Story: Probir Ghose
Tomorrows Are Full Of Promises (Not all plans are fool proof; all murders do not pay the expected dividends, especially, those involving plans to impersonate celebrities) Gavin had implicit faith in Mohini’s abilities. He met her at the bus stop nearly six months back. The bus was crowded; Mohini managed a toe hold when the bus moved. Gavin was right behind her. If he hadn’t held her tight, she would most certainly have fallen off the bus and hurt herself. In the crowd, it was impossible to see each other’s face, let alone say ‘thank you’. But, when the rush cleared, when Mohini and he were able to stand in the aisle and, still later, when they were able to occupy a couple of vacant seats side by side, she smiled. The smile meant more to Gavin than words. He was supposed to get down from the bus before Mohini who would travel up to the terminus. But, he was so carried away that he overshot his stop. He met her again the next day, and the next and the next. It became a sort of routine. By the end of the week they had become more intimate and decided to spend the weekend together. The experience was satisfying to both. He was a clerk; she was one from the back alleys. None of them bothered about their pasts. To them, past did not exist. They were here for today – that is what mattered. Govinda alias Gavin waited expectantly in front of the telephone. He waited for the phone to ring. He had responded to an advertisement in yesterday’s paper and was quite confident of getting a call. The ad had asked for a young man who was willing to do part time work that involved frequent movements out of the city. He had to be five feet nine, weigh around sixty kilos. He should not be a smoker or a drinker. Interested persons were directed to contact a particular telephone number. Gavin fulfilled the requirements. He was young, he wanted to move out of the city, and he wanted a change from the dull routine that he was into right then. If keeping track of incoming and outgoing letters was not dull, Gavin wondered what was! So, he contacted the number. A sweet voice at the other end asked him for details – Gavin obliged. It was over within a few minutes. Asking him to keep ready three passport size colored photographs, the girl told him to be in readiness to move at short notice, if selected. That was the call he was expecting. পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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It had started the previous day, at around lunch time. Gavin saw the ad when he went out for lunch in one of the roadside eateries. And, immediately after finishing his lunch, he made a beeline for the nearest telephone booth, finished the call and relaxed. Of course, he did not see the ad accidentally – Mohini had put him to it. She told him that the ad would appear and Gavin should respond. She assured him that, if necessary, she would pull some strings. She knew people who mattered.
The telephone instrument was kept on a large table in the hall in which the clerks and typists sat. Gavin’s seat was right at the entrance – it was convenient for receiving mail and also for arranging dispatches of outbound mail. Once the phone rang, Gavin would cock up his ears but none of the calls since morning were for him. He thought of Mohini as he waited for the important call. She had fantastic dreams. The other day, she told him how she would love to travel, if only she had the money. Yes. That was what always bothered her. She had a well stacked, envious figure. Gavin sighed – he was on the wrong side of thirty. She was, maybe, a few years younger. It is high time they took firm decisions. You can’t stay a vagabond forever. There comes a time in the life of every man when he has to realize that stability is necessary, if he has to lead a long life. Suddenly the telephone rang. One of the clerks sitting near the instrument picked up the receiver and, covering the mouthpiece, hollered to Gavin. He ran to take the call. Yes, it was the voice of the previous day. ‘Hullo!’ she said. ‘Is your photo ready?’ ‘I’ll get it in the evening,’ Gavin replied. ‘Do you have a sheet of paper with you? And, a pencil or a pen?’ Gavin pulled out a bunch of papers from his pocket and picked up a pencil from the table in front of him. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Just note down this address,’ she told him and gave him an address. It was not far away. Probably fifteen minutes’ walk. ‘Be there tomorrow morning at ten sharp – bring the photographs. Mr. Tushar Khanna will look you over. If he thinks you fit the bill, then he will send you on an errand tomorrow itself. Be prepared to move immediately.’ পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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‘But – I’ll need some money.’ ‘He pays well,’ she assured him. ‘You’ll like him once you meet him.’ Gavin looked at the wall clock – another three hours to go before pack up. He was excited. Mohini had done her bit. She must be on real good terms with Tushar Khanna to swing this. To Gavin, this could be the escape route that he had been waiting for. He and Mohini would fly away into the world as carefree as a pair of birds. This called for celebrations of sorts.
