Mumbaistan (26 page)

Once inside, all Samir wanted to do was flee the maidan. But he felt guilty seeing the old man struggling with the garland. Samir called out to a young party 'security wing' worker to help the old man on to the stage. The volunteer smiled and nodded. While he took the garland from Samir, his hand accidentally brushed against Samir's waist. His expression changed as he felt something hard and metallic lodged in Samir's pajamas. He dropped the garland and ran towards the nearest policeman.

'Terrorist!' he yelled, pointing at Samir. The word was enough to make the crowd run helter-skelter. Complete pandemonium broke out, even though nobody knew who the terrorist among them was. Samir, too, tried to run, but a cop caught him by the collar and pulled him backwards. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. The revolver popped out of his waistband and landed a few feet away. 'Terrorist!' the policeman also yelled.

Hearing the shouts from the backstage, the stage now erupted in commotion as well. Senior party men ran amok and jumped into the crowd.

Raghu, who had been sitting next to the party leader, was about to follow suit when he was struck by doubt. He decided to run backstage. Sure enough, there he saw a group of policemen surrounding the fallen Samir. He ran towards them and shouted, 'What are you doing? Stop.' The policemen were taken aback at his reaction.

'Terrorist hai, saheb',
said the first policeman, who had accosted Samir. He waved the revolver he had picked up from the ground. Raghu grabbed the weapon from the policeman.

'This man is not a terrorist,' shouted Raghu, so all could hear him. 'He is my personal bodyguard.'

The policemen and the crowd relaxed. Raghu helped Samir up.

A flabbergasted Samir held his silence. The policemen quickly backed off. They had bigger things to contend with at that moment. The party leaders jumping into the crowd had created a panic wave, leading to a mass stampede. Some policemen rushed towards the public address system booth and sheepishly began to announce that it was a false alarm. But not many people seemed convinced.

Samir, in the meantime, dusted off the mud from his clothes and looked at Raghu with gratitude. Raghu pointed at the open back entrance and together, they walked out of the maidan. They hopped into Raghu's SUV, which was parked one lane behind, near the Sterling Cinema.

'I have to go to...' Samir finally spoke.

'To the Beekay showroom in Colaba?'

'How do you know?' Samir looked taken aback.

Raghu smiled, 'I know a lot of things, Uncle Sam.'

◉

'Uncle Sam, are you all right? Uncle Sam?'

Through the blackness, a dark face drew near. 'Samir,' the face mouthed his name. Samir's eyes watered due to the smoke around. When his eyes cleared he saw a concerned face above him. 'Get up, Uncle Sam. Let me help you!

Selva. Selvaraj, the manager. He bodily lifted Samir up from the ground.

Suddenly, behind him, an iron rod swung through the air and hit Selvaraj's head. Selvaraj collapsed on Samir.

Samir fell on the ground again.

His eyelids started drooping.

He noticed a face in the black haze through his half-open eyes. Rishi.

Rishi took out a handkerchief from his pocket and shoved it into Samir's mouth.

Samir fainted.

Samir opened his eyes again. Dense grey smoke. Orange flames licking at his feet.

Rishi seemed tense.

'Let me help you,' he said. He grabbed Samir by his collar and dragged him through the blackness.

Samir heard a dull cry from somewhere in the curtain of smoke.

'Uncle Sam!'

◉

'Selva. Selvaraj,' Samir said.

It was Raghu's turn to get a start. He turned to Samir. 'You remembered something?'

'Selvaraj tried to save me. Brave man,' said Samir. A hint of emotion stirred in his eyes. Raghu was quiet, not wanting to interfere with Samir's thought process. Samir continued, 'Somebody attacked him. Hit Selva on his head with an iron rod.'

'Who?' asked Raghu, explode in a mixture of anger and excitement.

Samir shrugged. 'I don't know.'

Raghu gritted his teeth. 'You don't know, or you will not tell?'

'I don't know, I am sorry. I don't know...' Samir sighed. He was genuinely perturbed and was trying hard to jog his memory. Raghu frowned.

'I get incomplete flashes...' Samir began.

Raghu fished out the newspaper clipping from his wallet. He shoved it into Samir's hand.

Samir unfolded the clipping and read it.

Raghu pressed the pedal hard suppressing his anger. The SUV swerved dangerously close to the footpath.

