Chapter 8 - Parde Me Rahene Do Matured

Riddhima: So, you arrested a 70-year-old man?
Angad: Nahi. Woh 70 saal ka nahi hai. He is 68.

Riddhima controls her laugh.

Riddhima: Ha ha. Bohooot fark hai.
Angad: Shut up.

They are in the car, driving to Sunita’s house. Riddhima wants to talk to Priya about the guy who harassed her outside her school the day of Kalash’s death.

Angad: Mujhe use arrest karna para. Kajal ko ye dikhane ke liye ke police abhi bhi apna kaam thik se karti hai. Bas aaj ka din. Kal subha chhor dunga use. Agli baar dahej maangne se pahele 10 baar sochega.

Riddhima’s eyes are fixed on the road while she takes a turn.

Riddhima: Angad, us ladki ki puri zindagi kharab kardi is justice system ne. Sirf itna karne se kuch nahi hoga.
Angad: I know. But I had to try.
Riddhima: I think it is really sweet of you, to offer her this job.
Angad: Ab woh maan jaye bas.

#

Bhaskar is sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching the afternoon news where a segment about Kalash’s suicide is currently airing. Seema brings tea on a tray and puts them on the table in front of the sofa.

Bhaskar: Mujhe yakin nahi ho raha hai ki tumne itne dino tak meri beti ko ye sab sahene diya.

Seema sits.

Bhaskar: Apni hi beti ko aise rakshas ke saath kaise chhor diya tumne?
Seema: Mujhe Sunita ne aisa kuch nahi bataya tha jo mujhe pahele hi pata na ho. Balatkaar wale baat ke alawa Kalash ki baaki sab harkate dusre mardo jaisa hi tha.
Bhaskar: Ye tumhari galat fehemi hai.

Seema looks at her husband accusingly.

Seema: Accha? To aap batayiye aapne kabhi mujh par haath nahi uthaya?

Bhaskar remains silent for a while.

Bhaskar: Ha. Kabhi kabhi gussa agaya mujhe. Lakin maine dusre aurat ke kabhi koi sambhandh nahi banay.

Seema laughs scornfully.

Seema: Woh aapne mere bareme soch kar to nahi kiya. Aapko apni izzat ki pari thi. Aur rishta nahi banaya iska matlab ye nahi ke kabhi dekha bhi nahi. Kayi baar maine aapko dekha hai dusri aurto ko dekhte hue.

She pours tea in a cup and says in trembling voice.

Seema: Aaj aapki beti ke saath hua to aapko bura lag raha hai, lakin kisi aur ki beti ke saath karte hue aapko bura nahi laga.

She hands him the cup.

Seema: Aur agar mujhe pata bhi hota ke Kalash par jo us ladki ne ilzam lagaya tha woh sach hai to bhi main Sunita se kaheti ke woh apni shaadi na tode. Kyuki Kalash jaisa admi ye kabhi bardasht nahi karta ke uski biwi use chhor kar chali gayi. Phir woh Sunita ke saath kya karta bhagwan jaane. Main Maa hu uski. Maine jo bhi kiya uska bhala chah kar kiya.

Their conversation gets interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Seema gets up and opens the door while Bhaskar takes a sip of his tea. It is Riddhima and Angad, the two police officers who visited them the morning after Kalash’s suicide.

Seema: Aap log yaha kya kar rahe hai? Kalash ka case to…
Riddhima: Ji. Lakin bas kuch formality baaki hai. Usike liye aye hai. Hum andar asakte hai?

Seema steps aside to give them room to enter. Bhaskar keeps his tea on the table and stands up.

Bhaskar: Aap log yaha?
Riddhima: Ji actually woh hum Priya se kuch baat karni hai.
Seema: Usse kya baat karni hai aapko?
Riddhima: Ji woh…
Sunita: Bilkul nahi.

Everyone turns towards the sound of the voice. Sunita is standing there. They didn’t notice when she came out of her room. Her face is stern.

