Thriller The ultimate choice 19

Episode 19

"Do your best. If you find them, I will give you a big prize." Suresh left the police station with a lot of frowning on his forehead. It was not as if he only depended on the police. Actually, he had scant respect for these khaki-clad guys, whom he thought were worthless. Suresh could never forget the favours he received form Rajan. He would never have passed the exams with flying colours, had it not been Suresh writing the papers by his side in the university. He was extremely glad that Rajan had agreed to join hands with him.

Therefore, he himself had engaged the best private investigative agency in the country, the Ravenous Eagles. While coming back from the police station in his SUV, Suresh rang Somnath, the head of the Ravenous Eagles in Southern India.

"Any updates? It's been ten days that you have taken the job!" The tone of Suresh was business  like.

"A good news Sir! We are closing in. Can't tell you at the moment, as the news is still unconfirmed. Please, have some patience. I will call you." The connection was cut from the other end. But, at last, there was a hint of smile on Suresh's face. He rang Rajan's elder brother.
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400 meters! Rajan's experienced eyes quite easily assessed the perimeter of the squarish ground. That meant he had to run 4 km nonstop!

"Oh God! Please help me!" Rajan knew it was an impossible task for him to accomplish, and he didn't want to be beaten either.

Rajan thought that 1 km was the most he could run at a go. He was highly apprehensive of being kicked by that heartless animal. So, after two and half rounds, he started to feel butterflies in his stomach. But, he himself was astonished to see he felt no shortness of breath or any cramp in the leg even after 5 complete laps.

"How come?" He wondered! Was the God helping him? He was glad. He completed 8 rounds without any hiccup. The animal like guy was announcing the rounds with a lot of disdain in his voice. He made it very clear that he didn't enjoy the fact that Rajan was finishing the job flawlessly.

But, during the middle of 8 round, Rajan started to feel a lot of discomfort in his body. Suddenly, his legs started to revolt, his lungs started to collapse. He was huffing and puffing like a steam engine. He was praying to the Almighty to give him enough strength to finish the task.

"You have successfully completed 9 rounds. That's incredible! Here comes your last round."

The Bengali guy announced this with no cheers in his rude voice.

Rajan was happy to know that. But unfortunately, his body was not cooperating. Rajan didn't understand that it was not the God, but it was the continuous hard work of a fortnight that was paying the dividend for him. But, his body was not prepared enough to run 4 km nonstop.  He needed a break of at least 10 minutes.

Rajan's legs showed red flags after the half-way mark in the last lap, and Rajan fell on the ground like a lifeless object. The failure might have given him a bad taste in the mouth, but his exhausted body got a new lease on life. He stayed on the ground motionless for 5 minutes. He would have loved to stay like that for few more minutes, but the masked Bengali appeared  on the scene.

"You have failed!" He announced, this time cheerfully.

"Water! Can I get some Water?" Rajan was having the thirst of a desert. Even a drop of water at this moment seemed to be priceless to him.

"Water? Ha ha! Yes, you can have a little bit of it. But, you will receive 10 extra kicks for that. Do you accept?" The masked guy showed the bottle he was holding in his hand. He might have masked his face, but a sinister smirk could be felt in his voice.

Rajan's body was worn out, but his mind was not. Rajan quickly looked at the bottle and estimated that there was not more than 50 ml of water in that run-down, dirty bottle. It appeared to Rajan that the bottle might have been picked from a bin, and it was filled with water from a puddle. Rajan had been a hygiene-freak for the last so many years. He would have puked to see it in a normal time. But, he himself was shocked to notice a dramatic change in his attitude.

"I agree. Please give the bottle to me."

"Ha ha!" The masked guy handed the bottle in Rajan's hands.

Rajan didn't take more than perhaps a nano second to open the bottle and pour the content in his one thousand-years-of-thirsty throat. Even this 50 ml of dirty water seemed like ambrosia to him.

Rajan's happiness didn't last for more than 5 seconds. A heavy kick in his butt again brought him back to his time of agony. From the 9 more kicks that came in no time on his buttock, chest, head, arms, legs and even in his groin, it appeared that the Bengali guy might be an expert in martial arts.

After the harrowing nonstop running, this was too much for Rajan to withstand. He was writhing in pain, and started crying loudly. This made the Bangali guy to stop for few moments. He, too, was sweating. He opened two upper buttons of his blue denim T-shirt, and said,

"Oh! Did the kicks hurt?"

"Yes, very much! Please don't beat me any more." Rajan tried to touch the feet of the Bengali guy to plead mercy.

"Wow! What a  cute gesture! My heart has really melted. But you know what?"

"What?" Rajan asked eagerly.

"The word mercy does not belong to anyone working in this hell. I am sorry sweetie!"

The guy kicked 10 more times on every parts of Rajan's body to fulfil his words.

Looking at the sorry face of Rajan, the Bengali guy said,

"When I whistle, you must start running to complete the last round. Any more breaks, you will again get 10 more kicks. You have only 30 seconds to compose yourself."

                                               ________________________________________

To be continued on Saturday night

Thriller The ultimate choice 18

Episode 18

"It's just 15'. But, there is a condition. The condition is that you can't run. You have to walk your normal steps. That means you have to take around 15 steps. If you walk quickly you can complete the things in less than 5 seconds. Ain't that easy?" Again, there was a hint of exuberance in the Joker's voice.

Archana tried to visualize the situation, and she didn't utter a single word. So, the Joker continued,

"So, only 5 second of pain. I assure you it's nothing. You can do it without any trouble."

Archana remained silent. The Joker continued,

"The sensation of pain is nothing but a malfunction of your brain. If you control your brain, you can defeat it."

"I don't get it." Archana blurted.

"Okay,  I will explain in simpler terms. You have nerves in your body. They send various kind of sensations when your skin touches something. For example, when you touch an ice cube, your nerves send a signal to your brain. Your brain is trained in such a manner that it interprets it is very cold. This interpretation is completely man made. You are trained from your early childhood that this sensation was cold and it was bad. So, you immediately withdraw your hand from the ice cube. But suppose, if you were trained that this sensation was good, you wouldn't have removed your hand. Similarly, you have to think that the sensation of burning is good. You can even think that it's even heavenly.

Haven't you read the Ramayana? Haven't you read about Sita's "Agnipariksha"? You are a devout Hindu. I am sure you have read about that, and you believe that. Don't You?"

The Joker asked Archana, and it appeared that he would not take no for an answer. As a matter of fact, Archana was a firm believer, and she believed every word written in the Ramayana. So, she nodded her head affirmatively.

"Good", the Joker seemed to have been pleased with the answer. He continued,

"So, how do you think how Sita could overcome the sense of pain? Do you think it was some kind of blessings from the God? No it was not. She had trained her mind in such a way that she could control her brain, or should I say how to interpret the sensation of so-called pain? She could programme her brain in such a way that pain was interpreted in a positive way. That was the one and only one secret behind her success to pass the Agnipariksha."

Archana was awestruck. She had never thought in this way. No doubt, she thought many times about the Agnipariksha. How could a living person stay inside fire without being burnt into ashes was the question that came to her mind several times. But, Archana knew Sita was not an ordinary woman. Her extraordinary piety gave her extraordinary powers.

The flow of thought traversing in Archana's mind was cut short, as the lady standing beside the Joker piped up,

"There was no extraordinary power in Sita except for the fact that she trained her mind to overcome pain. She was in the fire for only 5 seconds. She was standing on a platform, but the people didn't see that. Within 5 seconds, the platform was pulled down, and she landed in the safe underground room. But, the people thought that she had vanished inside the earth."

"So, they are reading my mind again! How come?" Though this question occurred in her mind, she put it aside, as the situation was to grave to ponder over that issue.

"So, what have I to do?" She asked the most important question for her survival. The Joker seemed to have been content with Archana's reaction. He calmly said,

"You don't have the luxury of training your mind like Sita, as you have to appear at the test right now. All I can do for your help is to tell you the thumb rule of winning pain for this test. Think something else when you walk on the singeing coal. Your untrained nerves will disturb you enormously, but you have to turn a deaf ear to them. Can you do It? Please remember you have no other option but to pass the test. Otherwise, you know what? Ha Ha!" This time the Joker's words sounded really cruel.

As soon as the Joker signalled, 4 masked men came down from the lift with a big drum. Very quickly, they put down singeing coals on the raised ceramic platform. Everything happened so quickly that Archana didn't find much time to compose herself.

"2 minutes! You have only 2 minutes to start the job. Your time starts now." The Joker announced sternly.

                              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sixteen days have passed, and you are saying you couldn't trace him. What are you doing?" Suresh fumed at the officer in the local police station.