'For almost twenty years—twenty years, Uncle Sam—I have lived under a shadow. The shame of being the son of a man who killed innocent people. My mother and I have always maintained that my father could never have been a killer, but no one would listen to us.'

There was determination in Samir's eyes. 'They will listen now, Raghu. I will tell them.'

Raghu relaxed his tight jaw. Samir's expression softened, too.

'You are still the same, Uncle Sam. Righteous. My father used to worship you.'

Samir looked self-conscious. 'I wish I could remember more,' he said with feeling.

'Don't you remember me? I was only eight years old when my father used to bring me to the factory. You used to give me boxes of imported After Eight chocolates and had named me "Little Rags". I still remember how I had named you Uncle Sam in return, and my father, too, started calling you that,' Raghu recalled.

Samir looked blank

Raghu fell silent, a little disconcerted, and turned his attention to the road.

The SUV made its way through the evening rush-hour traffic at Fort and crossed Flora Fountain. At the circle near Regal Cinema, Raghu turned towards Colaba Causeway and then immediately took the first left turn.

Samir glanced at Raghu. 'You know where...where Beekay is?'

'Yes, I do. It's quite famous.'

Raghu turned the SUV into the lane directly behind the Taj hotel. He stopped after a few hundred yards. Samir glanced at a shiny neon signboard: Beekay.

Samir's eyes met Raghu's. Raghu gave him an encouraging nod. Samir took a deep breath and got down. His stomach was tied up in knots. He was going to meet Bahaar and he looked a mess. He didn't even have a birthday present for her.

As he approached the showroom entrance, two security guards started rolling down the shutters. Samir quickened his pace. 'Saab, we are closed for today,' said one.

Samir was nonplussed. 'At what time do you close?'

The other guard smiled. 'We know, sir, it's only 7 p.m. Normally, we are open till much later, but today is our madam's birthday.'

'Where is your madam? Where is she?' Samir couldn't hold back any longer.

The guards now regarded him suspiciously, looking him up and down.

'Why should we tell you? Come tomorrow morning at ten-thirty,' said one.

Samir was now desperate. 'Look, I have to meet your madam. Right now.'

'Arre bola na,
come tomorrow.'

'Please,' cried Samir, stepping forward in desperation. The guard unceremoniously shoved Samir away.

'If you touch him again, I will shoot you both,' a cold voice called out from behind.

Raghu was standing with his Glock clutched in his hand. The guards immediately stepped away from Samir. 'Please, forgive us,' they said.

'Just tell us where your madam is right now,' demanded Raghu.

'At this time, Madam and Saheb go for an evening walk at Apollo Bunder but later on, she has a dinner party at the Taj,' said one of the guards.

'Saheb? Which saheb?' Samir's heart was racing.

'Madam's husband, of course,' said the security guard.

A light seemed to go off in Samir's eyes. He turned and stumbled back to the SUV. Raghu rushed after him. Both of them got in. Noticing his forlorn expression, Raghu squeezed Samir's shoulder in empathy.

Samir sighed. 'It had to happen, I guess. She thought that I was dead.' He let out a mirthless laugh. Raghu didn't know what salve he could offer to ease Samir's pain. He just nodded in agreement. An uncomfortable silence engulfed them.

After a few moments, Raghu softly asked, 'So, what do you want to do now?'

Samir sighed. 'I don't want to interfere in her life. She is a married woman. But I
do
want to see her once. Even if it is from a distance...'

Raghu set his jaw firmly. 'So why don't we do that? he asked. 'Let us drive down Apollo Bunder and see if we can spot her.'

Samir lapsed into silence once again. After a few seconds, he turned to Raghu and said, 'Let's do it.'

Raghu gave him a small reassuring smile and put the SUV in gear. He drove down the road and turned towards Apollo Bunder. He slowed down and drove as close as possible to the promenade.

Samir looked towards at the people milling around, on the promenade. A jumble of thoughts invaded his mind.
How does she look now, almost twenty years later? Is her hair long or short? Has she put on weight? Have wrinkles creased her flawless skin? Is the shine in her eyes still as enticing?
Samir's eyes flitted from face-to-face, trying hard to match the mental image of twenty-something Bahaar when he last saw her. The crowded promenade full of hawkers, tourists and burqa-clad ladies was not the best place for a clear view of everyone who was passing by. The failing light was not of much help, either.

