Scattered Fates by Ram Garikipati (ebook reader ink TXT) 📖

the living room, and realized that Subbaiah was not home.

More knocking and shouting; the voice was certainly not friendly. In fact, it seemed overtly aggressive.

He peeked through a window in the living room, managing to hide himself behind the curtain. There were a few armed policemen standing a little distance away, while one of them was menacingly banging on the door, pistol in hand.

Moon was frightened and confused.

What is happening? Where is Professor Subbaiah?

‘Who is it? Professor is not at home,’ he shouted out.

More banging. He peeked out again and noticed Professor Ganapathy standing on the side with his wife and a couple of other neighbors. He was talking to a few policemen.

Relieved, he drew the curtain to a side, coming in plain view. He tried to draw Ganapathy's attention, but when that failed, he shouted out in Corean, ‘Shikoro.’

The policeman at the door came to the window and seemed surprised to see him. He said something in Tamil again.

Using body language, Moon told him to wait a moment, while he opened the door.

As soon as he unlatched the door, the policeman pushed him aside and rushed in. He searched all the rooms, before coming out again. By this time Ganapathy had come forward to console Moon.

‘Sir, what is happening? Why are the policemen here? I have a student visa,’ he quivered.

‘Don't worry young man they are not after you. They are searching for Subbaiah. Any idea where he is?’

‘No sir, he went out at night saying he had a meeting. I don't think he has come back.’

Ganapathy said something to the policeman, who glared at Moon, got into the rusty jeep and retreated.

‘Why are they looking for Professor Subbaiah?’

‘They have an arrest warrant for him. The police are taking many people under preventive custody to stop the riots. He has been identified as a troublemaker.’

‘Sir, is there a lot of violence?’

‘Unimaginable. We didn't get the newspaper today, but I heard on the radio that the whole city is burning. Last night they brought in the army, which only made matters worse. The situation is equally bad in Andhra, Mysore and Kerala.’

‘What about the other states? I heard there are more non-Hindi speaking areas.’

‘No. They have not joined the protests. I am glad they understand the need to keep India united,’ Ganapathy replied. ‘Did you have breakfast?’

‘No, they woke me up.’

‘Fine. You can wash up and come over to my home, Vijaylaxmi can make a few more idlis.’

‘Thank you sir, I will be there in 30 minutes.’

Moon latched the front door, and went into the kitchen. He badly needed some coffee.

Standing near the stove was Subbaiah with a finger to the lips.

‘Sir, you are here,’ Moon whispered.

‘Yes, I hid in the cupboard, they wanted to arrest me.’

‘What for?’

‘To crush our movement, Anna and Karunanidhi have gone underground, it is time for me to disappear too.’

‘What about me?’

‘Don't worry. I will return every night and leave before sunrise. Keep the back door unlatched at all times. Just don't tell anyone, not even Ganapathy, I am beginning to suspect his behavior.’

‘For how long will this go on?’

‘As long as it takes.’

‘Moon did you close the front door?’ Subbaiah suddenly squealed.

‘Yes sir,’ Moon replied worried. ‘What about my food?’

‘It is a good thing I stocked up on noodles. They should last for at least a week. I am sure Vijaylaxmi will take pity on you and invite you to their house often. Be careful, not a word to anyone.’

‘They have invited me for breakfast now.’

‘Good. Wonder what they are having, I am starving.’

‘They said idli.’

‘Great, you should try smuggling out a few idlis. I can have them with avakaaya. Be careful, they should not suspect a thing, now hurry up.’

‘I urgently need some coffee first.’

‘Sorry, I forgot you just woke up. I will make some filter coffee for us.’

#

‘Profesor Subbaiah! I got your idlis.’

‘Good, don't shout, the neighbors will hear,’ Subbaiah emerged from the bathroom after a quiet bucket-bath. ‘Make sure the front door is locked from inside, and draw all the curtains.’

‘I have taken care sir.’

‘I am starving,’ he said, grabbing the small plastic container from Moon's hand. ‘How did you get this container? Didn’t they notice?’

‘It belongs to them. They offered me more idlis and chutney for my lunch.’

‘Oh, then I better eat something else outside.’

‘No sir, I cannot eat the same food for lunch again. I can make some noodle soup later.’

‘Thanks. So what did Ganapathy say?’

‘He kept saying that he is worried for you and inquired your whereabouts.’

‘What did you tell him?’

I said you may have gone to Hyderabad to be with Madam.’

‘Fantastic, that should put him off my scent. I will have breakfast and head out, be careful, the police might make one more round again.’

‘Not to worry, I can read some of your books on the verandah. It is best to be in plain sight of the neighbors, so they do not suspect anything.’

‘That is a smart move,’ Subbaiah said, placing the idlis and chutney on his plate and taking small bites.

‘Sir, what will you do?’

‘I have to attend a few meetings and organize more protests. Our only worry is the Indian army. Although the soldiers are a bit demoralized after the war with China, they are very tough and disciplined. It will not be possible for us to break through them.’

‘Sir, aren't there many officers and soldiers from the South in the army?’

‘They form only around 20 percent of the total strength of the Indian military. No wait... they form a majority in the Madras Regiment which has been deployed here.’

‘If the people are protesting peacefully then will these soldiers fire on them unprovoked?’

‘They are trained to take orders. If Anna can have a secret meeting with South Indian officers of the Madras Regiment, maybe they will change their mind. Your questions sometimes give very good ideas!’

