A  Damsel in Distress 

- P.Krishnamoorthy

“The face that launched thousand ships” –  Helen of Troy, Greece the epitome  of beauty often incarnated in these lines by British playwright Christopher Marlowe. My parents named me as Harini. I was exceptionally  a beautiful girl and my college crowd named me as “Helen".   Besides my beauty, I was equally the topper both in college academics and athletic fields. With prudent management of  my time, I was also successful in other activities like inter-college debates, oratorical and cultural programs. I had even calls for modelling from various corporates but I had to deny such offers due to my parents ‘no’ to commercial publicity.  In short I was the ‘dream girl’ for many in the college.

Beauty had never been an exclusive asset for  human kind. In everyday life we witness beauty in all nature’s creations, like birds flying together in a pattern, the flow of  roaring cascades, fresh flowers in different shapes and colors, celestial formations in the sky etc. In these it had manifested in different dimensions; it could even be called as omnipresent. They generate the feeling of responsiveness - happiness and joy, with their various displays strictly within us and not reciprocal. The one universal reaction generated from adolescent feminine/masculine group towards beauty had been in the form of  instinctive and reciprocal response towards life partnership.  Since my beauty made others envy, I was very proud and obsessed with it.  This also made me dismissive with others and even looked down people  with a sense of haughtiness. Would this beauty remain with me forever by any miracle stopping  the wheel of time, or it would subject to natural process of change with passing of years?  Though I was a ‘dream girl’ to  many of my college mates, I had a special interest in only one – Arun in my class. He impressed me with his gentle manners, good  behavior, non-involvement in any college controversies and gossips. He was also smart and handsome. But he moved with me strictly as a friend and colleague only in spite of my various advances to make him my ‘hero’. His parents were abroad and he was staying in the college  hostel.

Suresh, another college mate, with a group of his students  always ragged the girls. He was from a very rich family who were well connected in political circles. He was also well built and handsome but resolute to achieve whatever he wanted at any cost. With the inducement of  his  group members to try his teasing skill with me, one morning  he stopped me and tried to hug me forcibly at the college entrance. Instantly I slapped him with my shoe  before his friends.  Others witnessing this,  intervened and sent us all to classes except Suresh who left the college for the day. For  couple of days Suresh was not to be seen in the college. I was surprised at his silence and not taking any retaliatory action towards me.

On the third day, as usual when I came to the college, the same group was waiting for me. Suddenly Suresh came out from  the group and threw a bottle of acid on me.  It hit me on the right side of my face. I felt as if a fire ball landed on me;  unable to bear the burning sensation I screamed with the pain. Others gathered there took me to the hospital for immediate treatment. I was in the hospital for a month with my whole face wrapped up in heavy bandage. Among the many visitors called on me, I had the consolation of a particular visit by my hero Arun who  enquired with concern and wished me ‘very speedy recovery’. 

After a month I came home with the bandages removed. On reaching home, I immediately rushed to see my face in the mirror. When I looked my face I became hysterical at what I saw. There was a big dark scar and my beautiful face was completely ruined. When I even hate to see my awful face, how I would face others with such a dreadful ugly appearance? With a heavy flower vase I hit the mirror and broke  into pieces. The mirror was shattered to pieces that  got scattered all over the place. I looked at them and felt as if every broken glass piece was still reflecting my  horrible face. I wish the reflections in the mirror were distorted. With this, my future life also had broken to pieces as the glass bits. I also got an answer that my beauty was not eternal in reply to my earlier query. I had to discontinue my college studies. In short I became a depressed wreck?

Though my father was in a high position, he could not take any police action on Suresh due to his father’s political influence as  a Minister. He also arranged to send him abroad for his higher studies. With my facial wound getting gradually healed, the black scar was well visible. I had to cover my face with a veil  to hide the scar. I regretted myself for my earlier arrogant pride on being beautiful that made me to look down others.   The eyes that glorified my beauty earlier,  had now become inimical and  expressed critical comments on my problem. On account of this I suffered with a kind of inferiority complex and preferred loneliness.

With  years passed,   I  pursued my academic studies through postal tuition and got a degree. This inspiration  was instrumental to get a job in a multi-national  company   with my father’s help. I considered this as a turning point in my life as it provided an opportunity to come out of my depression. The very sight of my face in the mirror  often pushed me to isolation from others.  At such times reading books on divinity and classics came to my rescue and a solace to me.

Gradually I was able to reconcile myself to reality. When I wanted to be happy with my reconciliation, I never thought I would  be put to a test once again.  Destiny’s directive was different with me. One of our relatives visited us one day  for my marriage alliance. Their terms of demand were shocking to me. To offset the big scar on my face, they demanded dowry in gold and heavy cash payment for their divorced son. This was a big blow to me and forced to me to a decision of remaining a single for the rest of my life. My parents were unhappy on my decision. 

My all-time loneliness from others was keenly observed by my boss who was eager to know the reason for my isolation. He took me home and enquired all the details about me.  He found  my facial scar was the main reason for my complex situation and seclusion  He immediately suggested one Dr. Vikram, a well-known specialist in plastic surgery in U.S, was visiting India shortly . If I agree he could arrange a sitting with him to check whether my scar could be removed through plastic surgery. On my hesitation for a positive response over the total cost of the project, he came out with an offer that the company would bear all the expenses. I instantly agreed for his proposal as this  would make my face scar-free and relieve my parents from the  worry of  my future life.

After Dr Vikram’s arrival, as planned I had a sitting with that doctor. After all preliminary tests, he confirmed that the scar could be removed through plastic surgical procedure.  On the scheduled day, after anesthesia, I became totally unconscious for the surgery. I was not aware of what happened to me. After six hours of surgery when I was in the recovery room, to my surprise, I saw  Suresh   standing before me in doctor’s outfit.  In few moments Dr Vikram also entered my  room. After  introduction, he said that Dr Suresh was working with me in the U.S hospital  and he only performed your successful surgery under my supervision . He assured me I would get my original clear face in few weeks and  Suresh would take best care of you.  Before leaving the room, he winked at us and wished Suresh the best of luck.

The fact that Suresh was going to perform the surgery, was purposely concealed by  Dr Vikram as he knew that I may not agree  for such an arrangement in view of our past college incident. Suresh was feeling ashamed of what he  did in the college and tendered his sincere apologies for that incident. I could see tears in his eyes as he uttered the apology. This impelled me  to reciprocally offer my apologies for my emotional reaction of slapping him with my shoe before his friends.

During our conversation I  assumed an impression that Suresh was still having an interest in me and his talk was oriented towards revival of his past interest. Though my interest of such a relationship was only with Arun , Suresh’s talk and his unbiased performance of my successful surgery that restored my beautiful face, and absence of any information about Arun,  now made me to think favorably towards  Suresh. I could also see Suresh now as a gentle person unlike the college days’ arrogant individual. I have made up my mind to accept his indirect proposal and promptly conveyed my decision to my parents to relieve them from my earlier decision of remaining single for the rest of my life.

On the last day of my discharge among other visitors, Suresh was held up en route and  came last  to see me with a three-year old girl holding his hand.  When I came to know that she was his daughter  I was shocked as my imaginative assumptions of life partnership  with him  were only the proverbial ‘castles in the air’. With my personal disappointment, I was discharged from the hospital.

As expected I was back to normal health and when I saw my clear face in the mirror I was jubilant with joy. Dr Vikram invited me and my parents for a dinner at his home. After the dinner,  we were taken to various rooms of his house. In one of the rooms I saw many pictures in ornamented silver frames. Suddenly my eyes got fixed strikingly on one of them... At that sight I could feel thousand butterflies flying within me. I was excited even more than when I got back my clear face. The person in the picture was my hero Arun. Observing  my interested involvement  in the picture, Dr Vikram said his name was  Arun, my only son in U.S and visiting India next week. We were in the process of getting some good alliance for his life partnership.  He made a surprise move by showing the picture to my parents and expressed his desire to get me as his daughter-in-law. I could not believe my ears. For a moment I was on the top of the world! I realized how destiny played its cards by offering a preferred choice over a hospital disappointment.  They looked at me for a response and instantly I nodded my consent. Finally I got a gift through Arun as my life partner after a long wait and struggle. 

