Chapter 1
I was standing in front of the huge menacing entrance door of Yerwada Jail. The rest of India had moved on from its Autocratic Era and shed its traditional Maharaja’s image and styling but this Jail seemed to have clung on it even today.
The huge entrance door and wall which was made of grey and black stones looked just like a Maharaja’s fort. But sadly there were no Maharaja’s inside. In fact the people inside were almost opposite end of the spectrum. Most Indians have heard about Yerwada jail only because of famous Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt who had served his jail term here. Else who cared about a place that was full of goons & criminals.
The common man will be very happy if the entire jail burns down to the ground because of the kind of people housed inside .In India they might even attach it to KARMA and gods hand to it.
I was here for a very specific reason. Being a journalist I have struggled a lot to get a good story that can help sell the Bharat times newspaper and thereby save my job. As weird as it may sound a peaceful society will have no place for me and my newspaper. The ugly side of human being is what we are interested in. Those are the reason we exist. So in a way Satan is our ally .
So here I was to meet a young man whose is under prosecution and had arrived in jail just 2 days back.
I went through a small door of the big entrance that was painted with cheap yellow and blue stripes. It made a creaking noise like someone who was irritated to meet new people.
As I went inside a chill went through my spine. The atmosphere was reeking with negativity. I was taken to the visiting chambers where I could see a lot of people awaiting to meet their near and dear ones. An old lady was standing with a Tiffin in her hand . Her eyes were fixated and eager to see what I think was her son. At the other corner I saw a young lady with a child who was crying relentlessly. She had covered her face with her Saree and only her disappointed eyes were visible. It was like a festive gathering of broken hearts and dreams.
I was standing beside a hawaldar who was in charge of my meeting with the young man.
“Lo Agaya , Hero ” (Here comes the Hero) said the Hawaldar with a smirk on his face.
My eyes flicked from the plum face of the Hawaldar to a young man with a smile on his face. He was the only one in the room with a smile . It felt like the entire scene was black and white except this young man who looked colorful and full of life.
“Tera Interview lene aya hai ” ( He has come to interview you )
” Hi , I am Vishal ” greeted the young man as if I was meeting him at a restaurant.
“Hi Vishal , My name is Sarang , I am the news reporter for Bharat Times”
“Oh Cool ” said Vishal with a genuine smile
“I wanted to speak with you and understand about the incident because of which you are here ”
“Ok . Lets do it ”
“So Lets start with your full name and brief introduction”
“Ok. My name is Vishal Mane , I am 23 years old . I am an IT engineering graduate and was working with Google. As you might have heard till now
I AM HERE BECAUSE I KILLED MY GIRLFRIEND’S HUSBAND ….”
Chapter 2
I was flabbergasted by the way Vishal introduced himself and the ease in which he mentioned about the crime he had committed.
“Can you arrange for a room where we both can sit and talk ? This iron barrier among us will ruin the beauty of the story. Don,t you think ? ” said Vishal pointing at the iron mesh that separated the inmates from the visitors.
“Nahi jamega ..” said the hawaldar while oscillating his fat fingers .
“I need to check with my Boss. I dont know if its possible”
“Everything is possible if you put your heart and soul in it Sarang, and ummmm … it would be great if i could also get a pack of Marlboro light Cigarette. Its a long story and I need some motivation .” smiled Vishal while the hawaldar kept staring at the absurd demand that he was making.
“I ll see what i can do ” I said while knowing for sure that any of this might not be possible.
I called up and convinced my boss to see if he can pull some strings
“I will do what i can, but if money is involved , you have to pay for it if this story doesn’t sell 1 Lakh copies” Boss said it with a stern voice . He knew my pay and was sure that I would back out the moment he spoke about the monetary issue.
But I was desperate for a good story and I had a gut feeling that this might help me get in the flow . This might be my moment of fame. Without thinking much I agreed to his conditions. Although surprised by my reply, he agreed to make the arrangements.