‘If the army joins the people then the Prime Minister cannot do anything.’

‘That is right, but the Indian army consists of many regiments, and the others will not be sympathetic to our cause. She can always send regiments from different parts of the country for duty here.’

‘Won't that take time?’

‘Yes, it will. I will propose this plan to my party,’ he said, placing the plate in the kitchen sink and washing his hands. ‘Moon, keep a watch out from the front window while I slip away from the back.’

As Moon peeped through the curtains and gave the all-clear signal, Subbaiah wrapped a towel around his face and slipped out through the back.

#

‘Young man, any news about Subbaiah?’ Ganapathy called out to Moon who had dozed off on the patio chair, a book on his tummy.

‘No sir,’ he said rubbing his eyes and glancing at his watch. It was 4 pm. ‘There is no telephone here, he may call you.’

‘Oh right, I forgot. What are you reading?’ he said pulling a chair next to him.

‘The Discovery of India,’ Moon said, handing him the book.

‘Very good choice, it was written by our first Prime Minister while he was imprisoned during our freedom movement, it is a classic.’

‘There are too many pages, and I am easily confused by all the names.’

‘Don't worry, read it carefully and you will understand our history, philosophy and culture, you will realize that we are all one race with common roots.’

‘Pakistanis and Indians also must be the same race, but they are different countries now.’

‘That is because of the divide and conquer policy of the British.’

‘Your Prime Minister appears to be following the same policy now. India may be divided again.’

‘That will not happen, the army is already here, I heard thousands of people have been arrested.’

‘How many have been killed so far?’

‘Only around 300.’

‘Only? Sir you are saying it as if more should be killed.’

‘If more are killed it will stop this nonsense.’

‘They are innocent people.’

‘Who told them to go out on the streets and protest? They are rowdies, burning public property and spreading fear. Do you have any idea of the economic loss to India?Everything has come to a standstill, factories, schools, colleges, offices, transport. Many daily wage earners may be starving.’

‘Shouldn't you be blaming the government for this situation?’

‘No, I blame Anna and his party. Even sensible people like Subbaiah have been trapped by their rhetoric. The government is not stopping economic activity. The January agitation cost us almost 5 percent of our domestic product. This time it will be more, if the army does not stop them. We are a poor country and cannot afford it at this stage of our development.’

‘The same logic could have been extended to Gandhi's protests against the British or our fight against the Japanese. I think these agitations are justified.’

‘There is a fundamental difference between freedom fighters and anarchists. I am not against protests, as long as they are peaceful.’

‘I was at Marina Beach for the first meeting which began as a peaceful movement, it was the unprovoked police firing that killed many innocent people.’

‘That is not what I heard. Many protestors attacked the police first.’

‘I was there sir. Nothing of that sort happened.’

‘Did you see the police firing first?’

‘No, I got caught in the stampede, but I heard it.’

‘How can you be sure that they were not attacked first?’

‘Professor Subbaiah told me so, and the newspaper reports also mentioned it.’

‘Newspaper reports, The Hindu, eh? Don't believe everything in that newspaper. They have their own agenda.’

‘What agenda?’

‘I do not know for sure, but I heard that they are giving financial support to Anna's party. It is some kind of an understanding they have. If DMK comes to power, they plan to diversify into other business areas. The traitors, siding with an anti-Brahmin party.’

‘Why do you call them traitors? They may be supporting a cause they believe in? I heard the newspaper played a crucial role in India's freedom struggle.’

‘That is right, but they have now lost their way. Do you know that the family, which owns The Hindu, is Iyengar? How dare they support a political party which wants to drive out Brahmins from Madras?’

‘I believe this fight is against Hindi and not Brahmins.’

‘No, you are mistaken. Hindi is just an excuse, and DMK's political agenda is still driven by anti-Brahmanism.’

A sudden shout from Vijaylaxmi interrupted their conversation. ‘There is phone call for you from Inspector Balasubramanium.’

‘Wonder what he wants?’ Ganapathy said with a frown, his eyelids twittering.

He does look embarrassed, maybe he is a police informer as Professor Subbaiah suspected.

‘Isn't he the same inspector who contacted you when I was injured?

‘Yes, he is my school friend, we grew up together, our families are very close. It may have something to do with his sister's wedding next month.’

Lies. Damn lies.

‘I guess I will try reading Discovery of India without falling asleep.’

‘Yes, you do that. I will check on you later in the evening.’

#

The nine o'clock BBC news offered few new developments on the situation.

Curfew had imposed in the cities of Madras, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The smaller towns and cities in the region were also tense with sporadic violence...

Many policemen, are disobeying direct orders from their senior offices, and joining the rioters...

The Indian army continues to be the only reliable force that can control the situation...

After burning government buildings and transport, some of the protestors are now targeting North Indian residential areas in Sowcarpet and shops...

Moon was keenly listening to the news in the living room, slurping on his noodle soup, having just woken up from a deep slumber, when he heard a faint knock on the door.

Must be Professor Ganapathy.

He opened the door and peeped out at the dark empty verandah, a couple of gunshots rang out in a distance, and he closed it shut immediately.

The knocking persisted, it was coming from the back. He switched on the kitchen lights to investigate, when a sharp voice startled him.

‘Switch off the lights and open the backdoor.’

It was Professor Subbaiah. He seemed furious.

‘Didn't I tell you to keep the back door open at all times?’ he barked at Moon, as the door was unlatched.

‘I am sorry sir, I forgot.’

Subbaiah was