 

A  CONFLICT  OF  CULTURES

- P.Krishnamoorthy

The ‘war of words’ came to an end with a tentative break arrived at between Suresh and his wife, Sheila over a sentimental issue of a relationship. This abrupt interruption and provisional truce were mainly due to the entry of Suresh’s father, Aditya Sarma after his evening walk. The couple had determined not to disclose to him about the issue they had discussed.  The bone of contention between the couple protracted for quite some time without an end; but undoubtedly  it was taking a toll in their married life. While Suresh, as a  husband was strongly inclined to keep his wedding intact without break, on the contrary Sheila was bent upon demanding her ‘pound of flesh’ of divorce or an agreement on an alternative.

 Having born in Germany when her father served in Indian Embassy and later moved to India after his retirement, Sheila had her Masters in Banking and joined a multi-national bank.  Sheila and Suresh were working together in the same bank that paved the way to become a  married couple.    Pradeep, now a teen-aged boy was their lone son. Suresh, the only son of  Aditya Sarma,  brilliant in his academics and athletics, was brought up by his father since he was three years old when Sarma became a  widower. A retired government official, he was well known as a strict disciplinarian and a devoted traditionalist.  Suresh’s upbringing by him from childhood with traditional and cultural values infused positive attitudes in him.   Suresh also complied with his father’s various traditional dictums. Sarma felt very happy in Suresh following his footsteps till his marriage with Sheila.

As a customary tradition,  on the first day of Sheila’s entry into Suresh’s abode as the bride, , Sarma wanted her to step into the house with her right foot first. Sheila negatived to follow the customary tradition as she belonged to the anti-traditionalists. Further, she questioned whether the westerners follow any such tradition, and still, they were all well off. This incident was a great shock to Sarma. Suresh was helpless and to avoid embarrassment,  allowed Sheila to enter as she wished.  Sarma felt this as a personal initial defeat to him before the guests.. Strange sadness shot up in him as he was connecting the dots.  He was worried about his future status in the family during interactions with Sheila.   He was earlier hoping to convert Sheila gradually to his traditionalism doctrine.  When Suresh questioned her later on her blunt reply to his father before many witnesses, an instant reply came from her as ‘courage of conviction’. She also elucidated its meaning “to act or behave in accordance with one’s beliefs or ideologies”. This incident clearly further manifested Sheila’s staunch anti-traditionalist idealogy. Both the son and father were disappointed by her behavior. But they consoled their regrets under the pretext that she was born and grew up in foreign soil.

Time and again, Sarma and Suresh passionately argued the benefits of following traditions,  as they evolved various disciplinary codes for daily life. They also reiterated that those codes would ensure an individual not to be distracted over evil deeds and things. Such codes also helped to regulate one’s personal health besides developing positive attitudes. Such traditional practices were evolved over a protracted period by the elders, and passed on to successive generations,  Even with all these substantive instances of traditionalisms, Sheila was refusing to get convinced.

On the contrary, Sheila’s counter arguments were based on comparing with the western world,  where no one believes in traditional practices in daily life. Still, they were all successful in life. According to her, these traditional practices had their origin with the various religions over an extended period with varied changes to adapt themselves for each generation. Superstition was the mainstay of traditional customs.’ Superstition was always the antithesis of wisdom’. The religious codes were laid down in scriptures just for their sustained survival.  With the inroads of globalization, the planet earth was shrunk and brought into the living rooms. The living standards were also influenced by western and other concepts. With the development of various technologies including extensive information technology, people were questioning the compatibility of traditional practices with practical living. Still Sheila’s stubbornness and determination in believing that ideology remained strong in spite of various counter-arguments put forth to convince her.

Sarma gave up his efforts to convert Sheila from anti-traditionalism due to the backdrop of her birth and brought up in a foreign country. Instead, he was concentrating his efforts on Pradeep as he was born in Indian culture. In his eagerness, he was more pressuring him in his attempts. His efforts later proved counterproductive due to Sheila’s influence on Pradeep very strongly.  As a teenager, he liked the western and modern ways of living.  With access to all video games and ultra-modern technological playing gadgets, he became an addict to them, thereby totally neglecting his studies. He was only an average student in his class. His pastime was always in street gangs and teasing the girls. He always made fun of the traditional practices at home and branded them as a waste of time and money.  These resulted in frequent heated arguments between father and son. On such occasions. Suresh had the support of his father to suppress Pradeep’s viewpoints. He was recollecting the words “We are an unusual last generation who had to listen to the parents  and also the first to listen to the children” 

It was a rainy night.  Pradeep came home past midnight. He was staggering due to excessive drinking at a party. Responding to the doorbell, Sheila opened the door. She was shocked to see him like that. However motherly affection escorted him to his bed. Suresh and Sarma were also witnessing the scene from their beds. The next morning Suresh started the inquiry process of the previous night’s episode.  Sheila supported Pradeep saying he attended only a birthday party of his close friend where the fruit juices and other beverages were served.  Some mischief monger in the gathering secretly mixed alcohol in Pradeep’s drink and that was how he became a victim of circumstances. Even when the investigation was going on, Pradeep looked dazed and depressed. Suresh and Sarma were not accepting this ridiculous story. They confirmed that Pradeep deliberately consumed alcohol. They were only hoping that he was not in any drug-addict group!

The continued exchange of arguments between the two sides created more animosity among the family members. Sheila felt Sarma’s interference in Pradeep’s activities, impacted Pradeep severely to depression.  This led him to decide to live separately in a hostel.  Sheila was not willing to let Pradeep go alone; instead, she suggested she would also move with Pradeep.  This may eventually end up in a division and consequent divorce between Sheila and Suresh. Sheila offered another alternative of her father-in-law moving to a senior citizen home,  thereby save their marriage. She was insisting on her ‘pound of flesh’ in the terms of the deal.  Finally, with all reluctance Suresh had to accept the deal to save his marriage and also avoid parting of his wife and son  The entire conversation was overheard by Sarma.

Having failed to transform Sheila and Pradeep to traditional ideologies, Sarma thought a fusion of two ideologies, would solve the present deadlock. This would bring a balance by which their confrontations in daily life could be avoided. But to accomplish this, Sarma realized, to arrive at a compromise, either side should be convinced of favorable elements in traditional values as also the instant access to information and immediate transferring advantage in modern concepts. But there was a hurdle in trying a fusion. The traditional values and practices were only the legacies passed on to successive generations. The impact of such legacies was only felt only in following them sincerely. There was no means of monitoring them for results. Again these traditional values were mostly divine based. During those generations, they were not confronted or questioned but accepted by society on a divine basis. With the inroads of technological developments, the utility of modern concepts was monitored and analyzed for practical living. Divinity and technology were treated by society as separate entities.Sarma regretted his failed efforts to transform Pradeep with the ideological complexities. Aa the optimism nose-dived, the show-down finally appeared as an ultimatum.  Before Suresh conveyed the delicate decision to his father,  he himself offered to move to a senior citizen home thereby the family could be spared from a split. Only Suresh had to make a compromise in life.

Admission process and other formalities were completed with ‘New Hope Living” a senior-citizen home combined with an orphanage.  Sarma, after bidding farewell to Sheila and Pradeep, looked up the house in tears where he lived for more than forty years. They arrived at  ‘New Hope Living’. Suresh was dead against these elder homes, for, according to him, they only encourage the younger generation to ensure their elders to live there, so that they could be free from taking care of them.  Both Suresh and Sarma were in tears before separation. Their eyes spoke their sentiments in silent language, recollecting the erstwhile years. Then Sarma was taken into the complex by the manager.  

As Suresh was exiting the premises, he felt a hand patted on his shoulder from his back. He turned and saw an old man, an inmate of the Home. He introduced himself as an old-time pal of his father. His words “finally you admitted your father in the same complex, from where you hailed from”. On hearing this, he felt a tremor under his feet and a heavy blow on his head. The whole world was falling apart before him.  The stranger further clarified his statement - “Sarma adopted you from this orphanage when you were three years old. But he did not like you to know about this so far”. Suresh had the shock of his life more than the sentimental separation.

 

A SINISTER MOVE..............

