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
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
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