PR reloaded-FF-Pt 66 Pg 148, 27/4/11 - Page 78

Amazing. loved the varsha twist.

wow liked the tape but will not hld up in a court of law without voice identification and that is tough. usually works well for out of court settlement.

anyways, very creative. very engaging

good going Nikki😃

Nice work Nikki - I was like 'noooo.manav don lose that phone now,and ur pretty head'😆glad he escaped,can have dinner in peace now.😆

i'll be back soon to edit Please do remind me Ok


Edit

congrats on 100 pages, now you're almost nearing 50 parts!

all the explaining was interesting it was a lot Soulful

Congo Nikki on completion of 100 pgs 🥳 The Haji Ali story ws quite interesting never been to Mumbai but u describe it so graphically that I can almost feel being there .... Varsha twist is good waiting for the mxt part 😃

Thanks for giving the details of Haji Ali Dargah , with your description literally felt like i was right there at the dargah.

"Below every shrine in a dargah, there is a shivling (lord shiva)"", Niki is this true... can you elaborate ( in breif, if time permits).

Manav still has the proof , so no problem regarding ajit.

Twist in Varsha's track will be interesting.

Liked the way how u showed the Intern was helpful to Manav in the hospital reg. informing the police , and not how they showed in PR few days back .

great update!!!! am sooo happy that Manav tricked those stupid fools but what happened to Varsha??? please update soon :)

Thankyou guys!!! I'm glad you liked the Haji Ali description. Actually my real motive was to justify the background music for the next part😆- its a sufi song, so I used a sufi backdrop first. Can you guys guess which sufi song I'm gonna use? I don't know if you people have even heard of it, but its beautiful and the lyrics are very nice, very apt to the situation in the FF.

@nidhi: Haan Manav majnu ban gaya hai to pyar mein maar bhi khayega na...

@tv_madness: Yup, this track is for Varsha's character development, and her story as a whole. I love this character.

@TB:Yup, 50 parts will be up soon! I had never thought I would go so far.

@archanamanav: thanks!!!

@moon_mine: Arey baap re! You expect both these tracks to get sorted out so soon? You'll get a shock then.

@Hope: I had no idea about the voice identification part. Will find out some way to cover for that. As of now, lets assume that Manav, a high school dropout, wouldn't know so much about legal matters.

@Saffy: I'm glad you could 'feel' Mumbai. Main abhi aur feel karwaungi. I love Mumbai.

@Lekha: Hey you've not edited as yet!!!!!!!!!!!

@Piya: Thanks Piya! Hey did you read my speech on page 100? It thanks you all and gives the boot to Ekta... hehehehe

@Claire: That shivling thing was told to me by my mother, she had read it in a book, I'm not getting the name right now. But its said that at the base of a dargah shrine there is a shivling. I cannot vouch for that, so I made it into a 'belief' thing that Manav's mom told him just like my Mom told me, instead of stating it like a fact.

@svforever: Thanks! Hopefully next part will not be very late.

Oh Nikki,therez background music for the next part,😍sufi song😍wah,kya baath hai janaab😛

Hi friends!

Here's the much awaited part 49. But before that- a disclaimer!

The cases mentioned below have been inspired from reality. I many have gone wrong with the law procedure a bit, although I've tried to keep it as believable as I could. Apologies for the same.

The architectural details about J.J. hospital in byculla, Mumbai are accurate.

Please DO NOT use the story as a criteria to JUDGE THE HOSPITAL on any grounds, as this is only a work of fiction, a little inspired by reality.I included the hospital name only to make the story more believable. J.J. hospital is doing very good work catering to the needs of people all over Maharashtra, being the largest govt. hospital in the state, especially where HIV is concerned.

PART 49

A DIFFICULT TAKE

Still not having recovered from the shock, Manav closed his eyes. He was sure he was hallucinating. How the hell could Varsha be here? Archana had told him that Varsha would be going in the early evening. So technically, she ought to be on board the flight to London at the moment.

He opened his eyes slowly and was dismayed. It was indeed Varsha. He limped over to her side slowly. A device of some sort had been connected to her finger and now all her vitals were being displayed on a monitor. She was breathing very deeply.

A nurse came to check on Varsha. Manav turned to her. "This girl Varsha.." he stammered. "What happened to her?"

"Are you a relative?"

