The man in the gold chain went back to his group. He spoke to them as they stepped backwards. He turned to me and nodded. Twenty-five per cent of my problem was over.
Mama left Omi and came to me.
'What's going on here?' Mama said. He did not notice forty people turning to thirty in his drunk state.
'Mama think again. You have a future in the party. Parekh-ji will not approve of this,' I said.
Mama laughed. He took out his mobile phone and dialled a number.
'Parekh-ji won't approve?' Mama said and waited for the phone to be picked up.
'Yes, Parekh-ji, I am well. Don't worry, I will grieve later. Right now it is war time. Oh and someone thinks you are not happy with me ... here talk ... yes talk...'
Mama passed his phone. The crowd waited behind us.
'Hello? Who is this,' Parekh-ji's voice came at the other end.
'Govind, Parekh-ji. One of Omi's friends. We came to Vishala with you...,' I said.
'Oh yes. Son, trying day for us Hindus. So are you supporting us?'
"This is wrong, sir,' I said, not sure why I called him sir, 'this is wrong.'
'What? The train burning, isn't it?' 'Not that Parekh-ji, they want to kill a boy'
'So what can I do?' he said. 'Stop them.'
'Our job is to listen to people and do what they tell us. Not the other way round.'
'People don't want this,' I said.
'They do. Trust me. Today, the cooker needs a whistle to release the pressure."
'But kids? Women?' I said.
'Doesn't matter. Whatever it takes to quench the hurt feelings. People in pain want to feel better. Unfortunately, today I can't think of a better way.'
'This is a horrible way,' I said.
'This will last a day or two, but if we stifle it, it could explode into a huge civil war.'
'Your party will be blamed for it,' I said, trying to appeal to their self-interest.
'By who? A few pseudos? Not the people of Gujarat. We are making people feel better. They will elect us again and again. You wait and see.'
'Sir, this boy. He could be in the national team someday.' Mama snatched the phone from me.
'Don't worry Parekh-ji, I'll take care of all this. You will be proud of me tomorrow,' Mama said and hung up.
I looked around for another mini-leader in the pack. I walked up to him and took him aside.
'Fifteen thousand, you take your people and walk away,' I said.
This time my lure did not entice.
'Mama, he is trying to buy me,' the mini-leader screamed at the top of his voice.
'No, no you heard me wrong, what are you mad or something?' I said and moved back towards the bank.
'What's going on Omi? Get the boy here,' Mama screamed.
Omi nodded to Mama. He went to the main door. The crowd remained at the gate and only the porch separated us. However, the gate did not have a lock anymore.
Omi knocked on the main entrance. Ish opened it after confirming the person.
Both of them disappeared inside.
I stood alone with the rioters. They suspected me of offering bribes. I wanted to run inside too. However, someone had to keep the crowd out.
'Are they getting him?' Mama asked me.
'I think so,' I said.
I offered to check inside as Mama asked twice. I went to the door and knocked.
Ish opened it for a nanosecond and I slipped inside.
I let out the loudest sigh ever. Ish bolted the door and blocked it with the sofa from the waiting lounge.
'They are waiting. If one of us doesn't show up in two minutes, they will attack,'
I said.
'Ali woke up,' Omi said. 'Where is he?' I said.
'I locked him in the manager's room. How many people?' Ish said.
'Thirty,' I said. 'Let's fight,' Ish said.
Twenty
Ish, I want to talk to you,' I said. 'We don't have time,' Ish said. 'Omi!' Mama's scream came through the main door. 'Coming Mama. Give us five minutes,' Omi screamed back. 'Get him fast,' Mama said.
I made Ish sit on the sofa that blocked the main door.
'Ish, can I offer a bit of logic in the current chaos,' I said.
'What? We have no time,' Ish said.
'I know. But I also know what will happen if we fight thirty people. We will all die. They will get Ali and kill him too,' I said.
'So what are you trying to say,' Ish said and stood up.
