INSPECTOR DHARANI

Its been quiet a while that I have written. Blog spot to some is a place where they keep their friends kith and kin updated. To some a bulletin to share their political thoughts should i say. Well to me it is a place where i let my imagination run wild.[ It is currently deliberating whether to wake up from dormancy:) but nonetheless.. Here cmon get up buddy] I like writing what I call short stories ...well short by my standards.

So here goes another one.. it has been titled Inspector Dharani.( well for people who know me really well would know dharani as well :D and for people who dont well he is my friend from engineering. )
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The ancient temple in the village wore a deserted look. The moon light bathing the entire temple and to a connoisseur of beauty it was a sight to die for. The peepal trees in the temple premises, home to a number of nocturnal fauna were a center of bustling activities. Owls hooting, insects buzzing and the leaves rustling. The only sound that was distinctly audible over this din was the bell dangling around the neck of the temple elephant Ramu. He seemed restless and Murugan who was the mahout was watching in anxiety wondering what has come over Ramu. The sudden change in the pattern of the din portended something bad was about to happen and Ramu was becoming restless. Murugan was just clueless about Ramu's restlessness.

The temple boundary wall that ran around the perimeter of the temple land was getting old and dilapidated. It was always the topic of discussion in all the meetings of the Grama Panchayat. But the warring village heads could not reach a consensus . In the north wall of the temple there was a small recess oblivious to a commoner but visible to a discerning eye. The recess that was about to change the course of history of the village of Abhiramapatnam.

Two pairs of feet landed with a dull thud closer to the north wall of the temple. Ramu was now going berserk. He was vehemently tugging at the chains that bound him to the intricately carved temple pillar. His bell was now making a pandemonium of sorts. Murugan's so far light sleep was now gone completely. He was both the Mahout as well as the temple guard. He was a man in his thirties. Well built and a staunch devotee of the Hanuman. " Jai Anjaneya" said Murugan with a start." What is the problem Ramu? Why are you so restless?" Saying this he unchained Ramu.

Ramu quickly ran towards the north wall. The dark silhouettes seeing the mammoth coming towards them slipped into the temple and hid in the shadows. Ramu started towards the recess in the wall with Murugan in tow. Even before Murugan could realize a huge blade severed his head. With a dull thud the head rolled onto the concrete. Ramu realizing Murugan is no more turns back and heads back to wards the listless body lying on the concrete floor bathed in the moon light.Looking for the miscreants in the temple Ramu begins to circle the temple. Slowly at first then violently. He tires himself to death.

The dawn breaks and the huge key turns the lock of the temple door. The temple priest srinivasan enters carrying his yellow satchel that contained his morning grub and opens both the doors. The unusual calm seems rather disturbing to him.
He was used to the bell of Ramu and the deep voice of Murugan welcoming him. Something was amiss. " Ramu where are you ? You brat? Muruga......... hello anybody ?" .Then now fearing that something bad must have occurred Srinivasan begins to walk around the temple. What he was about to witness next was about to knock the living daylights out of him. Murugan's head was being picked by a number of eagles and crows. He had to shoo them away to really recognize what these birds were fighting about. His stomach begin retching involuntarily.

Next thing srinivasan knew was the cool feel of water on his face." Srini.... srini.. wake up..something really bad has happened." To this voice he now groggily opened his eyes to realise the huge crowd that has gathered. He blankly looks at each person before his eyes rested on the person on whose lap his head was now present. It was ananthu his fellow priest at the temple. " Wake up srini wake up" ." Ramu needs you now he wont eat or drink anything and the vet says that unless he eats something he is going to die soon".
The last few words shook srini up and he was up in a flash. The ten steps he took towards the mammoth were the most difficult ones he had taken his entire life. Ramu had been more like his son, a member of family. To see someone so close lose his life in front of your own eyes can be a nerve wrecking experience. The one which Srini was now experiencing. The breathes were now labored and it was coming with a struggle. In one swift motion srini fell on the elephants head hugging it and crying his heart out. The eyes of Ramu still had the same brilliance. They reminisced srini of all the good times they had. Of the time when little ramu was first brought to the temple as an orphan elephant who had been discarded by his mother. The time when srini began his training. All the times he was punished for not being obedient.

Ananthu was now beside Srini consoling him. "Ask Ramu to eat something. He has been severely fatigued. The doc says his feet are bleeding and he has no energy even to breathe. Unless he eats something we will lose him. C'mon srini do something." He passed on bananas and honey to srini who now took them in his hand and looked at Ramu. " C'mon Ramu eat . Take this banana. see i have also brought your favorite honey. See I am now dipping the banana in honey. Eat this my child. Eat so you can become strong. We need to find what happened to Muruga." Ramu took one sniff at the banana and breathed his last. The tear drop in his eye still inches from the ground. "


Nooooooooooo.... oh lord what has happened?"." How can such a thing befall this temple" " How can such a thing happen to Muruga who is your ardent devotee" " What was Ramu's fault in all this? C'mon this cant be happening" Saying this he faints.

The village elders convene a meeting. Ramaiah, the president dressed in his usual sparkling white dhoti and stiff starched shirt begins speaking." Today is the saddest day in the history of Abhiramapatnam." Never has such a catastrophe befallen us." " A day when we lost two noble sons of this village to tyranny.We have to find out who is behind all this. "My son Dharani who is an inspector in the nearby town is coming tomorrow to investigate this case. I want all the people of the village to extend their complete co operation in the investigation. Let us all pray and hope that the trouble makers and murderers are caught soon."


The battered willy's jeep with all its squeaking an squealing made its way into Abhiramapatnam. Dharani got down from the jeep and made his way to his house. He first took the blessings of his father. " Bless me father that I catch hold of the murderers soon." The sun sets on this small village of abhiramapuram. One prayer is on the lips of every villager. " Let the murderers be caught soon and let justice prevail"

With the break of dawn the village that generally wears a festive look was now gloomy. Dharani woke up to the chimes of the puja bell in his house. The citizen watch by his bedside was not showing 6 AM. He said his morning prayers rubbed his eyes and got up. He knew this was an important day for him and also for the entire village. A crime had occurred in the place where it was least expected and he had lost his dearest friend Muruga. Death catches up to to every living human but the nature as they say is in the hands of your own and is determined by your behavior. How could such a death befall Muruga? His muddled mind was constantly at war with himself and he was disturbed, confused, angry and resolute that who ever be the wrong doer he will be punished and he will see to it that the punishment is delivered by him personally. With all these thoughts clouding his mind Dharani reluctantly got ready and was mentally charting out a plan as to how the whole investigation had to be carried out. From somewhere in his mind he had one flash "temple". "Yes let me begin by looking around in the temple. the place where the murders had taken place. "

After taking his fathers blessings and bidding good bye to his mother Dharani started towards the temple. The village of abhiramapuram was very proud of Dharani. The small village boy who had made it big in life. He was well known among the police circles in the district as a straight forward officer who would give away his life willingly to protect the law. Many a times his father would twist his whiskers in pride. To be known as a child's parent rather than parent's child gives immense happiness and pride to both the child and parent.

There were silent hushes and whispers as Dharani's jeep passed through the streets of the village towards the temple. The villagers were now certain that the murderers would be caught and it was just a matter of time. Dharani got down in front of the ancient Sivan temple. Removed his shoes. For the numerous times he had been in the entrance of the temple the carvings and the intricate designs on the temple entrance still enthralled him. Taking cognizance of all this he entered the temple. He went to meet the head priest.

The head priest Muthuswamy was in his office. Still distraught from the recent happenings in the temple. " Greetings Mr Muthu. I am here to investigate the recent incidents that have happened in your temple". Suddenly startled by the presence of another person in his office. He looked up and recognized Dharani. " Hello son, How are you?I am sorry that you have to see me in such circumstances. Please find out who is behind all this. I assure our complete co operation in this regards."
He went by to the place where the body of Muruga was found. It had been outlined in white chalk. He then went to the place where his head was found. It was a good 15 feet away from the body. Seeing this and imagining what would have happened to Muruga sent a shiver down his spine. Who could be so ruthless?" He then went to the place where Ramu was found. The very sight sent Dharani into a tizzy. The memories of days he spent with his buddy Muruga and Ramu were flashing before his eyes. Tears welled up but he had to compose himself as the job at hand was more important than these trivial emotions. He had to now see the body of Muruga as a lot can be learnt from the dead body.

He immediately left for the hospital in the near by town of Ambikapuram. The body was lying motionless on top of the operation table. Dr Arumugam was at the corner washing his hands and handing over his apron and gloves to the nurse near by. "Hello dharani a pleasant surprise. What brings you here and that too of all days today when I have witnessed the most heinous crime in my entire career. The murderer must have really been a heartless man. Ok i forgot may I ask what is the purpose of your visit?" " Hi doctor, I'm here on this case that you had just mentioned. The body that you have just autopsied is our temple guard's and more than that he is my close friend. I would like you to elaborate on the details of the case doctor. I m looking to finish the case soon and bring the offenders to justice." " Very well dharani lets goto my room and we can discuss the case over a cup of tea." Saying this Dr Arumugam left the room and dharani followed him to his room. " Pandi get two cups of tea, make it strong , to my room." said Dr Arumugam to his attender.