"Sir, we are trying our best. We have alerted all the states. The moment some positive inputs arrive, we shall act swiftly." The young, handsome policeman wrung his hands as he explained. Suresh was a very successful businessman who was known to have a lot of hobnobbing with influential politicians in the state. Rajan was his college friend. He was awaiting Rajan's arrival in India. They had a big plan to start a joint venture. When he knew about Rajan's abduction, he became mad in rage. He left no stones unturned to find Rajan. Both Rajan and Archana's families totally depended on Suresh to find the two missing persons.

"What are reports from the airports?"

"Sir, we have received inputs from both airports and railway stations across the country. Neither Rajan nor Archana could be seen to go anywhere. I am sure Sir, the kidnapper had taken them by car."

"Hmm! What do you think where could they have kept them for so long?"

"That's the million dollar question Sir. We are having inputs from our sources. So, far no one could throw any light on this mystery."

The next episode will be published on Saturday night 9PM IST 

Thriller The ultimate choice 17

Episode 17

Therefore, Rajan didn't say much, and only nodded his head from side to side indicating a negative answer.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha! Then you have got a big problem! Do you see the tracks? Today, your first job is to run along the ground 10 times. No time limit for this task. Take your position. When I whistle, start running. The condition is you can't stop before running 10 times."

"If I fail what happens?"

Being absolutely inconfident of his own running abilities, the question came out spontaneously like a burp.

"Ha ha ha ha ! 10 kicks for every break you take, and these kicks will be kicks of these leather boots. "

The ruthless Bengali guy pointed his index fingure to his size 12 leather boots in a very rude manner.

He didn't give much time to Rajan to compose himself.

"On your marks." He said in a stentorian tone indicating Rajan to take position behind the starting line. With heavily beating heart and trembling feet Rajan went there.

"Ready, steady, go", the masked guy blew the whistle.

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Archana was blindfolded, and taken to a place which she guessed from the movement and time taken by the lift, was in the first or second floor. When she was allowed to open her eyes, she was taken aback to see the Joker in person. The place  was the large open ground floor area of the mansion. This place was meant for parking of cars. But, Archana could see only a couple of them, a white-metallic Land Rover and a silver Jaguar XG, parked at a distance from the place where the Joker was sitting on a wheel chair.

Archana had always been a mediocre person; her marks had never crossed the 75% barrier. Before her marriage she was dependent on her father and her elder brother, and after marriage it was her husband Rajan who took all the responsibilities of outdoor works. Though she protested vehemently when she was accused of being unsmart by Rajan, in her heart she knew that Rajan was not entirely wrong. But, in this difficult situation, when life seemed to very cruel to her, she had to shrug off the baggage of dorkiness. Whether purposefully or not she didn't know, the place was very dimly lit. It was not easy to see things distinctly.

Archana observed that the Joker was surrounded by 2 gunned masked men in his front and 2 at his back. They were equipped with the most modern lethal weapons in the world: M4A1 and MK2. From the tall, muscular structure of the men, Archana was pretty sure, as she had observed in the US over the years, the guys were black mercenaries. There was another masked lady in complete black, who was standing beside the Joker, her right hand resting on the wheel chair. She was holding a belt in her left hand.

The Joker, even though he was in a  sitting position, looked like a very plump, short, old, around 75, man. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, black pant, and his hands were covered with black gloves. He was wearing a mask of a typical joker, white face, tomato red bulbous nose and thick red lips.

"Good evening! Welcome to your third test! Are you ready?"

The voice didn't seem that nasal as it appeared in earlier occasions. From his accent, Archana could not guess much. Surely, it was not an American accent, but it could be either British or Indian.

Archana's mind was full of spite for this weird guy, as he had been torturing her and Rajan for the last fortnight. In the house, Archana could not even think bad of this guy. Whenever she thought of something evil about the Joker, there was clatter of some metal objects nearby, or someone clunked outside her room, and every time Archana had to nip the thought in bud. Now that she was outside and the light being very dim, she didn't bridle the evil thought that came instantly in her mind. She thought of strangulating him with her bare hands. She gasped immediately apprehending about the reaction.

But, nothing happened. The Joker seemed to have smiled, and in a calm voice said,

"I am a man of my word. Have no doubt in your mind about the promise I made. Freedom is awaiting you as soon as you pass the remaining tests. But make no mistake about the fact that each test is very tough."

Archana interjected impatiently, " What do I have to do now?"

"Patience my dear! You will surely get to know about your task very soon. But, before that you need to listen something that will help you to accomplish the job."

Even in this precarious situation, a gush of laughter came spontaneously on Archana's lips.  The Joker wanted to help her! Devuda! Somehow, she controlled herself, and focussed on Joker's words.

Today, the Joker seemed to be totally ignorant of Archana's thoughts, as he continued,

"You have to win pain to pass this test. I just want to educate you one or two things about how to overcome pain."

Archana again gasped, thinking what pain the Joker was talking about.

"Look at your left side."

That far Archana hadn't looked at her left at all. She turned her head, and she saw something strange. There was a raised platform of some ceramic material placed on the floor of the ground. The area of the platform was around 15'x15'.

"That place will be covered with singeing coal. All you have to do is to walk the 15' bare foot. It's not a big deal, I promise." There was a sense of assurance in the Joker's voice. It appeared that he assumed that walking on burning coals was Archana's hobby!

"What?" Archana shrieked. Archana might not be over sensitive to pain, but walking on burning  coals? Archana could not even think of that

"You are bound by your oath, which you made in the name of your God, to obey my orders. If you disobey not only you invite the ire of your God for disrespecting him, but also you will be given harsher punishment than walking on singed coals." This time the Joker's voice sounded pretty ruthless.

"What punishment?" Archana asked.

"Look at the lady standing on my left. She has no heart in her body. She will peel off your skin with the belt that you can see is on her left hand." The Joker announced the spine-chilling words with unmistakable glee.

Archana understood that she had no other option but to pass the test.

The next episode will be published on Wednesday 9PM IST

Thriller The ultimate choice 16

Episode 16

"Hello! I am Chan. I am from Singapore. I was working in a massage parlour. One night, I was sleeping in my room, and when I woke up, I found myself here. I, too, have been in solitary confinement since my arrival here. What's your story?"

"Same! I, too, was kidnapped in my hometown. But, please tell me how can we escape from here? You guys have been here for some time, I guess. Have you thought of any way of escaping?"

Roger poured water from the jug to the glasses, and said, "First, you guzzle as much as water as possible, and gulp as many bananas as you can. A lot more work to do before lunch."

He followed up his words by guzzling 3 glasses of water in no time. Then he took off the peels of 6 bananas in a flash, and swallowed them quickly.

Rajan was disappointed, as he didn't get the answer he was seeking. But, he too, followed them by drinking and eating. It took about to 5 minutes for Roger to complete his breakfast. Then he opened his mouth,

"This is a very tough place man! Do you see me? I am 6' 6", 140 kg. I have the power of a lion but, I can run like a cheetah. One day, I saw no one guarding here. So, I ran fast, very fast, to flee. No one was following me. I reached the precincts of this place, which is roughly 1 km from here in less than 5 minutes. This place is surrounded by a 10 feet wall. But that height is no big deal for me. I had been a very good athelete. I could jump more than 6 feet with ease, and here all I had to do was to jump only 2 feet to reach the wall. But, as I jumped..."

He couldn't complete, as peals of a bell could be heard for 3 times, and his face turned pale.

"Go back quickly to your work place, else they will beat the crap out of you."

He and the Asian guy ran to their respective places of work. That was the first working day for Rajan. Besides, he was constantly thinking about what happened to Roger next! Why an athletic guy like Roger could not escape this place?"

Rajan was sure from the nature of the trees and the soil that this place was in India. The soil was alluvial in nature. That meant that it was somewhere near a river. Where it could be, and how come the police were completely unaware of the unlawful activities happening here. Rajan was sure that his relatives would report his kidnapping to the police. He wondered why police could not find him so far!

His brooding took him a lot of time and he reached the work place after 10 minutes of ringing of the bell. When he reached there, he was shocked to see a pair of handcuffs in the hand of the Bengali, from his accent it was evident, masked man. As soon as Rajan arrived, he kicked Rajan in the gut with force.

"Oh my God!" Rajan was gasping and writhing in pain on the ground. But, that heartless guy quickly handcuffed him, and started to beat him with his legs. He kicked Rajan at least 10 times before saying,

"This place belongs to the Joker, and he respects punctuality more than anything else in the universe. Before you perish, you have to obey the orders, and you have to be on time every occasion. Do you understand, you bonehead?"

"Yes, yes! I understand! Please stop beating me."

Rajan could not take anymore.

The guy released him, and said, " 15 minutes to recover. Start working again."