Next morning, at ten sharp, he was there. It was quite an ordinary place. The outer office had the barest minimum of furniture. A girl sat in front of a desktop; she handled the telephone, the fax machine and the Xerox machine. There were four cushioned high back chairs for visitors. ‘I have an appointment at ten,’ Gavin told her. ‘Your photographs?’ she held out her hand. She was expecting him. Gavin gave them. ‘Please be seated,’ she motioned to the chair and walked over to an adjacent door that opened into what must be the Boss’s chambers. A board on the door proclaimed ‘Tushar Khanna, CEO’. Gavin surveyed the room. There did not seem to be any one else – neither were there provisions to accommodate a third person. Bit surprising, but why should he worry? He had come for a job. If it clicked, he would be on the move. Probably he would have to keep coming here once in a while… ‘OK’, she said after returning to her seat. ‘You can go in now. And – best of Luck,’ she gifted him a smile. The room was dimly lit. Tushar Khanna was behind a large desk. There were papers piled on top of the table. There was also a glass of water covered with a plastic plate. The flowers in the vase must have been a couple of days old. The walls of the room were bare except for the wall behind where Tushar Khanna. There hung a large map of the city and an equally large calendar. Gavin took this in at a glance. ‘Take a seat,’ the Boss spoke. His voice was gruff. Probably has caught a cold or something, Gavin thought. পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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He sat on the edge of the chair. ‘So – you want this job, do you?’ he asked. It was obvious – Gavin did not bother to reply, he simply nodded. ‘What about your family? Your wife? Children?’ the voice continued. ‘I don’t have any family,’ Gavin replied. ‘Parents? Brothers? Sisters?’ ‘No. I am totally alone and - ’ The man cut him short. ‘Just answer the questions I ask,’ he grunted. ‘I don’t like people talking unnecessarily. I’m the Boss. Only I do the talking.’ ‘I thought -’ Gavin tried to intervene. ‘I do the thinking also – I don’t want others to think.’ Gavin gulped. Yes, employers were tough – that was a fact. Wherever he had worked till now, he had come across tough characters. They believed in one motto – speak when you are spoken to, answer when you are called. This person was no exception. He wondered how Mohini handled him. Of course, girls had that special knack of being able to break down any man’s defenses. The toughest of characters became clay in the hands of experienced femmes. ‘Your name is Gavin?’ the man suddenly blew smoke into his face and shot the question. ‘And you are five nine and weigh around sixty kilos?’ ‘Yes Sir,’ Gavin replied. He added the ‘Sir’ as an afterthought. ‘How is your health? Any serious illness?’ ‘No Sir.’ ‘Have you ever undergone any operation?’ ‘Operation?’ ‘Yes, surgical operation – in the hospital?’ Gavin shook his head.