" The case as i told you earlier dharani is one of the most heinous acts of a beast in human form. The person who must have done this should definitely be trained in martial arts and must be capable of wielding a fairly huge blade. The perfection with which the blow was received on Murugan's neck is simply mind numbing. The blade so strong and the action so swift that the cut wound was cauterized instantly. There was no other bodily harm done to the torso. I checked up for any other traces of prints but came up with none."
" Any other signs of injury or anything to the head doctor."
" Now that you mentioned it I have noticed that there is a wound closer to the eye on the right side of the temple. Well it could be caused due to the impact the head had with the hard floor of the temple. There were also a number of other small wounds that i believe to have been caused by the birds pecking at the head.The time at which the blood seems to have clotted is more or less the same in head and the body. So i think we can conclude that there are no other wounds inflicted on the body and the cause of death is by the blade"

All the while Dharani was trying to picturise the entire event happening. Something did not fall in place. He knew something was missing and he was just not yet sure as to what. " Thanks doctor. You have done a great job. I have to head back to the village and continue my investigations." Saying so Dharani got up and started walking towards the jeep. Just when he was about to board the jeep Arumugam came running behind ." Wait up dharani. I think there are two people involved in this I can see two sets of hand prints on the back of murugan they were very faint so i think i missed them initially. I think they tried to move the body when they saw something and ran away leaving the body." "wow!!!! thanks a million doctor. I think we have made a great start to the investigation."

The sun was now setting in this part of the world but Dharani's spirits were high. After the days work he knew that the end was near. As he reached home, he first met his father who was waiting for him." So son, how did the day go? Have you found out who is the cause for all this???"

" Hi dad, I am not supposed to discuss the case at home. I hope you will understand." saying this he went to his mother." I am terribly hungry please give me something to eat mother." So after having a quiet meal dharani went up to his room. He was now really excited and was trying to formulate some means to catch hold of the perpetrators. Already exhausted by the work for the day he fell into deep sleep.

The dawn broke . and the sun was slowly shining on this calm town of abhiramapatnam. Dharani was woken by the chimes of the puja bell in his house. So he was feeling cheerful and his instinct told him that the end was nearer. Just as he went out to see his father, he saw that his dad was talking over phone in an urgent and irritated tone to some one.' I have told you a million times not to call. I will reach you if necessary. Keep the phone down." Just as he disconnected the call he turned back to see dharani staring at him. " Who was that father. To whom were you talking to." " Well son I thought it was an old friend of mine but it happened to be a wrong number." Not completely convinced with what he had been told dharani went out to take bath.

He chose to talk to srinivasan the temple priest who had been at the scene of the crime before anyone.He went to the temple and enquired with Muthuswamy about srinivasan. " He is a devout boy. I have known him for quiet sometime. His father is a good friend of mine. He has been taught at the veda bhavan patashala. He takes care of the temple and I was grooming him to take over the duties of temple from me."
"Can you tell me his daily duties. for instance when he opens the temple what does he do after that ??? things like that"
" Oh certainly ..Every day Srinivasan opens the temple and goes inside and meets Murugan and spends time with Ramu before he heads to the sanctum sanctorum to perform the early morning rituals to the deity. Murugan takes care of bringing the prasadam to the temple by the time srini is done with all the preparations for the first abhishekam. Then he performs the pujas at the temple and we close the temple by noon after performing the puja.
The temple is again open for people by 4 in the evening. Srini's wife Amudha brings him lunch in the afternoon. Srini, Murugan and Amudha all eat lunch and then Amudha leaves. Srini and Murugan spend time with Ramu and when it is four Srini gets back to the temple. We close the temple at 9 in the night thats when Srini locks the door from outside. If you will notice the main door has a small door which locks from the inside. Murugan has that key in case he needs to go out before srini opens the temple in the morning."
"hmmmm. Thank you Muthuswamy. Who was there along with srini on that morning.?" " My son ananthu was there with him. Infact as we speak ananthu is there at srini's home tending to him. They have been trained at the same school and so they have known each other since childhood. In fact it was Ananthu's idea to employ Srini in this temple." " Thank you Muthuswamy I will get back to you in case further information is required." saying so dharani got up.

All the exuberance he had faded away as of now he had no clue on how to proceed further. In the midst of all this he remembered the phone call his dad got in the morning. He tried to ruminate on that for sometime. But then he wanted to go and talk to srini first before even deciding what needs to be done. " Hello srini .. I am Dharani investigating the case of Murugan" said dharani to the person who opened the door to Srinis house." I am Ananthu, Srinis friend. Srini is inside resting. He is in a state of shock and is constantly having nightmares. Please come in."
" You look well built for a man of your profession ananthu. Good keep it up. It is now that today's youngsters are looking after themselves and taking care in grooming themselves. "
" Thank you sir, I have always been interested in sports and hence I have concentrated more on extra curricular activities. But you see Srini here is our typical bookworm. He has been the topper in all our classes together"
" Hello Srini.. I am dharani. I am investigating the case. I know this is not a good time to come and talk to you but I don't have an option. I need to talk to you and ananthu in isolation" " Its ok sir, you can speak. My wife is not in the house she has gone out to the bazaar." " What exactly happened on that day. I want to hear it from you." " Ok sir, Like every other day I went to open the temple on that day. Usually Ramu will be the first to acknowledge my presence. He would make a sound with the bell on his neck. I would go and then talk to Murugan. Then i would go to make arrangements for the morning pujas and Murugan would go and make arrangement for the prasadam. " " But on that day..... sniff sniff" Tears welled up in his eyes. " I was surprised that the temple was silent. All I could hear was the chirping of the birds. Then there was a huge cackling sound of crows. I started looking for Ramu. That is when I stumbled upon a group of birds fighting for something. I went closer to have a look it was then that I noticed that they were fighting over Murugan's slithered head. That's the last I remember. The next thing I know was Ananthu was there and there was already a crowd of people. I knew I had lost Murugan.

Ananthu was now pulling me towards Ramu. Who seemed exhausted. His feet were bleeding. He was refusing to drink or eat anything from anybody. I tried to give him a banana dipped in honey. you know sir, that was his favorite snack. But he just took a sniff of the banana and his head fell down dead. I don't know for what sin of mine I am being punished sir. I had lost two of my dearest friends on the same day. " Dharani was listening to all this in rapt attention however he noticed ananthu was not near.
He went out to look for ananthu. he was by the door talking to someone in a hushed tone. Dharani tried to go and see who was there. When he went near he noticed ananthu suddenly turned back and was shocked to see dharani there. But seemed to compose himself of the shock and said it was just a beggar. Dharani smelt something fishy but did not reveal anything. His pleasant demeanor brilliantly camouflaged any doubt that he might have had. So ananthu had no clue that he was now the prime suspect in this murder investigation.
In sometime Amudha returned. she was out of breath as though she had been running. She did not know who dharani was." I told u ananthu to tell me in advance in case someone comes by. This is not how u act. " Ananthu was frantically trying to point Dharani but Amudha did not notice his presence as he was just behind a door and Ananthu was midway. " Ok Amudha please come and meet Mr Dharani. he is investigating the murder of Murugan" That's when dharani entered the room. Amudha's face was as pale as a ghost. She was completely at loss for words. It was as if someone knocked the wind out of her." Oh hello sir, Please make yourself comfortable. I go and fetch you some buttermilk from the kitchen." saying this she almost ran into the kitchen without even waiting for Dharani's response. Now dharani was sure that he was in the wolf's lair. he knew that Amudha and Ananthu are involved in this. But he could not find a connection.

" Ok ananthu, I think srini needs to rest. I see he has been advised complete rest and is on sedatives. I will leave now. But please do co operate in case I need to know something else." " Oh yes sir, anytime. Just send for me and I would be there. We need to find out who has done the heinous act." Dharani left the house of srinivasan the temple priest. It seemed to be the nerve center of all the covert operations. He needed to confirm how innocent Srini was.

It was almost dusk. The migratory birds were returning to their nests. he just admired the beautiful patterns they flew in. He got back home. As he was untying his shoe lace the phone began to ring." Hi Dharani, this is Arun from the telecommunication department. I found the number that you had been asking for. There have been many calls to this number from your phone over the last 8 months. In fact almost all the calls to this number are from the phone at your residence." " Thanks Arun. I need one more favour. Can you let me know the address to which that telephone belongs" " Sure dharani, one moment let me look it up. hmmmm where did I keep that piece of paper. hey kamal did you take any thing from my desk. It was just here. One moment Dharani. oh yeah here it is. okay please note it down. door number 34 sivaramapillai street , Ambikapuram" " Thanks arun. That will do for now. Thanks for the timely help." " well what are friends for. any time buddy any time."
His father was listening to this conversation from the second line. " Oh no!! what have i done?" he said to himself.


That night at the dinner table everybody was unusually quiet. " So dharani how is the case progressing" said his dad breaking the silence." Dad I don't discuss work at home and I am not supposed to also in the first place." " okay okay, so how is Srini coming along. He was very much devastated by all these things happening." " Srini is okay dad. He is convalescing. He should come around pretty soon." His dad started to speak something but fell silent. " what is it dad? Is there something that you want to tell me?" " No son , nothing. good night" With those words Ramaiah got up and went out to smoke his cigar. " Could dad be involved in any of this?" was the first thought that came to his mind. " There is only one way to find out. Let me go and check that address in Ambikapuram"

The next morning dharani was surprised to see his dad still sleeping. He was one of those early risers. " May be he isn't feeling well" said Dharani to himself. He started his jeep and set off to Ambikapuram. He reached the house in Ambikapuram. He tried to knock the door. But it was open.

He went inside." Hello is anybody home?" he did not hear a sound. He went into the kitchen. It was empty. Then he went into the master bedroom. It was empty. He heard water trickling in the bathroom. He went into the bathroom. " oooohhh GODDDDD!!!!!!" he said to himself." He saw a woman in her forties immersed in a tub of water. Her face was wrapped in a polythene bag and tied around her neck. Her hands and legs were tied. He tried to feel for any pulse. but he was too late. The damage had been done. The woman was dead. " How can that be? Who could have done it". That's when he saw it.
One sight was enough to know who was behind all this. He grabbed that photo frame in his hand. He called up the local police and ordered his subordinates to take charge of the case. He then rushed to his jeep. But the damn thing did not start. He gave the ignition another try. "C'mon C'mon don't test my patience. Start ...... start...... start." The engine came alive. Then he put the car in gear and started off.