Rajan had to work for 2 more hours in the garden before lunch. After lunch, he was again assigned household works like sweeping and cleaning an entire 1500 square feet floor. He was then assigned to wash clothes and finally he had to clean a huge stack of utensils. At 6-30 PM, the masked man said,

"It's over for the day. Now you can rest. See you tomorrow at 6 AM."

When Rajan was selected for the IIT, his father broke the news to the family. Before today, that was the sweetest news that Rajan had ever got in his entire life. But, when the masked guy uttered those words, Rajan found them to be the real sweetest news he had ever heard. Every muscle in his body was sore and fatigued. Somehow, he managed to stay on his own feet. He thanked God for this miracle.

But, when he entered his secluded room, he simply fell on the carpet of the floor like a lifeless object. He would have stayed there for eons, had it been his wish. But, withing half an hour, another masked man entered his room with a glass of milk and few medicines. He was ordered to quickly consume them. One of the medicine, Rajan saw, was a painkiller. Generally, he avoided that medicine, as he read that it was not good for heart in the long run. But on that day Rajan was thankful to the Joker for sending it.

Today, Rajan noted that the masked guy didn't take the normal route. He was taken in the opposite direction of the garden. Rajan saw an agricultural field blooming with gorgeous yellow mustard flowers. The north-eastern wind was caressing the flowers, and it appeared from their sway that they were dancing in enjoyment. Rajan, being residing in the USA for many years, was not feeling any cold in this early February. All he was concerned about was his fate!

They walked on the narrow path inside the field. The field was quite large, and almost square in shape. At the end of the agricultural field, Rajan saw a football ground. From the well-trimmed lush green grasses, Rajan understood that it was well maintained. Apart from two goal posts and white lines associated with the game of football, Rajan espied that there were white lines along the side of the ground which indicated it was used as an athletics track.

"Welcome to the tracks! Are you a good athlete? Can you run fast?"
                           
Rajan's throat constricted. Despite being born and brought up in a village area, Rajan had never been a good athlete. He was good at sudies, and since his early childhood, he understood that he had to carry the burden of his family. So, sports was the last thing in his mind.
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                          The next episode will be published on Saturday 9 PM IST 

The ultimate choice 15

Episode 15

5 AM was the time he had been waking in the morning since his arrival at this hell of a place. By nature, he was fond of sleep and a late-riser. In his office days, he never woke up before 6-45 AM, and the holidays? He loved the holidays simply for one reason: sleep. He slept till 8-30 AM in holidays, and after having lunch, he indulged himself in the pleasure called noon siesta.

But here, he had no option but to wake up at 5 AM. A very rhythmic, not-so-loud alarm bell started at 4-50 AM on its own. There was no alarm clock in the entire room, but there was a multipurpose meter on the western wall of the room. Rajan had never seen that kind of an electronic device in his entire life. The meter read the temperature, humidity, time, date, voltage, current, altitude and pressure. But, that was not all. It had many buttons embedded on its body. Rajan was sure it could  measure some other parameters as well. It was planted on the higher side of the western wall so that no human being can reach it even by jumping. But, Rajan was sure the rhythmic sound didn't come from that.

Rajan could clearly understand that the sound was coming from  top of the adjacent northern wall. But he could detect nothing from his naked eyes. Anyway, the sound lasted for only 5 minutes. That sound was not good enough to wake Rajan from his deep slumber. On his first day in this room, he had pretended not to hear it at all. But, he couldn't enjoy the coziness of his warm blanket anymore. Suddenly, the blanket seemed to have thickened. Rajan never tolerated anything coming between him and his love, sleep. So, he had immediately thrown out the blanket.

But that didn't help. The warmness of the room increased in every ten seconds. Rajan never opened his eyes to check the temperature of the room. But, when he started sweating heavily, and suffered from shortness of breathing, he could not ignore it any more. He immediately woke up, and saw that the time was 4-58 AM, and the temperature was as high as 40° C. Then appeared the frigging face of the Joker on the television monitor.

"Good morning Rajan! This is my house, and you are nothing more than a captive here. The value of  your life is nothing more than a cockroach's life in my view. You have to obey everything I tell you. Take me seriously, otherwise you may even lose your life."

At that moment, Rajan understood one thing that here he had to divorce his love, sleep. Then onwards, he always woke up hearing the sound of the alarm bell without fail.

Today was no exception. Rajan woke up even 10 minutes before the alarm bell rang. He quickly went into the attached toilet and freshened himself. The automatic door opened sharp at 5 AM, and Rajan followed a masked man, who seemed to be holding an important position in this mansion.

"What's in store for me today? How can I escape from here?" These two questions were reverberating in his mind.

Rajan contemplated thousands of time a plan to flee from here. In the last fortnight, he was taken to the garden in the morning. There was a beautiful garden, measuring not less than 1 acre of area, Rajan estimated, in front of the golf field. There were at least 100 types of flowers, and 200 types of other trees, ranging from small to big, in that garden. Naturally, maintaining this huge garden was a big task. Rajan was assigned the job of a gardener.

It was not as if he hated this job, as he himself had had a small garden outside his house. But, initially he was in a shock to assume that he alone had to take the huge load of 5 men's job. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see 2 other men, and they were not masked, in the garden doing the same job. However, the masked man, who guided him to this place told him in heavily Bengali-accented English that he was not allowed to mingle with them during the working hours.

However, they were given a break after 3 hours of continuous and rigourous works of watering and feeding plants, trimming trees and shrubs, fertilizing and mowing, weeding and keeping green spaces and walkways clear of debris and litter. In the first day of this tedious work, the masked man was continuously present with him, guiding and rebuking him from time to time. Rajan was panting like a steam engine, his back was on the brink of breaking, and his tongue was lolling like a dog. He never knew that gardening 33 decimals of land would almost take his life. But, at 8 AM, when Rajan's arms felt like they were made of tons of stone, and his head was spinning like a teetotum, and he was sure he would fall like a felled tree, the masked man said, "Stop. Time for 15 minute of break."

He pointed to a place 50 meter north from here with his stretched right hand and said, "That is a small refreshment centre. Go there and take rest. You can drink and eat there, too. Come back here after 15 minutes."  He went somewhere else, and Rajan went to the place he showed.

The refreshment centre was a temporary structure made of bamboo and wood. Big trees, such as banyan, peepal, mango and jamun, surrounded the place. The roof of the temporary structure was covered with jute and hay to protect it from the sun and rain. There was a small wooden table where there were few glasses, a jug, and a wooden bucket full of fruits. Rajan was pleased to see the two men, whom he had previously seen from distance, were also present at that place pouring water from a wooden water keg to the jug. But, Rajan was a bit disappointed to note that none of them were Indian: one was a muscled, tall, black guy, while the other was a short, thin, effeminate South Asian man. When they saw him for the first time, there eyes became wide open in amazement or whatever that Rajan could not assess, and they accosted him stopping the work they were doing.

The African guy grabbed his shoulder in a way that Rajan didn't like at all. The Asian guy took his hand in his hand in a way as if his hand was a flour which needed to be kneaded. Their behaviour was queer, but they were unmasked like him. That gave Rajan some hope, and ignoring their odd behaviour, Rajan asked,

"Hi! I am Rajan. I an an Indian. They have captivated me. Who are you? How did you arrive here?"

"I am Roger. I am an African American. I was a bouncer in a pub. One day, I was coming back to my home at late hour. Suddenly, someone clubbed me on my head with an iron rod, and I don't remember what happened next. But, when I woke up, I found myself here. I have been in solitary confinement since my arrival here." Roger spoke in English.

The next episode will be published on Wednesday night 9 PM IST 

Song: So intoxicating

Do you know that
Your are so intoxicating
Whenever you come close
My head goes spinning?
Spinning spinning spinning
My head goes so spinning
Spinning spinning spinning
You are so intoxicating!

Don't look at my eyes babe
My treachery will be caught
I don't know where to look
Cause you are so hot.
So hot hot hot
You are so hot
I don't know where to look
My treachery will be caught.

Don't seat near me babe
Don't ignite my desire
I can not control
I will be on fire
Fire, fire, fire
I will be on fire
I can not control
My burning desire.

Stay away from me babe
Don't send me love signal
I am a married man
Don't bring my downfall.
Downfall downfall downfall
Don't bring my downfall
I am a married man
Don't send me love signal.

Thriller The ultimate choice 14

Episode 14

Archana had no feeling of hunger, all she wanted was to sleep early. She knew sleep was a great temporary escape from troubles and tensions. She wished to switch off the single fluorescent light, and throw herself onto the bed. But, strangely there was no manual switch in this room. Everything in this room, or may be in this entire 10 storied building, was remote-controlled by the Joker.

So, Archana went to the bathroom to clean her face before going to bed even with the lights on. Just when she was getting up on the bed, the door opened. The strange thing about door was that it had no inside lock or latch. Archana had no control over the door. Like every thing in this mansion like building, this door, too, obeyed only the Joker's orders.

