come from some place and show your attitude. This is not your godforsaken place. Do you know where you are? Do you even know the history of this place?”

A huge whistle blew in the background. The head constable came running

“Ganpat, any problem here?” The head constable asked

“Nothing, sir. These people were asking some directions, I was just helping them” The local’s tone changed as soon as he saw Head constable Silva

“Ok. You guys don’t have any work or what? Simply keep sitting here and wasting everyone’s time. Don’t you see the barricades. Off you go now” now pointing towards the workers who were standing in a line “What do you want”

“Sir, we came here for some construction work. We had to meet the head of this place called Lab-ry”

“You mean Library”

“Something like that, Sir”

“Let me take you in. You have to be a bit careful in new places”

As Silva took the workers inside the building , the guy with the magazine asked angrily “Ganpat. Why did you keep quite. This Silva has to be taught a lesson. What does he think of himself.”

Ganpat waved his hand signalling him to shut up “We will get to him. Just not today. We have something else to do today. Meet me here by 7 pm sharp. If things go as planned, we will leave this wretched village forever”

“What is the membership fee here?” inquired Mrs. Silva to the librarian

“Mama, why are we here? Don’t I have to be in school now” Anji, who was visibly happy for not being in school, asked his mom

“No beta. That school is not good. You will have a much better education. I will be teaching you”

“Will I still be getting the cotton candy”

“Definitely. You will get whatever you want”

“Mama… is that daddy over there?” Anji pointed outside the window where the police was laying some barricades

“Keep this with you Anji” Mrs. Silva kept the yellow membership card in Anji’ shirt pocket “Yes, I think he is on some work there”

“I will go and say hi to him” Anji rushed outside the library as Mrs. Silva sat down on one of the empty chairs, took a moment for herself trying not to cry.

“Looks like someone is coming here today” pondered Chanda loudly, looking at the arrangement being done, as they made their way to the theatre.

“Aunty, did you see the previous movie by this same pair? It was one of my favorite movies of all times. I have heard this movie also has a double role. They have some new technique which they are using.” asked Gautami, who was sitting between her mom and aunt, visibly excited to see the movie

“No, I did not see the previous one” Chanda gave a curt reply. Gautami was very similar to her father, something which Chanda never liked about her. She took the younger one in her hand and muttered to herself “You will not be like these people”

“What? What do you mean the show has been postponed? This is a movie show, not a passenger train” An upset Chanda shouted at the security guard manning the theatre.

Apparently, the police had sent them a notice to avoid people in this place during the minister’s visit.

“And Mr. Sharma did not even have the courtesy to inform us. What does he think of himself?”

“Cool down Chanda. Maybe something important came up. Let us sit near the Library steps. I see they are selling some cotton candy over there. Anyway, it is just an hour. The time will pass before you even realize”

“Thank you Mr. Silva. You are a very nice person. We will forever be indebted to you.”

“Don’t worry, not a problem.”

“You guys wait here for some time. I have some work. Once done I will show you the campsite where you guys can take some rest.”

“Thanks you, Sir. ”

“By the way, what is your name?”

“Sir, Pratap S-”

“Papa! Papa!” a young boy came running towards them

“Anji! What are you doing here?” asked Mr. Silva surprised to see his son at this time of the day

“Mama is also here. She is sitting in the library. I have a new school now. I will get cotton candy also there” The head constable lifted his son and pointed towards the man with whom he was talking to.

“Excuse me, Mr.?”

“Pratap Sir”

“Yes. Pratap thanks. This is my son” now looking at his son “Anji, say hello to Uncle”

“Good evening Uncle”

“Cute kid. What is your name?”

“My name is Anji Anthony Silva. I study in 1st standard B. I study in- no. I did not ask mama, my new school’s name!” said Anji, suddenly realizing his foolishness for not asking his new school’s name

The grown men burst into a big laugh

“Don’t worry. I will take you to your mom.” now turning towards the other man “Ok, Mr Pratap. I will take your leave now. You and your people wait here. I will meet you in some time”

“Sure Sir”

“Anji, Do you want to eat some cotton candy?”

“Yes. Come let me get you some.”

“Ganpat bhai! Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am pretty sure what I am doing. And don’t worry, once done we will be out of this place permanently.”

“But, if we get caught?”

“How will we get caught. Everyone is busy. And, even if something happens, Commissioner Saheb will take care of it. You stop talking now and just do as I say”

“Ok, this is done. Now what?”

“Now?” He looked at his watch, “Time for some drama”

“Inspector Sharma”

“Yes, Sir”

“How are the arrangements?”