" Open the dooor" demanded dharani. He continued banging the door. " Who is it amudha?" came srini's voice. " Its...... Its......" well words escaped her mouth. She was stunned to see Dharani. What shocked her more was the photo frame in his hand. " May I come in? " asked dharani feigning courteousness. " yes please." " It is not like what you think....I can explain.." " Shut up... why did you have to kill your own mother? you wretched excuse of a women." "Whaaaat? what are you saying?I never knew that my mother is dead? who did this to her?Cmon tell me" she tugged at dharani's shirt. But he was quick to push her aside. " Srini I want you to come here and look at this." saying so he gave the photo to srini. " Yes I know this is Amudha's mother. What about her? What happened to her sir?" Something was amiss here.

That's when Amudha spoke up. " Sir, or should I say brother" these first few words were enough for Dharani to understand who Amudha was and what was the connection of his father in all this. His father was also her father. " We have been living in Ambikapuram ever since I know. Our father met my mother in one of his visits to Ambikapuram regarding some business. That's when they got married and I was born. He never told us about a family in this village. He used to say his main business is here in this village so he would come there to our house over the weekends. It was about eight months back that my mother had come here to this village to meet one of her friends. That's when she came to know about father's other family in this village. She felt cheated. She decided that she will not talk to father henceforth. But we had to be supported financially. though my mother was not willing to accept anything from this man she had no other choice. Hence he would try and persuade her over phone. But she was adamant. I married srini about 6 months back. The best part of the day was when I would take lunch to the temple. He Murugan and I would eat happily under the shade of the mango tree. I loved Ramu very much. Murugan was more like my elder brother. He would affectionately call me sister and I found the brother whom I never had ,in him. Things were normal.

Until one day Ananthu found out about our family. He began to blackmail me that he would defame our father in public. So I had to give in to all his demands. He used to ask me for huge sums of money. I would in turn blackmail father and take it from him and give it to ananthu.

One day it was after srini left to temple. Ananthu came home. He was panting heavily and was accompanied by one more man. Some one i had not seen in this village. He came inside. He said Murugan is dead. I have killed him. The blame I would put on your husband and teach him a lesson for taking over my position in the temple. My father loves him and trusts him more than me. It is all part of a plan that I had hatched some months back. I got you both married. I knew about your family. so I have somehow eliminated both my enemies. well you will be wondering what Murugan had done to deserve this. He and that stupid elephant of his had once had me caught while i was trying to take some money from the temple cash box. Because my dad is the head priest there he was able to manage such that news did not come out. But he never let me set foot in the office after that. How can that lowlife and his dumb mammoth bring upon such a fate on me. It was a plan where I would carefully eliminate all my arch rivals in one shot. First Murugan , then your husband, then your father. when all this is over I would have asked your hand in marriage publicly and you would not be in a position to deny it. Because if you did so you would tarnish the reputation that your father has built." " I could not say anything. I was speechless after he told me this. I pushed him aside and I ran towards the temple. It was still early for people to be coming into the temple. I saw Srini lying there next to the headless corpse of Murugan. I thought ananthu had killed him too. But on going near I found that he was still breathing. I heaved a sigh of relief as i was about to call for help ananthu was there along with this other person.
But by then people began gathering. I saw this as a chance to escape. I ran to look for Ramu. I saw he was lying there motion less. his heavy stomach breathing laboriously. I tried to talk to him, I tried to get him to eat something. then I ran home took a bunch of bananas and a bottle of honey and ran towards the temple. Srini was just gaining consciousness. Ananthu in one swift motion grabbed the fruit from my hand and the other person grabbed the bottle of honey from my hand. I was about to shout. but Srini's shout had my attention. In the mean time ananthu sprayed something on the banana. " Noooo" i said to my self when i was about to go there and stop srini had already shown the fruit to hapless ramu. One sniff and he was gone. "

Dharani was watching without batting an eyelid. He was not sure what he was feeling right now. Should he be happy that he had at last got a sister whom he had yearned all these years? should he be angry with his dad for cheating him? Srini was as much shocked as dharani. How could his best friend do such a thing. How could he kill Murugan and Ramu? The room fell silent. Amudha weeping inconsolably. Srini trying to console her and dharani pacing about the room thinking what to do? Still one thing remained unsolved. Who would have killed Amudha's mother. Only one person could answer that question.


"Hello sir, i believe you asked for me" said ananthu standing in front of dharani.
" Thud" one tight slap. ananthu did not know what hit him? before he could regain his composure it was raining blows and kicks on him. " You low life. How could you do such a thing? " said dharani as he picked up ananthu by the scruff of his neck.
" what did i do sir, why am I being hit.? I have not done anything. Even if I did what proof have you got other than whatever Amudha said. She is a demented girl I will prove that in the court of law. How else would you arrest me.....SIR." said ananthu mockingly.
" Every criminal no matter how smart he is commits a small mistake. No matter hard he tries to cover up his tracks he is not infallible. Bring him in Shyamlal."

Ananthu's mouth fell open when he saw the person standing in front of him.
" Ok speak up now or else as you wanted We will meet in the court of law." the person standing in front of Ananthu was his friend Sivaraman. He was his accomplice in all that he did, he was there when Murugan was murdered. He was the person with ananthu on the morning when he went to srini's house.
" Sivaaaaaa.. How can you do this? How did you get caught?"
" You imbecile don't you know that when a new person enters a village he would be watched and his whereabouts are easy to trace" bellowed dharani. " okay I want you to tell me why did you kill that poor lady in Ambikapuram, Amudhas mother"

" I got a call from her one day asking me to meet her. I was surprised at first but went there to appease my curiosity. On entering her house she asked me to wait. I thought she would be getting some water to drink instead she brought a huge stick and began hitting me. I just escaped by a whisker or else it would have been me in that bath tub. "
" How dare you do this to my daughter you wretched animal. My husband has been a good father and a nice human being I will not allow you to tarnish his reputation. My daughter has told me everything. Die you animal." shouted Amudha's mother.
" But I over powered her and tied her hands and legs and covered her head with a plastic bag that was there nearby and left her in her own bath tub to die.

" Thud.. as another slap came and landed on ananthu's cheeks. It was Amudha. " You swine . you beast how could you do that ? You deserve hell? May god punish you for all that you have done." Srini caught hold of amudha and took her away to the adjacent room. " Take them both away shyamlal. Shall see you in the court of law Mr Ananthu."

It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. He went to Ambikapuram and took possession of Murugan's body or what was left of it. He returned back and a procession was organized by the villagers to perform and carry out the last rites of their honorable temple guard and his beloved subject Ramu. The entire village had come to the burial ground where the last rites were being performed. Dharani stood there in his white dhoti and shirtless body carrying the earthen pot around the grave of his friend Murugan.
Then he lit the pyre. As he stood there tears which were restrained so far began flowing out. His heart began becoming lighter. He knew he had done justice to his friend. Ananthu and Siva were sent to prison on life imprisonment. Amudha and Srini moved into Ramaiah's house. Dharani had forgiven his father and so had his mother. Amudha was now the daughter she always wanted to have and sister he always wanted to have.

" So people of Abhiramapatnam I congratulate inspector Dharani for the commendable job that he had done. " said Ramaiah in his address to the people present in the panchayat." I am proud today to be known as Dharani's father."with tears of joy welling up in his eyes he bid farewell to the panchayat. One hand on the shoulder of his son and one hand on the shoulder of his daughter this proud president of Abhiramapatnam returned home.

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So that people brings us to the end of yet another" short" story from me. Thanks for having come so far and thanks for all the patience shown. Most of all I would need all of you to take time off to write what you feel about what I have written. Stoning me or garlanding me both would give me pleasure and scope to improve further.:)

Vendetta

Well well well here we go yet again.

I need to break away from the shackles of a routine life whose grip is becoming stronger by the day. The only way i could think of is to start writing a blog.

For sometime I was into reading all sorts of murder mysteries and thrillers. So from what little I have read I could gather that these novels become best sellers because as a reader we can relate to the lead character of the novel. Some aspect of the character would be familiar and we instantly develop a camaraderie towards him or her. When I look at a novel there are two things that interest me (People!!!! the views expressed here are strictly my own. At no point do I want to force something upon you that you will not take. You take it or leave it Your choice. Everybody has a right to his or her opinion and I respect that fact.may be not the opinion ;)) One is Suspense element and the next is Fear element.

All of us relate to fear. Cos thats how we have been brought up. Right from a very young age. I remember my mom telling me when she was feeding me food." Arun..... eat now or that one eyed monster would come" and i would just gobble away.
Well many of us would have had the same experience.

So to start away I am actually planning to start on a suspense note or say a thriller of sorts. Will do my best to retain your interest till the very end. For those of whom the blog was interesting.. well good that you enjoyed. For those of you to whom it was dull a drab a waste of time.. well as I have told before everyone is entitled to his or her opinions.....:)


Johnny Vasquez is now breathing heavily. He is unable to place his location in the dark. His command is giving away orders and that is audible to him in just a muffle on his walkie talkie. He is hurt and is bleeding. "Alpha one to J, Alpha one to J........ Come in J". The battery charge indicator has turned from the brilliant fluorescent green to deep red. Well is it not destiny's way of saying "your time's up" So it seemed to Johnny.

His back pack is lying next to him. The only thing he can think of is the mission. His own personal vendetta was now going to be left incomplete. His vow to Jenna is going to remain incomplete. "Oh Jenna please forgive me...".

He can hear footsteps nearby. All he can do is hope and pray his camouflage paint doesn't give him away. He can hear the distant barking of dogs.
"C'mon Johny you can do it" He says to himself. "Pick up your droopy butt and move".
He gives it a try. To get up. But the ball and socket joint on his elbow feels as if it is trying to lift a 500 pounder. It gives way and Johny drops to his back and groans.
He has a great physique for a forty year old. Thanks to all the physical exercise his job demands.
His only complaint." I couldn't let jenna know what i have been doing all along. And can never let her know in the future as well."