P. Krishnamoorthy

It was a strange and scary sensation to wait indefinitely for a phone call at that late night for Deepak Chopra. Outside it was just drizzling, a preamble before a heavy downpour to make that night unusually more sensational. In his anxiety he was looking at his cell phone. After the death of Deepak’s wife Sruthi Devi in cancer, his sincere cook Pande was taking care of him. Since it was getting late, Pande came to his master to inform him of his leaving for the day with a ‘Goodnight”. At that time the expected call came through. With a daunted feeling, Deepak responded to the call. It was an unnumbered call with only a very brief message.  Deepak hurriedly scribbled the details of the message on a piece of paper. Pande witnessed Deepak responding to the call and when he finished, he informed him of his leaving. After he left, to be wary not to leave any trace of the call, Deepak destroyed the cell phone through the toilet flush. Following this, Deepak, in a sulky mood, walked into one of the five bedrooms of his villa. He was tormented with a strange feeling and   was forced to give permanent relief from his depression.  Mentally he had gone through turmoil wherein he was unable to find a solution to the clash of his controversial interests. He opened one of the safe cabinets, picked up a loaded pistol and pointed it towards his right side of the temple and triggered it. Deepak’s end came to relieve him from his depression. When Pande came back to work the next morning, a lot of speculation had gone wildfire in the media. Shocked with the horror scene of his master’s end, he called up Deepak’s only son, Aravind Chopra abroad, and informed him of his father’s demise. Aravind got stunned and shaken on hearing the news. He informed Pande of his arrival on the next flight. 

Deepak Chopra was a successful businessman and an uncrowned king in transportation industry for nearly two decades. He developed very good connections with the Defense Ministry of the government in moving their various military equipment from place to place, that paved the way to become their registered contractor. He was in their good books and enjoyed a better reputation with the various bosses in the ministry.  Since he had a very good fleet of vehicles, his complying with their requirements even at short notice was promptly handled by him.   He was also fortunate to have very sincere and hard-working staff to handle such assignments.

In the previous week, the defense ministry wanted him to handle an important incoming classified cargo from an unknown source. While he was getting the shipment details arriving in a container, he was curious to know the contents of the container for expeditious clearance. With his contacts, Deepak was able to know the contents of defense equipment like machine guns, missiles etc. intended for military establishment in Pune.  From Mumbai port, the container had to be transported by road to Pune. By the time the classified cargo was cleared by customs, it was very late evening. The Mumbai-Pune highway was closed for traffic in the late hours for construction work involving girders for a bridge. As the express highway had restrictions in allowing vehicles with trailers, the alternate routes for heavy vehicles were experiencing traffic jam. Hence the experienced driver of the container vehicle used very narrow side routes. While doing so, it was already dark. Suddenly a group of armed masked men, who were hiding in the bushes, came out and hijacked it with the container.  They appeared to be from a different country as they conversed in different lingo.

In the morning headlines news, the main topic was the hijacking of a defense classified cargo container by a hostile country. Immediately the concerned transporter, Deepak Chopra, was called in for interrogation by the defense department. They accused him of being responsible for the lapse as the contents of the container were sensitive cargo and the hostile country could get all the details of it only through the transport company. The transporter had also helped the hijackers to do a clandestine job with the details of the route of the container etc.   Deepak instantly refused the charges and prepared to face legal proceedings. Since the investigation pertained to two countries, this involved Interpol intervention.  Interpol, after a thorough investigation, found out a ransom amount of one million was paid to somebody through another country for the classified cargo.

Aravind Chopra, after his arrival, was in sheer confusion to take over the company as it entails resigning his present overseas job.   He had a formal chat with all the staff and found the General Manager Abhisekh was the suitable person to continue the business since he was bent upon retaining his overseas job. Arvind found in him a sincere and efficient person among others. He offered him an attractive deal that would make him accept his offer. The offer was that he would make him his partner and the profits to be shared equally by both. In this way Aravind found a way to continue the company as before without his personal presence and to go back to his foreign employment. Individual ownership of the company was converted to a partnership firm.  Abhisekh was thrilled at the offer. Arvind was happy with this deal as it would prevent his presence.  However, the cream of revenue was lost due to cancellation of the defense contract because of the mishandling of the last shipment.  Arvind had a farewell party to all staff and announced Abhisek as the new boss. He also announced his date of departure from India.

Interpol was serious about the suicide of Deepak Chopra as it had unanswered questions.  They want the police department to vigorously search for the cell phone in Deepak’s residence. In fact, Arvind himself was in ambiguity about the cell phone. Pande was the first to see Deepak’s demise and he had no idea about his cell phone. But he was sure, on the previous night, Deepak was having it for an incoming call when he left his place. The mystery of missing cell phone compounded the assertion that this piece of evidence would solve the puzzle.

 On the day of his departure when he was ready to leave in an hour’s time, to his surprise a team of police officers came to his house. Arvind told them of his departure that evening. As a last attempt they would go through a search operation for the cell phone which would complete well before his departure. Arvind was so sure of their inability in their endeavor.  The officers began their quest.  As all other officers failed, one officer was attracted with one book kept with other books in the bookcase. Casually he took it out and while he was glancing through the pages at random, found a piece of paper with scribbling on it. When he saw the contents in the paper, he realized something important and immediately showed it to the senior officer.  The scribbling written was “one million dirhams to account of Arvind Chopra”. This was the amount earlier found by Interpol as the ransom payment without the recipient’s name. With this they got the puzzle solved. This was the reason Arvind wanted to return to his job in Dubai.   With this evidence Arvind Chopra was arrested as an accessory to the crime and the case was closed.

Though Deepak Chopra was a beneficiary of the ransom, it was strangely at the behest of his inner conscience, he chose to commit suicide instead of living with it, since it was against his conscience in accepting the ransom. He had extensive torture by his inner conscience with the deal.  With his personal interest in getting the ransom money, it was obvious he sold his own motherland to a hostile country. The conscience insisted him to take a stroll down his memory lane of his past life.  Many years ago, he started his life only as a truck driver. He begged for loads to be transported from businesspeople to make a living. After years of struggle, opportunities knocked on his doors and he promptly availed them. With his hard and sincere work, the same motherland gave him a big fleet of trucks and made him a millionaire. Then followed his reputation as a philanthropist in society. With his affluence he got married to Sruthi Devi from a leading jeweler family. He later became a father to Arvind, his only son. He enjoyed utmost clientele confidence in his business. With all these positive developments in his life, suddenly greed took over him for unjust gain with a blurred vision on his erstwhile reputed and settled life. He accepted the offer of ransom, betraying his own motherland and sold the military consignment to a hostile country. He thought his present affluence and influence would circumvent any law.  With the deal he had not only sold his soul but also hypothecated his son’s as well. When he got the call regarding the ransom amount paid, his conscience warned him of the consequences.  He went through mental tormenting. Finally, his conscience won the battle through a self-inflicted gunshot to his own life. While the ransom was paid in another country in his son’s account to escape the clutches of law, indirectly the conscience made him scribble the details of payment on a piece of paper that finally was the witness for his son’s arrest as an accessory.  A sinister move was responsible for the collapse of a well-settled family.

 

 THE FATEFUL FINISH

   P. Krishnamoorthy

The setting sun on the crimson horizon was a brilliant spectacle on that day. Though Arvind Aditya enjoyed the scene from his recliner on the balcony, his face looked very disturbed and distressed with something very serious. Aditya was to complete his diamond jubilee birth anniversary next month and he was to retire from the Chairman position in All Technologies Corporation. His latest medical report revealed his multiple complications leading to short-term survival.  He had twin sons, Pradeep, and Praveen.

In day-to-day company affairs, he was ably assisted by his eldest son, Pradeep, a Harvard graduate in Business Administration. He had the acumen to handle even serious issues. He was married to a postgraduate girl Kalpana, his college mate from a well-to-do family. Aditya’s second son, Praveen, also a graduate from a university, was a troublesome offspring in the family. Aditya was more concerned about him since he was a chronic alcoholic. He believed in a care-free and frivolous life. Though he was listed as a director of the company, he never offered any helping hand either to Pradeep or his father in company affairs.   In his failing health, Aditya seldom reprimanded Praveen for his irresponsible attitude as he found he was beyond redemption.

Aditya’s wife, Saradha who joined him fifty years ago, was equally concerned about Praveen who always needed money for his extroverted luxurious life. Time and again she used to advise him but invariably it was of no avail. Considering his alcoholic addiction, families were reluctant for marriage alliance to him. As a mother, she was very unhappy over this.  Her regret was there was no sign of Praveen realizing this.  In his high school days, Praveen got into a circle of friends who indulged in heavy drinking and merry life.    