“Now this is what I am talking about .” Said Vishal while entering a dimly lit room. The room was an interrogation room. I could already feel the sweat, scream & blood that had dried up on these walls. There was a yellow bulb dangling from the middle of the room that lit just the table below it and some part of the 2 wooden chairs kept opposite to each other. I sat in front of Vishal , who was eagerly ripping off the plastic covering of his brand new Marlboro cigarette pack . His enthusiasm was very similar to a new couple discovering each others body for the first time and impatiently ripping each others clothes.
I had never seen a person flick a cigarette in their mouth and light it as fast as him. The smoke started circulating in and around the the bulb and its light.
“Now it feels good. Please sir .. ask me whatever you want. You have made me happy after a very long time .”
“Can you tell me about your love story to start with ?”
“Hmmm… The kick that I am getting from this cigarette right now is how I felt exactly when I saw her for the first time. ” said Vishal while closing his eyes and exhaling smoke rings one after the other.
“You know, our story was always rough and violent. The first day I saw her, she had slapped me in front of the entire college. I was the bad boy of college and other students wouldn’t even dare look at me directly. And here I was in front of girl whose finger marks were evident on my chin ”
“Why did she slap you ?” I asked (Obviously confused)
“Well, I was performing a wheelie on my newly bought pulsar and as I was performing, I lost control and hit a scooter that was parked on the corner. As I pulled myself up analyzing the damage, I saw her rushing towards me . Initially I thought she was running towards me to help. But as she came closer i could the rage in her eyes.
It was her scooter.
Although my friends were shocked to see a girl slap me , i was mesmerized. Such beautiful girl. Brown eyes , thick eyelashes thin lips. I had become her prisoner.
From that day on, I impatiently waited everyday at the same place just to have a glimpse of her beautiful face. ”
“So how did a girl who slapped you fell in love with you ?” I asked with a smile that had emerged on my face out of nowhere.
“I waited at the same place everyday for 69 days . She used to park her scooter and would go ahead minding her own business. She wouldn’t even look at me . But I was happy just looking at her. I never had any intention of making her fall in love. I was happy with what I had. See, my love and adoration for her was sublime and pure. No expectation, pure love. ”
“But on the 70th day is when the magic happened ” Vishal said with a blush that was visible on his partially lit face.
“It was 10th of June and it was raining since morning. But just a mandir Pujari , the rains were not going to stop me from performing my rituals. So I went at 10 am and stood at the same place. The rains started attacking me from all sides and my cloth started drenching in water . My shirt and trouser slowly started embracing me. Just as I was wiping the water from my face, I felt a tap on my shoulder. As I turned around to see who dared touch me,There she was …..holding a pink umbrella . Being 6ft tall, all i could see was her red lips, the rest of her face was hiding behind the umbrella. But those lips were not straight and stern that day. They had mellowed down and had formed an arc.
She was smiling and then those lips opened . Words started dripping out
ENOUGH OF THIS DRAMA… COME UNDER THIS UMBRELLA , IDIOT …
I never thought the word IDIOT would sound so sweet . And that’s how the story started my friend. ” Said Vishal while crushing his finished cigarette butt on the table.
Such a cute start of a love story .. but how did it end in murder and jail .. i couldn’t wait to know .
Chapter 3
” So what happened. Your story seems like any other love story, how did it end like this ?” I asked as I was truly clueless and impatient to know the answer.
“Have you ever been in love, Sarang ? ”
“Not really . I have been so much engrossed in making my career that I never had the leisure to fall in love. ”
“See, now that’s difficult. How to explain a person about love when he hasn’t experienced it in first hand. It’s like telling a blind person how beautiful the rainbow is, telling a deaf person how beautiful the song is . You have no point of reference. ” Said Vishal who was disappointed in me.
“But you are lucky my friend. You didnt have to go through the rollercoaster ride of love. Love is like a tornado, you enter unknowingly but it will rip out the entire world in and around you. Also you are at the mercy of the tornado. You have no control whatsoever . Its all just a beautiful chaos. ” He said will putting out his third cigarette.