“Everything is ready, Sir. Just as per your request”

“Good. I want you to accompany the minister during the procession”

“But, Sir?”

“Do you have any problem?”

“No, Sir”

“Good then. I will meet you over the weekend.”

As the phone got disconnected, the Commissioner looked at his wall which was decorated with all the awards he was bestowed with. He just had another three months left in his tenure. And despite his exemplary service, there was only praise and nothing else. He looked at his colleagues, with far inferior records who bagged plum postings post retirement, with envy.

It was around one month back, he received a phone call from the minister’s office. The minister was a lowly uncouth goon who owed everything he had, just because he planned his marriage into the right family. The commissioner’s blood curled as he saw the minister lament about the commissioner’s post retirement prospects. Condescension was something, the commissioner could not tolerate. Definitely, not by the man sitting in front of him.

The ruling party was losing public support and it was given that the minister would not return to power in the next term. He offered the commissioner a posting if he could help fix the minister’s image. The commissioner felt disgusted at first, then a plan started began to brew in his mind.

“Mama, I want to drink some water” Gautami had been pestering her mom and aunt for the past half an hour with ridiculous requests. Sitting on the library steps was definitely not on her agenda for the evening. They were told the show may get delayed by another hour. “Chanda, can you take care of the baby. I will get some water for Gautami. Do you want to eat something? I will get something while coming”

“No, it’s fine” remarked Chanda slyly, wondering why she even accepted the plan to tag along for the movie. She looked at her niece, sleeping peacefully in her hand, and smiled. Given a chance, she would have loved to raise her, just the way her father had raised Chanda, away from the corrupting influence of her brother-in-law.

“Aye, Madam!”

Chanda got jostled as she heard the rude address.

“Are you alone?” said another voice

She held her niece closer to her as she looked back to see who it was. There were five ruffians standing closely behind her, smoking and laughing loudly. It looked as these guys were used to trouble. Her first instinct was to run.

“Where is the father of your kid?” said one of them

“Maybe, even she does not know!” added another as everyone laughed

“Madam, give us a chance also” added the third one as everyone laughed even louder

Before she could get over the shock and move, the five men had surrounded her in a circle. One of them tried to pull her duppatta. “Mind your language and your actions. You don’t know who I am”

“That is what, why we are here. We want to know you better!” said one of the guys as he threw his beedi over the hapless woman. People around started departing as the ruffians started appearing more malicious.

“Call, whomever you want. Let us see who will help you”

“Snatch the kid from her!” hollered one of the guys who was silent so far, but looked the one who commanded the group

“Give the baby to me!” said one of the men in the group as he stepped forward. The circle shrunk.

As the hapless Chanda struggled to keep the child with her, she felt she was overpowered too easily by the two men, now almost on top of her.

Suddenly, she felt the grip loosening on here. She felt a tall shadow covering her.

“Leave the lady alone!” said the man, whose face Chanda could not see but could only hear his voice

“Look the hero has come back again”

“Didn’t I warn you to stay out of my way sometime back. Bloody coolie!” the head of the gang surrounding Chanda spit on the ground, as if to show what he thought about the man trying to be a hero.

“What do you think, that constable will save you every time?”

“Madam are you ok?” the man looked at the woman who was lying down on the ground, shivering with fear, and holding on to a baby.

As soon as he raised his arm to help the lady, he was kicked on knees by one of the men surrounding him. He tried to push back. He pulled his attacker by his feet onto the stairs and punched him on his teeth. A kick came on his jaw, which spluttered some blood on the streets. Two of the men tried to hold his legs as he struggled to get past their clutches.

“They are attacking Pratap” shouted one of the workers to his friends who were idling away under a tree. The men in the group rushed towards the scene of action and started attacking the group who was targeting their friend. Pratap and his friends tried to take control of the situation, when out of nowhere about two dozen people came running towards them with sickles and rods.

In the ensuing mayhem, without anyone noticing, Ganpat made a sly exit to execute the next stage of his plan.

“Namaste Madam” Silva greeted Mrs. Sharma, who was with her daughter near the water cooler.

“Namaste Mr. Silva” greeted Mrs. Sharma back

“Madam, how come you are here?”

“We had come for the movie, but realized it has been postponed. So we thought we would wait here. Looks like, someone important would be coming today”

“Yes, Madam. Minister Saheb would be coming today to inaugurate construction of the new Library building. Sharma Saheb is himself supervising this”

“When would the minister come”

“Should have come by now. You know how these ministers are” lamented Silva

“Is this Anji?”