On the day of Aditya’s diamond jubilee birth anniversary, all the kith and kin and close friends were visiting him very early in the morning to wish him birthday wishes. Pradeep was busy with the arrangements and Praveen was still sleeping after a late-night party. Even after eight in the morning Aditya was sleeping. Saradha wanted to wake him, but she found him unresponsive for her efforts.  Pradeep came to the room and found his father totally motionless.  The doctor found that he had a heart attack in his sleep and died. 

The jubilant celebration turned into a tragic and grieving scenario with all assembled to condole Aditya’s end. His philanthropic and other charitable deeds were the main subject in the conversations among the visitors. Pradeep and Sharada were shaken by this calamity.  Moreover, Saradha was recollecting here indelible memories with him for the past fifty years. After the funeral ceremonies were completed, the shareholders met in a meeting and unanimously elected Pradeep as the Chairman of the company.    

Praveen was, as usual, lethargic but worried as he had to ask money for his activities from Pradeep who would resist his demands. Though twins by birth, external environment and friends group made him the opposite of Pradeep. Instead, he sought the help of his mother who was in a quandary to approach Pradeep for such requests. There was one serious instance where Praveen got involved in a big nefarious money scandal where he was liable to pay more than a million. He was entangled unaware through a signed document when he was at a party with friends. With mediation by some of his close friends, the ransom was a little reduced and he was hopeful of settling this with his father’s help. He thought his father would help him in his predicament, as otherwise he would end up in jail. With the demise of his father, he had to approach Pradeep, knowingly he would refuse his request. If Pradeep refused, Praveen made up his mind to show down with him and insist on his share of company’s assets. 

The initial reaction of Pradeep to Praveen’s demand to pay the ransom was, as anticipated, negative.  The implication of jail sentence would attract if Praveen would fail to pay, made Pradeep to enquire the details of the transaction. When he found Praveen was in ‘a tight corner, he had agreed to settle this ransom out of family funds. Saradha was happy at Pradeep bailing out Praveen from his predicament. Though initially Pradeep did feel remorse towards him, finally helped him evince mutual siblings’ attachment.  With this she hoped for their closeness forever. After all it was a mother’s wishful thinking!   

Praveen carried on with his usual lifestyle and at one stage he encountered several situations wherein he needed money. With his mother’s help, he was able to sort out some encounters without the knowledge of Pradeep. At one stage he realized that he would not be able to sustain long. On his friends’ advice, he would like to get access to the company’s funds.  The system involved was so complicated to have access was not that easy. It rattled Praveen so much he felt a chill going down his spine every time.  The process every time was mind-boggling for him. The only way out was he should take the company from Pradeep for easy access for funds. The only way to make it happen was he should eliminate his brother permanently. He knew such an idea directly executed would involve him in criminal proceedings. Such cruel and criminal thought process was the brain wave of his friends. He was contemplating indirect methods so that at no stage his name would be dragged in. 

Pradeep was driving early in the morning to Anand, very near to Ahmedabad, to participate in a technological seminar.  On an inter-section, he saw a mid-size truck colliding with his car, causing heavy damage to the front side.  The truck driver fled the scene fearing police action.  Nearby villagers came to rescue Pradeep and extricated him from the toppled vehicle.  It was a miraculous escape for Pradeep who survived with external injuries. He was taken in an ambulance to a nearby hospital. They found him with a very severe blood clot in the brain area and dissolved it after a long surgery. The family was informed, and they rushed to the hospital.  Saradha fainted at home when she heard the news.  Praveen also visited him and with tears he offered prayers for a speedy recovery. All through the time Praveen was in the hospital monitoring Pradeep’s condition. The truck driver was absconding and could not be traced. Praveen ensured that the police purposely delayed the investigation.  When Pradeep was brought home, Saradha had a big sigh of relief on seeing her son again. 

Praveen’s various attempts to have direct access to the company’s financial resources proved futile. In the meantime, the speculation that Praveen was instrumental in arranging the truck accident, was becoming widespread.  As Pradeep was still at home as per doctor’s advice, Praveen’s various other attempts were not successful for Pradeep’s end. The last resort to eliminate him was to make him die in sleep. This would convincingly authenticate the cause of death as heart attack due to brain surgery. The process to make him die in sleep was to suffocate him without evidence.  Also, this would not doubt on Praveen’s involvement as death would be occurring at home. 

Praveen had allowed a couple of days before his intended execution on Pradeep. It was a night he cautiously fixed for implementing his plan when all household were sleep. He was awake till midnight. He switched his cell phone to silent mode to avoid any calls. Very stealthily he walked into Pradeep’s bedroom. After a hiatus and wait he had ensured that Pradeep was in sound sleep. With a cautious slow step, he reached Pradeep’s bed. As Pradeep was rightly sleeping on the back, Praveen picked up a pillow from the side and covered his mouth and nose with it to be silent and prevent breathing. After a few minutes, he found him dead, removed the pillow and hurriedly left the place.  

The next morning when Saradha came into Pradeep’s room, it was very late in the morning and found him still sleeping. She tried to wake him up, and he never responded. She became panicky and called Praveen and Kalpana. They, in turn, called the doctor from a nearby clinic, who confirmed that he died of a heart attack. The family experienced another tragedy just within six months of Aditya’s death. Saradha was immersed in grief and brood over Pradeep’s death.  She even recollected his narrow escape from the car accident.  She was more worried over the future of his wife Kalpana. Kalpana was traumatized and shattered with the latter tragedy. The shareholders met and discussed the future of their corporation. Though outwardly Praveen looked sad, inwardly he felt a sense of accomplishment.  

The police finally got hold of the truck driver who confessed that at the instance of Praveen he committed the accident. With the confession the police prepared the charge sheet and arrested Praveen as the culprit.  One more blow for the devastated Saradha. With their attorney’s help Praveen was released on bail.  After several months, the case was dismissed for lack of clear evidence as the truck driver was in a drunken stage. 

When one of the shareholders raised the subject of Pradeep’s death due to heart attack, others were apprehensive of this finding.  They had doubts about the heart attack. He was in normal health on the previous night as per his treating doctor, how could a different doctor diagnose his death due to a heart attack. As a shareholder and a good friend of Pradeep, he was entitled to have clarification on this controversy. Accordingly, investigations were instituted, and the result shown that the last person visited him was Praveen around midnight and the so called ‘heart attack’ after midnight.   Based on suspicion and complaint Praveen was arrested by police and released on bail. 

Saradha, as a mother, had experienced severe anguish with the tragic loss of her son Pradeep and the related grief said to be the toughest to contemplate. She was rewinding on his personal qualities, particularly his innate cognitive capacity to analyze even difficult issues, and remarkably applauded by everybody.   His death at a flourishing stage of prime of life, had driven Saradha into extreme despair.  During bereavement, traumatic experiences with dangerous depression may even end up in adverse health problems. Though she was shaken by successive tragedies, she was still ‘enfolded in her responsibilities and stresses of motherhood’.  In a stroll down her memory lane, she recollected her upbringing of her two sons impartially in their early years. She had all dreams about their growing up together in their life. But at one stage of their adolescence, she was in the dark as to how they choose different and opposite ways in life. The latter was due to the company of friends who were victims of alcoholic influence.  She got annoyed with such external negative influence, over which she had no control.  In the balance scale, though her two sons’ performances were equal to start with, as years go by, Pradeep’s tilted side was always favorable compared to that of Praveen’s. Often her emotional outburst on Praveen’s activities was very frequent; yet she was helpless and took solace in the philosophy “what cannot be cured, has to be endured.” She was reminded of her friend's plight whose only son married a different cultured college mate and foreign national. Even though she was totally against these, she had no other option to give in to changing circumstances. She accepted her new life to live with him. Her love towards him outweighed the other differences. Mother's love for her children would  condone   the differences encountered by them in their adolescent phase. .

After hearing the arguments both by the public prosecutor and defense attorney the Judge started reading the final judgment. 