Thats when it happened. At that instant he was transported back to the day when he was entering his college campus as a freshman. He could see a young Johnny Vasquez. Dressed in light blue jean and a polo T shirt. The look of nervousness was largely writ all over his face. He was taking the course in Pschycology. He went into the admin office to get info about the course , the class room and the building. Thats when he turned to leave for the door , His head hit something hard. All the papers in his hand flew away to glory. His glasses landed a good two feet from him. Lucky for him they did not break. He managed to get hold of them and he turned around to find a set of two beautiful hands frantically working at picking all the papers strewn aside. He had to lift his head and see. The blinding light of the room hit his eye and he quivered. Then shutting of the light with a hand he saw the person to whom the hands belonged.
A petite girl, wearing a beige turtle neck over a jean. She was being extremely apologetic, but all he could muster was" Its ok." His mind was racing, the veins in his head pounding. He took the papers from her.

That was how Jenna entered Johnny's life.

"Whizzzzzzzzzzz" flew a bullet past his ear. That brought him back to senses. The snipers trying their best. The soldiers on foot sweeping all the area. But all Johnny could do was lie on his back and writhe in pain. He was angry with himself for this precarious position of his.
" How did Manny's men know I would pay them a visit. Who is the mole in the agency." His mind frantically searching for answers any clue anything that happened in the last 24 hours that would make sense to him.
But blank like the line on a CRT terminal that would read a patients heart rate when he is dead.
"Jenna my sweet jenna why us? " Thats the question that kept coming to him time and again.

Now he slowly slipped into the realm of subconscious.
" Excuse me Johnny" Startled by the sudden intruder in the deserted department library Johnny looks up from the book he has been pouring over for the past 4 hours."Hey its me Jenna, Remember we are both in the same pschycology class" For johnny Pschycology was the core subject , for jenna an elective. "I was wondering if you can help me out with my thesis work." Her doe eyes were so captivating that Johnny was lost in them for a brief moment catching only the whiff of the last sentence."oh ..hmm can you come again what was that" " Well I was wondering if you can help me with my thesis Johnny. It would be great if you can give me your inputs on the subject" " Well , lemme see what best i can do. I would not disappoint a damsel in distress would I" A glint of naughtiness in his eyes.
"Well thanks to the thesis Jenna, I have found a great friend in you." " Oh the pleasure is all mine johnny."

"Look who is there. I see something moving. Get down here you lazy morons" came the voice of the chief of Manny's personal guards, Mr. Keith Robertson. Among his men he was known as "King". Footsteps running towards where Johnny was lying. The vibrations of the ground caused by the boots of the men in black uniforms holding their Kevlars with safety off woke up Johnny from his sweet slumber once again.
He knew he had to act soon lest he wanted to be found and killed by Manny's men.

Ok thats enough says Johny to himself. "C'mon get up you lazy mutt. Get up and get out of here." He gets up just in time to see the "King " and his men moving towards him. He looks around in search of anything that would make him invisible to king's men. Just then he turns around to to see that he is on the edge of a small slope that lead to the rivulet that flew around manny's mansion. He pushed himself and slided into the rivulet Just in time to avoid the search light beam of King's men. He had to stay still. Not a movement, not a breath not even a blink of the eye. King's men with their night vision goggles out were now closing in on johnny's location. As an act of GOD the current in the rivulet began to strengthen. All Johnny had to do was to hold on to the drifting piece of wood. Well he did just that. Clung onto to that piece of wood like his life depended on it.

Now all he could remember was the light beams passing all over him and missing him by inches. Johnny again slips into his unconscious.

The beautiful decorated church. The day that Johnny would wed Jenna. The day all his dreams would come true. The priest reading out the marital vows and Johnny looking into the love filled eyes of jenna. " Do you Johnny Vasquez take this women Jenna to be your lawfully wedded wife and would soothe her, comfort her and look after her for the rest of your life"
" I do"
" and now you my lady, Do you Jenna take this man Johnny Vasquez to be your lawfully wedded husband and take care of him love him and comfort him for the rest of your life"
"I do"
"Well with the powers of the church vested in me I now pronounce you man and wife, You may kiss the bride"
That was when it happened. A moment of magic sheer magic. Johnny looked into Jenna's eyes. Held her in his arms. Closed his eyes and was about to kiss her when he felt moisture in his left hand .
Then he realizes the commotion in the church. Women wailing and children running here and there. Jenna's dad is now unconscious. Jenna collapses in Johnny's arms. Her smile still alive on her silken face. The tear of happiness in her eyes that is about to fall but isn't.
Her beautiful wedding gown which made her look like an angel is now crimson red with her blood. Little did Johnny realize that the bullet which hit Jenna's heart pierced through his arm taking away a chunk of flesh. Blood oozed out of his arm. Oblivious to the bleeding Johnny's trained eyes are frantically searching for the person responsible for this mayhem.
Thats when he notices the Gucci shoes walking away from the church. The shoes with M embossed in gold on them. He quickly recollects the shoes and the person to whom they belong.
Manny the resident drug lord of his province.
His anger knows no bounds. All he thinks of is going and ripping Manny apart.
But no... says his conscious.
He stays out.
The next day ,on the very podium where they exchanged their marital vows, Jenny now lay lifeless. Grief and sorrow gripped him. Depression beckoned him. But he was a warrior. A soldier.
He knew now that his battle was not with enemies across the border but with the ones within.
Why had manny resorted to killing him. or rather his better half. This was the question that plagued him.

He began the quest of finding answers. It had taken him 12 long years but to no avail.

Just when the turmoil in his mind was brewing stronger he felt something hard hit his chest knocking the wind out of him. He just had enough energy in him to open his eyes and look at the surroundings . "Ah" he knew this place . Seemed so familiar. He was now walking through his journey of life in his mind trying to place location where he now lay. thats when it occurred to him.. St George's Hospital. " Yes... Yes . You have done it Johnny." But he still lay in a puddle that had transported him from Manny's place to where he lay. The rivulet went past the hospital where it eventually joined the ocean. Had the current been stronger I would have been fish feed thought Johnny. A branch that hit the wood johnny was afloat was the only obstruction between him and the ocean. He gathered enough strength to pull himself ashore.

Again Johnny slipped into unconsciousness. " Jenna.... My Love..Time is ripe and Manny will fall. He will fall hard and take all his muck with him down under. God give me strength. Let my will prevail."

As he muttered these words, he felt the earth around him move. He was being carried. He could hear voices. " Come in Operator Come in.. We have a vic down here ....Come in..... god damn these operators. why don't they sit that butt of theirs on their seat. Come in operator come in. we don't have got much time damn it. what the hell...... OK joey lets just do it our selves. On the count of three Hoist him up and we will carry him to the hospital.One.... Two and three .." His body was being hoisted up and he began to feel the shudder of being transported to the hospital on foot.
Again receding into the beautiful realm of unconscious. it was beautiful cos thats where he could see her.. His Jenna Be with her Live with her .. He saw her in a garden of tulips. In a beautiful scarlet frock. Her hair tied in a bun and the sparkle in her eyes making him go crazy. He just stood there and saw her jump and laugh and dance to the tunes of the cool summer breeze which naughtily undoes the bun. Now her auburn hair caressing her face and her long nimble fingers trying to over power her dancing tresses. which she efficiently ties back into a bun. Her voice so serene. her gaze so warm. He was just prepared to remain in this realm of uncertainty. Just to see his jenna. To be with her live with her. He felt being trudged along into a place further deep, as if he was free falling down a sky scrapper. He could sense all darkness around him. he was loosing his sense of hearing. It was growing more silent. It was growing dark. He again muttered his prayers. "God deliver me to light. Give me strength I must live. I must survive." As if an answer to his prayers he began hearing voices.

He recognized one voice.It was the voice he had heard before. " Thank God Joey we have done it. The vic is out of danger now. Hence forth it is convalescing time for him. God speed then." May be this joey person doesn't speak at all cos johnny did not hear his voice then neither did he hear now.

He had lost track of time. He did not know which part of the day it was when he woke up. It was a herculean task for him to open his eye lids which he eventually did. The light coming through the window was so blinding that he immediately shut his eyes close. He again tried to pry them open and his pupil were getting used to the brightness. So his gaze changed from a squint to ordinary. As he lay in his bed johnny began to embark on his journey yet again... the journey of his mind.