“Yes, madam. He has come with his mother, who should be somewhere here”

“Gautami, say hello to Anji” instructed Mrs. Sharma to her daughter who was standing next to her

“Hello Anji, I am Gautami”

“Hello Gautami. My name is Anji Anthony Silva. I study in 1st standard B” everyone laughed, as the little kid repeated his introduction by rote.

“Do you hear the noise Mr. Silva? Looks like some commotion outside”

As they glanced out of the window, they saw a huge mob piling up around what looked like an intense fight between two groups

“Madam, can you look after Anji for a while? I need to sort this out, before the minister’s convoy comes”

“Sure.” said Mrs. Sharma as she held Anji’s hand and worried where Chanda and her daughter were

Silva ran towards the mob, with the lathi in his hand raised and blowing the whistle loudly calling other constables to help quickly disperse the crowd. The fight between two groups soon became a three way fight with both the groups fighting the police as well. As the commotion grew, the crowd gathered around became stronger.

The police we only slightly successful in dispersing the crowd when a new fight broke out in another section of the crowd. As the fighting groups spread through the crowd, stampedes began in different sections as the police, failed further to control the situation. It became an endless cycle and soon the police were outnumbered three to one. Amidst the din, everyone missed the sound of the convoy which made its way towards the Chowk.

“Inspector! What is happening here?” asked the perplexed minister to the police officer who was assigned to escort him for the inauguration.

“I am sorry, Sir. I will quickly check and be back. You stay here, Sir. Do not step out of the car”

“Sure. Let us know soon, if you can control this or if we should leave”

“Sure Sir. Just give me a moment” The inspector fled towards the epicenter of the fight, with his gun raised towards the sky.

Looking at the crowd and commotion, the minister wondered if this was part of the Commissioner’s plan. The minister had specifically told the Commissioner not to make him privy to the plan details, in case there is an inquiry later. Now he rued his decision.

Inspector Sharma raised his pistol and fired a shot in the air. The crowd only slightly dispersed, while those fighting continued to do so. He requested one of the constables to hand him over a cane as he walked towards the center of the fight. He fired another round in the air. There was complete silence for a moment. He took the cane and pointed the fighting groups to form a line and stand in one side. He looked around and saw many women and children bleeding and weeping. He asked his constables to lend them a helping hand while signalling everyone else to stand in another spot where he was pointing.

A distant noise broke his chain of thought. He looked around as he saw three masked gunmen were dragging the minister away from his car. Sharma rushed towards the car. Silva signalled one of his constables to call for backup and followed suit.

“Leave the minister alone. Drop your weapons and surrender yourselves” shouted Mr. Sharma still running towards the gunmen.

“Stay there, or else I will blow the brains out of your minister’s head”

Sharma and Silva stopped where they were, Sharma still pointing the gun towards the gunmen.

The gunmen continued to walk towards the entrance of the library where people started flocking inside. The man who was holding the minister signalled something to his accomplices as two of them rushed into the library.

“Please let the minister go. If you have any demands, do let me know. I promise to help you get your demands fulfilled.” Shouted Sharma, still pointing his gun towards the gunman

“Stay where you are. Don’t try to act smart”

The gunmen who entered the library returned, dragging a woman and two kids at gunpoint. Sharma and Silva looked at each other in horror. It was Mrs. Sharma accompanied by Gautami and Anji.

“I request you to leave the civilians alone” Sharma tried to keep his emotions in control, not wanting the gunmen to know of their weakness. He could see his wife and daughter crying, terrified of the situation they were in.

“Take them into the car” shouted the gunman holding the minister.

The gunmen holding the minister starting walking back towards the car as the other gunmen dragged Mrs. Sharma and the kids with them. The first gunman, signalled the rest of the minister’s staff and bodyguards to move behind the inspector.

As the bodyguards moved away from the car, they could hear loud sirens blazing in the distance. Sharma looked to Silva, who acknowledged that he had called for backup. One of the bodyguards took advantage of this distraction and put a bullet through the head of the gunman who was holding the minister. The rest of the gunmen panicked and dragged Mrs. Sharma and kids behind the car. As the minister, limped towards the bodyguard, one of the gunmen fired multiple rounds towards the bodyguard killing him and in the process getting injured.

Inspector Sharma dived ahead to cover the Minister and pulled him behind a rock which was acting as a shield. The minister was severely injured and was gasping for breath.