“But I have seen a lot of people fall in love and then get married . They are living a good life .” I said with a aura of a defense lawyer
“Sarang, you did not listen to me carefully. I said love is like a tornado. For some, the tornado might help them land on a better place than they were earlier. The people you are taking about belong to this category. But there are a lot of people who end up dead , hurt, wounded as well. We belong to that category.”
“The day she smiled and spoke with me is when the love began. It was a great time, we couldn’t get enough of each other. I even used to sit in her class , although I didn’t belong. But who is going to stop me ? I was the terror and above that my dad was a politician.” He said that with the political arrogance visible in his eyes
“It was true love. I wanted to marry her. I even went to her home to ask her hand. I assumed it would be easy, as i was a politician’s son and all, but that didn’t happen. Her dad was my father’s school teacher and he didn’t like my dad. He not only disapprove of our relationship but also called my father at the same moment and told him to make sure I don’t come to their home and their daughters life from now on. I was immediately called home . My dad said to not meet her henceforth.” His eyes welled up and I could feel the pain in his voice
“So what did you do ?”
“I had no option. I stayed away and thought to give things sometime . I knew my girl loved me and she would wait for me. We decide the same mutually. ”
“That sounds like a mature decision”
“It was .. till I got a phone call 2 days later at 6 pm. ”
“Who called ?” I asked
“It was her. She was upset. I asked what happened. She said she was forcefully married yesterday and today they were going to Mahabaleshwar for their honey moon. ” Vishal’s voice started sounding deeper. It was like he was transforming into something else .. like a werewolf.
” That’s where I lost my mind. I was very calm and was trying to be mature but that call changed all of that. My girl .. married to someone else.. going to honeymoon. I was not going to let that happen. I will burn the entire world before that happens. I immediately got into my car with 3 of my dad’s bodyguard and went straight to Mahabaleshwar. I had informed her to send me the exact location so that I can intercept. After 2 of the longest hours of my life, I finally reached, we stopped the car. As I opened the door , I saw her teary eyed .. a Mangalsutra dangling from her neck and a guy sitting next to her . He had no idea what was happening.
I was so much in rage that I grabbed the guy and pushed him outside, and then i pulled my girl and ripped her mangalsutra and threw it as far as i could. The guy started shouting and asking me who I am. To which I went to into my car, took out a sword and slit the guy’s throat. While he dropped down on the road in a pool of blood, I whispered in his ears ” She is mine. You understand. Now go to sleep” ”
The entire room was silent. I couldn’t believe the way this story turned ugly. A college boy had become a murderer. The innocent love was dripping in blood. For a moment I was unable to look at Vishal. I didn’t want to see the devil.
” Do you repent what you did ? You killed an innocent man .” I asked while looking at the pile of cigarette buds on the table, avoiding eye contact.
” Was I not innocent ? Was she not innocent ? I was at my home, keeping my promise. It was her dad who was the culprit. The guy who married her, he is the culprit. Did he even bother to ask her if she is ready ? If she wants this marriage ? Killing him was the best thing I have done for him. It would have been a lifetime of misery. I released him from that. ”
“But killing him landed you and her in jail. So you are still not together .” I asked
“Yes . But one day we will be. She is at least safe now. Away from her evil dad”
“But what if you get a life sentence or death penalty ?”
“That I don’t know Mr. Sarang. If I happen to get that , its fine, I will die happily. I know I did all I could for my love. I will be a martyr of love if I die. Love comes with a price and that price I am ready to pay. So I guess we are done with the story and so have the cigarettes .”
Vishal laughed while putting off the last bud.
“Thank you for your time Mr. Vishal. I wish you the best”
“Thank you for coming, and thanks for the cigarettes. I wish you well , and yes , you seem like a good person… so please don’t ever fall in love .” he smiled
After leaving the jail I was not sure if I interviewed a murderer or a philosopher of love .
Love seems to me like a deadly drug, you are hallucinated beyond control and It makes you do crazy things.
I hope all the people who are in the tornado of love land at a better place and I hope I don’t get caught into one.
The End
