If I die today

                                           If I die today

If I die today, will anyone care?

Will anyone cry, or be able to bear?

Will my friends go in May?

Or will they pray for a holiday?

Will my special one shed a tear?

Or like the past shadow will she get a beer?

Will my teachers stop teaching?

Or will they waste their time advising?

If I die today, will anyone care?

Will anyone cry, or be able to bear?

Will the earth stop and see the stars twinkle?

Or will they start digging with a golden sickle?

I have heard what you sow is what you reap,

Then why is it that I die in the midst of this heap?

Will my country change if I die?

Or will they keep letting crime get high?

If I die today, will anyone care?

Will anyone cry, or be able to bear?

Will my mother be numb or will she go mad?

Will my father keep playing or will he feel bad?

Will a book be written or a movie be made out of my life?

What will happen to the tall girl supposed to be my wife?

Will God forgive me for what I have done?

Or will he send me to hell with my head on the gun?

No, I won’t die today,

I will overcome this and die another day.

There are many stories to be told and many hearts to be won,

battles to be faced and work to be done.

But still a question remains in my mind,

It sounds silly but is one of a kind,

If I die today, will anyone care?

Will anyone cry, or be able to bear?

Trance

                                                                     TRANCE

Bansal was walking swiftly towards his office. His colleague Ramu cornered him on the way and dumped a large bundle of files into his hands. Bansal was a senior officer in the CBI headquarters in Delhi. He had worked in the police force for 30 years now and had only 3 months to retire. “You have to sign all these papers now” said Ramu. “Okay, but I might take time. I am going to prep the new guy” replied Bansal as he carried on to his office. He entered his office and kept the new set of files with the existing dump on his table. He sat on his chair and told the guy standing opposite to him to take a seat. He opened a file placed before him and said, “Sub-Inspector Avinash Verma huh? I went through your files yesterday and the level of your involvement in the Nithari killings was the only reason I selected you in my team which is investigating this case”. “Thank you sir” replied Avinash. “You are going to start work from today onwards. You will be in charge of the evidence and witness protection. Since you are new to the functioning of a high profile team like ours, I can’t send you to the field right now” said Bansal. “That’s okay sir, I just want to make myself useful” said Avinash. “Good, now you can go out and meet Inspector Ramu who will brief you about your work in the office and answer all your questions. All the best!” said Bansal as he stood up and shook hands with Avinash. After Avinash left the room Bansal switched on the t.v and started signing the files one by one. A breaking news report was being telecast on CNN-IBN. A group of well known psychologists and politicians were debating on the Nithari killings. Bansal looked at the tv with disgust,” All they do is yap, I bet none of them has the balls to even look at the photos of the crime scene” he said. Just then Ramu came into the room to tell Bansal that he had told Avinash about his work and everything related to his work when he glanced at the tv. “You should not be watching such shows, it might get you worked up” said Ramu. “If it hadn’t been for those dirty politicians I would have become DGP at least by now” replied Bansal. “Hey, it’s over buddy. This is your last case so let your last case be a slap to their faces” said Ramu. “Thanks Ramu. By the way, the next hearing on the case is next week so tell the new boy to start his work” said Bansal. “I have already told him everything, take it easy. You need to go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day with the press conference and Commissioner visit coming up” said Ramu. “Okay, as you say boss to-be” said Bansal as he picked up his coat and patted Ramu on his back on his way out of the office.

With 5 days left for the Supreme Court hearing the mood in the CBI headquarters was tense. Bansal had to work late nights and had to live on coffee and biscuit packets kept in his office. One such night when Bansal was working intensely in his office he heard some noise outside his room. He got up from his chair and slowly opened the door. He saw light in Avinash’s office. He was packing up his belongings after being in the office for 18 hours straight. Bansal didn’t move from his spot as he was carefully observing Avinash. After packing his suitcase he picked up a small box in his hand and left his office not noticing the hidden figure in Bansal’s office. Bansal remembered seeing a confidential mark on the box. He was apprehensive of the sudden inclusion of Avinash in the team and now he was all the more suspicious of his activities. He switched off his light and locked his office and decided to follow Avinash. He jogged down the hallway and signed in the register as he saw Avinash taking a U-turn in his black Lancer. He waited for his car to go a few meters ahead of the main entrance of the building and then bolted out of the door, unlocked his Skoda and dived into the driver’s seat to catch up with Avinash. Initially it was tough to follow Avinash as he was driving slowly but when he picked up pace it became easier for Bansal to follow him. Avinash drove till Connaught place and parked his car in front of Zen bar. Bansal parked his car 100 meters behind the Lancer and saw Avinash entering the bar. He decided to wait for Avinash to come back. Bansal was tense and his tension was only increasing as each minute passed. Finally, after 10 minutes of torturous waiting he couldn’t take it anymore. He got out of his car and walked towards the bar. After entering the bar it took a few seconds for him to get used to dimness inside the bar. As he scanned the whole bar with his eyes, a waiter came up to him and asked,” Sir, table for one?” “No, I was looking for my friend who asked me to meet him here. Do you remember seeing anyone wearing a coat and carrying a briefcase? He might have come around 10-15 minutes back” asked Bansal. “No sir, I have been standing at the door since 9:45pm and my turn will end in another 5 minutes but I don’t remember anybody carrying a briefcase” replied the waiter. “Can you please check once more? It’s a very important matter that we need to discuss” said Bansal. “Sure sir, let me take a round and come” replied the waiter. After 5 minutes the waiter returned and shook his head with a smile on his face. Bansal was disappointed at having come so close yet losing Avinash and suspicious of the waiter. As he came out with a long face Bansal was shocked to see that the black Lancer had vanished. He ran towards the spot where it was parked, but there was no sign of it ever being there. All this was too much excitement for the old man and he didn’t have the energy to pursue this investigation any further tonight. But he had made up his mind to question Avinash the next day.