A masked steward with a stainless-steel, mobile centre-table entered the room. He shifted the food items from that table to the glass table on Archana's room. This had been a routine exercise since her shifting into this room. She would be given half an hour to finish the food. The steward would come again and take the leftovers.

So far, the food had been super-boring for a foodie like Archana. Waking up at 6 AM, followed by 2 hours of workout at the first floor gym and then came the heavy breakfast with 4 slices of bread with butter, 2 half-boiled eggs, 1 glass of milk and plenty of fruits. None of the items was favourite of Archana. Breakfast for her meant mouth-watering, lip-smacking puri or idli or dhosa.

Archana would have withstood that had the lunch been good. But, the lunch, which was served at 1-30 PM without fail everyday, was even more disappointing. A sandwich and a cup of coffee were all that she got for lunch.

 In the afternoon, she again had to go for 1 hour of yoga and pranayam session. The lady masked-instructor was the only one who spoke to her, that too in Hindi. She never spoke any extra word other than giving her necessary instructions, though. But still, this 1 hour was the only time that Archana could enjoy during the  whole day. At the end of that session, there was a very queer 10-minute meditation session.

The instructor for some strange reason would tell her to think very disturbing things during this period. For example, one day she told Archana to think that Archana was engulfed in a red, hot fire, and she was burning. Another day, Archana was told to think that she was thrown in a sea with her hands and legs tied to rope, and she was drowning slowly. But, Archana never thought those things. Instead, she thought of her pleasant past, when she lived a very happy life with Rajan and the two children.

She was served a cup of tea and 2 biscuits as supper at 6 PM. At her room, she was forced to watch tv programmes and movies, all of torture and horror types. She was forced to watch abominable pornographic movies, and the type was always BDSM. This mental torture would end at 8-30 PM.

The dinner was served at 9PM on dot. Unfortunately, the dinner was the most disappointing: baked chicken breast with the minimum oil, boiled veggies and plenty of salads. The cook seemed to be heartless guy, as he not only didn't give any seasonings in the chicken item, but also had always been heavily economic with salt.

So when the steward entered the room with the mobile table, she expected another boring dinner. But, when she looked at the table, she saw 6 slices of pizza, 3 bottles of different sauces and many packets of seasonings. Despite her pathetic condition, she felt the appearing of water in her mouth.

Then appeared the Joker on the television monitor.

"Let's celebrate your success Honey! You have successfully passed your second test. So, you got this chicken golden delight as the prize. Enjoy your dinner, and don't forget to see a chit pasted on the back of your plate when you finish the dinner. The monitor went blank, and by that time the masked steward had already left the room. The door closed immediately on its own.


The sense of refreshment that she got after watching new tasty food didn't last long. A sense of fear again gripped her mind. Would that be the the third test? What kind of torture would  that be? What if she didn't pass it? Would the Joker kill her husband, or would he kill her? How could she escape from this hell? These questions started reverbating in her mind like a swarm of angry bees, and tears started to roll down her cheeks.

 An evanescent thought of not eating the dinner appeared in mind. But, she knew if she tried to do such thing, the Joker's face would immediately appear on the television monitor, and she would be again subjected to mental torture. So, she ate the dinner very fast, and without waiting for the steward got onto her bed.

 The pizza might have been prepared well, but her unwilling, terrified tastebuds didn't enjoy it. There was a digital multipurpose meter on the wall. It showed date, time, voltage, temperature, humidity and few other parameters that Archana didn't understand. The time showed 8-50 PM and the date showed first February. That meant she had been in the Joker's captivity for the last 15 days. She wondered in which state this place might be! How come no one was coming to rescue her! Very tired, she slept immediately.

To be continued on Saturday night 9 PM IST 

You should have studied hard

You were supposed to study hard
But you could never focus
Your friends said not to worry
They will do some hocus-pocus.

Hocus-pocus, that's what you love
Astrologers are on your side
Always finding auspicious moment for you
The rings on your fingers are your pride.

The centre was not in your town
That made your temper sore
The questions were doing too much
You couldn't keep your fort anymore.

Your friends, too, fell like ninepins
The guard called you a blowhard
Results out, you all scored 5 out of 10
You should have studied really hard.



The picture is taken form the Internet 

Thriller The ultimate choice 13

Episode 13

Archana's jaw stiffened! How dare he called her Honey?

"You are about to begin your second task. Remember that you have made a solemn oath in front of your revered Lord that you would obey all my orders."

"Oh God! Why have you put me in this quagmire?" Archana's shoulders droopped, and her head bent downwards.

"Oh Honey! You don't have to worry at all! This second step is the easiest of all the steps. All you have to do is to do skinny dipping in this lovely pool in front of those three masked people. They will stare at you. They may make some obscene gestures. But, I assure you they will not touch you."

Archana's childhood was spent in a semi-urban area, where ponds were in abundance! Archana's uncle had a peculiar way of teaching swimming to his wards. He would simply throw them in the pond when they were as young as 3 years old. The children would get the shock of their life, they would try their best to remain afloat. But, eventually, the drowning would start, and at that moment the uncle would jump on to the pond to save the children. He would repeat the act again and again until the child learned swimming. No one approved his method, but it worked. All his wards became good swimmers eventually. 

Therefore, Archana had a date with swimming from a very early age, and when she attained 8 years, she became an expert swimmer. Bathing in front of other people was neither a new thing to her. But, the womenfolk in her area never did skinny dipping! That was beyond their imagination, simply unthinkable. How could she skinny dip in front of 3 strangers? No she could not do it.

"You know what, Honey? God, yes, your God, has created both men and women. Don't you believe that? Don't your freaking holy books teach that? Do you think that God has made the body of a woman so beautiful to keep them wrapped under a veil? No, Honey, no! Beauty is for flaunting. If you have read your holy scriptures carefully, and if you have the minimum IQ to interpret them, you will realize that for a very long time the womenfolk didn't cover their bosoms. If you interpret the Mahabharata without jaundiced eyes, you can clearly understand that even Draupadi never covered her breasts. Have you ever visited the temples of Khajuraho? Haven't you noticed the celebration of nudity there? Now, the time has come for you to keep your tradition. Show your beauty in front of these three strangers. There is no shame in it." The same nasal voice preached. Archana again tried hard to find where the sound came from in vain.

Archana looked at herself. When she left home for New Delhi, she was wearing a pink kurti and ochre leggings. But, when she got back her sense, she was wearing an orange tee-shirt and an orange pant, almost similar to the dresses worn by convicts. That meant somebody had changed her clothes without her knowledge and permission. That meant somebody had already seen her body. Very reluctantly, as if tons of load were put on her hands, she took off her tee-shirt. The moment she did it, she heard a shrill whistle!

Shocked and displeased, she looked around to find that the shortest, plump guy was making lewd gestures at her. The other two men stood as if they were statues!

She stopped instantly, covering her bras with both hands in embarrassment, and cringing a bit backwards!

After waiting for a couple of minute, the nasal voice said, "Don't stop Honey! This is a test. You have to pass it, otherwise you will never be freed."

Very hesitantly, the moment she took off her pant, the short guy jumped and clapped with great enthusiasm! This obscene gesture again made Archana wince. Now, she was in bra and panty. How would she take them off in front of these lumpen elements?

"Don't forget Honey, your husband is in our captivity! And, you have no idea what we can do with him!" This time the nasal voice sounded very rude!

The words acted like an act of whipping to Archana! After a very long time, Archana again realized that the life of her husband was very dear to her. Thus, casting off all her senses of fear, shame and insults, she took off all the remainings, and jumped on to the pool in a flash.

The short guy was making all kinds of obscene gestures, with intermittent wolfwhistling. But, Archana's mind was in such an emergency state that she could not pay attention to it.

                                    --------------------------------------::::::::::::::::-----'xxxxxxxxxzzzz

Had Rajan been made of wax, he would surely have melted to avoid the embarrassment of watching his wife skinny dipping in front of two strangers, who were making all kinds of lewd gestures. Sometimes, the thought of killing the short, plump guy appeared to his mind. But, the Joker with a nasal voice, who made him captive, had directed him to to remain as a mere spectator during that 10 minutes of humongous mental torture.

After that 10 minutes of severe thrashing he received, he had been taken to a comfortable room, and given treatment. There was a 42" television monitor on that room, which operated on its own will. When Rajan had been almost dying of hunger, the joker's face appeared on it. The joker told him that Rajan's life was in his hand. He would have to obey whatever directions he would be given. He would have to pass 5 tests to get his freedom back. Disobedience, he was given a stern warning, might lead to his death. Watching his wife skinny dipping in front of others without interfering was his first test.