“There was no direct or indirect circumstantial evidence or eyewitnesses in this case. The involvement of two doctors’ different versions could not be taken as the sole criteria for the cause of death. So, the benefit of doubt was to be……”

Suddenly a lady’s voice was heard from the entrance of the court room, shouting in loud voice “Your Honor, please hold the final part of judgement”.  The judge stopped reading the rest of his verdict and looked at the entrance. All eyes and ears of the others were focused on the lady, who was none but Kalpana, late Pradeep’s wife. She was coming into the courtroom holding a big bag.  She opened the bag before the judge and took out a white pillow along with a report.  The judge directed her to give her statement from the witness box.

Kalpana began her statement from the witness box. After her self-introduction, she said that Pradeep was murdered by his younger brother Praveen at midnight by suffocating him to death with a pillow.   On next morning when she came into Pradeep’s room to wake him up, she found a pillow under his cot. She picked up the pillow and to her surprise, she saw very strong fingerprints on it.  They made her to doubt whether somebody was involved in Pradeep’s death. Suddenly she remembered Praveen as the last person seen at Pradeep’s bedside when she was going to the rest room at midnight.   Possibly the fingerprints analysis may reveal the person, presumably her suspect Praveen, involved in the crime.   Without delay she contacted the Central Forensic Laboratory for an analysis report. With their readiness she visited them with the pillow. As she suspected Praveen, besides the pillow she also took, for comparison, the coffee mug used by Praveen. After various tests and detailed analysis, they confirmed the fingerprints on the pillow and coffee mug clearly match the same person.  They also made a report on their analysis. 

She then gave the pillow and the report to the court security to be given to the judge. The judge, after a study of the reports, reserved his verdict for the afternoon. In the afternoon session, the judge declared that in view of the forensic report, based on the fingerprints analysis, there would be a revised verdict. It was very clear and beyond doubt that Praveen did the killing of his brother Pradeep by suffocating him on that night. Therefore, he sentenced him with the capital punishment of hanging till death.  Saradha was again distressed and devastated as the third tragedy loomed over her with the following Praveen’s death penalty.  

Courtesy: finearts america.com 

 

"A stubborn " horse walks behind you

An impatient horse walks in front of you

But a noble companion walks beside you"

 

Courtesy: wallpaper flare

 

 

              "Be like a bird sitting on a thin limb  that bends beneath her, but still she  sings away, knowing she has wings"

                                                                        

                        ART  BY   P.KRISHNAMOORTHY

 

 

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

- P. Krishnamoorthy

The court room in the City Court, located in Harrison Street, Cook County, Chicago was packed with people who were waiting for the presiding judge to be present.  In a few minutes, Judge Hamilton entered the court hall and acknowledged the courtesies offered by the assembled crowd. They were all eagerly looking forward to the proceedings of the criminal case of Susan Hayward who was alleged to have committed the murder of her husband, John Smith. The Judge, after listening to the opening statements by both the prosecuting and defense attorneys, asked the prosecuting attorney to proceed with his arguments. The prosecution categorically argued that Susan Hayward willfully committed the crime of shooting Smith. With the instances of hatred between Smith and Susan over a period, she decided to put an end to this permanently and thus she got rid of Smith forever. The fact that she got the gun with her at the scene clearly proved her intention to do away with Smith.  In view of other circumstantial evidence, she was guilty as charged and the maximum punishment should be awarded to Susan Hayward. The judge made a note of the points raised by the prosecution. After a brief pause, Judge Hamilton asked the defense attorney to present his arguments.

The defense attorney’s arguments were based on a clear perspective that Smith had very closely approached Susan with a knife to kill.  Susan shot Smith to defend her own life. Smith’s ferocious and violent qualities at that time, undoubtedly established his definite determination to kill Susan.  The evidence included exchange of harsh words between Smith and Susan over their long-standing personal issues, prior to the shooting recorded in the cell phone.  Susan’s substantiation that during their heated words, Smith was targeting her to kill. Holding a sharp knife and with a fierce and aggressive mood, Smith approached very close to stab her.  To save her own life, Susan triggered the gun pointing at Smith.  

The enraged circumstances between them were responsible for Smith’s determination to kill Susan. His words “I will kill you” demonstrated his intended action, and clearly proved that he was in his mind set to kill Susan.   Left with no choice, Susan’s shooting Smith had to be only for self-defense and not with any other intentional ulterior motive.  She had no criminal record whatsoever at any time earlier in her life.  Her legal fight to get rid of Smith through divorce, was in a protracted process, and his harassment of her comprised of violent beating and other forms of torture.  Based on Smith’s past reactions in many earlier instances, it was well evidenced that he was holding his grudge and bitterness for quite long towards her. To sum up, Susan certainly deserved impunity from any punishment of any kind, as she did the shooting for her own self-defense. The judge ordered adjournment and requested the jury to give their verdict. 

After a few hours when, at the reconvened court session, the judge asked the jury whether they had reached any verdict. One of them confirmed with a positive assenting answer and read their verdict.  “The jury unanimously reached a verdict that Susan Hayward was not guilty”. 

It was a strange coincidence that a similar emergency call was also received by the police control room around the same time from a number located in the same neighborhood, next door to Susan’s home. The caller had identified himself as Robert Lucas and informed the police that his wife Catherine was stabbed in the stomach and her pulse rate was sinking. Also, her respiratory system failing rapidly despite his massaging to revive her. But by the time Lucas finished the call with the police, Catherine died.  

The investigating police team had questioned Lucas about the details. Lucas responded that he was away in a nearby grocery store to buy milk and vegetables. By the time he returned home, he found Catherine was stabbed, but was alive and sinking.  Lucas removed the knife from her stomach area and tried to massage her to revive her respiration. With tears amid sobbing, he was narrating the scene to the police and his expressive words had mirrored his emotions. Responding to a query by the police whether anybody visited their home on that day or on prior days, Lucas replied that there was none. However, the police, after extensive investigation arrived at the conclusion that Lucas only murdered Catherine for her insurance money and created a scene as if somebody had stabbed Catherine.  On further probing, they found more circumstantial evidence to support their conclusion. Hence, they remanded Lucas to await trial. 

The prosecuting attorney argued that Lucas had an alibi of a visit to the nearby grocery store and his married life with Catherine was a happy one. Nonetheless, he was in heavy debts due to his frequent race going habit. To clear the debts, he was planning to use the insurance money through his wife’s death. According to autopsy report, the death had occurred at a time before his visit to the grocery store; whereas, according to Lucas, on his return from the grocery store, he saw her heavily bleeding due to stabbing in her stomach area and was alive but in sinking stage. Immediately he tried to massage her to revive her respiration.  It was clear that there was a disparity and contradiction about the time of her death that elucidated a scenario to commit the crime by Lucas and then he visited the store.  Further, the extensive investigations also indicated to support that, as there was no one hostile to them committing that murder for any reason. In view of this, the prosecution confirmed that Lucas was alone responsible for the murder as charged. Therefore, he requested that the maximum punishment be given to Lucas.

The defense attorney argued that the time of death in the autopsy report could only be an approximate time and not precisely the exact time. It was very clear that Lucas had an alibi in the grocery store and on his return, he found Catherine alive with stab injury and sinking stage. Because she was alive, Lucas initiated massaging procedure for her revival. Both were a happy couple and the allegation that he killed Catherine for insurance money to clear his debts, was a hypothetical theory.   There was no other valid reason or motive for Lucas to kill her.  In conclusion the defense attorney emphasized that the benefit of doubt in the variance of death time, be given to Lucas and dismissed the case.  Lucas’ personal charisma greatly wowed the audience.

The jury returned to the court room. The judge asked whether they had reached   a verdict.  A lady juror responding to the judge, confirmed they had reached a verdict - “Robert Lucas was not guilty as charged.”

Both these trials ended in the dismissal of their charges. Both Susan Hayward and Robert Lucas were happy at the court’s decisions. Susan got rid of Smith’s harassments forever and Lucas got the insurance money. 

Susan’s jubilation was short-lived as the cloud of misfortune had set in.  She could not understand the reason for her mental agony. Her instinct had warned her that something drastic was going to happen in her life. She was recollecting the grueling days with Smith that were nothing but nightmares. During that time, her emotional dynamics frequently led her to devastating depression. The insecure feeling of her life was due to Smith’s aggressive behavior and physical abuse. Her thought process often impelled her even to seek a remedy through suicide. Though she was feeling a sigh of permanent relief from Smith’s torture, her happy erstwhile living with him for some time after marriage, made a sentimental illusion of missing a life partner.  Occasionally she also felt remorse for him.