"Yes," Manav said, sounding more confident than he felt. "Kya hua Varsha ko?"

The nurse kept scribbling on her note pad. "Drug overdose"

Manav could not believe his ears. "Drug- as in- these drugs.." he said, pointing to the medicines kept on the bedside table, "or REAL drugs??"

The nurse glanced at him as if he had asked something silly. "REAL drugs. To be particular- smack. Happy?"

Manav was shocked. He looked at Varsha. She looked pale and drab and lifeless. No, she couldn't have been involved in something like drug abuse. She was modern and all, that was true, but she was mature, not irresponsible. He tried again. "Can you tell me what happened exactly?"

The nurse looked irritated, but anyway told him the story as he was a relative. The airport security had found Varsha in the ladies washroom at the airport, gasping and in a truly bad state. One whiff, and they immediately guessed that she had taken drugs. J.J. hospital being a govt. hospital, she had been brought there immediately, and efforts to resuscicate her had been made.

"She's fine now." The nurse said gruffly. "Her vitals are stable. But she won't be fine once she gets up." She gestured towards the policemen. "Did you even wonder why there is so much security here today? The police found 2 packets of heroin and one packet of marijuana with Varsha."

It was as if the mountains had fallen on Manav. Varsha and DRUG TRAFFICKING???? Impossible!!! A daughter of the Karanjkar family, ARCHANA'S SISTER, and involved in such a crime? NEVER!!! Despite the fact that Varsha hid things from home, Manav knew that Varsha was a sensible and level-headed girl, confident and blunt to a fault. His own bad experiences with her had taught him that she would never do anything behind the back.

He was pondering on the situation when suddenly he heard Varsha moaning. She seemed to be coming back to her senses. Immediately he sat beside her. "Varsha! VARSHA!!!" he said, shaking her a little. "Come on Varsha, wake up now! You're fine!"

With great difficulty, Varsha opened her eyes. She looked at him in amazement, squinting through her eyes, as if she couldn't see him, or maybe, couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Where am I?" she murmured.

The nurse started ushering Manav away. "Go from here!" she said. "Let her stabilize. The police have to question her.. this is a serious criminal case.."

Manav was horrified. "But I'm her relative.." he protested. "Let me speak to the police first."

"Later hero, later!" The nurse coolly pushed him away. Manav grumbled under his breath. He could see the intern (who had attended to him a few minutes back) and the taxi driver (who had brought him to the hospital and filled his forms) beckoning to him. Before he could say anything, he was husked away to get an X-ray done.

********------------*******

All through the X-ray, he kept thinking of what to do. His first impulse was to call the Karanjkars and tell them all that had happened with Varsha. But then he decided to know the whole story first and then call them. Yes, he would talk to the police and Varsha first, and then think about his next step. Haste might just end up ruining everything, especially when there was a cardiac patient (Sulochana Aai) in the family. Plus there were Manjusha and Ajit, who would take an obvious glee in spreading the whole gossip about a Karanjkar daughter being involved in a narcotics scandal. And then again there were Tarun's parents. He would have to be extremely careful about whom to tell and whom not to tell.

After the X-ray was done, the intern bandaged his head, put his arm in an arm-sling and asked him lots of questions. He replied as politely as he could, all the while hoping that she would let him leave soon. Ultimately, she asked him to rest for a while, and said that she would show the X-rays to a senior doctor posted in the Casualty department. Manav thanked the taxi driver for all the help and paid him well. No sooner had both of them left that he dashed to Varsha's bed.

She was no longer there. Apparently she had recovered, and had been moved to a separate room for the interrogation. He walked as fast as he could, wandering through the corridors of the hospital towards the room the nurses had indicated. Finally he reached, and was stopped by two constables at the door.

"You cannot go in. Police investigation." He said shortly.

"But I'm a relative!" Manav protested.

"Whatever!" The constable shrugged. Manav got angry. What the hell did 'whatever' mean???

"Listen you.." he started. Suddenly two policemen came out from inside the room. The constables saluted him. "Stay on guard." They nodded.

Manav waited till the two had gone. "I NEED TO GO IN NOW else.." he showed a fist.

"I like your ring!" one of them said suddenly. Manav was perplexed. He looked at his hand. They were referring to a shiny gold ring, looking at him with greedy eyes.