Later on the day, the joker congratulated him on passing the test. As it seemed, he was given pizza in the dinner as an award for passing the test. But the award came with a rider. He got a chit, which said, "Tomorrow 5 AM."

Rajan could not enjoy the pizza at all. He was thinking what predicament would be waiting for him.

                                 --------------------------------_____________________--------'xxxxxxxxxx

Since coming back from the pool, Archana sat in the divan of the cosy room that she had been allotted after she agreed to obey the Joker's conditions, like a statue for hours. Tears never stopped rolling down from her eyes during this period.

There was a heat pump in the room that kept the temperature at a comfortable level. Apart from that white divan, there were one small bed, whose cover had been changed regularly by the Joker's masked men, one 3-shelved glass table and a tv monitor hanged on the white wall. There was no window in the room.

There was a nice attached bathroom with all the modern facilities with that room. The bathroom didn't have any window either. The exhaust fan ran continuously to compensate the unavailability of a window.

There was a glass jug and a glass on the  glass table. Archana took a sip from the glass. She was in such a mood that even that water tasted distasteful to her.

Why was she put in this horrific condition? First, beating her husband to pulp with her own hands, and then this shameful skinny dipping in front of scoundrels! What else was in store for her?

                                                       The next episode will be published on Wednesday night 9 PM IST

Thriller The ultimate choice 12

Chapter 12

"Oh God! Mercy! Please show mercy on me." Rajan screamed when he was hit by couple of hosepipe strikes. He had no idea that a hosepipe strike could be so excoriating! Couple of more strikes made him feel that his skin was being peeled off. He was very weak due to hunger and anxiety. Couple of more hits, and he could not take it any more. He lost his sense, and was falling on the floor like an object.

But, that ghost-man saw this coming, and in a flash he saved him from falling. He laid Rajan's body on ground with care. Hesitantly, he took off Rajan's shirt. Rajan's back looked horrible with red marks. Droplets of blood were oozing from his wounds.

Did the ghost-man have a heart inside his coarse exterior? Very mercifully he dressed his wound, and left the scene.

                                            __________________________________________

"Congratulations! You have passed your first test!" The nasal voice declared cheerfully.

Archana was heaving heavily. She was so exhausted, both mentality and physically, that it appeared to her that had she been a doll made of clay, she would have been broken into thousands of pieces. No doubt, she had been hating Rajan for quite some time due to his complete neglect towards her. Sometimes, she thought of slapping him. But beating him to a pulp was beyond her imagination. Rajan's screams, his pleas for mercy were still reverbating in her ears. She could still visualise the red scars on his back. She cringed again. She could feel a lump on her throat due to building of emotions. She needed to cry loudly.

"I can't do it any more." Archana cried.

A complete silence prevailed in the big air-conditioned hall where she was standing. She had come here for couple of occasions before. This was the hall when the nasal voice called her to give directions. However, she had never seen him in person. All she could see was a masked man appearing on a television. The mask was that of a joker.

There were a couple of sofas clad in white velvet inside the room, and a small glass table. Once, she was asked by the joker to sit on one, and have few sip of water from a glass placed on the table. Today, the joker didn't  say any such thing so far.

"Do you remember the pledge you made to your revered God?" This time there was no hint of cheer in the nasal voice.

"In case you forgot........".

After a gap of 10 seconds or so, Archana was shaken to see herself on the monitor. With folded hands she had been taking an oath to obey the directions given to her. That meant every moment of her captivity was being recorded! This seemed to be a very organised, and tech-savvy gang to her. Could she ever escape from this hell was the question that seemed to have no answer right at that moment. Archana was silent for couple of minutes!

"Of course, you can get back your free life, but there is only one way of doing it. I repeat only one way!" 

Again Archana was shaken, and this time she could not hide her reaction!

"The frigging agency can even read my thoughts! How come? I didn't say a single word, or even opened my mouth?" Archana was surprised to the core.

This time there was complete silence! So, Archana asked,

"And what's that only way?"

"As I told you many times, you have to pass all the 5 tests. The good news is that you have already passed the first test with flying colours! It appears to me that you have the ability to make it."

"Five tests! Of this type? This was the first one, meaning easiest of all." Archana dared to think what the last one could be!

Will she be able to sustain up to that?

Again the nasal voice spoke, this time with a rather grave tone,

"It's true that everyone doesn't make it. In fact, only one lady has passed all the tests so far, and she was freed."

"And, how many have tried?" Some desperation seemed to have taken over the otherwise timid soul of Archana.

"Not many dear! Only 19, 8 of them were men, and the rest were women. Best of luck to you for the remaining tests! You can go back to your room now. See you on tomorrow sharp at 1 PM."

Archana looked at the wall clock. It was 8 PM. That meant she would get 17 hour to cry her heart out. Who knew what the second test would be! With her heads down, Archana lumbered towards her room.

                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Archana was blindfolded, but she could understand that she was taken inside a lift, and the lift went downwards. Then she was made to walk for 15 minutes in various directions. When the masked men, 3 of them in number, who accosted her, opened her eyes, she was again taken aback.

"Welcome to the pool!" The nasal voice announced cheerfully.

It was true that Archana was mesmerized by the impressive look of the pool, its crystal-clear blue water, the lush green surroundings, its vast size, but she was quick enough to look at the three masked men. Archana could not figure out who spoke those words!

"Ha ha! You seem to be so perplexed! Don't look at them, as they are mere servants of orders."

Still, Archana could not divert her gaze from them. One of the men, with a strong body, seemed to be around 5 ft 10" tall, the second one, medium built, was around 5 ft 6", and the third person was the shortest of the three, hardly 5 ft 4" in height with a plump body. All of them were wearing black vests and black pants. 

She could see a big field, which she was pretty sure was a golf field on the front side of the pool. On her back, she saw a massive 10-storied building! Had she been kept in that building? The surroundings gave her the impression that this had to be a rural area. The building looked very odd in the otherwise serene, natural atmosphere. On the two sides of the pool were vast open fields followed by lush greenery.  When she was done with her little detective skills, the nasal voice spoke again,

"Now it's time for business, Honey!"

                         The next episode will be published on Saturday night 9 PM IST

Joining a new place of work:

Butterflies in stomach, heart sounding like a drum, sweating like a marathon runner, feeling of thirst as if you are in a desert, trembling knees or fingers etc are all symptoms of nervousness, which can occur when you face some challenges, and you are not confident of yourself! Joining a new place of work is not at all a big deal, I think. Just imagine how a cricketer feels when he is facing the last ball of the match, and he has to score a six to win the match! The burden of expectations of the entire nation is on his soldiers, and he has to deliver. You can also take the example of a commando when he sets off for rescuing hostages held by terrorists! Think of those difficult situations, and you will soon realize that joining a new job is as easy as skating on ice.

Thriller The ultimate choice 11

Episode 11

Everything went according to his plan. After dropping his children along with the luggage in his ancestral home in Visakhapatnam rural mandal, he wanted to meet Mr Reddy, a bank manager, before meeting his college friend Suresh Rao in Hyderabad. But, within 15 minutes of his walk towards the bus stop, someone tripped him on the road in a desolate place, and he fell down. Since then he found himself here in this dark room with his hands tied with a chain.
   
Suddenly, a very dim blue light lit up the place where Rajan had been lying. It took around couple of minutes of squinting before Rajan could guess that he had been lying on the basement of a house. However, there was nothing on the dusty floor. Rajan, quickly looked at the door. As expected, the metal door was closed, and it seemed to him that the door could be operated by a remote control, as there wad no knob or handle from this side.

Rajan was hungry, but he still had some energies left. He climbed towards the door, and banged it with all his might. Newton's third law made his weak fist very sore after three hits, and quickly he retreated. Rajan shouted with all the power of his throat, 

"Help! Please Help me!"

Rajan shouted there for few minutes, and waited with bated breath in front of the staircase. As the light was switched on, he was damn sure, someone had arrived outside.

Rajan's joy knew no bound, as within a minute he heard the sound of footsteps of someone. Rajan stepped a couple of steps backwards as the door started to open.

"At last, the God has listened to my prayers." Rajan thanked God with folded hands.

But the guy who arrived inside the basement didn't seem like a God-sent guy from his mere  appearance. He was wearing a complete black dress and a ghsot mask, which people wear on the Halloween. As if that was not enough to frighten a god-fearing guy like Rajan, he had a rubber hosepipe in his hand.

Rajan was scared, but he tried hard to belie his real feelings. A Hindu religious guru told him not to lose hope under any circumstances. What appears on the face of it may not be true always. The arriver might have a scary look, but in reality, he might have come to save him. Remembering his guru's face, he garnered some courage to say,

"Hi! I am Rajan! Somebody has incarcerated me here. Please release me, and let me go out from here." He pleaded with his chained, folded hands.



