Benign Flame: Saga of Love by BS Murthy (sci fi books to read TXT) 📖

stripping me naked, to confirm my religion via circumcision, they advised me to run for safety. I was too shaken to comprehend whether I should thank the foreskin for having saved my skin, or feel ashamed of the crassness of my co-religionists. Then, hardly could I cross the street, when I ran into a Muslim mob that was braying for the Hindu blood. Before I could utter a word, someone stabbed me in my back, and as I ran for life, they chased me like a stray dog with ‘death for the kafir’ shouts. When they were about to close in on me, I slumped to the ground, and maybe taking me for dead, they left for good. As I lay there, I craved for life, cursing the religions. Now, I vaguely remember to have been picked up by a police patrol, and as you know, Dr. Wazir Ahmed, and others here, retrieved me from the jaws of death.”

“You can talk all about that when it would have become a distant memory,” said Roopa, trying to restrain him,” said Roopa.

“The wound I received at the Muslim hand is bound to heal in time, but the humiliation I felt amidst the Hindu mob would be hard to obliterate from my memory,” said Raja Rao regardless.

“This is the ugly face of these two great religions,” said Dr. Wazir Ahmed stoically.

“My good doctor, to say that all religions are great is a quid pro quo,” said Raja Rao excitedly. “Well, the followers of all religions feel great about their faith. If not, how would they become believers in the first place? But, if we were to go by the static inscriptions of their scriptures, then, the one common drawback with all the religions is the diktat to conform to their unique dogmas. In the guise of preaching goodwill, all faiths effectually divide humanity on religious lines. Isn’t it the villainy of religion?  If the behavioral pattern of the followers be the criterion to judge the greatness of a religion, don’t we find that all faiths to be equally wanting? How can any religion claim to be great when it fails to inculcate human values in its own followers? So, it’s the poverty of thought that veils us from the fallacy of the faiths.”

“But then, are there not good people in all faiths,” said the doctor.

“That’s due to the diversity of human nature and not because of religious conditioning of human character,” said Raja Rao

“The trauma of the event could be but a passing sentence in the history of man, and life, but for the dead, would go on, on the familiar course,” said Ranga Reddy.

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Wazir Ahmed fetched RajaRao’s case history, and having checking up his condition all again said,

“You can take him now.”  

Having thanked the doctors and the staff profusely, Raja Rao left the Osmania General Hospital with his family and friends for recuperation at the Gaganmahal Nursing Home.

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Once admitted in the GNH, he was gripped by an urge to see Saroja, and as Sathyam fetched her soon enough, he held her, as if he were clasping to his life itself.

“How pleasurable it is to live?” Raja Rao seemed to tell his daughter.

Then, turning to Sathyam and seeing him visibly moved, he thanked him for his concern and expressed his regret for having detained his wife.

Towards the evening that day, Aslam came with tears in his eyes and a bouquet in his hand. Narasaiah, on hand then, narrated the tale, as if he were the eyewitness to the happenings.

“Inshah Allah, you will live long sir,” ’ said Aslam holding Raja Rao’s hand.

“I heard there was some problem at Musheerabad as well,” said Raja Rao.

“There were a couple of stabbings here and there,” said Aslam in all emotion. “The saddest part of it all is that people go by rumors. It was said that the Musi turned red with the Muslim blood and that was enough to spur some of us in of our locality to goad others to join the jihad, for Islam was in danger. I wonder why the faithful fail to realize that Allah is all-powerful to protect Islam on His own. And being merciful, He wouldn’t approve killing people in the name of the faith. It’s sad that the thoughtless outrage of a few brings a bad name to our religion as a whole. If only the Muslim who stabbed you knows what a good human being you are, he wouldn’t have lifted his little finger against you.”

“The communal jaundice colours our vision with the bigotry of our faith to project hateful images of the people of other religions; it pays to be more humane and less religious, as, the more religious one is, the more biased one would be,” said Raja Rao.

When Roopa was alone with Raja Rao that night, she told him that Sathyam was accommodated in that very room after his appendicitis operation, and at that, they reminisced how wretched they felt, unable to have a longing look at each other, owing to the patient’s presence. Thus having recounted the tale of her anxiety after his sudden departure, she told him about the ‘one line love letter’ of hers that she kept ready for him then, and a visibly moved Raja Rao vouched his eternal love for her.

However, as his recuperation at the GNH took longer than expected, Raja Rao turned apprehensive about the possible fallout from Roopa’s long hours at the hospital.

‘If you hang around here this long, Sathyam could become suspicious,” he said to her.  

“Don’t worry about that, he asked me to assist you, as long as it takes. Why, when push comes to shove, won’t I walk over him to walk into your home? You know that Sandhya has kept the door open for me,” she said coolly.

“What courage!” he was amazed.

“What’s love without that?” she cooed in his ear.

“How true, but sadly it’s jealousy that spoils love,” ’ he said.

‘Jealousy is the device that denies man the divinity of love; I wonder how our Sandhya is an exception! An angel, indeed she is,” she said contemplatively

‘How well you’ve put it about our dear,” he said, pressing her hand.

‘And love can be the failing of the divine even,” she said looking at him fondly.