'Giving up three lives to possibly save one. Can you show me the maths in this?'
'Fuck your maths. This isn't about business.'
'Then what is it about? Why should we all die? Only because you love the kid?'
'No,' he said and turned his back to me.
'Then what?'
'Because he is a national treasure,' Ish said.
'Oh, and we are national filth? So maybe one day the kid will hit a few sixes and Indians will waste the day watching TV and get thrills out of it. So fucking what? What about my mother? What about Omi's parents? What about...,' I said and turned quiet. I almost said Vidya.
'I'm not giving him up. You want to run away. Open the door and run. Omi, you are welcome to go too,' Ish said.
'I am not going. But how do we fight them Ish?' Omi said.
Ish told us to follow him. He led us to the kitchen. He told us to lift a kerosene canister each. He also picked up three buckets that we used to chill beer. We fell in step behind him as we took the steps to the roof.
'It's heavy,' I said.
'Twenty litres each. That's heavy for sure,' Ish said as we reached the roof.
Fires dotted the neighbourhood skyline. The weather didn't feel as cold as a February night should be.
'We are coming!' Mama said as his group pushed the rusted metal gate of the bank open. They came to the porch and banged on the main entrance door.
'Stop shouting Mama,' Ish said.
Mama looked up to the roof.
'Where are you hiding sister-fuckers,' Mama said. The crowd hurled fire torches at us. We stood two stories high. Nothing reached us. One fire torch fell on a rioter and he yelped in pain. A mob maybe passionate, but it can also be quite stupid. They stopped throwing torches after that.
Ish kept Mama engaged.
'Mama, I was born without fear. See,' Ish said and climbed on the roof ledge.
The crowd became distracted. If they weren't, they'd attack the main door.
Despite three bolts and a sofa in front, they would break it in ten minutes flat.
After that, they'd have to break the first floor entrance door and then the flimsy one at the roof. In fifteen minutes, we would be roasted in blowtorches. Ish's plan better be good.
'Say Jai Sri Ram,' Ish shouted. It worked perfectly, the crowd had to participate. Most of the crowd did not know whether we supported them or not.
At least not yet.
Meanwhile, Omi and I poured the kerosene out of the canisters into the buckets. The canisters had a narrow neck and the kerosene wouldn't flow out fast. We needed a big strike.
Ish struck Siva's poses on the ledge. A few drunk members of the mob even bowed to him. Perhaps Siva had come down tonight to bless the rioters.
'One, two, three and go,' I whispered as Omi and I upturned the buckets. We threw the oil forward to keep it away from the bank building.
The blowtorches in the rioters' hands acted as the ignition. A river of fire fell on the bank's porch. Panic spread in the mob. They took a few moments to realise we had attacked them. Ish stepped off the ledge. We hid ourselves under the parapet. I raised my head high enough to watch the happenings below. A few mobsters ran out of the bank gate as their clothes caught fire. I suppose it is much more fun to burn people, than get burnt yourself.
'How many ran away?' Ish said.
'Quite a few. There's panic downstairs.' The remaining people started jabbing trishuls on the main door. I popped my body up to count the people. I estimated more than ten, but less than twenty.
'We have to go down,' Ish said.
'Are you mad?' I said.
'No. Let's reduce the people further,' Ish said.
'Ish, we are hurting people. Some of them may die. We threw a lot of kerosene,'
I said.
'I don't care,' Ish said, 'we have to hurt some more.'
We came down to the first floor. Ish unlocked the branch manager's office door with the bunch of keys in his pocket. Ali awaited him inside and ran to hug him.
'I am scared,' Ali said and broke into tears.
'Don't worry, it's going to be fine,' Ish said.
'I want to go home to abba.'
I ran my fingers through Ali's hair. Home was no longer an option.
'Ali, you will be fine if you listen to me. Will you listen to me?' Ish said. Ali nodded.