The arriver, wearing the mask of a ghost, didn't respond. He took a remote from the pocket of his black pant, and closed the door. Again, this move didn't augur well to Rajan. If he was on a rescue mission, why would he close the door?

But, Rajan didn't lose his hope, and he repeated the same words thinking that the arriver didn't hear them last time.

The arriver looked at Rajan. Rajan was hopeful. He pleaded, "Please rescue me from here."

But, the arriver turned his focus from him. He was searching some thing in the room. He went to one corner, and he brought a box from a nook. It seemed to be a medical box to Rajan. At last, Rajan got assurance that this guy had come for his aid. He said,

"Yes, I am hurt, and need some treatment. But, that is not essential at the moment. You release me from here, and take me to a hospital."

The guy seemed to pay no hiddance to his prayer, and put the medical box near Rajan. From the insousiant reaction of the guy, it appeared to Rajan that he didn't  understand English. Rajan knew this was India, and every one in India didn't understand English. This gave him a feel of comfort, and he spoke in Telegu, his mother tongue and the local language of the state.

But that guy didn't seem to understand Telegu as well, as he opened the medical box completely ignoring Rajan, and he seemed to be checking it.

"Oh, this guy must be Tamil." Rajan consoled himself, and translated his prayers in Tamil.

But, he didn't react, and closed the box giving an impression that he was satisfied with the content of the box.

Rajan tried Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi, all the other three Indian languages he knew in quick succession.

"Is this guy deaf?" Rajan wondered!

"No, he is not deaf. His mother tongue is Bengali, but he understands English and Hindi. He is not talking, because he doesn't have the permission to do so."

Rajan was shocked to the core.

"Who said this? How could he know what he was thinking?"

Where was that spooky voice coming from? Rajan looked frantically throughout the room. There was nothing on the floor, but a few nooks on all the walls, 4 bright fluorescent tube lights on the big room, two ceiling fans  and two industrial fans. Rajan himself was a software engineer, he was well aware of CCTV system. But, Rajan could not see any camera with his naked eyes. But, what the nasal voice said just now was just a thought of his. Did that mean that there was a lipreader, who understood Telegu?


Confused Rajan didn't know how to react. However, as an afterthought, he garnered enough courage to ask this pertinent question,

"Who are you Sir? I am in deep trouble, Sir. Please release me from here."

"Me? Ha ha ha ha! What's the hurry man? You will know. But, for the moment enjoy the treatment." The voice stopped despite Rahjan's various pleas for the next 5 minutes.

"Treatment, is he talking about medical treatment?" Rajan didn't understand.

The ghost man advanced towards Rajan with the the orange hosepipe in his right hand in a threatening manner.

Now Rajan was really scared. He pleaded, "Please, don't beat me, Sir! I didn't do anything." Rajan tried to hold the legs of the ghost man in a manner of pleading.

The ghost-man seemed to be a butcher sort of guy with no heart. Even the Gods would have responded to Rajan's earnest and sincere pleas. But, this ghost-guy pushed Rajan as if he was an untouchable. Rajan fell onto the floor like a toy. The guy didn't waste any time in beating him mercilessly with the hose pipe.

Forget about hosepipe,  Rajan had never been beaten by anything since he was 6 years old. He had never been involved in any brawl. Being a very good student, he had never been beaten by teachers in his school. He was such a good guy that his relatives couldn't even thought of putting their hands on him. In the IIT, like every other student, he too was ragged when he was in his second year. But, that was of very mild nature. He was totally unaccustomed of this kind of brutal beating.




                         The next episode will be published on Wednesday night 

Thriller The ultimate choice 10

Episode 10

Archana waited there for another 6 hours. Despite the injury on her head, Archana got a sense of hope from the fact of being freed from the chain. She used her brain power to the hilt to guess how she got entangled into this mess! Who could be her captors, and what could be the motive? She tried her best to find out what happened after she boarded the New Delhi bound plane! But despite her brain storming, she could not remember anything. "Is this memory loss because of the head injury?" She apprehended.

Sometimes walking can freshen the mind. Archana stood up after some effort, and started to walk, after a few unsteady steps, to and fro inside the small room. She looked minutely at the door. Rat tat tat! She knocked it with her fist.

"Ouch!" She screamed, as it hurt. But, she didn't mind. From the sound of the knock, it appeared to her that the door was not made up of a thick wood. She thought she could break it, if she got a rod or any hard object. But, all she could see on the floor was thick dust.

Archana shook her head in disgust. She hadn't have the luxury of having any domestic help in her house in Chicago. She had to do all the household chores, be it washing or be it cleaning, herself. Even gardening was imposed on her by Rajan. However, this workload had a positive impact on her body. It made her so strong that she had never fallen ill in the last ten years.

"Why don't I try my bare hands", she thought. It didn't take even a second to implement her plans into action. Bang, bang, bang! She used all the force she possessed to break the door which she thought was ramshackle. But, within 10 minutes she became so exhausted that she fell on the ground. Her reflex  prevented her from getting another injury.

Her head was spinning. She could barely open her eyes. Very quickly she realised that she was sapped of all the energy. It appeared to her that she hadn't eaten anything for eons, and she had the thirst of a desert.

"Help me! Please give some water!" She garnered all the power to say something audible. 

"Feeling thirsty? Ha ha ha!" A voice, slightly nasal in tone, asked the question in a sarcastic manner.

Archana felt slightly better by then. She looked up to check whose voice was that. But she could not find anyone in that room. She, slowly, sat up with the help of her hands. Her head was spinning.

"Looking for me? You can't see me." Again, the nasal voice spoke.

"Who are you? Give me some food. I can't bear it any more." Archana almost cried.

"Ha ha ha ha", the nasal voice laughed as if Archana had cracked a super joke!

"Who am I will be revealed to you in due course of time.  But, food should be your first concern. Ain't It?"

Archana was almost dying of thirst and hunger. That argument seemed very logical to her. She instantly agreed, and said, "Ok, give me some food and water."

"You will get it. But, you have to make a deal with me." This time the voice was very economical with his words.

Archana's brain was still functioning, in spite of her empty stomach.

"Deal? What deal?"

"You have to obey my orders. You don't have much choices, though. You are completely under my control. I can take your life any moment, if I wish so. But, I don't want to take any harsh measures. That's why I want you to cooperate."

Archana realized that without food and water she would not last long. The blue light was on, but light was fading in her eyes. The dizziness in her head was increasing manifold with the passage of each minute.

"What are you thinking? Your pulse has gone down to 50. You don't have much time to waste. Agree, you will get food and water. Else...."

"How the hell does he know my pulse rate?" Archana didn't have too much time to ponder over the question. She said, "I agree."

"No, no! Not like this! I know you Hindu women are very God fearing. Take an oath in the name of your deity."

"In the name of Lord Shiva, I agree." Archana could hardly finish the sentence, as she collapsed on the ground.
                                       

                                          ----------------------'xxxxxxxxxxxx--------

Rajan remembered that it was Siddharth, who after a staggering hours of discussion convinced him to drop the idea of suicide. It was Sid who told him to start life afresh in India. Rajan was hesitant thinking about the kids and Archana. Sid convinced him that Indian institutions were no inferior. When Rajan opened the matter with Archana, he was taken aback by no resistance from her. She said it didn't matter to her.

So, Rajan finalised all the plans, and no doubt he was master at that, to start life from scratch in his hometown in Andhra Pradesh. But, he got a huge setback just a day before his bidding farewell to America. Archana left the house leaving a note. The note said that she was leaving him for ever, and he should make no efforts to find her.

When someone gets a huge shock in life, his life gets upside down. But after due course of time, he becomes accustomed to his new situation. He doesn't feel the same impact of another shock. Exactly, the same thing happened to Rajan when he read that note. He never imagined that Archana, a docile wife who obeyed every decision of him with earnest dedication, could resort to such drastic step. She never gave a hint that she was getting estranged from him.

But this turn of events didn't make Rajan abandon his plans. In his heart, he realized that everything was not normal between him and his wife. Archana wrote that she would be happy to leave him. Rajan, also, wanted to see her happy. So, with a heavy heart, Rajan let it go, and gave final touches to his plan. The fact that his two children were firmly on his side gave him the necessary encouragement.

                                         To be continued on Saturday night 

Thriller The ultimate choice 9

Episode 9​

Rajan might have lost interest in his wife, but in his entire 48 years of life, no one could accuse him of having any homosexual tendencies! So, he was in utter surprise to find himself on the stretched arms of another man. It didn't take too long for him to come back to his senses, and Boy! Didn't he blush?

"What is this Rajan Anna, what were you doing? Have you gone insane?" Putting the entire 65 kg weight of short-stature Rajan on a wooden bench, Sid asked the question angrily. He was huffing and puffing like a steam engine.