‘Only those in love would realize that,’ he said patting her affectionately.

“It’s not that I’m being good and all, but I realized that, on our D-Day, that August day,” she said, reminiscing about their first night’s togetherness.

 

Chapter 35

Date with Destiny

 

For the first anniversary of her D-Day that August, Roopa was dead set to be in Tirupati with her mates. However, as she was clueless about keeping her man away from their love triangle, she got reconciled to Sathyam’s ironical presence at her thanksgiving.

That afternoon, as Sathyam was helping Roopa pack their luggage, Rami Reddy, his department head, sent for him.

“Yes sir,” said Sathyam to Rami Reddy, having cursed him all the way to the Secretariat.

“I’m sorry Sathyam but I’ve to cancel your leave,” Rami Reddy sounded apologetic.

“Sir, you know, I’m going to Tirupati with my family and friends,” said Sathyam dumbfounded.

“But Nagaraju wants to discuss those World Bank Tenders with us,” said Rami Reddy sympathetically.

‘But sir, I’ll be back before they’re due for opening,” said Sathyam pleadingly.

“You know Nagaraju speaks for the Finance Minister, so there’s no way I can let you go now,” said Rami Reddy.

“Yes, sir,” said Sathyam helplessly.

“Six sharp at 206, Royal Hotel, Nampally,” said Rami Reddy.

‘Oh, these are the ‘service’ inconveniences of life,’ Sathyam thought, on his way back home. ‘Had I been into some business, wouldn’t I have been my own boss, as Raja Rao is? I should make a fast buck and start on my own soon. Surely, Nagaraju would like the World Bank Works awarded to the Finance Minister’s benami firms, but eyed by scores of leading contractors. But, how can there be any hanky-panky in the open tenders? Well, the meeting won’t serve any purpose save for the record, the boss knows that as well. All the same, Nagaraju is bound to pressurize the boss, and he wants to use me as just a cushion, that’s all. Besides, won’t he want to be seen as trying his best, to be in the good books of the powers that be? And that’s why all this useless tamaasha, but surely Roopa won’t like it. Won’t she be dejected at yet another cancellation? Surely she would curse me, and may drop out herself in frustration. What about Sandhya? Well, she was no less excited about the trip. Better I let Roopa go along with them, at least, let them all have some good time.’

When at five in the evening, as the Sathyams and the Raja Raos reached Nampally Station, said Sathyam to Roopa,

“I’ll go and cancel my ticket.”

“It might take you a long time for you in the gents’ queue,” said Roopa to Sathyam as she took the ticket from Raja Rao.

‘Perhaps it’s God’s way of blessing our threesome,’ Roopa thought joyously, joining the queue for appearances sake. ‘Let this be the ticket for our orgies, in the coupe to begin with.  Can’t we hoodwink the TTE to keep that extra berth of privacy for us? Why, we can tell him that Sathyam has gone to meet someone on the train. Once he’s through with his checking business and all, we could lock the cabin for our night-long orgies. Oh, though I wanted thanksgiving at Tirupati for that night of my life, the Lord seems to grant us orgies in His Holy Abode as well. Maybe our threesome love has the divine sanction too?’

‘Oh, how people wear moral blinkers, of the well-worn kind,’ she felt, as her thought-process had brought her face-to-face with the reality of life. ‘The irony of it all is that, in spite of censure by the moralists, life tends to evolve in tandem with the ever changing human condition. Of course, they all start on the sly only to set the trend in the end. Once it comes into vogue, the new pattern becomes the value system of the time to be picked up by the world as the moral mantra of the era. That’s all about the across the board morals, which fail to take into account the individual compulsions in the changing times. Thus, it makes sense for one to draw one’s own boundary of ethics, of course, aided by a compass of reason, with the needle of equity that is.’

Buoyed by that newfound sense, Roopa left the booking counter and rejoined Sathyam chatting with her mates. Soon, they moved their luggage into the first class coupe for four and as though the driver was pushed by their urge for orgies, he blew the horn unceasingly, forcing the guard to show the green light. Thus, as that Rayalaseema Express began to chug out, waving off his wife and friends, Sathyam stepped out of the railway station only to step into the Royal Hotel across the road.

“Sorry Sathyamgaru you’ve to put up with this mediocrity as the star hotels may give us up,” Nagaraju greeted Sathyam apologetically.

‘That’s fine but why my boss hasn’t turned up yet; well old habits die hard, don’t they,” said Sathyam putting on airs.

At that, as the buzzer sounded, Nagaraju reached for the latch.

“You’ll live for hundred years see, we’re talking about you only,” Nagaraju welcomed Rami Reddy.

“Sorry Sathyam for spoiling your party,” said Rami Reddy.

“That’s Ok sir but what am I to do now?” said Sathyam.

‘Don’t you know that all eyes are on the three WBTs? Nagaraju said dreamily.

“How I wish your bids turn out to be L-1s in those Open Tenders,” said Rami Reddy resignedly.

“But the Boss has very high hopes on you,” said Nagaraju to set the ball rolling. “He believes you could find some ways and means to put them into his pocket, not as favour but for barter.”

“How kind of him but you know the procedures are all so pucca,” said Rami Reddy, and added by throwing