The police were bent upon opening the case of Robert Lucas. They had maintained that Lucas only killed Catherine. But they must prove it with evidence in court. After all their efforts failed, they got a surprise lead. One plumber, who was working on a job in Lucas’ residence, found a cell phone inside the toilet tank, fully wrapped in a plastic case. When he dialed the number stored in it, the response came from   Susan Hayward.  Since the plumber was aware of Susan Hayward’s sensational case, he got scared and handed over the phone to the local precinct. They, in turn, contacted the concerned detective and gave it to him. The detective was immensely pleased with the phone, as it contained elaborate evidence which he was looking for to open the case.  

On a detailed analysis of the various messages in the cell, the detective found that there were calls made and exchange of text messages between Robert Lucas and Susan Hayward. This established their long illicit intimacy had come to Smith’s attention. He warned Susan many a time about this, but she continued her ‘love affair’ with the neighbor. The various text messages also indicated Smith’s assassination was a preplanned by Lucas. On the day of shooting, based on the suggestion of Lucas, Susan got the gun concealed with her during her vehement argument with Smith. Lucas had suggested to her to provoke him during their talk, when he would be impelled to kill her. Accordingly, during their conversation, she purposely incited Smith with derogatory words. But Smith’s expectation was, by such threatening to kill her, Susan would change her mind and stop her illicit intimacy.  With this thought when Smith made a move, Susan mistook his advancing towards her was for killing. Hence in self-defense, she shot Smith.   

After a few days, one day a messenger delivered a communication to Susan from the court asking her to be present on a particular day.  She called her attorney to find out the details of this new development. He clarified to her that the court would like her personal testimony on some missing points. His clarification was more a puzzle to her when she had already got a jury’s clear ‘not guilty ‘verdict.   

Robert Lucas was very regular in contacting the police department and the investigating detective whether they found any information of the ‘killer’ in Catherine’s murder. This he was doing constantly so that the investigating team and media would not doubt him as the killer of Catherine.  With the insurance money, he enjoyed his life very happily, spending more time with Susan Hayward. Their proximity as neighbors was very handy to continue their clandestine intimacy.  But his happiness also was short lived as he also got a court summons to appear on the same day as Susan.

 The reconvened court was in full session with the same Judge Hamilton presiding. The Judge ordered the prosecuting attorney to present his case. The prosecuting attorney had requested the honorable court to reopen the earlier two cases of Susan Hayward and Robert Lucas and tried again concurrently, as new evidence found relating to both. They clearly indicate both Susan and Robert were directly involved in the killing of Smith and Catherine. Then the prosecution produced the cell phone of Robert, that was found in the water tank of the toilet in Lucas’ residence. From various mutual conversations recorded between Robert and Susan in the cell, it was clear that they had illicit intimacy for long and Smith’s knew about it.  Despite his several warnings to Susan to put an end to their illicit relationship, she continued with it. This was responsible for his violent behavior with Susan, and in his frenzy mood he had threatened to kill her. Smith thought that such serious threatening would stop her intimacy. Instead, it was counterproductive and made Susan shoot Smith to continue with it.  After the shooting, she even suggested to Robert to do away with Catherine, so that they could be free to their life partnership. All these were exchanged in various text messages and conversations found in Robert’s cell phone. The prosecution then handed over the cell phone to the Judge for his scrutiny. As both the murders were preplanned and executed for their personal gains, the prosecution requested the maximum punishment be given to both Susan and Robert.  With clear evidence now produced, the defense had to be  silent  and offered with no comments. 

The Judge immediately ordered remanding both and adjourned the case to the next day for judgment. Considering various factors including the state law against death sentence, the judge gave his verdict of life sentence to both without parole. 

In the end, though Susan and Robert had the same old proximity of neighbors even in correction facility, they could not achieve their long-cherished ambition of life partnership in the rest of their lives.  

  A  NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER

P. KRISHNAMOORTHY

It was 9 a.m. on November 3, 2001. The Sunset Boulevard in the lower bay area of Los Angeles was busy as usual.  I entered my office on the 9th floor of Landmark building, that housed the Weekly “Los Angeles Explorer”. My nameplate “Dean Martin, Reporter” on the cabin door glittered in gold backdrop.   The first call on the telephone was from Susan Hayward, the Chief Editor, asking me to drop by in her office.  I could sense a kind of remorse in her voice.  She also said I should see her immediately.  I came out of my cabin and walked the distance of a few yards to her Editorial office.  I was shocked and surprised to see her face suddenly sullen on seeing me.  She offered me the seat across from her chair.  Slowly she said “Marc is dead in Afghanistan.  We just got the news. I have informed all staff to meet in ten minutes for a condolence meeting”. 

“Susan! I hope what you told me is not true.   Even yester morning I spoke to Marc, and he said everything was fine over there. How did this happen?”

“Marc was killed, not at the bombing site but in his house where he was staying... Around 2 am three masked men, two armed with rifles and the third carrying a jungle knife entered the house.  After they spoke in their squeaky voices, the first one shot him straight in his chest and the bandits escaped with their booty of money, satellite telephone and camera equipment. By the time the medical help could reach him, he was already dead.  Before death, Marc wrote a gripping account of his latest findings on the bombing, supported with clear and captivating pictures.” Susan maintained a pause and focused her attention on me. “Dean!  In his place I would like you to continue that assignment”. That was a quick shot at me, which I least expected.  She wanted a straight positive answer. It was difficult to respond to her immediately.   I was also unable to give her a negative decision, as I must go on any assignment as per my contract with the weekly. “Susan. Just give me a day. I would get back to you on this” I thought I bought some time from her to think about it with my wife Laura. “Dean! You could take a day’s time. But I expect you to come out with a positive answer as we had already made arrangements for your travel”

The solemn prayer meeting observing a minute’s silence for Marc’s soul to rest in peace was well attended by all staff.  The whole official mood was desolate and depressed. I could imagine the ordeals his family had to go through now, as Lucy, his wife, was expecting her second child.  Marc worked with me in Bosnia.  He was too good to others. Seldom one found him unhelpful. His sudden end was certainly not the one he deserved for all his best qualities. 

War against terrorism. This war was not confined to one region in the globe. It might certainly be extended to any part of the world when the terrorists identify their targets. This would mean that the traditional and conventional entry and exit plans of a war would not be in place. Also, there was no time frame agreed upon to it.  During the cold war period when wars fought like the Vietnam, they were fought against an ideology.    This time, America was fighting an unprecedented unique war – a war against terrorism coated with religious color and targets all over the world.   In this backdrop, no one was sure as to the period of one’s assignment to cover the war stories.  Today may be Afghanistan and tomorrow some other country.  Any assignment I would take over now would mean that it would be followed up with other targeted locations. 

It was a turbulent time during dinner for Laura and me when we discussed the assignment issue.  I had to accept this assignment in all fairness, as the same was offered to me a month earlier when Laura was on a surgical table for a stomach ailment. Due to Laura’s medical condition, Marc instantly offered to go on the assignment instead of me. Poor Marc was no more now. After deep deliberations and no options left, we had to reconcile and decided that I should proceed as required. 

“I would certainly take care of Lucy for her delivery and after, as Marc helped you to stay during my surgery” Laura was graceful in committing this to the bereaved family.  I was on the next day’s evening flight to Islamabad via Karachi.

 From Islamabad I scrambled to get onto one of the U N flights to Kabul. I had to take a ground travel from there to Taliqan near Kunduz in the north. The bone-jarring long travel was in a dilapidated land cruiser for the whole day.  En route at many points we were flagged down by camouflaged men for interrogation. It was difficult to differentiate between such men. It was quite an experience of life and death each time when they checked and questioned us. The narration of incidents I heard from the driver, who spoke broken English, was bone chilling. 

Many journalists and cameramen found themselves caught in the middle of the shifting enmities of Afghan clans. The bandits made their heydays with the looting of cash, cameras, and other expensive equipment of the journalists.  One of the photojournalists was shot nine times by a gunman as he was cowering himself in a drainage ditch. When he jumped out for fresh air, he was shot in the back. Fortunately, his vest saved him but he had to run for hours for safety. It appeared that there was a high price offered by local chiefs on the heads of westerners, which was the incentive besides the booty for the bandits to go after them. 