As Rajan didn't answer, it appeared to Sid that Rajan still could not come out of his stupor. So, Sid sprinkled cold water on his face. That made Rajan shriek, "Stop! What are you doing? Do you want me to die of pneumonia?"

At last, a hint of smile could be seen on Sid's face for a second. But, he asked the same question again.

Sid was very close to Rajan. He had always considered Sid as his "sodarudu". So, Rajan broke down in tears. Sid hugged him, and gave him plenty of time to recover. When Rajan stopped crying, he said, "Let's get out from here, otherwise the stupid watchman will barge into here. I had to bribe him heavily for only 10 minutes."

This time Rajan had a hearty laugh, and said, " Okay, let's have a cup of coffee at ridgeport Coffeehouse."

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Having born and brought up in a Hindu family, Archana had heard a lot of stories about heaven and hell. Archana's grandmother was a master story teller. In her childhood, she told the children a lot of scary stories about hell. Archana's childhood passed by listening myriad stories of "yamdoot" torturing the sinners. Despite living in the USA for many years, a country well known for her liberal values, Archana still had plenty of qualms about her relationship with Sid. So, she knew when she would die, she would land in hell, where the yamdoots would be waiting for her to put her in the hellfire.

She didn't know that the hell was so dark. The darkness was so severe that it appeared to her that it would swallow her like a blackhole. Just when she comforted herself from the fact that there were no yamdoots to torture her, she found someone was coming towards her.

"Who are you?" She shouted, as she couldn't see the face of the intruder.

"Yamdoot!" Someone replied with a gruff voice followed by a hysterical laughter.

"Oh my God!" Archana shrank, as her worst fear was turning out to be true.

"What did I do? Why have you come?" Archana could utter somewhat audible after putting tremendous amount of work, as her voice was not cooperating with her in fear.

Again the yamdoot guffawed and said, "But let me see your face first, and then I will decide whether to fry you in my giant wok or put you in the tandoor."

He followed up by directing red lights that came from his fearsome eyes on Archana's face. Archana couldn't withstand the light, as it seemed to her that she had been kept in darkness since time immemorial.

She screamed, "Please take off the light! My eyes are burning."

But, the yamdoot was unrelenting. He advanced towards Archana, and the brightness of the light seemed to have increased manifold. It appeared to Archana that someone was piercing her eyes with needle, and she cried, "Kill me. But for God's sake, stop the light."

At that moment, her dream was broken, and she was astonished to see bright light in the room. It took some times for het eyes to adjust to the bright blue light. After few minutes, for the first time, she could see the place where she had been incarcerated.

It was a grotty, small room, hardly 8'x8'x10' in dimension. There was no furniture in the room. There was a door, which seemed to be closed from outside, but no windows in the room. Archana wondered how she was breathing in this suffocating environment! See looked up, and got the answer. There was only one, small air vent on the top of one wall. There was a LED blue light bulb on the same wall. There was a ceiling fan on top.

Now, Archana looked at her own condition. Voila! She got a sense of relief to find herself out of bondage. She couldn't see the chains anywhere on the bare, dull, cement floor of the room. Archana was in turquoise kurti and ochre leggings. She remembered this was the dress she had worn when she boarded the New Delhi bound plane with Sidhharth on Saturday at 6 PM in evening from Chicago.

"New Delhi", "Siddharth", these two words struck a flash in her mind. But, she couldn't remember how she came here.

"What's the time now?" She frantically searched her mobile, the device that made the wrist watch a redundant thing. But, it was no where to be seen. The azure Apple iPhone 6 was perhaps the best friend of her in her boredom. She always kept it with her, whether she was in toilet, or she was doing her half-an-hour of workout on the treadmill. She kept it on the side of her pillow, even though it was switched off during her sleeping hours.

Flabbergasted, Archana now looked minutely at herself to know which parts of her body were hurt. She checked her hands, legs, ribs, chest etc, but there seemed to no injury. At last, she touched her head, and she immediately screamed in extreme pain. There was a huge bump, of the size of a large potato, on her head. It seemed that she was hit by some blunt object on her head. Blunt, because she found no evidence of blood.

To be continued on Wednesday night ​

Thriller The ultimate choice

Episode 8

"What are you doing Archu? This is wrong!" Somehow, Sid could release himself from the lip-lock.

"What is wrong in it baby?" Archana's pupils expanded in astonishment. It seemed to her that Sid had asked the stupidest question in the world!

"You are a married woman! You have a husband." Sid was very nervous. His voice trembled, and he stammered a bit, not to mention his heartbeat sounded like drums.

"Oh come on baby! You are not a puritan. You address me Honey. Don't you?" Archana was in no mood of wasting time. So, she bowled a yorker.

Sid again fumbled, as no satisfactory answer occurred in his head.

"Or, are you engaged with someone else?" Her voice raised in anger, and Sid was again caught off guard.

Sid himself was caught in a dilemma between his desires and morality, and he could understand that the hormones were getting the upper hand. Now those questions made him with no option but to surrender himself to the situation.

From the body language of Sid, it didn't take more than a second for Archana, even in her intoxicated state, to understand that now it was the moment that she had been expecting for long. So, without wasting any time she took off her saree. She stood in front of Sid opening her both arms in invitation. As dumbfounded Sid sat standstill, Archana took her blouse and petticoat off. Now, she was in only bra and panty, the hot lava of desires burning her soul.

"Oh my Gosh", was the expression that came out spontaneously from Sid's mouth. It was not that Sid hadn't seen women's body in adult films, but this was the first time in his life when he realized that sitting in front of an amorous bella donna could be so rapturous! If he was a  candle, he had been completely melted. If he was TNT, he was ready to explode.

Archana was still standing with her arms stretched. Sid could no longer ignore the invitation. So, he stood up, willing to take Archana in his arms.
                                     
But suddenly, his phone announced, "Malati calling, Malati calling", and started to ring.

"Holy shit!" Both Sid and Archana uttered the expletive simultaneously.

"Who the hell is this killjoy Malati? Cut the call." Archana hissed.Sid's face turned pale, and the romantic vibes vanished in thin air. Because, Malati was the lady whom the entire staff of his company feared. She was the face that the management had been using when they needed to sack someone. She had warned everyone to answer her calls within two rings, else they knew what could happen.

It was well rumoured in the company that she had once fired a Pakistani guy for absenting without informing the management for only 3 days. There was no reason for Sid to disbelieve the story, as the contract he signed with the company had stringent conditions, and many things depended on the good will of the management.

Today, Sid absented from the office without informing anyone. He knew Malati never granted any leave without valid reasons, and nothing stopped her from ferreting the real reason. So, it took no time for fear to take control of his mind, and the romance seemed to have been given a punishment of lifetime imprisonment.

"Show up within half an hour" was the crisp but stern message she delivered before cutting off the call. Sid darted towards the door like a bullet.

                                                   _______________________________________

No light was coming from anywhere in the room. Despite remaining here for more than an hour Rajan could not see anything. How can it be so dark inside the room, was there no window or door here, Rajan wondered! Rajan felt sharp pain in his forehead. It appeared to him that he fell on his forehead. As no other body part was paining, Rajan inferred that it was his forehead that took the entire impact of the fall. Rajan was happy for a moment, but very soon he realized that he was as hungry as a lion who hadn't eaten for a month.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" Rajan cried for help. But, like the last time no one answered. Intermittently, Rajan tried his luck for at least 2 hours. He could tolerate pain, but he couldn't ignore hunger. In his childhood, when the provisions were in short, he drank jugs of water whenever he felt hunger.

Flabbergasted, Rajan resigned to his fate. He tried to think what happened after his loss of balance on the railing in the roof.

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To be continued on Saturday night 

Thriller The ultimate choice 7

Episode 7

Rob, the CEO of the MNC where Rajan worked, was a naturalist by heart. He loved greenery so much that he suffered from extreme uneasiness when he was stuck in the jungle of concrete for even 8 hours continuously. That's why he created a beautiful garden on the roof of the building. The roof was huge: space was no constraint there.

 Rob decorated the garden with a variety of colourful large plants, shrubs and small trees, ground covers, annuals. Among the large plants, Japanese maple, hawthorn, magnolia, golden hornet and ornamental pear provided the perfect ambience for soothing eyes. There were plenty of colourful flowers like  daffodil, bluebells, silverbells, jasmine etc that made the garden a virtual paradise.

Rob used several different colors for walls, floor, railings, furniture and containers. The colourful containers of different sizes gave a great look to his rooftop garden. Rob used transparent glass instead of a parapet wall. The glass wall was 8' tall in height and 4" thick.