'Some horrible people want to get you. I need to lock you up in the vault. They will never get you there,' Ish said. He pointed to the claustrophobic six by six room.
'There? It's so dark?' Ali said.
'Here, take my phone. Keep the light on. I will be back soon,' Ish said and gave him his cell-phone.
Ish put Ali in the safe. He gave him a few pillows. Ali switched on the phone light. Ish shut the door and locked it. He kept the keys inside his sock.
'You ok?' Ish screamed.
'It's dark,' Ali said.
'Hold on ok?' Ish said.
'Ok, we have to cook one more dish in the kitchen. Come fast,' Ish said.
We left Ali in the vault and ran to the kitchen. The jabs at the main door continued. I estimated we had five more minutes before the door gave away.
Ish unplugged the LPG cylinder. 'Carry this to the main door,' Ish said.
Omi and I carried the LPG cylinder. We kept it under the sofa blocking the main door.
'Omi where do we keep the fireworks?" Ish said.
'Top shelf,' Omi said.
Ish came back with boxes of leftover Diwali crackers. We usually burst them when India won a match. Ish emptied a box of bombs on the cylinder.
He took two bombs and opened the fuse to make it last longer. The crowd banged at the door. One main door bolt became loose.
'I open, you light and all run up. Clear?' Ish said to Omi.
Omi nodded. Ish climbed on the sofa and tried to get hold of the bolt. It vibrated under the impact of the mob's jabs.
Omi lit a matchstick and took it to the fuse. As the fuse tip turned orange, Ish opened the bolt. The sofa would keep the door in place for a few more seconds, the time we had to save our lives.
'Run,' Ish said as he jumped off the sofa.
We ran up the stairs. I was four steps away from the top when the door came loose.
'Mother fuckers we won't leave you. Killing your own people,' the mini-leader I had tried to bribe opened the door. Him and three more men entered the room.
'Hey stop,' they shouted at me as I continued to climb. I looked behind, eight men had entered the bank.
I was one step from the top when my ears hurt. The explosion rocked the cupboards on the ground floor as the main door blew away. I think the mini-leader took the worst hit from the cylinder. The other eight men couldn't have been much better off.
I didn't know what we were doing. Preventing someone from taking revenge by attacking them ourselves. I had never seen body parts fly in the air. I didn't know if any of the rioters remained. I used the two way switch at the top to switch on the ground floor tube light. Smoke and bits of paper from the old files filled the room. Ish and Omi came behind me.
'All gone?' Ish said.
The smoke cleared in thirty seconds. A few men lay around the room. I could not tell if they were injured or dead. The erstwhile main door was now an empty gap. Mama entered the room with five other people. Maybe he was lucky, or maybe he had the foresight to send others to open the door first. The five people ran to the injured in the room. Mama looked up. His eyes met us.
Twenty One
Traitors, you bastards,' Mama screamed. I noticed his left hand. It bled and the kerosene had burnt part of his kurta's left sleeve.
'Catch them,' Mama shouted. He and five other men ran up the stairs. Ish, Omi and I ran into the branch manager's office and shut the door.
'Hold these,' Ish said. His hands trembled as he shuffled through the cricket equipment we kept in the manager's office. Ish picked up a bat. Mama and his group had reached the branch manager's office door.
'Open or we will break it,' Mama said, even though they didn't bang the door.
They continued to threaten us but didn't act. Perhaps they were afraid of what we would blow up this time.
My heartbeat sounded almost as loud as their screams.
'I don't have my phone. Give me yours, I'll call the police,' Ish said to me.
'We will not leave,' Mama's voice reverberated through the door.
I passed my phone to Ish. He dialled the police number.
'Fuck, no one is picking up,' Ish said and tried again. Nobody answered.
Ish hung up the phone and shook it in frustration. Beep Beep, my phone said as a message arrived. 'It's an SMS,' Ish said as he opened it.
Hey, stay safe tonight.
By the way, just got my period!!
Yippee!! Relieved no?