Bansal couldn’t sleep all night, so he came to the office early. He went and checked in Avinash’s office but it was locked. He roamed around the office like a mad man not knowing what to do. He settled down in his chair deciding to go through Avinash’s file. At 9am Ramu opened Bansal’s office after knocking twice. Bansal was sleeping on the file drooling all over it. Ramu walked over to his desk and shook him till he opened his eyes wide and stretched. He suddenly remembered the events of last night. He jumped out of his seat and ran past Ramu to check on Avinash. He saw him working in his office. Ramu came up to Bansal and pulled him back to his office. “What is the matter with you? I know when something is bothering you” said Ramu. “This time it is someone” replied Bansal. “Just like the old times huh?” asked Ramu. “Not quite. I saw Avinash carrying a package marked confidential last night after everyone had left the building. I followed him to a bar in Connaught place. After entering the bar he just disappeared” replied Bansal. After a long pause Ramu said, “What do you want me to do?” “Do a background check on him and check all of his files and record. I want to know him better than I know my son” said Bansal. Ramu saluted Bansal and swiftly walked out of the room. After 15 minutes Ramu came back into Bansal’s office. “Promise me you will stay calm and not shoot that guy” said Ramu as soon as he entered the room. “Why? What happened?” asked Bansal. “That guy is a fake. It took me less than 30 seconds to find that out after entering his name in the database. According to our records this guy has been dead for the last 5 years” said Ramu. Bansal was dumbfounded when he heard this. “This thing has to be dealt with immediately Ramu and I don’t want to make this public. This guy has made the whole police force and the CBI a laughing stock. I will be sacked for this” said Bansal. “Listen to the whole thing first. I called the police station from where he got transferred here” said Ramu. “And?” asked Bansal in an irritated tone. “The inspector on duty, Ashish Singh told me Avinash used to work there. But after he died, Ashish got transferred there. He said he will check the old files and call me” said Ramu. Just then his phone started ringing. “Hello” answered Ramu after picking up the phone and putting it on loudspeaker so that Bansal could listen. “Sir, its Ashish speaking” replied the voice on the phone. “Yes Ashish, I was waiting for your call. Did u find anything interesting?” asked Ramu. “Not much sir, I found Avinash’s file among some old records here. All that is written here is that Avinash was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a bar” replied Ashish. “Ask him which bar” whispered Bansal to Ramu. “Is the name of the bar given?” asked Ramu. “Wait a minute sir, I had just seen the name somewhere. Here it is, Zen bar in Connaught place, Delhi” replied Ashish. Bansal fell back on his chair, he had heard enough. “Sir, the case is still under investigation but it has reached dead end. Even this file was dusty and almost ruined when I found it. But there is one interesting fact or myth about this case which I don’t think is even related to the case” said Ashish. This caught the attention of both Bansal and Ramu. “What is it?” asked Ramu. “I asked the head constable about this case as he and Avinash got transferred here at the same time. He told me that 2 constables had died after seeing dreams about Avinash” said Ashish. “What kind of dreams? And how did the constables die?” asked Ramu. “I don’t know about their deaths sir. The head constable told me all this. Personally, I think all these are myths. I have been working here for a long time now and I haven’t heard about or had dreams about this guy” said Ashish. Bansal nudged Ramu to ask more questions but he saw the futility in asking anything and thanked Ashish for his help before keeping the phone. “Don’t be so worried sir, it’s just a case of someone impersonating someone to get something. Let’s go confront this guy and sort everything out” said Ramu trying to reassure Bansal. “What if someone comes to know?” asked Bansal. “Just come with me sir, nothing will happen” said Ramu as he pulled Bansal out of his chair. Both of them walked briskly towards Avinash’s office. Both of them walked into his office and locked it from inside. When they faced him he was looking at the ceiling with smile on his face. “You have some questions to answer Avinash” said Ramu in a menacing tone. Avinash looked down at Ramu, he raised his finger and started humming, “Inkey pinkey ponkey….”. Both Ramu and Bansal looked at each other, perplexed at Avinash’s behavior. “What the fuck is this Avinash? You can’t get ot of this” said Ramu at the top of his voice as Avinas continued his chants. “donkey died father cried inkey pinkey ponkey. There is a way out Ramu, but not for me, for you” said Avinash with his finger pointed at Bansal. A sharp noise filled the atmosphere at that precise moment; Bansal turned left and right and rolled on the ground as the sound filled his head. His eyes and ears were paining and suddenly he jumped up and opened his eyes. And he woke up………

Bansal looked at the clock as it said 7am. Ramu his house help was filling tea in a cup for his master with his back towards his master. “That was a weird dream that I was having. Thank God it’s 7” said Bansal as he stretched on the bed. “Awww… did my baby get up? Let’s put my darling back to sleep” said Ramu as he turned towards Bansal. Bansal looked at Ramu’s face and stopped breathing, his eyes filled with fear as Avinash came up to him and kept his hand on Bansal’s head.

 Ramu ran from his room and seeing Mrs.Bansal sitting in the front lawn ran up to her and asked her, “memsahib, where is sahib?”. “What do you mean where is sahib? You didn’t wake up in the morning and make tea for us. I had to get up and make tea and your sahib didn’t wake up also even after I shook him for 5 minutes. I don’t know how you wake him up everyday” said Mrs.Bansal. Ramu didn’t wait for her to finish and ran inside the house as Mrs.Bansal kept on yelling behind him. 

Speedball

Speedball

In a dimly lit room sat Akshay leaning against the wall and rocking himself. He was talking to himself, his face was full of bruises and his eyeballs were continuously rolling.