"Zoom................." A Sukhoi went past him. Scanning the perimeter for any infiltrators was the pilot in the cockpit. His gaze going around the lush fields where there had been reports of infiltration. He swerved sharply to his left and Johnny watched the sukhoi leave the area.. Not sure how long it would be before it came back on its reconnoitering mission Johnny in his camouflage gear looked around for his team. He was the leader of "SPEC-TAC" (Special Tactical) team which often undertook covert operations in the neighboring states to flush out miscreants, trouble makers and war lords. It was just yesterday that he and Jenna decided they would tie the knot. He had been making countless battles within himself. To decide whether to go ahead and marry Jenna. He had no doubt loved her more than his life.... But he was not sure about his life. As a member of the SPEC TAC team you were just not sure of anything. The only minute that belonged to you was the one in which u took your breath. The next minute you might not be able to do that. Such were the uncertainties looming large over his head. Yet he decided to take the plunge. To get hitched. He and jenna had numerous talks on this and finally out came the solitaire from his palm and down he went on his knee." Jenna My love " he said with great pride. " Will you marry me". No sooner than the last of his words came out of his mouth Jenna's eyes were the first to respond. Out came that tear. The tear of joy. A tear that symbolized the end of a long wait. " I will" she said as johnny adorned her nimble ring finger with the solitaire. It gleamed brightly and Johnny embraced Jenna forgetting they were in the middle of that uptown mall. Suddenly there was a huge applause from all around them. the entire mall had viewed the events unfold and they were happy for the newly engaged.
" Ka booooom" thats when one of his crew accidentally tripped over a land mine which was hidden in the fields.
" Five may be less boys. Thats the time we have got , to drag our asses of this field" Johnny had taken the lead and was just about to enter a blanket of trees when one of his team was spotted by the Sukhoi. The pilot deftly began shooting his automatic maxim machine gun. Just a tap on that tiny button on his console and 500 bullets would be disposed from the planes hull and that too in just under a minute. He ploughed the field with his bullets injuring one and killing two of Johny's men.
His mission today mission" Man eater" was to nab a drug lord Manny Gomez, whose story had been one of rags to riches in recent times. Manny's reach had been far and wide. He had people in the government working for him. You name a department and manny had his man or rather men in them. He was a small time thug who hit the lime light when he ripped the Government of billions of dollars by stealing all the confiscated heroine from right under their noses.
He then began his foray into the drug world. So from a one time petty thief to a drug lord manny had come a long way. He had one thing in him which was both his strength and weakness.
He never trusted people. " He can sniff the rat in you" was how one of his dying men working with the FBI put it, lying on his death bed. He was now closing in on a major drug deal and thats when Johnny's team received a tip off. They had to nab him alive. Well ... those were the orders Johnny's team had got from the FBI.

He was ready to collar the perp. He and what was left of his team were outside Manny's mansion. Manny had his own security and they were armed with all the latest available guns that would make even the SPEC TAC seethe in envy. Now discussing their plan and giving specific orders to his team Johnny propped himself up against the huge wall that surrounded the mansion.

" Fire in the hole ...." as one of his men shouted Johnny ducked for cover. Boom the explosion shattered the glass windows of the mansion. Manny's army that was guarding that part of the wall was blown away. Seared pieces of human flesh was thrown all over the lawn of the mansion. Just as reinforcements arrived Johnny;s men blew up all the napalm bombs that they had set around the perimeter. More chaos more confusion and more death. Amidst this mayhem johnny noticed one man dressed in a printed armani dress and white chinos with a cigar in his mouth watching over from the balcony of his mansion. "Manny Gomez there over there on the balcony " snipers take him down take him nows the chance"

Johnny wished he had the powers to kill manny. it was more a personal vendetta for him. His jenna was dead and the reason was standing right there. a click of his trigger and he would dispose off manny Gomez. But there was protocol that he had to abide by.

Now johnny's men were out numbered by manny's guards.
Suddenly they began to fall. One after another. First his sniper then his plotter then his left wing command then right wing. " Oh no its an ambush we have been set up" Johnny barked into his microphone. But there was no response from the other end all johnny could hear was the static. Thats when a bullet catches johnny in the thigh fair and square. The sun was returning to its abode and the moon was rising from his. As the night fell death loomed large over the lawns of manny's mansion.

" We have been tricked.. J to command J to command"
Johnny Vasquez is now breathing heavily. He is unable to place his location in the dark. His command is giving away orders and that is audible to him in just a muffle on his walkie talkie. He is hurt and is bleeding. "Alpha one to J, Alpha one to J........ Come in J". The battery charge indicator has turned from the brilliant fluorescent green to deep red. Well is it not destiny's way of saying "your time's up" So it seemed to Johnny.

" Its time for your medication Sir" A voice broke his sojourn and he was pleased to get out of it.
He opened his eyes to find a middle aged Caucasian lady with the tray of medicines in one had and a glass of water in another. She had a pleasant demeanor. Johnny stifled yawn and he quickly gulped his daily dose of tablets and the water. She went about her daily ablutions. Gave johnny a bath dressed him up and dressed his wounds then left.

A month had passed. Johnny was now into physio. He was regaining his strength. Little by little.
He used to have one constant visitor every day. Robert Alvarez. His SPEC TAC chief and his bosom buddy. he would visit johnny every day and help him with his physio. he wanted his leader back in shape.as the SPEC TAC had one unfinished business Project " MAN EATER".
Never in its illustrious history spanning over 10 years had the spec tac failed on a covert op. It was a blemish that Robert Alvarez was keen to wipe away. So he knew if that was to happen he had to have his leader in prime form. Johnny was getting back to shape. Slowly but steadily he was showing improvement in health. and his wounds were now just scars. Scars not jus physical but mental . Scars which Johnny wanted to wipe away both from his body and his memory.
The doctors at the hospital were very happy with the way things were progressing. The man who had saved johnny. Will. his name was very happy at his progress, Finally johnny heard Joey speak, And those few words of Joey were still etched in Johnny's mind. " Battle lost but not war. You have fallen once only to rise again and risen you have for your enemies to fall." As he said these words Johnny could see the admiration Joey had for him and how he wanted Johnny to kick manny's ass.
Back at the head quarters, It had taken exactly 4 months and 6 days for Johnny to get back to where he belonged and for johnny to do what he is good at.
In this four months the Mole had been flushed out of Spec Tac. It was one of the unassumingly invisible secretory of Robert. She, they had found out was Manny's wife. Now now that goes to say how efficient manny was in placing his pieces in strategic places. She was disposed off in the only possible way one would dispose of a mole. A shot in the head from a glock. A 0.8 mm shot that pierced through he scheming brain taking with it chunks of Grey matter. Manny had been shocked by this. He vowed that this time the revenge would be even more catastrophic.
Johnny now back, had began to plan SPEC TAC's next move.

Target: Keith Robertson AKA King
That was the slide on the projector in the auditorium that held the current team of spec tac.

" Now guys, Manny's key man is this chap on the screen. Keith Robertson aka King. Our last operation went phunk because of his brain. Manny is all brawn and little brain. King is our man. He needs to be taken down first. Now I need info on his whereabouts. His ids, social security numbers, family, friends, where he goes for golf and what is his favourite TV show. get going. IF king falls hard manny falls harder and thats when we strike and strike hard. So get those asses moving and get me some info."

It had been two days since the meeting and a huge file lay in Johnny's hands. "KING" embossed on its cover. Inside was information. Information that johnny wanted. So now things started to fall into place. the pieces of the Jigsaw were begining to make sense.

"Every man has his vice and so does our perp KING" said johnny addressing his team. Team of efficient and able men. Men who would die for him die with him .
" Like any other voyeur KING takes pleasure in enjoying beauty and visits this famous strippers joint every friday night. Thats where we will hole him out and thats were he will perish"
He laid down the details of the plan. and checked his watch. 12 PM said his watch and the day, Friday. WEll he had another 6 hours before he set his plan rolling. He had made the phone calls and pulled a few strings. The bouncers at the club would be Johnny's men. The people entering the club posing as customers would be his men. the waiters at the club would be his men. well practically the club would be Johnny's hunting ground for the evening where he would lay his hands on his prized catch "King".

" How are you doing Phil" said King as he entered not looking at the bouncer. When he did look and not finding Phil."hey wheres Phil, i don't see him nowhere" "Phil is ill Mr. King. He sure has told us what you would want " said the bouncer winking. This put king at ease who for a minute felt something was wrong. Then he was ushered into the dim lit club. Music blaring from the bose speakers. He looked around for his famous spot. His chair. " The king's throne" he thought.
" ah,,,, there it is. But who has moved it to that corner. Phil i miss you my man. this joint is not the same with out you" muttered johnny. Just as he sat down on his chair He felt a pin break in the seat. " Oh no" he thought. " I have set the bomb running and the pressure switch is now activated" he was correct in deed. Johny's men had rigged a bomb into kings chair.

He was sweating profusely. Not knowing what to do he was frantically searching for someone who would help him. " Ok Boys we have got our man lets get it over with" that was Johnny's voice looming over the music. " Yes where's the music " thought king. The place was all quiet and king saw he was surrounded by men in their army suits and masks with glocks in their hands. Suddenly they moved aside and in came johnny. " Ah you,,, So you are not dead after all." barked king. " No baby not yet. I hate to disappoint you and that warlord boss of yours. But i am alive and kicking. Ok now we need some piece of information from you King" " Oh ya the only information you will get from me is.... this " out flew the spittle from King directed towards johnny. Wiping it off his face" Now see here baby, I don't like being treated like this show some respect you scumbag."

Even after 6 hours of investigation nothing comes out of King. He is as tight lipped as a person can be. because he knows , though he is in the good books of his boss. If he leaks out some information he is as good as dead. Then Johny steps in. " Ok boys leave us alone for a moment and u can take off from where u left." The officers in the room left leaving King and Johnny alone.
They knew this one session with johnny was all that king needed give them wat they want.

"Ok wise ass, I have got two options with me now. I either put this bullet into that thick skull of yours and go after that boss of yours myself or you save me the trouble of having to kill you by letting us know what we want. Its not much that we ask of you given to the kind of shit you are in now." So he got his glock ready. Safety off. and did not use his official ration of bullets. But had a blank instead. " Dont mistake me, this blank is capable of doing enough damage when fired from a point blank range. King was getting back to his bearings now. He knew he had to hole out his boss if he had to survive this ordeal.
He told Johnny all he wanted to know.

It was Sunday and the sun seemed to have popped up from its slumber early than usual. The cemetery next to the st. Francis church wore that deserted look which would seem ominous enough fopr any passer by during the wee hours of the night. Jenna's tombstone was visible from the entrance. Today the tombstone adjacent to Jenna's did not hold the body it was made to hold but in turn held the SPEC TAC team, The tomb stone and the burial ground were ornately decorated. and advantage was it held about 5 adults.