Rob used an artificial fountain as the focal point of his garden. He not only placed wooden furniture, but also placed a few swings in the garden for recreation purpose. Rob himself spent at least half an hour everyday in the evening after a days hazardous work. The garden looked even more beautiful with the LED lights. Rob even had a few drinks during his blissfull sojourn here.

The time after 7 PM was exclusively reserved for Rob. But, during the day any one could visit here for 30 minutes for free. There was no derath of people to visit this place where they could recharge their body batteries. Most people preferred the half an hour of  lunch time where they needed no permission from anybody. For any other time, it needed a permission pass from the departmental head to enter here. The time of half an hour hour after the scheduled departure time of 6 PM needed no permission either. However, the crowd during this time was very thin, as every one was in hurry to go back to home.

Rajan loved this place very much, but because of his work pressure, which was excessive to say the least, he could not be a regular visitor of this place. But whenever Rajan visited here, he always saw the same expression, or lack of expression on Fred's visage. It appeared to Rajan that this guy was born without a funny bone. He never greeted anybody, and whenever he had to reciprocate, a distinct expression of surliness appeared on his face. Had it been any other day, Rajan wouldn't have dared to offer him a bribe. But, this day was different. Rajan had a plan, and he wouldn't sit idly by to see it going down the drain.

Rajan was intoxicated to the limit, and his heart had already been pumping hard. At that moment, the heart beat became so fast and so loud that Rajan could hear them:  lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub.

"5 minutes only", Fred tried his best to maintain his calm composure, but Rajan, even in his intoxicated state, could clearly see a glint of greed in his eyes. He pocketed the money at a supersonic speed.

"That's enough buddy! That will do." Showing Fred the thumbs up sign, Rajan lumbered his way towards the roof.

The fresh air enlivened Rajan's dead soul so much that for a brief moment he thought of changing his plan. But later on, again, his jaws stiffened, and he went towards the glass railing.

"Oh my", Rajan exclaimed when he tried to climb onto the wall. He never noticed that it would be too tall for him to climb on it in his drunken state. He jumped many times in vain. He was sweating heavily. He looked at his watch. 4 minutes had already passed. He knew Fred would  call him if he did not come back within the stipulated time. But his head stopped working. He tugged his hair forcefully with his fists. Within one minute, the peevish bearded collie might come out and water on his plan to die in an auspicious moment.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in his head, and he slapped himself hard for not getting it earlier. He hurriedly fetched one small container, and boy, his problem was solved. Very easily he climbed onto the 4" thick wall.

       
His head had been spinning, his feet were unsteady, still he folded his both hands in the Hindu mode of worshipping. He chanted  mantras and prayed to God for his salvation. "Om Namo Shiva" for the last time he prayed, and looked downwards for jumping.

But, when he looked downwards, he got scared. He never had vertigo, but looking down from the glass railing on the roof of a skyscraper frightened him to the core. He said to himself, "No, I don't want to do this." He tried to turn back for descending down from the railing. But he was too inebriated to do it properly, and lost his footing.
                                        ________________________________________________

Archana didn't know how long she had been lying on the cold floor thinking hard to find out how she came here. The pain on her body seemed to have subsided a bit, or it could have been that her body became accustomed to the excruciating pain by then. But, a huge, new problem had cropped up: hunger and thirst. It appeared to her that she hadn't eaten anything in the last 24 hours. Hunger was not the thing that could unsettle her, but it was the thirst that she always found very challenging during her "vratas" when she was not allowed to eat or drink anything.

But, this was different. She never felt so much of weakness during her maximum of 12 hour of fasting. She could realize that she was dying slowly.

"Help, please help", she cried at the top of her lungs.

"Is there anybody? I am dying. Please give me some food and water." She again tried her luck.

But, no one responded. Very exhausted, very frustrated Archana again tried to remember what happened next.

                                       ______________________________________________
To be continued on Wednesday night 

Thriller The ultimate choice 6

Episode 6

"Don't stop me Sid! My life is a virtual hell. No joy in it. Let me have some joy for this day, at least!" Archana's eyes had become already red and broody.

"In that case, wine is not the solution. But, I am sure you will like this!"

Archana hadn't lost all her senses by then. She became curious,  and said, "What?"

Siddharth took the diamond ring and placed it on Archana's left ring finger. Archana's eyes got wide open, she could not understand what was happening! Then Siddharth took the gift packet, and gave it to Archana saying,

"Happy Birthday Honey! Don't ask how I knew it."

Tears rolled down on Archana's cheeks. She had no more hesitation in deciding that Siddharth was the man destined for her.

Siddharth didn't know how to react when Archana's luscious red lips locked with his. It came all of a sudden. He was a vigorous young man. His blood started to boil. He didn't know how to react to this.

There was a huge conflict between his heart and brain. Despite being an eligible bachelor, Sid had never been so close to any girl. He had a few girlfriends over the years, but it had never been physical, even to extent of hugging and kissing. He started this relationship with Archana very casually. He never imagined that it could result in such romantic but precarious situation. His heart was telling him to give in to Archana's burning desires.

But his brain was saying otherwise. Beside being his senior colleague in the company, Rajan was almost like his elder brother. He helped Sid a lot when he came to the US for the first time. He guided him during his early days in the company like a godfather. When he first saw Archana, he thought of her as nothing but his bhavi. He knew she was at least, five years older than him. But, the situation changed over the years.

Sid realized that there was a huge problem in the conjugal relationship between Rajan and Archana, and if anyone was to be blamed for that it was his dear Rajan bhaia. It didn't escape Sid's astute eyes that Archana was getting aloof from life. Her health deteriorated, and on certain occasions she looked suicidal to him. Only at that juncture, he thought of helping her.

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When you sit idle, you don't have anything exciting to do, time always seems to stop. Even passing of a minute takes eons. But, when you need time dearly, you are in hurry to finish something within time limit, you find the speed of the clock has increased. Quite amazing, ain't It? Rajan was in desperate need of time. His boss gave him 6 months to find a suitable new  job. But to Rajan's utter dismay, 6 months passed like 6 hours. He found himself in a situation that he dreaded the most.

He didn't break the news at home. He didn't break his normal routine, either. He frantically searched for a new job. He threw all his hesitations to join a job whose remuneration was not commensurate to his experience and qualification. He had one such opening a few months ago. So, he applied there again. But, he was aghast to know that the position had already been filled.

Much of Rajan's savings were in stocks, bonds and debentures. Apart from that, he had invested heavily in real estate in his home town in India. He had always kept very meager amount of liquid money at banks. His salary was credited to his bank account, and the monthly expenses were debited from that account with the help of cards. That money in his savings account dried up as quickly as a bottle of water would vanish in a desert.

The failure to get a suitable new job, coupled with the anxieties of making both ends meet, made him 6 years older in just 6 months. After repeated failures, one fine day, he decided that he could not bear the torture of failures any more. He even thought of fleeing from life. That would end all his agonies. He thought that he had been a pious man, who never committed any sin knowingly. Therefore, he was sure of landing in heaven, where he would enjoy blissful time. 

On the fateful day, when he was unceremoniously given the pink slip, he didn't return home after the office was over. Instead he went to the ground floor of the 26-storeyed office building, where the canteen was situated. This was the place where he had plenty of good memories. The waiter didn't know that this was his last day in the office. He was a tad surprised to see him at this odd hour. A few young people came here after office to drink beer. But, Rajan was never part of that gang.

Rajan avoided the crowd, and sat in a corner. In midst of the noisy conversations and occasional enthusiastic cheers of the young crowd, the Pakistani waiter came to him and asked, "What should I bring for you? This is beer time. But, you never drink beer."

"Well Sohail, this is a special day. You know what? Something special happened to me today. I will not tell you right now. But, today I want to celebrate. Please bring a bottle of whiskey for me."

Rajan knew that he needed some courage, which he would never gather in normal situation.

Sohail winked and handed him a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of soda. Rajan didn't hurry. He believed in the saying  that one should drink his whiskey nice and slow. Rajan drank almost 200 ml of whiskey over an hour.

The closer time for the canteen was over, and he had no other option but to stop. But, by that time, he got the kick that he desperately needed. He was ready. He entered the the lift, and pressed the top 25th floor button.  A guard in blue uniform was sitting there. There was a beautiful garden at the roof, and throughout the day, many people visited there.

"What?" The guard asked rudely to see a visitor at this odd hour.

"A photo of the sunset! My wife loves it." Rajan  had no hesitation in telling a fact that was not a lie either.

"Sorry, time is over! Come tomorrow." The guard was preparing to lock the door.

"One second Fred, just one second! This is very important. I will be back within 5 minutes."

Rajan handed him a 100 dollar note. The guard might not have known Rajan, as he saw many people everyday. But, Rajan, having visited here on many occasions, knew him. But, he was not sure whether this taciturn guy could be bribed or not!

To be continued on