The backup team began closing and the gunmen panicked even more and began shooting even more indiscreetly. Sharma glanced through the crevice of the stone he was hiding behind. He could see one of the assailants getting into the car with Anji while the other gunman dragging Mrs. Sharma and Gautami into another car. The gunmen began fleeing and had their backs turned towards the inspector. Mr. Sharma pulled out his gun and aimed at one of the gunmen and shot into his back.

“Mama!” Gautami shrieked loudly. Mr. Sharma stood up. As the gunman fell, he triggered the gun in his hand which ripped through Mrs. Sharma’s heart.

Things did not go as planned. Ganpat was told, this would be a simple kidnap job. His job was to create a commotion near the library at the appointed time and arrange for pickup three people and escort them to the closest airport. They would pay him his money.

After creating the commotion as he was told, he slipped silently to arrange for a vehicle. He felt suspicious when he saw the men whom he had to escort. They looked different and had a certain mean streak to them. One of them pointed his gun to Ganpat’s head and ordered him to do exactly as he said or else he would lose his life.

He was shocked when the men whom he accompanied, kidnapped the minister and later held a woman and children hostage. He panicked even more when the shooting began. He had definitely not signed up for this.

He looked to his side to check if the small kid whom he picked up was alive. The kid was breathing. Thank god for that

“Thud” a huge rock hit the rear window pane. A constable was chasing the car. Ganpat tried to speed, but he lost control and slipped into the marshy sidewalk. The constable began closing in much faster as did the blazing alarms. Ganpat, knew he would regret this for the rest of his life. He aimed the gun towards the constable and fired three shots.

He did not look back. He slowly maneuvered the car back on the main road and drove as fast as he could.

“Sir”

“Who is this?”

“Me, Sir… Ganpat”

“Yes Ganpat, is the job done?”

“Sir, there has been a problem”

“The men whom you sent, they killed the minister”

“What? Where are they?”

“They are dead, Sir”

“Only I managed to escape”

“Ok. Where are you?”

“Sir, I am at the railway station. I am calling from a phone booth here”

“Call me back in ten minutes. I will tell you what to do”

“Sure Sir. And what about the boy?”

“Boy? What boy?”

“I had to get one boy as a cover. He is with me”

“Damn you. Take care of him. Kill him, if required. There should be no loose ends. Do you understand? Call me back in exactly ten minutes”

Ganpat looked at the boy, still unconscious whom he had held on his shoulder. A train approached the station. He knew what he had to do.

Chanda saw the whole situation being played out from a distance, while holding on to her niece. Mr. Sharma killed my sister. She said aloud. She looked at her niece. I will not let this happen to you. I will keep you away from your mom’s killer.

Chanda moved to her dad’s place in her native. Even though Mr. Sharma tried several times to meet her daughter, Chanda never let him. The guilt of his wife’s death, did not let Mr. Sharma pursue other options to obtain her possession. Somewhere deep down, he felt she was safer here.

He looked at the photo in his wallet and said “Keerthana. This is what your mom wanted to name you. Stay safe, child”

He left disappointed.

He re-married again after some years. However, his second wife soon died due to a tuberculosis attack.

There were many times, he picked up the phone to check on the whereabouts of his daughter. But he could never muster courage to speak. The guilt weakened him.

“Where is my mama?” asked the boy

“Mama and daddy had to go somewhere. You will be with this uncle for some time now. I will buy you a lot of games and chocolates” said the teary eyed Ganpat

“I don’t like you”

“What is your name?”

“My name is Anji Anthony Silva”

“See Anthony, let us play a game, ok? If you win, I will get you a gift at the next station”

The train left for an unknown destination and with it took two strangers on a path they had never imagined.

Mrs. Silva became mentally disturbed after the incident. She suffered frequent bouts of epilepsy and forgetfulness. As one by one, all her acquaintances deserted the desolate woman, Pratap Sahu took her under his shelter, like his sister. Pratap decided, this village was ill omen and took his friends and Mrs. Silva with him to a new city, hoping for a better future.

Mr. Sharma coughed loudly. He called for his daughter “Gautami! Gautami!”

Maybe, she is not at home, he thought to himself. The last few years were particularly tough for her. She had all but regained her life, when she suddenly slipped back. She stopped talking, worked late and avoided any discussion. If only her mother was alive, he pondered.

He lay down, with the photo on his chest. He never woke up.

Previous Episode: The Traitor

Complete Publication: Rangabhoomi

Alternate Publication: The Library

Next Episode: The Addiction (link coming soon)

Image Source: Sorrow Tree

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