He hesitated. It was HIS WEDDING RING- the one Archana had put on his hand with her slender fingers. He had vowed then and there that he would never allow it to get away from him. But now..

A pang of desperation hit him. He sighed. He didn't have that much of cash to bargain or bribe. Only the ring could suffice. Quietly he took out the ring and gave it to them. The constable accepted it happily and made way for him to go in. "Just ten minutes, okay?"

********-------------*********

He entered the room silently. The room smelt of medicines and a few machines could be seen. A female constable was scolding Varsha, who was crying on the bed.

"CHUP!!!" she yelled. "I'll give you one slap if you cry anymore now. First you get involved in such illegal stuff and then you try the 'oh-I'm-so-helpless' card!"

"I haven't done anything." Varsha sobbed.

"Oh yeah!!" The constable said spitefully. Her glance fell on Manav who was standing there nervously. Manav indicated a finger outside. "They allowed me in. I'm a relative." The constable grumbled and went outside.

Manav heaved a sigh of relief. He went and sat near Varsha uncomfortably. "How are you feeling now?" he murmured.

If it had been some other day, Varsha would have given him a spiteful retort or a disinterested look. He was after all, the person who had made her Tai's life miserable. But that day, she was so relieved to see a known face amongst all these hateful, cruel, accusing people that all her earlier regards for Manav dissipated. Her relief gave way to tears and she started sobbing again.

Manav crept a bit closer. "Varsha," he said softly. "Don't worry, I'm here na now? I'll set everything right. But please tell me what happened first."

Varsha kept crying. "Everything is ruined. They cheated me, its all my fault.."

Manav gave her time to compose herself. He was restless but tried not to show it. Suppose the officials came back for another round of interrogation and caught him with Varsha? Matters would worsen.

He tried again. "Come on now Varsha, stop crying. Tell me what happened."

To no avail. Varsha kept crying.

Manav felt agitated now. He pulled Varsha's face away from her hands and spoke sternly to her. "Enough of your rona-dhona now. Don't you realise the gravity of this situation? I don't have much time to talk to you. I have been given 10 minutes, and for that too I had to bribe the constables. So tell me quickly what happened otherwise you'll be stuck in this rut for life!!! Stop behaving like a typical weepy girl!!! Where's your fire now?"

Varsha was shocked to see the change in his tone and expressions. She stopped crying and wiped her tears away. They both sat silently for a while and then she started telling her story.

She had been escorted till the airport by her family, and had met her friends there, who were also going to London. After that the spokesperson from Prasanna job agencies had given each of the girls their necessary papers and a special 'good luck' gift in the form of an expensive purse. Feeling humbled and excited, the girls had accepted it. After the security check, they had been waiting to board their flight. It was then that Varsha had gone to the washroom where she saw the spokesperson from the agency adjusting packets of drugs in the inner tucking of the purse and stitching it, so that it wouldn't be noticeable. Extremely nervous, Varsha had tried to warn the rest of the girls, but had been caught. Someone had caught hold of her from behind, put a hand on her nose and mouth and after that she had fallen to the ground. After that what happened, she had no idea.

Manav fumed in rage. He had read a number of times in the papers about how agencies lured youngsters to go abroad by offering them good jobs, and then used them as carriers in their international drug trafficking trade. If these 'carriers' got caught, then they were left to their own disasterous fates in the foreign lands. If not, then drugs were simply recovered later on some pretext, and the 'carrier' never even came to know about what he had done, settling down happily in his new job. One person of his own chawl had gone to Dubai in this same manner to earn good money, and had got caught when packets of opium were discovered in his chappals, a gift from his friend. Till date he had not returned. It was a common thing nowadays, and very risky.

The matter was clear. Prasanna job agencies had tried to use the girls to carry their drugs to London, but Varsha had found out the truth. To prevent her from warning the others and causing a racket, they had drugged her in the washroom, where the airport authority had found her minutes later. They had found the drugs in the folds of her purse and now she was being held up for a narcotics scandal.

Manav rested his head on his hand. What to do now- he thought. Varsha was more in control now, but things needed to be done fast.

A knock came on the door. A voice hissed, "How much longer? Come out now! You'll have to give more if you want to talk more.."

Varsha looked at Manav with a scared expression. "I had to bribe them." He explained and got up. She suddenly turned all nervous. "Please don't go!" she said miserably. "I don't want to be here alone."