Sunita: Priya abhi bohot disturbed hai. Main nahi chahti ke use aur koi pareshaani ho.
Riddhima: Sunita please. Mujhe sirf usse us gunde ke bareme puchna hai jo use jo us din chher raha tha. I have to take her statement. Warna case wahi ka wahi rahe jayega. Aur ye case jitni jaldi khatam hoga utni jaldi hi aap sab aage bar payoge.

Sunita still looks reluctant. Bhaskar says in soft voice.

Bhaskar: Sunita. Le aao use beta. Ye bas apna kaam kar rahe hai.

She gives in finally.

Sunita: Thik hai.

Sunita goes inside and after a minute comes back with a girl roughly 15 years of age. She is beautiful but right now looks exhausted. Her face is pale and there are dark circles under her eyes implying that she hasn’t been able to sleep properly for the last few days. She sits on the edge of sofa and Riddhima sits beside her. She looks at Riddhima nervously. Riddhima smiles at her to put her at ease.

Priya: Kya puchhna hai aapko?

Riddhima glances at Angad, who thinks this is a waste of time, before starting. According to Riddhima, the guy who harassed Priya has something to do with Kalash’s suicide but Angad thinks this is far-fetched.

Riddhima: Main tumse us din ke bareme puchna chahti thi jis din tumhare school ke saamne tumhe us admi ne chhera tha.

The mention of that incident increases Priya’s nervousness.

Priya: Mummy ne to aapko already bata diya hai. To aap mujhse kyu puchh rahi hai?
Riddhima: Kyuki tumhari Maa utne acche se nahi bata payengi jitni acchi tarha se tum bata payogi. Tumne experience kiya hai. Sunita ne sirf tumse suna hai.

Priya looks at her mother inquiringly. Sunita nods and gestures her to answer the question. Priya starts.

Priya: Mere drama ke reharsals khatam hone ke baad main school se bahar ayi. It was late to zayada log nahi the waha. Usually mera driver tab tak pohoch jata hai, lakin us din woh tabhi bhi aya nahi tha.
Riddhima: Usne bataya ki woh late kyu ho gaya?
Priya: Ha. Gaari ke tire puncture ho gaye the.

Riddhima remains silent for a while. She is considering in her mind whether the tire puncturing is suspicious or not.

Riddhima: Uske baad kya hua?
Priya: Maine thodi der wait kiya. Phir jab main apna phone nikaal ke use call karne hi wali thi ke waha achanak se ek admi agaya aur mujhe chherne laga.
Riddhima: Woh dikhne me kaisa tha?
Priya: Height utni zayada nahi thi. Medium. Aur thoda mota karke.
Riddhima: Aur uski shakal?
Priya: Shakal… to main nahi dekh payi.
Riddhima: Andhere ki wajay se?
Priya: Nahi. Utna bhi andhera nahi tha. Usne hoodie paheni thi. Sar dhaka tha uska, aur usne mask, woh jo hum Covid ke waqt pahente the, waisa mask aur sunglasses pahene the.
Angad: Kya?

Riddhima looks at Angad triumphantly. He is finally seeing it.

Priya: Ha.
Sunita: Tab to andhera hone wala tha. Aise me sunglasses kaun pahente hai?
Riddhima: Woh jo apni pahechan chhupana chahta to.

She turns to Priya.
Riddhima: Phir?
Priya: Main bhaag ke school ke andar jaane hi wali thi ke tabhi ek aurat waha agayi aur usne us admi ko bhaga diya.
Riddhima: Us aurat ki shakal dekhi thi?
Priya: Ha. Dobara dekhungi to pahechan lungi. Us admi ko bhagane ke baad driver ke ane tak woh mere saath hi thi.
Riddhima: Aur kuch aisa hua ho jo tumhe ajib laga ho?
Priya: Nahi.
Riddhima: You sure?

Priya nods.

Riddhima: Thik hai phir. Thank you for your help Priya. Tumhe andaza bhi nahi hai ke tumne humari kitni madat ki hai.