Kunal spread out the newspaper and emptied the contents of the packet onto it. Akshay was cooking in the kitchen when he remembered that he had to take the vegetables out of the fridge. On his way to the fridge, he saw Kunal crushing something in the newspaper, so he went and stood beside Kunal and asked, “Is this what I think it is?” “Yes my boy, this is the best marijuana you will get in Texas. Did you know that weed worth 3 billion dollars is illegally transported every year from New Mexico to Texas. Won’t it be a waste of money and weed if people like us don’t buy it?” said Kunal with a grin. “Us? Please don’t include me in this Kunal. I am not going to do drugs", replied Akshay. “Don’t call marijuana a drug, it’s an insult. It’s a medicine.  It gives you superpowers”, said Kunal. “Oh really? Then why is it banned?” asked Akshay. “Some drugs are stimulants, some are depressants, and some are hallucinogens, but marijuana is a mix of everything. It helps manifest your real self but the society doesn’t want to see the real you. The things you see when you are high are the things people don’t want you to see”, said Kunal. “Yeah, I wonder if you can say the same thing when this poison kills you, but I have to say, that’s a really great philosophy”, replied Akshay. “No one in the history of the world has died of taking marijuana, you dumbass. You can’t die of a fucking marijuana overdose.  It’s the equivalent of crushing any leaf and smoking it, plus it makes you hungry like shit dude”, continued Kunal. “I know the food I make tastes like shit but you don’t need weed to bear with it”, replied Akshay. “You think I am doing this to eat? Come on bro, you know I need a better reason”, said Kunal. “Okay, what's the reason?” asked Akshay. “I like it. In fact I love it”, replied Kunal, and went back to crushing the marijuana.

The door opened and in walked Natalie. “What the fuck? Somebody call the ambulance”, she screamed running out of the room. “No! don’t call the police, they will put me in jail”, said Akshay in a faint voice trying to get up and then fell down on the ground.

“Dude, why am I getting so fidgety?” asked Akshay. “I don’t know, but even I am feeling a little different”, replied Kunal. “Whom did you get this stuff from?” asked Akshay. “I got it from Jeff yesterday” replied Kunal. “Shit!” said Akshay. “I always get it from him dude, what the fuck is the matter with you?” asked Kunal. “It’s not that you fool, mom is calling”, replied Akshay. “Tell her I am not here”, said Kunal and ran to the kitchen and stood at the door. Akshay, not knowing what to do, just picked up the call.  “Hi mom! How are you?” asked Akshay. “Why did you take so much time to pick up the phone?” asked his mom. “What mom? If I pick up you ask why I took so much time to pick up the phone and if I don’t pick it up you think I am avoiding you”, replied Akshay. “Okay! Okay! let it be, how are your studies going?” asked his mom. “It’s going fine mom, as usual. How are you and dad?” asked Akshay. “We are fine. How is your brother keeping?” asked his mom. “He is also fine mom”, replied Akshay. “Why doesn’t he pick up my calls then? Is he around?” asked his mom. “No mom he is out with his friends, studying for the big test coming up”, replied Akshay. “Tell me the truth Akshay, is he on drugs?” asked his mom. “Mom! What are you saying? Kunal? And drugs? You know I will tell you if he does something like that, right?” asked Akshay. “Yes. Just take care of yourselves, especially Kunal.  It’s his final year”, said his mom. “Okay mom, you take care, bye”, replied Akshay and cut the call before his mom could ask anything else. Kunal came out of the kitchen and said, “How was it?” “Same as usual ‘how are you’ ‘are you on drugs’ shit”, replied Akshay.

“I just got off the phone with Jeff” said Kunal. “And?” asked Akshay. “Nothing to worry about, it’s just weed mixed with coke”, replied Kunal. “What? Are you serious? Why didn’t he tell you before?” asked Akshay. “Surprise?” said Kunal sheepishly. “And I talked to mom after having cocaine. Shit man! I will definitely rot in hell”, said Akshay snatching the joint from Kunal’s hand.

Akshay got up from the ground after hearing the siren. “Oh my God! The cops are here. What do I do?” he asked himself loudly. “What do I do? They will definitely see the needle mark and know what I did”, he continued, barely able to stand. “But if I cut my arm and flush out all the blood from my body they will have no evidence to put me in jail”, said Akshay with a big smile on his face. He saw his parents sitting on the bed and went near to them, “Should I do it?” he asked. Both of them nodded their heads in unison. Then he went to the lifeless body of Kunal and asked, “Will it pain?” Kunal didn’t reply and lied still.

“Dude, are you coming for the graduation party tonight, at Natalie’s?” asked Kunal. “What will I do over there? I don’t know anybody”, replied Akshay. “You know Natalie. She told me especially to get you because she wants you to meet someone”, said Kunal. “Are you trying to hook me up?” asked Akshay. “And Jeff will also be there and he told me that he is gonna get something that will blow you away. But if you are not coming then I should call him and tell him not to get it”, said Kunal. “Say no more brother, now nobody can stop me from coming”, said Akshay. That night Akshay and Kunal went to Natalie’s house for the party. “This party is so boring man.  Where the fuck is Jeff anyway?” asked Akshay. “He just texted me saying he’s on top. Come let’s go on top, maybe he is in Natalie’s bedroom”, replied Kunal. They entered Natalie’s bedroom and saw Jeff sit on the ground with a joint in his hand. “Don’t tell me I came here only to try a new kind of weed”, said Akshay, throwing his hands up in the air. “Relax dude, the stuff is in my pocket”, replied Jeff. “Take it out man, and the needles”, said Kunal. “Okay, okay, don’t rush me. Here is the needle, the spoon, and the packet. I hope one of you has a lighter and is wearing a belt”, said Jeff. “Yeah, we all have that”, said Akshay and grabbed all the things from Jeff’s hand. Kunal handed Jeff a $100 bill and escorted him to the door. “Have a little bit and enjoy the high and when you feel better come out and rock this fucking party a li'l' bit”, said Jeff. “Yeah, sure buddy.  By the way, what is this stuff?” asked Kunal. “It’s called speedball.  A little bit of crack, a little bit of meth, and lot of heroin gives you a speedball” said Jeff with a grin and looked at Akshay tying the belt on his arm before closing the door behind him.         