First of the cars started pouring in. It was the first death anniversary of Manny's father. Very soon manny would share the same date as his father. All the major warlords were invited.
it was a pompous affair for manny.
Johny went over to jenna's tombstone paid his respects and now switched on to the "Network"" Come in unit 2 come in unit 2 where the hell are u.
" base to unit two to base to unit 2. All entries and exit secured and watch out for Mr. Manny, His body guards are not the run of the mill guards they are all specially trained and report only to manny. Even king had no contol on them,

So as planned Johnny;s mend would penetrate the inner circle and he would take care of manny.
" Jenna my love I m here today because of you, I keep standing and staring at you , I live with u in my dreams. Today manny will fall and will fall hard."

Just as one of Johnny's men closed in on the location he was blown to pieces by a pipe bomb. This alerted Manny. he was about to leave when king's gun shot missed Johnny by millimeters.It had found the safety of his boss's heart." "you traitor shouted Manny. Not knowing what hit him and his beautiful off white shirt from Hugo boss was now stained in blood. Every breathe that manny took the bullet inched closer to his heart. "

Now manny realized what he had done to Jenna and Johny in particular.
For johnny the vendetta couldn't have come in a more better way than this. Illustrating Manny's pain and anguish and shock that was writ largely on his face.

" WE now present the medal of honour to Mr Johnny leader of the spec tac. For doing what he had done. At the outset though it may appear brash, it is what a person when faced with adversities and who is responsible would do" said his commander in chief
and just then a huge applause breaks in the stands.
Johnny looked at the skies and seemed to see a silhouette of Jenna in the clouds.
A tear falls on his medal.
" I love you Jenna" whispered johnny to himself.



Well folks thats how it ends and thats how i have perceived it to end.
Thank you and kudos for coming this far. Well now its comments time. I lookl forward for your valuable suggestions and opinions that would drive me further to dish out many more such blogs. or should i say mini novels[;)]

Bengalooooru-- An experience

Now im at that juncture of time where I have to bid adieu to Namma Bengalooru or, for those ill informed of the change, Bangalore. I leave this city which was once an embodiment calmness and tranquility and has now metamorphed into a fast paced IT savvy Brand Hungry abode to many a drifters who don't belong to this place and to say that I m a drifter myself wouldn't be wrong. I have sort refuge in what seemed to be the confines of the walls of the IT major away from my kith and Kin, away from those friends whose hearts beats for me to this day and away from all those wonderful things that make up a home.

Change is something that kicks up the man in me and I love changes but may be there are exceptions. The inertia to overcome a change though small is still existent. This is what is now taking the shape of this blog in which i hope to catalogue most of my experiences in Bengalooru. A few good ones, a few splendid ones, a few not so good ones and a few that have left an indelible mark on me.

To start with ,my tryst with Bangalore (I'm continuing with the traditional name hence forth;)) began way back when I was in my Under graduation. We had come to Bangalore in the pretext of an "Industrial Visit", Now every engineer must have known during his time in the college what was the purpose of "Industrial Visits". In school they have got picnics so when it comes to colleges they have got Industrial Tours or Educational tours or whatsoever tours.

That visit was for about three days we had a days stay in Hosur. then two days in Bangalore. Bangalore back then was Brigades road for me. hmmmmm . It was like leaving a hungry elephant into a sugarcane farm..(thats the literal translation of one of the Tamil sayings). Ours being a MEN's engineering college and that too in Kanchipuram which is touted as the temple city ,you can imagine the exposure we might have to the outer world or to put it brusquely our exposure to exposure was less ;). So all wonder struck the moment we entered brigades. All minis and tank tops and what not.. ya exactly what not ;)

We were loitering around gaping at the malls and all the other interesting "structures" in MG road and brigades. Thats that of my first visit to Bangalore.


Then it just seems like yesterday that I got placed in Infy and left to Mysore. It was then that I again got a chance to visit Bangalore when one of my friends came from Australia. Again it was the malls and brigades and Mg road and the Commercial street. Frankly speaking thats all there is to Bangalore.

Then now shifting back to the last of my days at Mysore training. We were all awaiting our postings. I was really hoping I get back to Hyderabad which is where my heart lies. Then the placements were out and it was HYDERABAD indeed. My joy knew no bounds and I was literally jumping up and down. Most of my friends got the location of their choice and some of them didn't. But people were happy to leave training and head for their jobs. Now here came the twist in the tale. My IBU( Infy Business Unit or My unit) required us to stay back in Mysore for yet another month's training where we were actually taught the tricks of the trade (So they believed.. poor things the trainers;)).

Then it was April 6th 2006 that I finally landed in Hyderabad. It felt good or rather great to be back home.The first day at office. After spending close to 6 months at the Mysore campus, the Hyderabad campus seemed to be toooooooo small when compared to Mysore. So we had to get allocated to projects now. Then one of my managers calls me and Astha another friend of mine and asks us if we can move to Bangalore for 3 to 4 months for a project there. Little did I know that this 3 to 4 months would soon become 17 months :).

So the scene at Hyderabad railway station. Me, mom and dad were there . It was raining advices from my mom. Then finally got into the train and even before we knew we were in Bangalore. Nandhu one of my good friends was there waiting for me at the station to take me to my temporary place of stay. As we would move to our own house in the first week of May.
That weekend I left to Hyderabad as my sister Aarthi was coming back from her stint at France. She now had to goto Singapore for her further studies. So weekend passes in a jiffy. I return back on Sunday evening and Nandhu is there like before but now he is to take me to our new house.

Man it felt good. The feathers in the wings of my freedom began to rustle. They were now shouting at me .. dude we are ready now it is up to you to give us the flight.
The day I entered Bangalore 26th April 2006.

These 17 months of time spent in bangalore has revealed many unknown facets of my own persona. Now I never even knew I could cook.:) We had got a gas cylinder and bought all the necessary kitchen ware and started our experiments with the ladle and spoon. Innovation was the order of the day. So it was great fun to be cooking. In the process I learnt how to make carrot halwa it is one of my specialties.

Time to learn the job. Luckily for me, astha was also in the same project as I. There was a lot of trepidation about how we go about talking to people. People who were visibly younger to me were there before me in the project so I had be courteous enough to learn stuff from them. They were all such a wonderful bunch. Learning was now fun. We had formed our own group. My first project titled project 24B is always very special to me even now. All the people working in the project were freshers but for a few of them. Our project lead had just got back from "On site". Kiran is his name. A great guy to know and to be with. I should be indeed thanking my stars to begin my stint in production under his tutelage. Ours was room number 160. 6 of us in that room. It was all fun in the room. majority of us were tamilians so Tamil songs would be blaring on someones comp. Constant leg pulling and laughter was the order of the day.

Work began to get a little serious. We were about to start our first ever cycle of testing. All possible things that could go wrong went wrong. the test environment seemed to be very volatile it would have mood swings of its own. Working seamlessly on few occasions and ceasing to work in many other occassions.
I used to leave home at 6 15 in the morning and start work by 6 45 finish my days target by 9 and then sit at helping my team mates.

One of my friends from Masters Dennis had come to stay with us. So it was awesome threesome at BTM thats where our home was. During weekends it was all the more fun. We had washing cleaning and movieing and hotelling and bird watching and foruming(forum is a mall in Bangalore so foruming means going to spend time in forum ;)). Wow man life was a bliss.
Do whatever you want however u want whenever u want... Chaos and last minute thinking and planning were the order of the day.

We were at that stage of the project where we had to extend our working hours. In our project of 10 people 7 were women (gosh!!!!) and 3 were boys(poor us). Bangalore was getting notorious for crimes against women working late. So we would request all our lady comrades to get into the confines and safety of their homes before 8 30.

Me and Kiran stayed back a number of days and ended working all through the night. It was fun. Kiran is great company and undenyingly the best at whatever he does. Be it work or fun or party or sleep he is the best :)So there were days when I would leave to office by Thursday morning and return on Saturday afternoon.

Project 24B was a huge success. I earned my first star award. Astha moved into another project I was put into the next release in the same project. Life went on.
Now it was time for a few important people to enter my life. First was a project mate of mind. who had got promoted from a friend to a "special friend".;) Then another friend of mine who had become a very close friend and sister to me at office. There was never any shortage of sister's love for me. Be it in Mysore when Mathura a sweet kid came into my life when aarthi(my kid sister) left to France. or be it in Bangalore where i had many people who got close to me. Ramya, vidya,maria,prema,anusha,akshila,chi,rekha,ezhil,madhu,bhanu,sandy,sophie (Gosh thats a fairly long list)

During August 2006 to December 2006.. I had seen it all. Love, break up, friends, success in job and new relations and what not. These few pages in my book of life have been written with tears of sorrow and tears of joy. I was awaken from my pleasant dream with a rude shock. An sms that changed the state of my being for days or rather months to come. hmmm now not going into the details of the break up and make up there after ;).

Again Kiran gets a call to move onsite and he is on his way to the US of A. So there went another friend. Prema leaves to chennai. and one other friend to US to be with her husband. Then the special friend to another company. Life again seemed to slow a bit. Things back home were getting a little rough and it consumed most of my thoughts and concentration. But as time went on things began to smooth out.

In October during Diwali I get to meet my brother In law to be. My maaplai my machaan and my best friend Mr Archit Giridhar. My sisters(julsy and vaathus) come down to Bangalore and we have a whale of a time. It was too good to be true. Then we went home for diwali and had good fun. I was happy for my sister as she had chosen a great guy for herself . She had again come down in the month of Feb. Thats when we told our parents about her love. Though a little hesitant at first they willingly accepted her choice.

Meanwhile my Love also began to proceed further and my special friend had lost all her inhibitions about the relation ship and she was now comfortable and happy. Jan 31st another day in my life i would not forget. She lost her dad on that day. I am in office and she calls me up at about 6 6 30 in the evening. She says her dad passed away and she is all tears. I am very bad at consoling people. Before I could even react or say a word she hung up. It took some time for the entire thing to sink in. She is the elder of the two sisters. It is from then on that her life took a different turn I would say for the better. She had transformed into this entirely new person, not hesitating to take responsibility. Painstakingly she had gone about claiming all the benefits and various other stuff that her father bequeathed them.