#

On the day of Kalash Juneja’s death.

Anjaan is hiding behind a tree. His eyes are on the road. This is a secluded road, not many cars pass by here. But one car does, every day, twice. Kalash Juneja’s car. Everyday his daughter, Priya goes to school and back home through this road. It almost evening, Priya’s reharsals will be over soon. A minute ago, Dhruv, who is surveilling Kalash’s place called him to inform him that Kalash’s driver has left already to pick up Priya from school. He will be here any minute. Anjaan has already placed some nails on the road. The moment Kalash’s driver will drive over them, the tires will be punctured.

Soon he hears the sound of a car engine. The wait is over. He is here. As planned, he drivers over the nails and the tire gets punctured. Anjaan smiles. This will buy them at least an hour. He moves away from the tree slowly and cautiously so the driver doesn’t see him. He is quite far away from the car and he is also wearing a hoodie and a mask, but one can never be too careful when they are running an assassination scheme. He goes to his bike which he has parked far enough to remain unseen by Kalash’s driver once it hits the road. He starts the bike and heads towards Priya’s school where Chandni and Shunty are waiting for him.

#

Chandni and Shunty are waiting in the car parked behind a row of trees on the opposite side of the road outside Priya’s school. Chandni in the driving seat and Shunty in the back seat. Like Anjaan they are also wearing a hoodie and mask to conceal their identity, in case anyone sees them.

Shunty: Didi, ye kya karwa rahe ho aap log mujhse? Ek chhoti si bacchi ko aise darane ko bol rahe ho.
Chandni: Kalash ki sirf yehi ek kamzori hai Shunty. Aur use bash me karne ka yehi ek tarika hai.
Shunty: Lakin ye galat hai hai.
Chandni: Jaanti hu. Lakin hum jo karte hai usme kabhi kabhi galat raasta chunna parta hai.

Their conversation gets interrupted by the sound of Anjaan’s bike which stops beside the car. Anjaan gets in the car through the passenger side.

Chandni: Kaam hua?
Anjaan: Ha.

He checks his watch.

Anjaan: Humare paas roughly 50 minute hai.
Chandni: I think that is enough.
Shunty: Agayi woh.

Anjaan and Chandni look at the school gate. Priya and some other students are coming outside, while talking to each other. Priya looks around for her car.

Anjaan: Thodi der wait karte hai. Uske baad tu jana.
Shunty: Ji Bhaia.

The grumpiness in Shunty’s voice doesn’t escape Anjaan’s ears.

Five minutes passes and all the other students and teachers leave one by one. Now it is only Priya alone.

Anjaan: Now is the time. Ja Shunty.

Shunty doesn’t move. Seeing that Anjaan says in a soft voice.

Anjaan: It is okay. Yaad rakh, control tere haath me hai. Tujhe use sirf darana hai. Koi nuksaan nahi pohochana hai. Aur jaise hi hume jo chahiye woh mil jayega, Chandni waha pohoch jayegi.

Shunty nods and exits the car. Anjaan sets his phone on recording mode and positions it in his hands to capture the whole incident. Shunty goes and approaches Priya in a crude manner. Priya as expected reacts defensively. Shunty becomes a little more aggressive and mentions her father which makes her more uncomfortable. And everything gets recorded on Anjaan’s phone.

#

Present Day

Standing in the kitchen Kabir looks at the recording on his phone. The café is filled with customers. The sound of chatter can be heard from all around. He remembers what happened after the recording was done.

Anjaan: That is enough. Chalo.

Chandni took off her hoodie and mask. Then she and Anjaan exited the car. She crossed the road and intervened in the situation while Anjaan drove away. She pretended to threaten Shunty into leaving Priya alone. Shunty didn’t fight back at all, just pretended to be scared and walked away. He strode to the place, quite far from the school where Anjaan was waiting for him. He got on the bike behind Anjaan and Anjaan drove to the café.