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‘OK – just go into the next room and wait,’ the man seemed satisfied. ‘I’ll tell you what to do in a few minutes. Oh - and here – keep these couple of hundred rupees before I forget. If you can do the job to my satisfaction, there’ll be more.’ Gavin wanted to ask him what he was supposed to do – but he checked himself in time. He had already been told – not to interrupt, not to think. Just obey. Immediately after Gavin left the room, Mohini appeared. The man smiled at her. ‘He seems to be OK,’ he said. ‘I know he is OK,’ Mohini replied. ‘When first I saw him, I knew he was our man. Now – let us hand him over to the Doc for further work.’ ‘Yes – you send him in a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits. Drop a couple of sleeping pills in the tea. Once he conks out, let the Doc take over.’ ‘It will take him at least couple of months to recover from the operation. I only hope he doesn’t panic.’ ‘He must be kept under continuous sedation. His room must be in darkness, the windows must be sealed from the outside, and bulbs must be removed, as also the mirror from the bathroom. He must not have access to any newspaper or television. Let his hair, beard and nails grow. We will get them trimmed when he is ready to enter the stage. But – we have to be careful. He must not suspect anything. I don’t want to repeat all this once again.’ ‘Don’t worry,’ Mohini smiled. ‘This time won’t be like the last time. We now have more experience; I don’t think we’ll fail.’ ‘It had better not fail,’ the man ground the cigarette stub in the ashtray. ‘Five of our steps are complete – locating him, brainwashing him, releasing the ad in the papers, making him respond to the ad and getting him to come here. Let the Doc now perform the sixth. You are certain that he has not suspected anything?’ ‘Yes,’ Mohini replied. ‘I am certain.’ When Gavin opened his eyes, he found that he was engulfed in a sea of darkness. His head was heavy. He felt around him with his hands. It seemed that he was lying in a bed. He extended his arms to the maximum possible extent and touched nothing but emptiness. The air was cool. He pricked up his ears for sounds that would tell him where he was. The only sound he heard was a subdued humming – like that of an air conditioner. He tried to recollect exactly what happened. The last he remembered was that he went to a place to attend an interview. The person who conducted the interview, asked him to পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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wait in the adjacent room. Then a girl came and left a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits on the table. He remembered asking her for a glass of water. She did not oblige. Fed up of waiting, he finished the cup of tea and munched the biscuits, salted biscuits. He hated them but, with nothing else to do, he popped one into his mouth, then another and another. Suddenly, a light sprang up in the darkness. Gavin let his eyes wander. The room seemed to be well furnished. He was lying on a large bed; there was a table in a corner, a refrigerator and a writing table. There were also a couple of cushioned chairs and an almirah or cupboard or something similar. On the side of the cupboard, there was a door. It probably led to the bathroom. He expected someone to come into view once the light came on. But he was disappointed. After waiting maybe for a couple of minutes, he rolled over on his side and put one of his feet on the carpet – then the other. Then, he stood up. He was completely baffled as to his whereabouts and how he arrived there. Yes, the man said that he would have to move at short notice – but, why had his memory gone blank? Why was he not able to remember what had transpired? He had heard about people forgetting their past after being hit on the head – in an accident or some such thing. But, he did not remember anything like that happening to him! Suddenly, a door opened and Mohini entered. Gavin was surprised to see her in the dress of a nurse. At the same time, he was relieved – at least she would know how he came there. It was she who had asked him to respond to the paper ad and attend the interview. It is she who had promised to use her contacts to ensure that Gavin landed the job. ‘Hey – what’s happened to me? What is this place?’ he asked her. Mohini did not reply. ‘Come on baby!’ Gavin came near her. ‘Have I got the job?’ ‘Please get back to bed,’ Mohini replied. ‘You are not to move until the Doctor gives you permission.’ ‘I don’t understand what you mean! What has happened to me? Tell me, Mohini, I must know.’ ‘I am not Mohini,’ she replied. ‘And now – will you please get back under the covers? I have to give you an injection.’