Lunch Break

Lunch Break

The school bell started ringing and the entire class stood up for the teacher to leave. As soon as the teacher left the class, the students whipped out their Tiffin and raced out of the class. One confused 8-year-old looked at all this hullabaloo in amazement and then reached for his Tiffin from his bag. He walked out of the class looking for the boys who were sitting with him on his first day in his new school, but he couldn’t find anyone. He walked to the playground hoping to see a familiar face but only saw a cloud of red sand rising from the ground and students running through the cloud in their white shirts and blue shorts. He sat down outside the ground on the bench and opened the Tiffin while his eyes kept looking for any classmate of his. He started eating his lunch when he smelt a weird smell; he turned around and saw an old man with a beedi in between his fingers. “You should not be doing that”, said the boy, “it causes cancher” he continued. “Haha, its not cancher, its cancer”, said the old man with a smile on his face. The smile seemed to double his wrinkles and his tobacco stained teeth gave his face a comical finish, “and yes you are right, but what do I do, this is all I can afford to buy with the wages that I get”, he continued. “Why can’t you buy something to eat? This is lunch break”, said the boy. “Because this beedi is cheaper than a vada”, replied the old man. The boy looked at him for some time and then asked, “Do you want a parantha?” The old man stood up from the ground and came out in the sunlight to get a better look at the boy whom he was talking to and asked, “What is your name boy?” “My name is Deepak Kumar, I study in class 3B”, said Deepak. “Thanks for the offer Deepak but I am not hungry, now I have to sweep here, so you have to move to your class”, said the old man. “But I have to finish one more parantha”, replied Deepak. “Eat it on your way to the class”, said the old man sternly. Deepak closed his Tiffin and walked to the class with his head hanging and muttered, “I hate this school”.

The next day, Deepak went and sat on the same bench during the lunch break and saw the same old man sitting in the shade smoking a beedi.  “I have got two paranthas, want one?” asked Deepak. “Your mother made it for you, why should I have it?” asked the old man. “Mom always makes extra because she wants me to become fat, so I want you to have this parantha”, said Deepak pointing at his Tiffin. “What have you put inside the parantha? Why is it red?” asked the old man. “It’s jam, okay”, said Deepak. “Haha, no wonder you wanted to share it so badly” said the old man picking up a parantha from the Tiffin. “So now that we are friends, can I know your name?” asked Deepak. “We are not friends, I am a sweeper and you are a student in this school and I am Hari, people call me Bade Miyaan” said Hari. “Why?” asked Deepak. “Maybe because I am tall, you didn’t notice that, did you?” asked Hari. “My papa is taller”, replied Deepak. “Why don’t you sit with your friends and eat, Deepak?” asked Hari. “I don’t have any friends till now because I am new here, plus nobody wants a share of my paranthas, so here I am in the shade with you”, replied Deepak. “Where does your papa work?” asked Hari. The school bell rings and all the children in the ground start running back to their classes, Deepak closes his Tiffin and says, “In the bank” and runs back to his class.

Deepak was sitting in the class and looking outside through the window.  He wasn’t looking at anything in particular but was thinking about getting more paranthas so that he could give more to Hari who was frail and smoked beedi all day. Just then a drop of water hit the railings of the window and splashed on his eye and he could smell the water on the ground outside. He raised his head and looked out of the window and saw a slight drizzle and the dark clouds hovering over the sky. Immediately, a chalk piece hit his head and he turned his head to look at the teacher stare at him. “The class is inside not outside”, said the teacher in an irritating tone and continued teaching. When the class got over after 5 minutes the drizzle had turned into a shower and by the time the school got over the shower had become a downpour and the roads were flooded. Deepak didn’t know what to do as he had to walk to the bus stop and the roads were flooded knee high, so he asked his bench-mate the best way to get to the bus stop. “Why don’t you come with me in the van, half of the boys go in the van, and we will drop you near your house and you can walk it up from there”, said his friend. The idea of saving 5 rupees brought a smile on Deepak’s face.  He took this as the perfect moment to bond with his classmates. So Deepak got into a van with 10 other boys from his class and fought for the meager supply of oxygen in the van as all the windows were closed and the heater was on due to the rain. Initially, the hot topic was obviously Deepak and his family and his old school and his address, but gradually the topic deviated towards the teachers, the girls, and the private jokes that Deepak didn’t get. He had stopped paying attention to the group and was staring at the window covered with water droplets when the van stopped.  “What happened?” he asked. “This is where you get down Deepak; your house is walking distance from here”, said one of the boys. “But I don’t know how to reach my house from here”, said Deepak. “Just ask that traffic policeman”, said the van driver pointing towards the middle of the road. “Deepak, you have to get down fast, we all are getting late”, said his bench-mate. So, red with anger and completely drenched, Deepak crossed the road and walked towards the traffic policeman, watching the van speed away. “How do I reach Hemming Road from here?” asked Deepak. The startled policeman turned around and saw Deepak completely drenched. “Where do you want to go?” asked the policeman. “SDA Lane, house P-101” said Deepak. The policeman saw a man walking on the sidewalk covered in a raincoat and called him, “Aye! Come here.” “Yes sir! What happened?” asked the man. “Which way are you going?” asked the policeman. “I am going towards the High Court” replied the man. Deepak recognized the voice and said, “Hari? Is that you?” The man turned around and saw Deepak and said to the policeman, “I know this boy sir.  I will leave him till his house.  I think he is lost as he is new in town.” “Okay okay! You take him! Thank you”, said the policeman. Deepak and Hari started walking together towards Deepak’s house. “What are you doing here all alone?” asked Hari. “One of my classmates told me he would drop me near my house so I came with him”, said Deepak. “Why are you walking like that?” asked Deepak. Hari unzipped his raincoat a little bit and let Deepak have a peek inside and Deepak saw a pup curled up inside Hari’s raincoat. “Is that a puppy?” asked Deepak. “Yes it is, I found him in the school one day and have been taking care of him since then” said Hari. “Can I hold him?” asked Deepak. “I don’t want him to get wet but you can hold him tomorrow” said Hari. “What’s his name?” asked Deepak. “I call him Jogi”, said Hari. “What do you feed him?” asked Deepak. “I normally buy vada or milk sometimes for him from the school canteen but this is the first time I am taking him home” said Hari. “He would have surely drowned in the flood at the school”, said Deepak. “So this is why you don’t have money to eat because you keep on feeding Jogi”, said Deepak chuckling to himself. “I am trying to make a few amends and this is helping me a little bit”, said Hari. “What do you mean?” asked Deepak. “I have a wife and a son who don’t live with me anymore, I don’t blame them for it though”, replied Hari. “Why don’t they live with you?” asked Deepak. “You won’t understand boy, let’s just say that I was never a good husband or a good father”, replied Hari. “And when you have money to enjoy a luxurious life why would you waste it on my treatment and live a life of poverty?” continued Hari. “I don’t understand anything that you are saying, but I know you are a good man because that is why you are my only friend in school”, said Deepak. Hari stared at Deepak for some time and then shifted his gaze to the road and smiled to himself. “This is Hemming Road, hope you know your way from here”, announced Hari. Deepak nodded his head and hugged Hari and said, “Thank you so much.” “its okay” said Hari shyly, “Friends help each other right?” he asked. “Yes we do”, said Deepak with a broad smile.  “See you tomorrow”, he said before turning around and crossing the road.