C U soon my hot teacher.
Love - me.
The message came from supplier Vidyanath. Ish gave me a puzzled look. I shrugged my shoulders and reached to take my phone. Ish moved the phone away from me. He looked at me in shock. He turned to the message and went into details. He saw the number. He dialled it.
I came close to a cardiac arrest.
'Hey, cool no? I never thought I'd be celebrating a period,' Vidya rattled off on the other side as she saw my number. I could hear her cheerful voice even though Ish held the phone. 'Vidya?' Ish said as his brows became tense. 'Ish bhaiya?' she said.
Ish looked at me. He cut the line and kept the phone in his pocket.
For a moment we forgot that we had murderers at our door. Ish stepped forward towards me as I backtracked until I reached the wall.
'Ish I can explain...,' I said even though I couldn't. Ish dropped the bat on the ground. He lifted his hand and then - slap! slap! He deposited two of them on my face. Then he made his hand into a fist and punched me hard in the stomach.
I fell on the ground. I felt intense pain, but I felt I had lost the right to say anything, including screaming in agony. I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes.
I deserved this. I had to pay for the second mistake of my life.
'What the hell are you doing?' Omi said even though he understood the situation well.
'Nothing, selfish bastard. He is a snake. He'll sell us if he could, Fucking businessman,' Ish said and kicked me in the shins.
'Hey Ish, you want to get killed?' Omi said.
'Fuck you Mama, come in if you have the guts,' Ish shouted and walked up to the door.
Omi lent me a hand. I stood up and leaned on him. I wondered if my intestines had burst.
'I told you. Protocol,' Omi said.
'I didn't do anything wrong,' I said. I don't know why I said that. I had unprotected sex with a barely legal student and my best friend's sister. It must be up there in the top ten morally wrong things one could possibly do.
Mama's patience ran out after five minutes. He ordered his minions to break the door. They pressed their trishuls against the door, but kept their distance.
'Right now, aim is to survive, not to settle scores,' Omi said.
Omi handed Ish the bat again. I held my wicket tight. We monitored the door. A few more jabs and it would open.
'I'll let them in anyway,' Omi said and released the bolt.
'You want to kill me? Mama, go on, kill me. Why wait,' Omi said and opened the door.
'Move aside Omi. Just tell me, where is the boy,' Mama said.
'You won't get any boy here,' Ish growled.
Mama's five men held up their trishuls. We lifted our cricket weapons. One man attacked Ish. Ish blocked him with his bat. Ish struck the bat on the man's arm, leg, thigh and groin. The man fell on the floor.
My hands shivered as I tackled another fat man. My wicket got stuck in his trishul's blades. Our conjoined weapons hurled in the air as we tried to extract them apart. He kicked me in my right knee and I lost my balance. He came forward and pinned me to the wall.
The third man hit Ish on the neck with the blunt end of the trishul. Ish fell forward. The man took Ish captive and pushed him against the wall.
Omi had crushed the toes of the fourth man with the bat. The man winced as he fell on the floor. Omi kicked his stomach but the fifth man punched hard on Omi's back. The man grabbed Omi from behind.
'Buffalo, you can't get free now,' the man said.
'Tch, tch. Stupid bastards. Like playing with fire eh?' Mama said as he sat on the branch manager's table. The three of us were pinned to the wall. The three remaining able men had blocked our bodies with their trishuls.
Mama sat on the branch manager's table and looked at us.
'I want blood. Give me the boy, or it will be yours,' Mama said. He took out his hip flask and had a big sip of whisky.
'There is no boy here,' Ish said, 'as you can see.'
'You are not to be trusted, as I have seen,' Mama said. He threw the empty flask at Ish. It hit him in the chest.
Two injured men lay on the floor. Mama kicked them.
'Go search,' Mama said.
The men hobbled and left the room.
'Nobody here,' they screamed as they traversed the various rooms of the bank.
Their voice had pain. Something told me they'd had enough.