The initial part of their mission was over. It was time for the main action. And everything went just as they had planned.

Kabir deletes the video from his phone. It is not required anymore.

He has killed more than 2 dozen people in his whole life. He never felt guilty for once. But he feels guilty for hurting Priya like that. He doesn’t regret it, he just feels guilty for putting that innocent girl through all of that. But it was also necessary to give Kalash the taste of his own medicine before killing him.

Every time Kabir kills someone, he feels this huge rush of adrenaline. It always is the same. Ever since the time he was old enough to understand the world around him, he has always believed that some people just don’t deserve to live and the world is so much better off without them. But he kept his feelings to himself, never shared them with anyone, not even Dhruv or Jenny, his two best friends, before becoming Anjaan. Then the time came when he had to kill someone for the first time and there was the feeling, the rush he couldn’t get over. He knew he wanted to it again. That day is still clear in his mind, as if it happened just yesterday.

It was the wedding day of Dhruv and Chandni. It was a bright sunny day. After the wedding ceremony at the temple, they went to Kabir’s house to celebrate. Everyone was happy, specially the newly married couple. But Kabir was facing an internal struggle. And there was only one person who saw that.

Jenny: Here, take it.

He was looking at everyone, gathered around the dinning table from a distance when Jenny handed him a glass of champagne.

Kabir: Thanks.

He took a small sip of the drink, just as a curtesy while Jenny’s eyes were fixed on him.

Jenny: You know right that we were very careful. Kisine hume waha nahi dekha. We didn’t leave any evidence behind.
Kabir: I know.
Jenny: To phir kya baat hai Kabir? Tum itne pareshaan kyu ho?

Kabir looked at her uncertainly. He wasn’t sure whether or not he should tell her. Jenny could sense his dilemma. She touched her arms and said in a soft voice….

Jenny: Kabir tum jaante ho na ke tum mujhse kuch bhi share kar sakte ho? Main tumhe kabhi judge nahi karungi.

He stared at her eyes and could feel the warmth in her gaze. That was the thing about Jenny, she was his safe space. He knew, he could share anything with her and she would still be on his side. He spoke finally, in a trembling voice.

Kabir: I loved it Jenny.
Jenny: Loved what?
Kabir: Jo bhi humne kiya. Pura operation plan karna, step by step usko execute karna, sab kuch. I loved it to my bones. Us raat mujhe to chain ki neend ayi, woh pahele kabhi nahi ayi. And worse part is…

He stopped abruptly. He was so scared to say it. Scared that saying it out loudly would make it real and impossible to deny. But Jenny knew what he wanted to say.

Jenny: Tum ye phirse karna chahte ho.

He closed his eyes instead of answering. Jenny hugged him and he almost sank inside her.

Kabir: Main bohot bura hu na.
Jenny: Nahi Kabir aisa bilkul nahi hai.

She broke the hug.

Jenny: I know ke tum kabhi kisi begunah ki jaan nahi lena chahoge. You only want to punish bad people.

She placed her hand gently on his cheek.

Jenny: Main samajhti hu ke Vikram Bhaia ke maut ke wajay se tumhe kitna dukh pohocha hai.

She turned her gaze towards the dining table.

Jenny: Bhabi ko kitna dukh pohocha hai.

She turned back to him.

Jenny: Tum sirf masum logo ka dukh kam karna chahte ho Kabir. Aur kuch nahi. You are not a bad person.

Jenny’s words had given him a different kind of solace that day. He had learned to come to terms with his cruel and ruthless side, find emotional balance. Her support had made it easier for him to make the hardest decision of his life, becoming Anjaan.

Of course, he didn’t identify with that name at the beginning. He had no name when he started. The name Anjaan is given to him by the people of underworld where most of his clients are from, because he is unknown to everybody. No one other than his team (including Jenny who was a part of his team when he started and he still considers her a valuable member of his team) knows that the owner of the café in Bandra kills people for a living, and no one ever will, except….