Next Day

The school bell rang and all the students waited patiently for the teacher to leave the class. As soon as the teacher left everyone whipped out their Tiffin and ran out of the class. Deepak was left alone as usual but he wasn’t dejected as he was on the first day, he was cheerful and walked happily to meet his friend. When he reached the bench outside the ground he didn’t see Hari.  Though he felt something awkward, Deepak decided to wait for Hari to come. A sweeper walked past Deepak and thinking him to be Hari, he shouted, “Hari! I am here.” “I am the new sweeper”, said the man turning back, “Hari died last night”, he continued. Deepak froze on the bench and started crying. He looked at the parantha and started crying even louder. A small crowd gathered around him and the sweeper asked him, “Did you know him?” “Yes, he was my friend”, Deepak replied. “Where is Jogi?” Deepak asked. “I don’t know whom you are talking about but I know that today is his funeral”, the new sweeper said. “Can you take me there?” asked Deepak. “There will be a big procession there”, the sweeper replied. Deepak pleaded with him till he agreed to take him on his cycle to Hari’s house.

After the funeral was over, the sweeper and Deepak left Hari’s house and were going to Deepak’s house to drop him off. “You didn’t get to see Hari even once”, said the sweeper. “It’s okay, I did get something from there and I think this is exactly what Hari wanted me to do”, said Deepak sitting behind on the sweeper’s cycle and rubbing Jogi’s back. “Is this your house?” the sweeper asked. “Yes this is the one, thank you so much”, said Deepak getting down from the cycle, holding Jogi with one hand. “See you tomorrow Deepak”, the new sweeper said, turning his cycle and crossing the road. “Yeah, see you tomorrow” muttered Deepak, looking lovingly at Jogi.      

The perfect revenge

                                 

The year was 1999 in district Kargil and operation Vijay (kargil war) was at its peak. With 527 soldiers killed, 1363 wounded and 2 fighter jets lost to the rain of bullets and rocket launchers, the Indian army was in a tight spot.
In a small town named Drass an army unit was based. Major Gill was walking towards his commanding officer’s office. He was walking very slowly, pain was visible in every step he took. He had received a very disturbing telegram from his wife that morning informing him of his father’s death.
He reached the doorsteps of his CO’s office and read his nameplate hung outside. It read Col. Sehgal. He had a reputation of being a hard task master. He had lost his wife to cancer 8 years back and the rumour was that he had become insensitive  after the incident. If the stories were to be believed then his son had drifted away from him due to his rash and erratic behavior. The Major knocked on the door firmly. “Come on in” said Col. Sehgal. Gill entered the office and strode handsomely towards Sehgal and shouted, ”Jai Hind” while giving him a salute. The Colonel returned the greeting feebly. “Sir, I lost my father early this morning” announced Gill with his voice cracking a bit. The Colonel removed his reading glasses and looked sympathetically towards Gill and asked, “I am sorry to hear that Gill. How can I help you?” With his sunken eyes fixed at Sehgal he asked, “Sir, the funeral is on Monday. Can you please grant me a leave of 5 days?” Sehgal didn’t flinch. He asked, “How many brothers and sisters do you have Gill?”  Gill replied, “Sir, we are 3 brothers and 2 sisters.” “Are you the eldest or the youngest child?” asked Sehgal. “Sir I am the middle one” replied Gill. Then Sehgal said, “Whenever we write an answer in an exam, the teacher sees only the beginning and ending of the answer. Nobody cares to see the middle portion.” Beads of tears started to form around the cornea of Gill’s eyes. Sehgal continued, “The maximum you can get is my sympathy. If you would like more out of me then I need to remind you that firstly I am not your wife and secondly I have a war to win.” Gill couldn’t bear this anymore. He raised his heels in unison and shouted, “Jai Hind”. He then left the room with his face red with anger and eyes red with sorrow.