Mama went close to Ish. He pulled Ish's hair hard. 'Tell me you bastard,' Mama said. 'He is not here,' Ish said.
'I will...,' Mama said as a phone ring interrupted him.
The phone didn't belong to me or Omi. The ring didn't come from Mama and his men either.
Mama followed the sound. The sound came from the manager's table. Mama went to the wall behind the manager's table. It had the vault. The sound came from within the vault.
'Open this,' Mama said as he pointed to the wheel shaped lock of the vault.
We kept quiet. Ish's phone rang again. I guessed Vidya had called to explain things to her brother.
'I said open this,' Mama said.
'This is the bank's vault. We don't have the keys,' I said. I wanted to do my part to help Ish. I wanted to do anything to make me less of a creep.
'Oh yes. The smart boy has spoken. No keys,' Mama said.
My head turned to Ish. Ish looked away from me.
Mama grabbed my chin and turned my face to him.
'So we are idiots isn't it? You don't have the keys, but how did the fucking phone end up inside? Search them.'
Mama's minions began the most violent search possible. The man searching me ripped open my shirt pocket. He slapped me once and asked me to turn around.
His nails poked me as he frisked me from top to bottom. I told him I didn't have the keys more than ten times, but he wouldn't listen. He searched my pant pockets and grabbed my groin twice to check. Whenever I tried to squirm, he jabbed me with his fist.
The other men did the same to Omi and Ish. The man searching him ripped off Ish's shirt. He took a trishul and poked him in his rib cage.
'This bastard doesn't have it,' my man said and gave up his grip. He pinned me to the wall again.
'This one neither,' the man with Omi said.
'This one needs to be tamed,' the man with Ish said as he tried to take off Ish's pants. Ish kicked hard in the man's shins. I noticed the blood on Ish's chest.
'Should I help,' Mama said from the branch manager's desk.
'Don't worry I'll tackle him,' the man said even as Ish bit his arm.
Mama came to Ish. He jabbed the blunt end of the trishul again at his chest wound.
Ish screamed in pain and fell. The man searching Ish slapped him a few times.
Ish clenched his teeth and continued to kick. Mama reached into Ish's pockets.
He felt something. Ish had worn practice shorts underneath his pants. Mama took his hands out of the pants and slid it again into Ish's shorts. He pulled out a bangle sized keyring. It had two six inch long keys.
Ish lay on the floor taking heavy breaths from his mouth. His eyes looked defiant even as his body refused to cooperate.
Mama twirled the key ring in his hand.
'Never looted a bank before,' Mama said, 'and what a prize today. Father and son, I'll root out the clan.'
Mama took a minute to figure out the vault keys.
'Don't Mama, he is a child. For my sake,' Omi said.
Mama paused and turned to look at us.
'My Dhiraj was also a child,' Mama said and went to the vault.
Ish sat on the floor. The man guarding him suffocated Ish with the trishul rod around his neck.
'Don't touch him. He is national treasure,' Ish growled. The man suffocated him further.
'I'll pay you, whatever you want,' I said.
'Businessman, go sell your mother,' Mama said to me as he turned the wheel of the vault.
'There is the bastard,' Mama said.
Mama yanked out Ali from the vault. His thin body in the white kurta pajama shivered intensely. His smudged face told me he had been crying inside. Mama grabbed Ali by the neck and raised him high in the air.
'Ish bhaiya,' Ali said as his legs dangled.
'The more innocent you look now, the bigger devil you will be in ten years,'
Mama said and brought Ali down. He released his grip on Ali's neck.
'Stop it Mama,' Omi said as Mama lifted his trishul.
'You won't understand,' Mama said and folded his hands to pray.
'Run Ali, run,' Ish screamed.
Ali tried to run out of the room. Mama opened his eyes. He ran after Ali and jabbed the trishul into Ali's ankle.
Ali screamed in pain and fell down.
Mama kneeled down on the floor next to Ali.