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Gavin was speechless. He could have sworn that the girl was Mohini – but, why was she lying? He loved her and wanted her help to get away from the dull routine and do what they both wanted – lay hands on lots and lots of money and vanish into the wide wide world. When Gavin woke up the next time, it was broad daylight. He was sitting in front of Tushar Khanna. Surprise after surprise. The man seemed to be pleased because he was on the phone and the expression on his face was one of excitement. After a one sided conversation that did not appear to make any sense to Gavin, TK replaced the receiver on the cradle and looked at him with piercing eyes. ‘How do you feel this morning?’ he asked. ‘OK,’ Gavin replied. ‘You have to, now, get to work. You have to earn your living,’ he said. ‘For the past three months, I had to feed you. Now it is your turn to repay my debt,’ and he broke into uncontrollable laughter. Gavin could not believe his ears. Three months - and he was under the impression that this was all just a few hours back!! ‘Please tell me what I should do,’ he asked meekly. ‘You have to impersonate Satish Choudhury,’ Tushar Khanna said. ‘I plan to kidnap him for ransom – you have to take his place till I get the money.’ ‘I don’t understand!’ Gavin was totally confused. Satish Choudhury was a very rich and influential man, an exporter who travelled across the World at will. ‘If you kidnap him, why should I, or anybody else for that matter, take his place?’ ‘I do not want to go into details with you,’ Tushar Khanna replied. ‘My Doctor has performed certain operations on you – you will see what he has done once you stand in front of a mirror. You have to pretend to have lost your memory. I will arrange for an accident – I will snatch Satish Choudhury from the accident site and you will lie there – to be picked up by the Police.’ ‘Police?’ Gavin gulped – ‘but, in case they investigate, they will discover that I have a prison record. That will blow the lid.’ ‘Don’t worry,’ Tushar Khanna smiled. ‘My Doctor has taken care of that – just look at your fingers. You will notice that the skin from the fingers has been disfigured! No one will doubt your credentials. Only – you are not to open your mouth. You must pretend to have become dumb – lost the capabilities of speech. You will also have to pretend that you don’t have any strength in your fingers. Thereby, you will not have to sign any papers পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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or cheques. You will be taken to his house – it’s a palatial bungalow with lawns all around, a swimming pool, private gym - the complete works. His wife is good looking, sexy. She will probably entice you to bed – behave normally, except – under whatever provocation there may be, do not open your mouth. Is that clear?’ Suddenly, the adjacent door opened and the nurse, who looked so much like Mohini, appeared. ‘Shalu,’ Tushar Khanna turned to her. ‘Is the car ready?’ ‘Yes Boss,’ the girl replied. ‘What about the blood?’ Tushar queried. ‘I have already got it and applied it on Girish’s body,’ Shalu replied. ‘I hope it is the same group?’ ‘Yes – it is. I had taken a sample of his blood yesterday.’ ‘OK then Gavin – move. You will continue to remain in Satish Choudhury’s house till I collect my ransom amount. It may be one week or one month or even six months. You must have patience and wait. I also will be waiting. You can’t hurry up these things.’ Gavin left the chair and followed Shalu. ‘And remember – you are to be dumb. And – your fingers are minus any strength,’ Tushar Khanna reminded him. After they left, he picked up the receiver and dialed a number. ‘The stage is set,’ he said. ‘You will hear about the accident within the hour.’ The seventh step was now complete – performing the operations on Gavin to disfigure his fingers. Now for the eighth and the ninth steps – fake the accident to Satish Choudhury and replace him with Gavin. If everything went as per plans, by the weekend he would be able to vanish from the scene. He and Mohini. Yes - she was an integral part of the scheme. In fact, it was her idea. She wanted to break out of the shackles. And – this plan was a result of her fertile brains. She had hatched it the moment she met Gavin in the crowded bus that evening. The car dashed into a tree on the edge of the highway. It was a comparatively lonely spot with a traffic signboard that cautioned Dangerous curves ahead. Motorists whizzed past without bothering to stop and enquire if anything was wrong. The car in which Gavin was traveling slowed down at the accident spot, then went past and returned after executing পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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a ‘U’ turn. It stopped some distance away. Shalu motioned to Gavin to disembark and move towards the accident spot. ‘Behave normally,’ she reminded. ‘Do not panic. Someone is bound to notice you. Pretend to be dumb, as the Boss has told you. OK?’ Gavin walked slowly to the spot. His mind was in turmoil. He wanted to talk to Mohini. It was she who had put him onto this deal. Now it seemed that it was a game Tushar Khanna had cooked up and he was nothing but a tool in his hands. Who the hell was he anyway? What was his relationship with Mohini? Where did Mohini come in? These and hundred other questions popped up in Gavin’s mind – he had to have the replies. He found the driver – unconscious, as Tushar Khanna had said. There was blood on his clothes, arms and face. Real blood that Shalu had obtained from a blood bank. Even the blood group was the same. Hand it to Tushar to take care of minute details. This driver Girish was not the regular one who drove Satish to his office. The original driver met with an accident a couple of days back, engineered by Tushar Khanna. Girish was a replacement provided by an agency – Tushar Khanna paid him heavily to get involved in the drama. It was fifteen minutes later that a motor cyclist stopped. Gavin lay on the grass beside the car. On seeing the approaching figure, he quickly closed his eyes and kept them closed. The person alighted from the vehicle, came over to him, turned him over on his back, put his palm under his nostrils and heaved a sigh of relief. The face was hidden behind a helmet that covered the complete face. The person wore trousers and a leather jacket. It was impossible to make out whether it was a man or a woman. Within another fifteen minutes, an ambulance arrived. The stretcher boys lifted Gavin on to the stretcher and the ambulance sped away. By the time Gavin realized the full implications of his fate, he found himself in a hospital. Doctors were waiting for him to arrive. There were reporters and photographers from the local TV news channel. He was whisked off to a separate cabin. Nurses ran to his side. It was something Gavin never imagined could ever happen to him. They talked in soft whispers. They asked him hundreds of questions – Gavin just shut them out. He had to play the role of a dumb person. And – wait. A nurse came and gave him an injection in the arm – Gavin gradually succumbed to the sedative.