By the time I arrived in Taliban, it was late evening when the setting crimson sun silhouetted the mountain range and provided a spectacular splendor. The roaring sound of the F16s in the sky continued, disturbing the tranquility of the beautiful mountain area.  

I just got into the same house where Marc was living. It was quite an effort to acquaint myself with the new environment; I tried to get some sleep. It was a nightmare with all the stories I heard enroute and the death of Marc in the same house.  My counterparts of other media revealed that despite all these high risks, the drive to put a spotlight on events in Afghanistan with every journalist continued.  Of course, the professional competitive pressure to test the limits of safety to get a story did exist.  

The next morning after a quick breakfast, I was scheduled to cover a refugee camp that was five miles north near Kunduz.  After familiarizing myself with the directions to reach the camp, I followed a group of refugees who comprised of young and old - men and women, children, and infants with their meager belongings. Their adversity was written all over their wrinkled and depressed faces.  Even when they had lost everything in life, they have  not lost their undaunted faith in their religion. Their suffering dated back to two decades of war with total devastation. All they had inherited as legacy from the wars was maimed people who lost their limbs in the land mines. The quantum of violence they had witnessed during the long periods of war, had immune even the children against fear, leaving indelible impressions of violence and severity without any sense of their meaning. 

After walking a couple of miles, we had to cross a hanging bridge with broken wooden sleepers.  The gushing river under the bridge roared with its speed.  We tried to cross the bridge in smaller numbers; of course, the preference went to the old and maimed.  When I was in the middle of the bridge, I heard a creaking noise from the sleepers; obviously they were unable to bear the weight of many people.  In some places there were some sleepers missing and one had to be very careful in crossing these gaps. When I encountered one of them, by my side there was a little boy of five years. He had to limp as one leg was maimed on a land mine.  I knew he would not be able to cross that gap on his own.  I helped him by carrying him and crossed to the other side. By that time, we were at the end of the bridge. I carried him through to his father who was waiting at the other end.  I was so happy that I could help him to reach his father; but I was surprised, as the father, a middle-aged man, in rags with heavy beard, looked strangely at me and snatched his son from me. To my shock, he slapped the boy on his right cheek so strongly I could feel the pain myself. Tears rolled by from the young eyes and through silence he begged his father to forgive him.  It was more a puzzle to me. After all I helped the boy to reach his father, as otherwise, with his incapacitated leg, he might have slipped into the gaps between the bridge sleepers. Instead of thanking me for the timely help, he frowned at me. Above all I was pondering over the reason for his slapping the boy so strongly. The boy’s father spoke in his lingo very harshly looking at the crowd and the boy. I could not even imagine as to what his words could have meant. This was witnessed by many in the crowd. A young guy from the crowd, who spoke broken English, understood my predicament and embarrassment.  

“I know how much you felt at the behavior of the boy’s father”.

I am so happy I found somebody here to understand me and asked him:  Could you please tell me what the boy’s father meant in his lingo”.  The stranger nodded his head. 

“You know, we people here we cannot afford to live in the luxury of dependency.  Any suffering or danger, we had to handle them independently. If you had not helped the boy, he would somehow found his way to cross the bridge, that meant he got strength and confidence to handle situations of this sort. If God’s wish was that he should reach his father, he would certainly do even with his maimed leg.  Now that you had helped him, the boy’s father felt that his son had become a dependent and he would expect in future external help in such instances. This was what he did not like. By slapping the boy, he made him understand this concept of their life”. 

It was a totally new experience for me. Even though ethically, it appeared to be a senseless attitude on the part of the boy’s father, it did contain some sort of unusual and undermined truth in it.  It unfolded the concept of molding somebody. Of course, this would vary in each environment. Even in an affluent society where adversity was totally unknown, one still get molded with other types of disciplines to survive in society. Even though individual strength was equally well stressed in affluent societies, they were not insisted upon through hard learning as the boy had gone through.  But in societies of such people filled with downtrodden, illiterate poverty-stricken masses, their only source of courage to face any eventuality would be only through individual strength and hard learning.  It was more required in such an environment as the risk of death always haunted them all the time.  Such individual strength could well be developed only through strict norms of religious faith.  That was there with them.

While the boy’s father was complacent to see his son reaching him safely, he was more concerned with the ultimate weakness with which the boy would get molded with. No amount of convincing to the contrary would replace their immense faith in such concepts connected to life.   For a while I felt proud of such people as the boy’s father who had the courage of conviction and who still would like to live for tomorrow even though they were not aware of what tomorrow had for them. They lived in fear all the time and to alleviate fear from one’s mind, prayer to God was the best panacea they found which was provided by religious faith.  

It was late evening when I returned home.  I called up Laura on satellite telephone and narrated my morning’s experience.  She was equally moved by that and informed me that Lucy delivered another girl and both the mother and child were in good shape.  Tears rolled in my eyes as I thought of Marc who was not there to see the second child. 

The next day I had to cover another refugee camp in Khulum, a small village on the west side of Taliqan.  I was fortunate enough to get a lift in a jeep heading towards that direction.  After an hour’s grueling travel, I found a big camp in Khulum for the refugees moved from Chardara, a southern village. In the first tent I met an elderly lady in the 70s holding her both hands to her head, looking down at the mother earth; obviously she must have been pondering as to what kind of suffering she had still to undergo.  With the help of a local interpreter, I initiated my interview:

“Madam, you looked like you lost everything. Are you alone or you have your family also in the same camp?” 

The interpreter translated my query to her in their lingo. As a response, there was a sudden outburst from her.   She started crying loud. I could see her eyes filled with tears. 

“My son, you are asking about my family. I am alone now in this world”. She maintained a pause. I was thrilled when she addressed me as her son. I could feel a sense of human values being exchanged there. 

“I lost my first son, who fought the war against Russians a decade ago.  After capturing him, they tortured him for information on others. They severed his hands and threw him in the open field.  When I reached him, he was still alive, and he told me about the torture they inflicted on him. He promised me that he did not divulge any information to them. He was alive barely for few minutes and then he died.    Though I lost him, any day I am a proud mother of such a son who fought the war and reached God ahead of me.”

She wiped her tears with a pause to recollect her memories.  Obviously, she had something further to say.“After his death, I moved to Chardara to start a new life with my second son. .  It was a long struggle to live there. Continuous drought badly affected our agricultural produce. There was no work in the village to earn any money. We hardly had anything to eat for days together. Obviously, misfortune was not inclined to leave us alone.  I thanked God for sparing him at least for the rest of my life. The other group controlled us and imposed a lot of restrictions on our day-to-day life.  My son joined them, and they trained him in their camps to be their warrior for the war.  In the last few days, one evening I saw the whole village was ablaze. Thick dark smoke engulfed the whole area. People were running for safety.  As I was outside my hut, I ran to a nearby cave in the mountains.  I saw my son coming towards me with others to pick up guns and ammunition from the cave to fight the enemies. Before he reached me at the cave, there was another hit and he was killed. I cried for help to save him; nothing was possible as everything happened very fast. Probably the Lord had left me to live to tell the tales of my two sons who fought the wars and became martyrs”. As she uttered these words, a peaceful smile appeared like lightning in her wrinkled lips that obviously countered her tragic feelings inside her.  

What a soul-stirring story. I was spellbound all through her narration. A soul trying to balance the extremes of life. Another example of undaunted faith which disciplined her mindset to convert a negative phase into a positive one. Probably only adversity would be able to provide this uncommon courage and not affluence that always instilled weakness.  

That night in my home was more of an inquisitive time to check on the comparatives of life on the planet earth.  For a moment I thought as to why this animosity among global people. They all belong to planet earth. Then why the boundaries and barriers between countries? I remembered the famous interview of the first astronaut after his return from space.  When he was asked as to how he viewed the planet earth from space, he replied that he was so happy to see the whole planet earth without barriers and boundaries marked that was unlike shown through various colors in maps.  Could such a living be possible anytime? If so, when? I know I would never be able to find an answer to this enigma. I hit the bed to sleep that night. 