'Don't you try and escape son of a bitch. I can kill you in one clean shot. If you try to be clever I will cut each finger of yours one at a time. Understand?' Mama roared. His eyes were red, the white barely visible.
Mama closed his eyes again and mumbled silent chants. He took his folded hands to his forehead and heart and tapped it thrice. He opened his eyes and lifted the trishul. Ali stood up and tried to limp away.
Mama lifted the trishul high to strike.
'Mama no,' Omi screamed in his loudest voice. Omi pushed the man blocking him. He ran between Mama and Ali. Mama screamed a chant and struck.
'Stop Mama,' Omi said.
Even if Mama wanted to stop, he couldn't. The strike already had momentum.
The trishul entered Omi's stomach with a dull thud.
'Oh ... oh,' Omi said as he absorbed what happened first and felt the pain later.
Within seconds, a pool of blood covered the floor. Mama and his men looked at each other, trying to make sense of what had occurred.
'Mama, don't do it,' Omi said, still unaware that the trishul blades had penetrated five inches inside him.
'Omi, my son,' Mama said.
Omi writhed in pain as Mama yanked the trishul out.
I had never seen so much blood. I wanted to puke. My mind went numb. The man who pinned Omi earlier now held Ali tight and came close to Mama. Mama had Omi in his lap.
'Look you animal, what did you do,' Ish screamed. Ish had seen the scene from behind. He never saw the trishul inside him. Only I had seen, and for years later that image would continue to haunt me.
'Call an ambulance you dogs,' Ish screamed. Ish's captor held him super-tight.
Ali put his free hand on Omi's chest. It moved up and down in an asymmetrical manner.
Omi held Ali's hand and looked at me. His eyes looked weak. Tears ran across my cheeks. I had no energy to fight the man holding me. I had no energy left to do anything.
'Leave us you bastards,' I cried like a baby.
'You'll be fine my son, I didn't mean to,' Mama said as he brushed Omi's hair.
'He is a good boy Mama, he didn't kill your son. All Muslims are not bad,' Omi said, his voice breaking as he gulped for breath.
'Love you friend,' Omi said as he looked at me, a line that could be termed cheesy if it wasn't his last. His eyes closed.
'Omi, my son, my son,' Mama tried to shake him back to life.
'What? What happened?' Ish said. He had only witnessed the drama from behind.
Mama put his head on Omi's chest. Ish started kicking and shoving the man holding him. The man jabbed Ish with his elbow. Ish gripped his trishul rod and pushed back hard until he could slip out. He gave the man a kick in his groin.
The man fell down as Ish kicked him again thrice in the same place. Ish pounded his head with his foot until the man became unconscious. Ish ran to Omi.
Mama left Omi's body on the ground and stood up. Ish went over and touched Omi's face. He had never touched a dead body before, let alone his friend's. I saw Ish cry for the first time. He sniffed back hard but the tears wouldn't stop.
'See what you made me do you bastard,' Mama said, 'made me kill another son. But I am not weak. I haven't cried yet, look.'
Ish ignored Mama. He went through the same numbness I did a few moments ago. He touched Omi's body again and again.
'Hindus are not weak, am I weak?' Mama said as he turned to his men. The men looked nervous, as things had not gone as planned. The man who held Ali's arm looked at Mama, looking for guidance for the next step.
'Hold him back, next to this mother pimping businessman,' Mama said.
The man brought Ali next to me and held him back with a trishul.
Ish's captor had recovered from the groin attack. He woke up and ran to Ish from behind. He struck the blunt end of the trishul on Ish's head.
'Ah!' Ish said in pain as he fell down, semi-conscious. The man dragged Ish back to the wall. Ish faced Ali and me.
'No more chances,' Mama said as he came in front of Ali. Mama asked Ali's captor to release him. I looked at Ish, around fifteen feet away. His captor looked extra-alert. Ish looked at me. His eyes tried to tell me something.
What? I asked myself, What is he