This was supposed to be a master plan - the ten steps to a perfect steal.
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Tushar Khanna added the finer points after Mohini gave the broad outlines. He had implicit faith in her abilities – a small time movie actress had to have it in her to make it big and land the role of the wife of one of the richest men in the city. Yes, she was the wife of Satish Choudhury, the exporter. Mohini, the master mind behind the complete operation, was once upon a time a protégé of Tushar Khanna who made a living by supplying extras to the film producers to act in song and dance sequences. The plan might have succeeded. But, they had not reckoned with the foresight of Satish. He was an exporter. It was his business to read the minds of people and understand what they wanted. He had to possess that extra something that helped him take correct decisions. People who loved to make fortunes are gifted with what some call as a sixth sense, and others call intuition. Therefore, when one day he saw Mohini and Tushar Khanna emerge together from a departmental store, he was curious. He was aware of her past. He was under the impression that she had turned over a new leaf after marriage. But – the sudden revelation worried Satish Choudhury. He put a detective agency to investigate who, in turn, put a tail on to her and bugged her phone. Once Satish knew the plan being hatched by her and Tushar Khanna, he became wary. Forewarned is forearmed. Therefore, without much ado, he asked the detective agency to arrange a look alike for him. And – that is how one more ‘clone’ of Satish Choudhury entered the scene. It was this character who was in the car at the time of the fake accident. When Gavin regained consciousness and found a couple of policemen around his bed with two Satish Choudhurys, he knew that the game was up. He had nothing to fear – he was just a cog in the wheel. He pitied Tushar Khanna and Mohini – they would have to make another attempt to ensure that the ten steps for a perfect steal saw the light of day. Suddenly Mohini entered. ‘Yes Officer,’ – she pointed her finger at Gavin – ‘he is the person. First he telephoned me asking me to meet his accomplice one Tushar Khanna in a departmental store. That fellow wanted ten lakhs. I refused and walked out. Then this fellow came himself. He threatened that he would murder Satish if I did not pay up.’ Gavin could not believe his ears. Mohini must be out of her rockers. ‘So young man,’ the police officer stared hard at him. ‘Since when have you been in this racket?’ পালিক পড়ুন o পড়ানঃ http://calcuttans.com/palki
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Gavin kept his mouth shut. He remembered Tushar’s advice – pretend to be dumb. Silence is golden. It was not the end of the world, he thought. At least it would give him time to think. The Police would now start searching for Tushar Khanna. Once he was located, a solution would emerge. Gavin was sure. Hope springs eternal in the human breast. Tomorrows are full of promises. Author Introduction:
Prabir Ghose is a reputed blogger who found mention in the Limca Book of Records 2007; his blog is ‘Rediscovering India’ at Indiatimes Blogs. He is a Citizen Journalist of Merinews, New Delhi; writes in Bengali under the penname of Kali Kinkar Karmakar; published a Bengali quarterly magazine Naba Nalanda from Nashik; and participated in Kolkata Book Fairs in 1992, 1993 and 1995. Contact:
[email protected]
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