The next three days were punctuated with bursts of gunfire. I had to stay in my place as the unrelenting heavy carpet-bombing continued near our area. Corpses of soldiers and some civilians were lying splattered in the fields. I was very cautious to take my every step for fear of land mines and of any retaliation from any rival group. I took pictures of the ghastly scenes like the scattered face of a young child staring with dazed eyes. It was sad to witness horrific scenarios.  The awful smell of the dead was getting momentum. As I was walking my way into the fields to see the devastated village, I could see a lonely mud-walled hut with minor flames around it. As I reached the hut, to my shock I heard a child crying.  The flames were still bright. I wanted to get into the hut at least to save the child. From the entrance I could see a horrible scene of a family of three lying dead inside. Obviously, they were the victims of the morning bombing. I could see the crying child next to them profusely bleeding in the right hand. The child might be of two years old.  The fire at the entrance barred me from reaching the child. With all this, a mouse appeared from the rear side of the hut and started playing in front of the child.  When it was circling the child, I could see the child stop crying and started laughing at the mouse’s game. The scene was vivid in contrast combination.  I suddenly remembered the biblical lines - agony and ecstasy.  I saw those lines being enacted before me.  Even amid agony through a bleeding hand, there was ecstasy in the child at the mouse’s game. When the mouse stopped circling and making screeching noise, the child started crying out of agony. By this time, the fire slowly got into the hut from the entrance. Before it reached the child, I wanted to save the child. As I made my first move to go into the hut, there was a sudden high flame from the rear spread into the hut and charred the child and the mouse beyond description.  

I regretted my belatedness that was responsible for the child’s death.  I became sick at this very thought and cried myself for the sin I committed. Though my eyes had witnessed earlier many ghastly scenes, the sight of the little corpse of the child never faded from my memory.  The weeping and the laughter of the child – agony and ecstasy – still lingered in my ears with all intensity as it happened. 

I returned home totally depressed. I called Laura and conveyed the contents of my guilty conscience.  She remained a silent listener to my confession of a sin unknowingly committed by me. Besides this, the scenes I witnessed during this assignment included images of civilian victims and thousands of people displaced from their homes massing at the neighboring borders to save themselves from further onslaught. If we all remained mired in our partisan definitions of what constituted terror and what constituted a genuine struggle for freedom and dignity, we would never see the light of the day of peaceful coexistence with global morality.  I felt I should return home and if necessary, I was prepared to relinquish my job. 

On the next day, I got a call from Susan recalling me to headquarters. This action was prompted in line with major media organizations that pulled out their correspondents in view of the many deaths of journalists in a short time. Immediately I called Laura to inform her of this news and I could imagine her happiness on my homecoming. I would be with my family for Christmas.  I could never forget this November and a November to remember forever. 

 

  ART BY

                                                                                                   P,KRISHNAMOORTHY

 

EMOTIONAL HEIST     - P.Krishnamoorthy

Jeferson’s square was busy on that morning with the rushing speed of the people for their routine daily tasks.  The sun was also moderately warm, helping them in their endeavors.  John Mathew, the Manager of the local People’s Bank parked his car in the parking area of the building and reached his office. Before entering his cabin, as is customary, he wished his staff a very good morning before going through the official messages.  The bank’s usual clients were at various counters of the bank, and the staff were busy complying with their requirements. That day’s clients include people from various walks of life.  Some of them had come with their young ones.  Being the first day of the week, everybody was busy attending to their tasks. After the initial set of people, the inflow continued with the new arrivals and the exits comprised of people who had finished their work in the bank. 

In the new arrivals, there was one John Smith, a well-built man of average height.  After he passed through the security guard, strangely, he had put a skull mask on his face. With a Glock 17 handgun he was walking into the bank.  Just to indicate his mission indirectly to the assembled people, he fired a shot at the roof. As he anticipated, the people were taken by the shock of a gunshot. By his warning shot he also ordered them to surrender their personal cell phones and they all acceded to the gunman’s order.  As the counters were located a few yards from the entrance, a glass door separated the hall   from the entrance.  Following Smith, Albert, the second in command of the heist, entered the premises. After passing through security, he took out a skull mask from his jacket and placed it on his face.  He was also in possession of a Glock 17 handgun pointing at the hostages.  They were perplexed, looking at each other with fear in their faces. Their hands were also tied up with ropes. Some were with their young children who were worried about their young one’s reactions to the frightening masks of both the guys. Then Albert took them to an adjoining room.  As the staff members were also in the hostages’ group, Albert was keen to find out from them about the cash vault of the bank.

While these developments were brewing in the hall, John Mathew, the Manager casually came out to the hall from his cabin. He was stunned to know about the heist and their skull masked ‘architects’ organizing to rob the entire cash reserve from the bank. He was totally helpless to solve the plight of their loyal clients who were held as hostages.  After a brief argument with Smith, John Mathew made up his mind to use his emergency code to tell the police from his cabin.  When he was about to go to his cabin, Smith sensed his plan and immediately tied his hands. He was kept separately from the clients’ group. Smith ordered Albert to expedite the collection of all the cash from the vault, as time was running out and anytime the police would have got a complaint from any outside source about the heist. The cashier was asked to go with Albert to open the vault. While the collection of currencies in millions was being taken from the vault into the bag, there was a sharp argument between John Mathew and Smith about the heist and its consequences. John Mathew even forewarned Smith and threatened that the police would be arriving anytime from a signal sent by him through an invisible code.  This statement of John irritated him. Presuming that he had already sent a signal, he was upset with him. He pointed his gun towards John and shot him in the chest and caused John’s instant death. After the shooting without any remorse on his face, Smith was very keen to expedite the progress of taking the cash reserve from the vault.  With the shooting of John, the other hostages were frozen with fear, and no one was dare enough to raise any noise over the event. 

By the time the cops had the information about the heist through the security guard and arrived at the scene headed by John Peters, a senior police officer with necessary force. Well prepared Peters had the body armor to protect from any shooting. He wanted to assess the situation and found the first casualty was the manager,.  He understood the other hostages were at a distance from where John Mathew was shot. This time their faces were expressing a sense of satisfaction with Peter’s presence.  At the sight of Peters, Smith felt that he should not take chances with the presence of a cop. He took his gun from the holster and pointed at him.  Being a policeman Peters had a premonition of  Smith  targeting  him next. When Smith pointed at Peters, the latter was too quick and shot Smith point blank in the face. Peters wanted to find out who was Smith in real life. He got the mask removed from his face.   When Peters observed the tattoo mark on his right arm, he was moved emotionally with tears in his eyes as Smith was his own brother, separated in their early years from the family.  He also checked his own right arm for a similar tattoo mark.When he checked his jacket, he found a credit card with his name John Smith. Peters also wanted to know who the other person was shot earlier by Smith, and he found in his business card with the name ‘John Mathew Chief Manager of the People’s Bank’.  When he checked his right arm, surprisingly he found the same type of tattoo mark as Smith’s.  Peters got their relationship confirmed as brothers separated many years before. As many years had elapsed, their resemblance might have varied but their first name was the same for all the three.  Now Peters had the satisfaction of meeting them alive before their coincidental death.  Again, Peters was taken back when he realized that John Smith his elder brother killed his own younger one, John Mathew. All three brothers, John Smith, John Mathew, and himself were all separated from the family due to a natural calamity that happened years ago. 

It was a severe winter. Their small hometown had first a mild tremor followed by a massive earthquake.  Many multi-storied and other buildings were raised to the ground. Many died in the debris of the buildings.   Some of them were unable to come out from the heavy rubble... Casualties were in thousands. Both their parents died in the wreckage of the earthquake. No information was available about their brothers, whether they were alive or dead even after a long time. 

As he finished recollecting the memories, suddenly he saw Albert trying to escape with the bag full of currencies from the vault.  Peters tried to stop him. To protect the heist fortune for himself, Albert reacted with a gun shot at Peters and he died instantly. Albert escaped with the money.  With all jubilant happiness, Albert came out from the bank with the bag of millions. But his happiness was short-lived. Suddenly he met with a road accident by a truck and died very near to the bank. The heist money was returned to the bank.

The irony of the heist scenario was meant primarily to rob money from a bank.  But by coincidence, all three, who were earlier separated brothers – John Smith, John Mathew, and John Peters met as strangers in that heist without any knowledge of relationship.  They met in the heist in different roles with different motives - The two to save the bank from a heist and the one to take the cash reserves. Unfortunately, the rendezvous for all three in the heist was destined only to meet without any knowledge of relationship and die in each other's hands during their performance and the heist was a total failure and the entire money was returned to the bank.  The coordinating testimony for their relationship was a common tattoo mark in their right arms.