Suddenly, he saw her—hair open, wearing a white T-shirt and sweatpants. She looked as stunning as ever, her chiselled cheekbones as alluring as before. Her body was still as lithe and sensual. She turned in his direction as the man she was with bent down to tie his laces. Samir urgently tapped Raghu's hand on the steering wheel. Raghu braked. As a gentle breeze blew, Samir almost feared she might fly away with the wind, vanish into the horizon. For the second time. But the wind just played with her hair, tossing it around to make her look all the more desirable. Even from this distance, he could see a hint of amusement play on her face. As if she were enjoying a secret joke. Samir wondered if the twinkle was still there in her eyes.

The man beside her finished tying his laces. He put his arm around her. She looked at him and laughed. The man turned at an angle so that Samir could see his face.

It was Rishi.

◉

The moving truck slowly sputtered to life. He tried to rise and jump out of the open back, but fell down as the truck jerked.

He saw Rishi run towards him.

'Rishi,' he shouted, 'Help!' But no sound came out of his mouth. The handkerchief
.

Rishi ran a few steps towards the truck, but behind him, a figure appeared. 'Sam!' The figure called out. Selvaraj, bleeding from the wound on his head, was shouting to Samir.

Rishi turned. For the first time, Samir noticed the iron rod in Rishi's hand.

Rishi swung the rod. It hit Selvaraj on the head again. Rishi ran towards the truck. But Selvaraj held on to his left leg.

Rishi growled with rage and frustration and swung at Selvaraj once again. And again and again.

Selvaraj turned motionless.

The truck moved faster and faster away from the grotesque scene.

◉

'Rishi killed Selva,' the words burst out of Samir. Raghu looked at him intently; a fire lit his face. Samir turned towards Bahaar again. But she had vanished. Samir desperately scanned the crowd. He jumped out of the SUV and stepped onto the promenade.

'Bahaar!' He yelled. 'Bahaar!'

In the crowd, Bahaar stopped in her tracks and looked back. Her eyes locked with Samir's. The shock was palpable. She stood rooted to the spot. The crowd around them started thinning. Rishi, who had gone a couple of steps ahead, also turned now, and looked shell-shocked.

'Rishi!' shouted Samir. The three stood staring at each other, oblivious to the curious onlookers passing by on the promenade.

At that moment, from a by-lane on the right, two men emerged on a motorcycle. The man in front was Tupe, Kundalik Kadam's henchman. The pillion rider was Kundalik himself. As the motorcycle sped towards Samir, Kundalik raised a pistol and shot from behind. The bullet hit Samir on the back, passing through his left shoulder. He stumbled on to the ground, blood drenching his shirt.

The gunshot stunned the crowd. People ran in every direction, clearing the promenade within seconds. Bahaar and Rishi stood rooted to their spots, not knowing how to react. Samir rose and lurched towards them. The motorcycle sped along the road, and was now parallel to the trio. Samir reached into his waistband and drew out Gardullah's revolver. But before he could do anything, another shot rang out. Kundalik's head exploded in a mass of blood and gristle. The motorcycle skidded, and Tupe and Kundalik fell to the ground. Raghu stood next to his SUV, Glock in hand. Rishi bent down and reached out towards something. It was Kundalik's fallen gun. He picked up the gun and shot at Samir. As if in chain reaction, Raghu threw himself in front of Samir. The bullet hit Raghu's leg and he fell to his knees. Rishi grabbed Bahaar and began to run across the road, towards the Taj. From his fallen stance, Raghu shot again. The bullet went through Rishi's forehead. Rishi collapsed in a heap at the edge of the promenade railing. Bahaar shrieked in despair.

◉

Dense black smoke. Cries. The smell of smoke.

Rishi was dragging the unconscious Samir through the factory. However, Samir was not unconscious.

A man with a murderous look in his eyes appeared in front of them.

'Take this one, too,' Rishi said to the man.

The man knelt in front of Samir. Unzipping him, he examined Samir's private parts and said, "This man is not one of them. Take him outside and free him.'

Rishi hesitated for a minute, and then decided not to argue. He turned and dragged Samir towards the factory door.

Outside, Rishi noticed the empty truck. He lifted Samir into the truck. 'Don't worry, Sam. We'll just wait till these stupid bastards go. Then you'll have your turn.' He laughed.