Manav gasped. He could not believe it was the same Varsha whom he had always admired for her spunk, her fire. Today she seemed crushed, scared. She stared helplessly at him, and he held her hands. "Don't worry." He said. "I'm here only and I'm looking for a solution. Tell me one thing.. do you trust me?"

Varsha looked at him, dumbfounded.

Manav sighed. "Tonight, that is all we have to escape from this situation- blind trust. You take this gamble and you'll not regret. In any case, you have nothing more to lose. Right now, I'm going but I'll come soon with some or the other solution. What- that I also don't know. But you will have to trust me and agree to whatever I'm saying in front of them. (he indicated outside). We have to work as a team now."

Varsha nodded. "Please don't tell at home."

Manav pondered. "We'll decide that later."

*******-----------*******

It was 1 am. Manav was at the hospital desk, holding the receiver of the only phone present there. A long queue of people stood behind him, awaiting their turn. He waited and waited for someone to pick the phone at the other end. Finally!! There was a yawn followed by a sleepy hello. "Who's it?" asked Shravani slowly.

"Shravani this is me- MANAV!" he said hurriedly, thanking God for helping him. "I need your help!!!"

"Right NOW???" Shravani looked at the clock. "Oh- okay! Tell me what you want."

Manav explained the situation. Shravani listened intently. "Gosh!" she exclaimed. "This is terrible!!"

"I know." Said Manav quietly. "Since the past three hours I'm trying to talk to the authorities, haven't had a moment's rest. But I can't get through to them."

"So how can I help you in this, ha Manav?"

Manav let out a sigh. "Shravani, you are the director of such a big NGO. Everyday you have to deal with legal matters, police matters when people obstruct your work- your protest demonstrations against leaders, managements and so on, your strikes, your campaigns, protection for harassed women and children etc. You must be having contacts in the police department to safeguard your people."

Shravani hesitated. "Yes, I do know a few people in the police, who protect us during our missions, but no one in narcotics.."

"Anyone will do.."

"Okay okay, I'll call him and inform tomorrow.."

"Not tomorrow," Manav said worriedly. "This is a big issue Shravani, if it gets in the papers.."

"Okay baba, I'll call him now, embarrassing though it is. Where are you right now?"

"J.J. hospital."

"I'll reach there in a little while."

Manav was shocked. "No, you don't come here." He said. "It's very late."

"Don't worry Manav, I have Hari Kaka, my trusted driver. I'm coming in a few minutes. In any case, you can't do all the running around yourself. I don't think the hospital people will let you do it."

********-----------********

At 3 am, Shravani filled up Manav's discharge form. She went and sat near him, by the bed. "You need to go home now." she said.

Manav shook his head. "Not now. Did you speak to the Deputy Commissioner?"

Shravani nodded. "Reaching in a little while. You accept whatever he says Manav, don't push his buttons. He is already frustrated."

"Yeah, I'll do whatever he wants me to do."

"Did you say anything at home? Do the Karanjkars know?"

Manav looked thoughtful. "I have been running around all the time. Haven't told them. Tarun's phone is not reachable. God knows if they are trying to contact me.. there is no network in these old buildings (*** writer's note: this is a true fact. I'm from J.J. hospital, and we don't get good coverage in these 150 year old buildings.***) Plus informing the Karanjkars has to be done discreetly. I will have to talk to Archana ALONE first- the whole story. But right now.."

Shravani butted in. "Don't worry. I'll inform everybody. You concentrate over here only. Preferably I'll send Tarun to you if I can contact him. Okay?"

Deputy Commisioner Shinde came in then, grumbling to himself. Shravani stood up and shook hands. "Manav?" he gestured to him. Manav nodded. "Come along soon. We don't have much time."

Shravani helped Manav get up. "Take care Manav." Manav squeezed her hand, overwhelmed with gratitude.

******-----------******

Shinde Bhau looked at Manav intently. "Think about it."

Manav looked confused. "So is the only way?"

"Yup!" Shinde Bhau said. "See Manav, I can only CURB the matter, not dismiss it. This is a narcotics case, does not directly come under me. The Narcotics department handles it. As it is, Byculla does not come under my area. So I cannot help you in bailing Varsha out even. I can only help in the overall administration." He sighed. "Legally we cannot do anything. The case will be out in the papers tomorrow. After that all is gone. It is difficult to fight such cases in court- difficult to prove that the drugs in your slippers or purse or anything were not put by you, but by someone else, and you had no idea of it at all. Even if a person tries to fight, the struggle is often long and people end up losing everything. This girl's future will be destroyed."