When aarthi told my parents about her love Me too told them that I like someone and told them about her. So it was all smiles everywhere. Then my parents had decided to meet up with Archit's parents and then the formal meeting was organized everything went about well. and Soon the engagement date was fixed on the 14th of September.

Then I had been asking my lady love to inform people back at her place but she kept postponing. I also had no other choice but to wait.

Meanwhile Ramya's personal life was all confusion and she was going through a lot of trouble and turmoil. We were there for her at office to soothe her , comfort her and make her smile. Then Vidya's life was also under lot of trouble and turmoil. Guess it was a period of turmoil for everyone. She resolved to pursue her higher studies in Singapore. So there was a huge fight which she had to put forth in winning her parents approval for this. So things started to get a little clear by march.
Vidya was leaving for her higher studies. Ramya was trying out other job options aarthi's engagement was fixed. Mathura was now seeing some body else;)...
So it was a great environment both at work and back at home.

My pal Dennis was leaving to Hyderabad to embark on yet another professional journey.
We had two other guys from our project as room mates. So we were now 4 people in that dingy in BTM. Cracking jokes buying stuff and what not. We were watching all the movies that were getting released and we were eating out and just having fun.

During my stay in Bangalore i Had the chance of visiting places in and around Bangalore. There is one person i need to thank for these experiences. It is "CHI" aka chiamala. If not for her persistence and involvement I wouldn't have seen and been to places that i had actually been to. I had done para sailing, then went to wayanad did trekking and so many other interesting things that will always stay close to my heart. Interiors of Karnataka are definitely worth visiting. It is a nature lovers paradise and we can catch mother nature in her best ensemble once the rains set in.
Then vidya and family came to Hyderabad over a weekend and it was too much of fun. me in saree and all. It was fun fun and pure unadulterated fun.
One of the most memorable trips were to the Iruppu falls . Man it was such a breath taking view. Simply out of the world. Thanks vidu for handing me that moment of joy and pleasure..:)

It was June and time for vidya to leave. It was hard for me as she was my companion all through my difficult times and my happy ones in Bangalore. So it was a little difficult at first. Then we used to keep in touch through mails, phone and all. Like we do even now.

It is july 14th and My lady love tells me that her mom wanted to meet me. So that was another experience that I would never forget. Then my parents decide to visit the girls house on 16th of July. I take leave on the pretext of food poisoning. then goto their place. She is all decked in a silk Saree and stuff. So people on both sides talk. Then it is decided that engagement and marriage would be done once they visit my place in Hyderabad as was a custom. So they visit Hyderabad and people on both sides are very happy. Next there is a confusion as to when my marriage would be. It was decided that it would take place after my sisters marriage.

Then one of the most memorable weeks of my life(July 20th to July 29th). My first trip abroad. To Singapore to my sister's. We were going there for her convocation. It was too good an experience. and I have none other than my sister and Maapu (groom) to thank. There was no dearth of laughter or mirth and happiness. Even before we knew we were on our flight back to chennai.
I submitted my resignation on 30th of July. with two more months to go. It was more fun. Went on a shopping spree. Even before i Realized it was my birthday. Me got a watch from my sweetheart then another from my sister and BIL and a new nokia N 95 from them. Man was i feeling lucky or what.
Then it was again time for my sweet sisters engagement. She landed in India on the 30th along with Maapu. It was great fun shopping shopping shopping and eating eating eating. Man it was just too good to be true. We had to goto rameswaram for a day courtesy our family josiar (astrologer) to get rid of the serpa dosha that we had. The trip was too good. We visited the southern tip of India. Dhanush kodi. A beautiful sight. sea on two sides and my sister for company what more could a mortal like me ask for. It was excitement and fun from the word go.
Then came the engagement. My sister was looking absolutely fabulous. and so was my BIL(brother in Law). A cute pair they made. A huge list of visitors had come and we were welcoming them and tending to them and what not. I was completely drained of my energies and went home and hit the sack.
Now back to Bangalore. For my last two weeks.

As i write this blog I have two more days to go to hang my infy shoes and head home. The last two weeks were spent on completing formalities, giving transition to the next heir ;) and all such activity. Me got to watch many movies online too. Thanks to the cisco network :)
Got to meet my sweet heart too. Hmmm :)

So it is in short a catalogue of my stay at Bangalore.
Every incident warrants a separate blog. But that might be in the offing in the near future.
This blog is a tribute to all the people who have been there with me bearing my idiosyncrasies and bearing ME on the whole and in turn made my stay in bangalore a memorable one. I am now mentioning a list or rather a host of people who made my stay here as wonderful as it could be.
Aarthi,Archit and Dhar for their brief appearances.
mathura, kavitha, Kutty for their part as well.
Vidya, Sunitha, Ramya,Maria,Nandhu, Dennis,Muthu , Ravish, Kiruthiga,Kiran,Chinmay, Astha, Girish,Kalpagam aka anusha,akshila,rajarajan,Anup,Prema, Chi , Ezhil,Madhu,Bhanu, Gopi, Arun,Vamsi,sasi....
My sincere apologies to those whom i have forgotten to mention :)

So im now in the last page of the chapter of my life which is rightly titled " Bengalooooru-An experience"

I look back upon these beautiful pages of my life and the people who made it so. Will miss every body of them and all the good times we had together.

Cheers to Bangalore
(never even in my wierdest of dreams did i think i would say something like this)

How to Name it??????

Hey folks this is sheer joblessness that is driving me to write one more of my blogs.
A topic that has been making rounds in the confines of my otherwise occupied mind is to write a horror/a thrilling flick. So let us see how good or bad a job I do on that front.

The scene-- a rustic background of a village that wears a deserted look. The moon is just out of its slumber and is trying all its might to immerse the lucky half of the earth in all its pristine light. The wind that is now gaining speed and is metamorphing from what has been a gentle breeze into a troublesome wind. The rustle of the leaves on the trees that bejewel the villages is filling the already eerie setting. Those unlucky leaves which had to leave the safety of the parent tree are loitering around aimlessly in the wind and dancing to the tunes of the wind. The otherwise busy town of Sultanpur now wears a deserted look. The places by the village well which would echo the sounds of women bickering over water to the children playing "Ghillie" are now deserted nothing but for the remains of a few broken shards of the earthen pots that stand testimony to the bickering of the women. The market place of Sultanpur which is famous for the wares and the animal shandy both during the day as well as the night now is nothing but a place that is dilapidated and is reeking of animal dung. The few thatched huts that form the part of the living population of village are now lonely without the denizens to grace them.

So in all Sultanpur is now nothing but a place filled with the remains of whatever is left of the memories of the people,of the broken pots and of the deserted huts.
Just about six months back neither did anyone forsee such a calamity would occur nor could anyone predict such a mishap.

It all started on one fateful day when the son of the zamindars' ,Ravi Babu, had come to visit his parents after his graduation. He took to the village atmosphere like the fish to the water. Little did he know that he would bring upon the downfall of not only his lineage but also take the entire village down with him.

There was this lissome girl working at his place. It was sort of a sudden flow of adrenalin and the spike of testosterone that led Ravi to like this girl. He was blinded by her beauty. A certain rustic and bucolic attenuation to her appearance that made him go weak at the knees. He decided to make her his for ever and quench his thirst for flesh. An otherwise calm person was now transforming into something that he never imagined and something that he would soon loathe.
The animal in him was slowly eating away the humane side.

It was an afternoon and Ravi Babu was in his room admiring the three pronged fan that was ratling in the cool breeze that graced his parched face. He just could nt get chameli off his mind. The sight of sweat trickling down the various curves and crevices of her body kept coming back to his minds eye. Just as he was immersed in his thought he was jostled out of his pleasant dream by the sound of a glass hitting the ground and breaking into many a thousand pieces. Thats when he saw up and was both pleased as well as shocked at the look of anguish and fright on chameli's face. He got up and moved towards Chameli unaware of the piece of glass that was waiting to be engulfed into the warmth of Ravi Babus' Flesh. " Aaaaaargh!!!" came out a shriek from ravi. He immediately held his right foot up and looked at the teeny weeny bit of glass that was now embedded in his foot resmbling a stone in a jewel.

This sudden cry of pain brought tears to Chameli's eyes. Ravi was moved by the sight of tears welled up in her eyes. Time stood still for a moment. There was no rustle of leaves. The wind stemmed still in her tracks. Then a tear broke finding its way down her cheek onto her chin where the water droplet overcomes the surface tension and heads to the floor below.
She immediately grabs his leg and removes the piece of glass.

The touch of her tender fingers on his skin sends shivers down his spine.He grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her towards him. Their eyes meet for the first time. He could sense her discomfort and she is already writhing away from him. But he is just not ready to let her go. The grip of his tightens around her shoulder and he draws her even closer. This one thing was enough to ignite the fire in the embers that have been burning inside him.

How an hour passed only the hands of the clock going tirelessly about their routine knew. Chameli was lying by the side of ravi on her back with beads of perspiration gracing her face. A feeling of smugness on her face was visible and it was then that a sudden shock wave of fear was passing through her body.It brought her back to senses and also tears to her eyes. She was an outcaste but loved Ravi and could not express it to him for the fear of being banished from the village. Ravi was lying on his back with Chameli by his side. A sense of accomplishment, a sense of his hunger being satiated brought a wry smile to his lips. Thats when realisation hit him. The act of adultery he had commited just then. He began to sweat profusely thinking of the repercussions that would arise as a result of his act.He turned towards Chameli only to find her weeping. That is when he realised he too loved her. He held her by the shoulder and told, " Chameli, please do not cry, I shall marry you come what may, even if we are banished from the village we shall make a living in the city."

