Chapter 1
Day 1 – Morning
As Lolita woke me up for the tea she handed over the newspaper in my hand.
“Take your second wife.”
The newspaper occupied two hours from my daily routine and so my wife has a special categorization for it.
“Oh! Lolita. Did you see this, another terrorist attack in New York today, I mean last night.”
“There is something more important in that news Ghosh Babu. Kolkata has something to worry about.”
Ever since my retirement as the Senior Manger from a public sector companies this was the first thing that I and my wife did in the morning - discuss the headlines. After all we needed some thing to spend our time. Our only son is a cyber crime lawyer working in a firm opened by him and his friends in Bangalore. So we had a fixed routine so that the time passed smoothly.
“Hmnn… So these are Indian Jihadis. My god two of them are from Kolkata.”
The news was about three Indian Jihadis who has planned a suicidal bomb attack on the busy roads of New York, however, they failed as the bomb exploded before they could hit the busy streets. One of the Jehadis was killed in the blast while one had been nabbed by the FBI as the other is absconding.
“Just see the venom of Jihad is slowing engulfing our youths.”
“It is a matter of great concern.”
“I always asked Raja not to stay with his Muslim friends.”
“Lolita, every Muslim is not a terrorist and our son is great protagonist of Hinduism.”
“Yes, but his friends are not!”
“Remember what he said when he watched that movie? That the film star Anil Kapoor must be boycotted by the Hindus because he acted in Slumdog Millionaire.”
“Yes, he was right. What a shame is that movie. Portraying as if India is a hell and Hindus are demon killing Muslims.”
“See this is what other perceive as you perceive that every Muslim is a terrorist.”
“Forget it and remember how he distributed the Xerox copies of The Sunday Indian that had a write up saying that Slumdog Millionaire was a disgrace to India.”
“So what does it prove Lolita?”
“It proves that our son is a true Hindu and an Indian.”
“Yup, besides it proves that our son is not bothered by what everyone says he has his ideology. Even if he stays with Talibanis there is nothing to worry about.”
The discussion on our son somehow took us away from the news about the blast in New York. After the tea we had our breakfast and it was time for another nap.
The nap was well disturbed when Lolita had a dream that Raj Kumar Ghosh aka Raja was in troubled.
“Dear it was just a dream.”
“No it was not! There is some trouble near us. I know. He is in trouble.”
“He is not. He is fine. I will call him.”
Our conversation was paused by a loud announcement outside our house.
Chapter 2
Day 1- Afternoon
I looked outside the window. The scene was spine chilling. Kolkata police had surrounded our house. What I could see was just the nozzles of rifles peeping at us.
“I am giving you a last warning. We have an arrest warrant against you surrender yourself we will not cause you any harm. Surrender or we will have to take action.”
Hearing this announcement I was almost wet near my knees. At 63 years of age the police was here to arrest me. If I get a life imprisonment I would die in Jail that means no heaven for me.
Lolita looked at me without a blink.
“Why are they here Ghosh, tell me?”
“I do not know.”
“Did you do something?”
“No, no. Maybe they have deducted emblazonment of funds when I was in-charge of the factory.”
“No ways! Such a big force can’t be for that.”
“Once a Laborer had broken his arm in the factory and I refused any relieve for him so may be the human rights…”
“Shut up idiot do not try to be over smart.”
This statement of her pinched me like anything. You can say It entered into my heart like a needle or as if the police outside had given me a shot in the chest. She has not talked to me in last five years.
Yes, she talked to me like this earlier. To confess she did not respect me ever. She used to call me Booka Manus (Idiot Person) even in front of my friends and it is because of her that my son does not care for me. It was after she had a heart attack and the doctor said that she would die if she gets excited that she grew sober. It was a day and one is today.
“Once…”
“What once? Tell me you moron?”
“A woman was raped in our factory and later murdered.”
“Don’t tell me that you were involved in that rape case. You bastard, my father was the one because of whom you got that job, and you misused that position you useless brat.”
“No, I was not the one. But, to avoid the police case we had buried the body in our factory.”
“Rascal, get out and let the police pierce your butt with bullets.”
“It is the final call or we will open fire.”
I was caught by my collar and was dragged to the door and then was kicked out of the house. I stood in a hands-ups position and the door of my house banged on my back. I was ready that a policeman would hit me with his rifle butt and drag me to the jeep.
But, hey what’s this neighbor Adil Hassan was on his knees. And there were there rifles poking his head. Poor guy has been surrounded because of me. The A engineer who got retired from Dunlop. He is there as he is my neighbor.
I stood in the lay off position for five minutes by then the police was gone with Hassan. I guessed if police had identified him as Mr. Ghosh. Sensing one trouble gone I jumped back into my house like dog – smelling to ensure that my wife was nowhere in vicinity.
Chapter 3
Day 1 – Dusk
I was hiding in another room like a rat. We were not talking. I wished my wife gets excited before she comes to me.
No, no don’t come. Please. Please. I could hear the loud sound of the cracks of the floor that thundered as my 120 Kg weighing wife kept her feet on them. She was coming towards the place I was. I thought that it would be a third degree along with interrogation but the channel broadcasted something else this time.
“I had told you not to let our son live with those Muslims. Now, Hassan has been nabbed, God knows for what. And our son is doing working in a partnership firm with his son.”
“Arre… “
“Don’t dare talk with me like that you Pig. You are as good as a rapist and a murderer. Now our son would pay for your bad deeds.”
I kept mum for some minutes then said.
“He must have been caught because of Naxalism. You know he was posted in Chhattisgarh. And Salwa Judum leaves no stones unaltered to nab the extremists.”
“Extremist? What if he comes out to be a terrorist our son is gone. I told you to tighten your guardianship and not let him play with his work with his son.”
As if you had left that for me, I thought. Hassan’s son Khaild was a Hacker and Raja had met him last summer. After a brief meeting they decided to open this company.
There was again dead silence the mother of the house was drowned in tears. For two reasons – her husband was as good as a murderer and rapist and second she had a dream that her son was in trouble. The silence was broken for a couple of hours when the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“We are fine how you all are?”
This was my mother-in-law. By the time I had spoken these words my wife arrived and snatched the phone from my hand.
“Hello Maa.”
“Yes everything is peaceful.”
“Yes Maa. Nothing, why?”
“TV. You mean I should see the news. OK”
I and my wife did not watch much TV because our eyes were weak, more than my 80 years old mother-in-law, atleast my wife thought so.
Next minute we were watching CNN-IBN. It said that the identity of the caught Indian Jehadi was confirmed. And it was… Khalid. No it can’t be true. He works with my son a patriot. It said that the identities of the dead and the eloped terrorists would be declared soon.
Lolita sat mum. Her tears had stopped. Feebly she said.
“I told you my son is in trouble.”
“No. It was just a dream. See I will call him.”
His cell phone was switched off. And that night left us sleepless leaving us guessing is our son safe?
copyright 2009 @Shishir Kumar
Comments
Keep up the good work.