That evening Gill was in his tent heating water to take a bath. His mood had not changed and all he could think about was the dreadful words that Col. Sehgal had used to justify his decision of not giving him leave. The steam was rising from the hot water in the bucket. He took his official landline phone and dialed the number of the army exchange, “Could you give me a civil number? 194102-4537814” said Gill. Another voice from the other end replied, ”2 minutes sir.” After around 30 seconds Gill heard the dial tone. After the third ring a man picked up the phone. He had a hoarse voice and was panting. “What happened to you Ijaz? Why are you panting?” asked Gill. “Sir, I was just about to call you. I have very good news. 20 infiltrators were seen cutting the LOC and crossing over in Kaksar district. They are presently in Kaksar itself but they will start for Drass early morning.” A big smile formed on Gill’s face.

That night there was a lot of chaos and discordance in the tents. Gill heard the starting of engines, the yelling of soldiers and Sehgal barking the orders. Gill stepped out of his room to see what the commotion was all about. He stopped a soldier and asked him what was going on. He was in haste so he mumbled something about Pakistanis and infiltrators and ran away. He went to Sehgal and asked what the matter was. He told him about Pakistani troops sitting in a small house 4kms from the site where they were. The Adjutant, Major Surinder had received a call from one of his informants who gave him this priceless information. At that precise moment Surinder came to Sehgal and asked for his permission to leave. Gill interjected, “Sir, why am I not being sent?” “ Because you are under stress Major. I don’t think you will be able to concentrate on the mission” replied Sehgal. “Plus, we want some senior officer here at the base, in absence of all other officers, just in case of any emergency” added Surinder. “Sir, when the jawans can manage without me then I guess they can manage without you as well. After all its just a bunch of infiltrators not the whole Pakistani army” said Gill. “But I am the commanding officer. I have to be there with the soldiers. If there are any casualties I will be held responsible” said Sehgal. “Come on sir; give these youngsters a chance at least. Even you know you can trust Surinder. Plus, if you don’t trust me with the mission then how can you leave me in charge of the whole base?” asked Gill. “Hmm… what do you think Surinder? Can you handle it?” asked Sehgal. “Yes sir, I can do it” said Surinder in the same overconfident tone that went with his personality. “Okay then, it’s decided. I am staying put” announced Sehgal. Surinder's face started glowing suddenly as he saluted the Colonel and shouted,” Jai Hind”. Sehgal wished him good luck and shook hands with him. He briefed the soldiers and built up their confidence with a 2 minute speech. As the trucks started filling up with soldiers and all the officers sat in the Jeep, Gill’s eyes didn’t leave Sehgal. He stared at him till everyone left and his mind started racing away in directions unknown to him.

When Sehgal entered his office after seeing everyone off, he heard his phone ringing. He picked it up and listened for some time. After 5 minutes he banged the phone down and ran to Gill’s office. "There is a problem," announced Col. Sehgal. "There are 4 men who are buying illegal weapons from Ijaz, as we speak. He is really angry because you didn’t pick up your phone. Anyways the bottom line is that if we leave right now by foot we’ll be able to make it in time to catch them. Ijaz can make them stay only for 15 more minutes.” Gill looked towards the ceiling and closed his eyes. “Come on Gill, this is your time for glory. Forget about your personal loss and do something for the unit” continued Sehgal. Gill looked up at Sehgal and said with a smile, "Let’s do it." They both ran out of the room and in 5 minutes they were ready with 3 soldiers and their weapons. They left the base on foot, walking towards the rendezvous point that Ijaz had told. After walking for 15 minutes they reached the back end of the hut where Ijaz sold his illegal weapons. All 5 men got onto their knees and crawled towards the back door. They looked through the window and saw 3 men standing and seeing the guns laid in front of them. Sehgal gave his men the signal. On the count of 3 everybody got up and barged through the back door. Before the soldiers could even fire, a bullet went whistling through the group of soldiers and hit Sehgal, who was standing behind everyone,  on the forehead. Ijaz ran and covered the 3 men who had just shot Col.Sehgal. The soldiers looked in disbelief at the lifeless body of their leader and lifted their guns to aim at the infiltrators, but they stopped midway when they saw Ijaz covering the 3 men crying loudly. Gill came forward and aimed his gun at Ijaz and said, "Move Ijaz, you are on the wrong side.” Ijaz wailed, "Don’t shoot saab, these are my sons. I had called them for protection after the infiltrators left without paying up. They mistook you as the Pakistanis and fired saab. Please don’t shoot saab.” Everyone lowered their gun and looked at each other, thinking, what had they got themselves into.

2 DAYS LATER

“Well, that was the lawyer on the phone. The case is in our favor. People are buying our story that your son mistook us as the Pakistanis. So you can rest for a while and if that is not working then you can accept this small token of appreciation." Saying so he placed a large bundle of cash into Ijaz’s hands. “Thank you saab” said Ijaz. “That was a great plan you made and executed. Your son’s aim is so good. Tell him to stay low and not shoot a gun for a while” said Gill. “I told you he was the best saab” replied Ijaz. “I got a call in the morning from Sehgal’s son saying that he won’t be able to attend the funeral because of the F5 tornado which has cancelled all flights out of Oklahoma” said Gill. “I guess that makes your revenge perfect” said Ijaz walking towards the door. “You are right, it was not a revenge. It was the perfect revenge” hummed Gill as Ijaz put the money in his bag and walked out of the door.  