These words comforted her and instilled a confidence in her. She hugged him more in gratitude.

Never did they realise that they were being watched by a pair of eyes through the crevice of the door. The nerves in those eyes had a sudden surge of fresh blood passing through them after witnessing whatever happened in the confines of the room. A feeling of hatred proclaimed itself aloud and whoever said eyes could not speak would eat humble pie had they witnessed this pair that was emanating hatred, anguish and and ........ a long lost love.

It was yet another beautiful day. The sounds of birds chirping and the fresh waft of wind blowing the curtains in Ravis room was just the kind of begining he would have hoped. It was a big day as he was about to tell his parents about chameli. Little did he realise that it was not meant to be that way.

His man servant ramu kaaka comes running into ravi's room. "Sahib, Sahib Chameli is dead, she has hung herself."

It took time for the last words of Ramu kaaka to sink into Ravi's head. His reflexes which were always attentive and sensitive to any change had failed miserably. His legs were flailing and he had just collapsed onto his bed. That is when a tear had surfaced from his eyes.

Then his parents had come to him and were shocked to see him in such a state. The local police had taken her body for post mortem and it was evening by the time the inspector got hold of the report.

The report clearly mentioned that she had been killed before she had been hung. So it was a case of murder and not a suicide. The killer was at large. The police in Sultanpur were adept at handling petty robberies that would happen sporadically. But this case was in a different league altogether. So they had to seek help from the city sleuths in this regard.

That is when Dhar enters the scene. He is famous for his detective abilities and had solved many a case. So he was now given the charge of this murder mystery.

He started off the preliminary investigation.He questioned ravi, his parents and the other servants in the house.

That is when he zeroed in on Ramu Kaaka. His answers to the questions were inconsistent and incomprehensible. He did not reveal his suspision then. Days passed by with Dhar making little progress in the case. The pressure from those sitting up higher in the hierarchy was mounting and he needed a break in this case that seemed simple at the outset but was getting complicated by the day.

Another event that occured had caused a sudden frenzy and furore in the village. Ramu kaaka was murdered with his throat slit and lying in a pool of blood on his bed. Dhar was now all the more confused. He had to rethink the methodology he had adopted to investigate and had to look at the case with a fresh perspective.

That is when a piece of information from Munshiji the accountant of the Zamindars' helped Dhar make a decisive head start in the right direction.

He said that ,"When Ravi Baba was young he had this habbit of walking in sleep and he would frequently talk some strange tongue.Thats when the Zamindar had met a yogi maharaj who said that his Son Ravi was possesed by a lady maid who was working with the Zamindar's and had commited suicide due to some strange reasons. The yogi maharaj had gone ahead and performed some rituals and poojas and the problem seemed to have been solved. So the Zamindar sent Ravi to his aunts' in the city for further studies. "

This piece of information given to Dhar by munshi ji made him realise that this was not an ordinary case as he had some paranormal influence on it as well. So he started to have a close watch on Ravi. During the day Ravi used to mourn the death of Chameli but during the nights he was this completely different person who kept strutting about his room muttering jibberish.

Meanwhile there was this huge epidemic breakout in the village cattle kept dying all of a sudden. and soon the villagers atributed these sudden deaths to some plague caused by the deceased but restless soul of chameli. Many poojas were performed but in vain. The villagers had no other option but to leave the village and head towards the city. It was a very difficult choice they had to make but no other viable option was present. With a heavy heart and beautiful memories of the village many of them began to move towards the city.

The Zamindar, like the captain of a sinking ship, decided to hold fort. He said nothing could make him get away from his birth place. The place that has seen him grow.

So he decided to tell the truth that has been buried in the depths of his heart for so long.He decided he will call Dhar and let him know that he is the reason for all that is happening in the village.

He summons Dhar. He says," Dhar babu, I think it is high time I told you the truth." Dhar is intently listening without batting an eyelid.

" About 25 years ago, there was this servant maid called chameli who was working in the house. She was a lissome girl and was a very lively person. Her laughter would bring a new freshness to each day. The only thing is that she was born in a family that is paraiah. That did not deter me from liking her. My father got to know about my love for her and got me married to the Zamindarin. Now my love for chameli had transformed to lust. So I had outraged her modesty on one fateful afternoon. Very soon she hung from the ceiling fan of my bed room which Ravi uses currently. It was her soul that kept tormenting me and I too suffered in silence as I knew I deserved it. But I could not tolerate it any longer when it decided to torment my son Ravi who was born to us after a lot of penance and prayer. He was the apple of my eye. How could something like this happen to him."

Dhar could not believe his own ears and was dumbstruck when the Zamindar stopped to gasp for breath. He then prodded the zamindar to tell him further.

" That is when I had brought home this Yogi maharaj who could sense the presence of her soul in our house and so had performed poojas to evict her from our house. I had then sent Ravi to my Sisters' for further studies."

A few years back I could not believe my own eyes when she had come back and asked for a job. It was Chameli, was it coincidence, was it irony of fate or was it my own doing. But she looked exactly like her. I just could not refuse her a job. As I thought that this would lay her soul to rest in peace for ever. But that was not to be.

I soon realised that my son Ravi had a liking for this girl. I decided to get both of them married inspite of she being from a downtrodden caste and not commit the same mistake that my father had done twenty five years back.

It was a sunny afternoon and I was heading towards ravi's room in order to talk to him. That is when I saw Ramu Kaaka peeping through the crevice of Ravi's door. I knew something was amiss but decided to just wait and watch from behind the curtain. In sometime Ramu Kaaka had left the place in a fit of rage that was not usual of him. Then the door opened and out came chameli followed by Ravi." I shall not let you down Chameli" was what he said. and that was enough for me to know what must have transpired between the two. The next day what transpired i do not know but chameli was found dead hanging by her neck . I had my suspicion on Ramu kaaka and I was right it was he who had killed her. " I loved chameli and decided to tie the knot when I saw both her and Ravi babu together in his room. So in a fit of rage i had gone to her place and strangled her to death" was what he said on asking. I was about to leave Ramus place when he threatened me that he would tell the people of the village the kind of relatioon ship that Ravi and Chameli had. That would bring the downfall of our family. He wanted me to write away all my familial property to him in bargain. thats when in a fit of anger i had sliced his throat with a knife that I had found in his house. I had hid the knife in my cupboard as I was confident that I would be the last one on your list of proabables."

Dhar heaved a huge breath of relief. He could see his case unravelling in front of him. But one question still troubled him. Why was Ravi behaving in this unusual manner. and he knew something about the way the Zamindar told him was not plausible. But he held his doubts closer to his heart. he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

That is when he got a call from this pschychiatrist friend of his Dr. Arun. He said that he needed Arun to come to Sultanpur at the earliest as he had an interesting case on his hands and that he needed to make use of the services of Arun.

So Arun landed up at Sultanpur only to find more than half the village empty and those remaining were also leaving. He headed straight to Dhar's place. Dhar explained him the case. Arun was intrigued by it. So he decided to talk to Ravi on this and upon the order of his father Ravi also agreed to meet Arun.

It was then that the entire truth was out.

Ravi started

" I used to sleep walk when i was a child and father had brought this yogi maharaj who performed poojas and I had to leave to my Aunts place for further studies. I returned after almost 20 years and was very happy to be back home. That is when I saw Chameli and almost fell in love with her instantly. and what happened later you know.

On the day when she commited suicide i noticed my father was very uncomfortable. Something about him told me that he was not ok. He seemed to slip away from the gathering quitely. I followed him. I saw him enter Ramu Kaaka's house. I jus stood below the window of the room in which both my father and ramu kaaka were talking.

" Chameli was my aunt and you were the reason she comitted suicide." said ramu.For a moment I could not place whatever Ramu said. then i Realised that they were talking about a women about 25 years ago. My father's head hung in shame and remorse. But Ramu was not stopping then.He told that his main aim was to avange the death of his aunt. It was he who had injected me when i was young with some medicine causing sleeping sickness and my poor father thought it was the soul of chameli. My father then said that he was really sorry for bringing upon such an end to his aunt and he was still repenting her death. It was he who had poisoned the wells and lake of the village because of which there was a sudden increase in deaths of cattle.

All this to avenge the death of his aunt.

That is when he said he loved my chameli and had seen her with me on that afternoon. I could see my father trying to calm him down . But when he said he had strangled her to death I went wild. I just could not control my anger. Thats when he began to call names at my father. A person whom i regard next to God. He was crossing a line and he did not know then.

My father left his place with a deep sullen look on his face.

Then I entered his house and held him by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the floor. I straddled him and slit his throat like a butcher slits the throat of a goat. He writhed in pain. I enjoyed the sight. Die you demon was what I said out aloud. I had placed both my hands over his mouth to prevent him from shrieking. It was all over in about 5 minutes. I just looked up and was shocked to see my father at the door step of ramu's house. He just could not believe what he saw. He immediately grabbed the knife from my hand and asked me to go home and act as if nothing had happened.

I also went home and was spending sleepless nights. It was during one of those nights that Dhar saw me."

Just as Ravi finished narrating the events of that day. Arun said," You are now gaining consciousness. Slowly open your eyes." and Ravi returned back to consciousness.

Arun and Dhar turned around to find the Zamindar leave with his head hung low. He then realised that even he could not save his son.

Ravi was charged with the murder of Ramu and was sent to Jail. Where he served his sentence for 10 arduous years.

He only returned to find his favourite Sultanpur deserted. He takes the road that leads to his bungalow and continues in that direction. He reaches his house and knocks on the door.

To his utter surprise he hears a voice " Yes Ravi Babu, just a minute" and he could recognise that voice even in his dream. It was raamu kaaka.....................................................................