       

Spring

                                  Spring

Preeti rushed into the house, her face was red with anger and her fist was clenched, something she did when she was angry. Her mother, who was standing in the kitchen could make out from the reverberation of closing of the door that her daughter was really angry. She waited for some time and went to Preeti’s room to cool her down, which is something she was very good at. When she opened the door she saw Preeti lying flat on the bed looking towards the ceiling. “What happened beta?” she asked like any Indian mother would ask. “Just a new assignment in school” replied Preeti. “Out of all the topics that sir had written on the chits the one I had to get was first love. First love? Seriously? Who even gives such topics for assignments?” continued Preeti before even her mom could say anything. “That’s the easiest topic you could get. You can write about anything na. From shopping to serials to that boyfriend of yours whatever his name is” replied her mom. “I don’t love any of these things ma. Now don’t look at me like that, I just like all these things. I have never had butterflies in my stomach or made a fool out of myself for someone else, I have never had any of the romantic things that we see in movies” said Preeti. “Well, you don’t need all those things to love someone” replied her mom. “You seem to know a lot about love. Tell me who your first love was and I will write the same story and submit my assignment” said Preeti. “I don’t think it will be a good story to submit as your assignment” replied her mother. “I’ll modify it, don’t worry about it” said Preeti. After heaving a deep sigh her mom replied, “The spring had just started…..

The spring had just started and all the schools and colleges had reopened. The new semester had just started in Dr. Ambedkar College. It was Pooja’s first day in college. She had opted for history, economics and English as her major subjects. She had still not got used to the filthy hostel, the cramped up room, the separation from her family and her nosy roommates. She wore a loose pair of jeans and a loose top to prevent the unhealthy gaze from all the guys in the college. Being from a smaller city in U.P named Allahabad, Delhi was a big change for her. She asked a short and scruffy looking girl the way to the first year history class.” So you want to know where the first year history class is huh? Come with me, I will show you how history is made”, saying so the girl took Pooja behind the college canteen. There was a big dumping ground behind the canteen inside which a group of people were dancing. A lot of people were sitting on elevated areas with samosas in their hands. These people were laughing at the people dancing inside the dumping ground. “Hey people, look what I have here” said the scruffy girl. All the people, mostly guys, who had samosas in their hands turned around and started checking her out as if an auction was going on. All this was really embarrassing for her and her cheeks became red. One of the guys walked up to her and bowed in front of her and said, “Please go into the pit and start dancing madam”. “Actually I had a ligament tear in my right knee while playing basketball, so the doctors told me to give rest to my knee and not to perform any strenuous activity” replied Pooja. This made the scruffy girl very angry.  She stormed towards Pooja and pulled her towards the pit. Pooja reluctantly gave in to the force applied onto her. But just when she was about to enter the pit, the scruffy girl stopped walking. Pooja saw a tall and well built guy standing in front of her blocking her way. “If the girl plays basketball then being the basketball captain it’s my duty to protect her” announced the tall guy. The scruffy girl left Pooja’s wrist and everyone surrounding her backed off. “That’s enough you guys, well done all of you. Now head back to your classes and don’t loiter in the campus” he continued facing the freshers in the pit. All the sweaty and stinky first years climbed out of the pit and dragged themselves to their classes. As Pooja turned and started walking, the tall guy called her, “Hey basketball girl! Come here”. The smile on her face vanished as she imagined herself walking towards the human embodiment of the leaning tower of Pisa. “Hi! I am Saurabh. So you really play basketball huh?” he asked. “Yes I do. I played till district level” she replied. “We have a tournament in about 5 week’s time, and I really want some representation from the first year to keep the management happy. I think you would learn a lot if you just come for the practice and be ready to sit on the benches during the actual matches” he said. “Okay but don’t make me exert too much, I don’t want to get hurt” she replied. “Okay madam, as you say, now I think it’s time for you to say ‘thank you’ and go to class, it’s not every day that I go against my friends to save a fresher. I do it only for the good looking girls who play basketball” he said with a smirk on his face. “Thank you for saving me today” she said her face becoming red.

From next day onwards Pooja went to the practice sessions regularly. This went on for the next 2 weeks. Pooja got her touch back, and started jumping around like all the other players just to show what she was capable of. She started with the lay-ups and went on to tackling and even attempted dunks. 1 week before the tournament during the warm up session in the morning when Pooja was attempting the lay-ups she landed on her right leg with a sudden jerk. As she sat on the court crying Saurabh who was practicing on the other court saw her and came running towards her. “What happened?” he asked genuinely worried. “I think the ligament tore again” she said in between her sobbing. “Tell the coach I am not well when he comes” he shouted at one of his friends. He then lifted Pooja who started wailing when she was lifted and took her to the nearest hospital which was a 10 minute walk.

2 days later

Saurabh was sitting in the canteen with his friends when he saw Pooja walking towards her class with crutches and a plastered leg. Saurabh ran towards her and almost collided into her before stopping just in front of her. “I am so sorry about the other day” said Saurabh. “Why are you sorry? I should in fact be thanking you. You lifted me and walked till the hospital, you were a complete gentleman” said Pooja. “I am sorry because being the captain it was my responsibility to see that you don’t get hurt after you told me specifically about your ligament problem and lifting you and walking till the hospital was my pleasure. It’s not every day that I lift a girl as beautiful as you and I am sure every guy in the college and on the road would have turned to ashes on seeing you in my arms” said Saurabh. “You don’t have to flirt with me to get my forgiveness” said Pooja. “I am not flirting; I am feeling guilty so I am just trying to make myself feel better by making you smile. Now you practiced a lot for this event so I will make sure that you get a certificate” said Saurabh. “But I won’t be able even take part when the coach sees my leg” said Pooja. “Don’t worry about all that, I have already given an order for the jerseys through the coach and the certificate will be in your hands in a few days” said Saurabh. “Okay. You know the best” said Pooja before turning and entering her class.

A week later the basketball competition started in the college and teams from twelve colleges were taking part in it. It was a 3 day event and Saurabh’s team had two matches in a day. On the second day of the event after the first match Saurabh saw Pooja standing outside the court and watching the match. “Hello wounded soldier” said Saurabh walking up to her. “Hi! Congrats on the victory” replied Pooja. “I have your certificate in the bag, do you want it now?” asked Saurabh. “The competition is still going on and you already have my certificate ready?” asked Pooja. “See, our college is organizing this event, so we guys only get the certificates printed. I haven’t written the position of our team in the certificate, rest everything I have filled up. Don’t forget to write the position of our team after the competition gets over” said Saurabh and took out the certificate from his bag and gave it to Pooja. “Wow! I don’t know what to say Saurabh, thanks for all the trouble you took and for this certificate” said Pooja. “No problem, just keep this certificate safe and don’t publicize it much. If anyone comes to know about this then I might get into trouble” said Saurabh. “Okay Saurabh, don’t worry about it, now go and rest before your second match starts” said Pooja. Both Pooja and Saurabh said goodbyes and parted ways.

The next day when Saurabh was relaxing on the benches after the semifinals his friend came running to him and said, “Saurabh! The principal wants to see you.” “Why? What happened?” asked Saurabh. “I don’t know but Pooja is also there in his office” he replied. Saurabh ran to the principal’s office and knocked loudly, a voice from inside said, “Come in.” Saurabh opened the door and saw Pooja standing in front of the principal’s table and crying. “Good afternoon sir is anything wrong?” asked Saurabh. “Yes Saurabh, something is wrong. I got a call this morning from the girl’s hostel from an anonymous caller who told me that Pooja standing over hear got a certificate saying that she took part in the ongoing basketball competition” said the principal. “Sir I think it must have been a prank call” said Saurabh. “If it was a prank call then how is it that Pooja confessed to receiving a certificate from you which she didn’t deserve?” asked the principal. Saurabh was confused and couldn’t believe this, he turned his head to face Pooja and saw her crying. “Don’t look at her Saurabh, look at me and answer. I know you did it now tell me the reason. Did Pooja ask you for the certificate or did you give it for some other reason?” asked the principal. “She didn’t ask for it sir. I gave it to her because she had practiced a lot for the tournament, she got injured just a week before the competition and the injury was so serious that the doctor told her to never play any game henceforth. I just felt bad for her and thought that the certificate would at least help her when she passes out and starts looking for a job” said Saurabh. “That is very generous of you Saurabh but it is against the rules of this college, we can’t let corrupt people pass out of this college. I am just suspending you this time but next time I will dismiss you from the college, so don’t repeat this behavior” said the principal. Saurabh hung his head down and stayed mum, he wasn’t expecting all this when he set out to help Pooja and he wasn’t expecting Pooja to spill everything in front of the principal. “Now go to the hostel and start packing your bags, I want you out of the campus by tomorrow morning” said the principal. “But sir I have one more match to play, it is the final” said Saurabh. “That is none of your concern anymore Saurabh, now both of you may leave” said the principal. Saurabh wiped a tear and stomped out of the office and Pooja followed him. “Saurabh! Wait!” shouted Pooja. Saurabh stopped walking and waited for Pooja to catch up with him. “I am sorry about everything but it is not my fault, my roommate saw the certificate and complained to the principal” said Pooja. “Yeah it’s not your fault I am the one who broke the rules and helped you and I am paying the price so you can go back and enjoy your life and let me go and pack my bags and see my team losing the finals” said Saurabh. Pooja kept calling his name but he didn’t turn back.

From that day onwards Saurabh never spoke to Pooja. Pooja kept on trying to talk to him and even called him a million times but he was just too shaken up by the suspension. Even on the day when Saurabh was graduating he didn’t speak to Pooja. He could see her trying to talk to him and following him around, even when he got into his car he could see her through the rear view mirror. Saurabh got down from his car and walked to Pooja. “Still mad at me?” asked Pooja. “Not really. Just didn’t want to get another suspension by staying around you a lot” said Saurabh. “Come on Saurabh I said I am sorry, what more do you want me to do?” asked Pooja. “The day you get a job come to this place” said Saurabh handing her a piece of paper. “What is this?” asked Pooja. “This is my address, come here on that day and I will tell you why I risked so much to get that certificate if you can’t figure it out by then” said Saurabh and got into his car.

1 year later

Interviewer: Why did you choose our company to do your internship? Usually visual communication students apply for an internship in a news channel.

Pooja: Sir, in the last 3 years I was taught how to be creative, how to be innovative and how to be confident in something that you pursue through the different subjects that I studied. Of course there were some subjects in which I was forced to learn a lot of useless things by heart, but most of the subjects taught me the three things that I mentioned. I think that this internship will teach me how to apply these things that were taught to me in class in my real life and my profession. So that is the reason that I want to work here.

Interviewer: Hmm…that is a very clichéd answer. Every person who wants to join us wants to grow or get to know themselves or exercise their creative sides, but the truth Ms. Pooja is that you don’t have much experience in any of the fields that is required to work in a news channel.

Pooja: Sir, I am a really fast learner and I am very fast in getting things done and I think that is very important in this field.

Interviewer: I can see that in your resume. You have played basketball at the district and college levels so I expect you to be quick on your feet and deliver all that you are promising.

Pooja: I hope I don’t let you down sir.

Interviewer: You don’t have many things going in your favour but I am interested in seeing you work here and apply whatever it is that you want to apply.

Pooja: Thank you so much sir.

Pooja got up and shook hands with the interviewer and exited the room.

“So that is how my love story goes” said Preeti’s mother Pooja bringing an end to her story.

“What? That’s all? Complete the story ma” said Preeti. “You can figure out the end on your own, can’t you? Plus I don’t think the ending of my story would be suitable for your story” replied Pooja. “Now wash up and come down downstairs to eat” continued Pooja and walked out of the of her daughter’s room. She went into the dining room and looked at Saurabh’s photo hanging on the wall and gave him a flying kiss.