Manav shuddered. Oh help!!

Shinde Bhau put a hand on Manav's shoulder. "Let's go through it again. See, Varsha cannot be put in lock up till she is fit enough to leave the hospital. I'll talk to a doctor here. He will say Varsha needs time to recuperate- she has had a serious drug overdose. The police, in case of a convicted victim offers treatment only in govt. hospitals."

"That's where you'll step in. You, being her relative, say that you want to get treatment done properly in a good private hospital. My doctor will give a no-objection-certificate for that. You then get Varsha shifted, preferably to a hospital under my area of jurisdiction in Mumbai. Then my doctor will make a false diagnosis of any kind of disease- TB, Jaundice whatever. The doctor in J.J. will be asked to make a visit and confirm it. Since it will be my area of jurisdiction, Narcotics will ask me to put police on guard over there, and they will start carrying out investigations regarding the whole scam. Zyada se zyada, we might have to take permission from court.

Manav listened. "Then?"

Shinde Bhau laughed. "Then? Then what? Then furrrrrrrrrrrr.. The bird will be out of the cage. You take Varsha home. The matter will lose steam in a few days, just as it always does in India. Arey so many similar files are lying in our coffers at office, covered with dust. After that you can decide what to do- send her away, get her married, whatever. Once the initial hurdle is over, the rest of the things really don't matter.."

"But this is illegal. It misuses both the medical and the legal systems.." Manav pointed out.

Shinde Bhau looked at him questioningly. "See hero, this is the only way out. This is India. All the film stars and politicians who get caught in police cases save their butts in this way only. This is not the first time I'm doing it for anyone." He said coolly. Manav looked at him in shock. The policeman smiled at him. "When I joined the force, I also thought a lot about ethics and all. Nothing happened. I was pushed to a corner and all those people who did illegal things- taking bribes, helping politicians etc.- they climbed the ladders of success. Finally I had to choose the same route as others in order to survive, thinking that if I don't do it, someone else will do it. My being honest does not stop others from committing the crime. At least I'm happy that I'm using my power for an innocent girl like Varsha. Same about that doctor here who will be helping us. For years he was rotting in this govt. hospital where he has terrible working hours, a government provided quarter which leaks and not such an attractive pay package. So much for being a doctor!! We are the examples of people frustrated with the system. There are so many loopholes in it- now we use them for our own benefit, and for the benefit of people like you. Don't think so much now."

Manav looked helplessly. "Don't you think there is something wrong somewhere? This is not exactly my way.."

The Deputy Deputy Commissioner looked into Manav's eyes. "The world is a bad bad place Manav. No one thinks like you do- what is honourable, what is not. We can't go about with our ethics all the time. At times we have to compromise. THIS IS LIFE!!"

"The Karanjkars won't agree.. they'll be disgusted."

"Who cares? Right now you're the one who has to make decisions. Better don't ask them at all."

Manav looked worried. He didn't know what to do. He looked at the clock on the mantel, ticking away silently.

Shinde Bhau yawned. "Its almost four." He said. "I must warn you Manav," he said, "once you get into this matter, you will be equally at risk as Varsha, since you will be involved in an illegal act too."

Manav nodded. Shinde Bhau got up. "Think about what you want to do. I'll go and get a cup of coffee for myself. You want something???" Manav shook his head slowly. Shinde Bhau patted his shoulder and started to go.

"Excuse me Sir!"

Shinde Bhau turned.

"I have a court hearing tomorrow," Manav said, still looking at the clock on the mantel, unblinking. "You think that I can make it?"

The Shinde Bhau pondered. "Is it important?"

"Very important." Said Manav. "My family, my love, my marriage, my life depends on it."

"Well in that case, send someone else over." He said matter-of-factly. "Else inform the court that you won't be able to come and request for the hearing to be postponed." He left.

*******----------*******

(Background music for the next scene- lyrics suit the scene perfectly.)

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuNnA-YAGkw[/YOUTUBE]

For a long time, Manav sat and thought.

And thought and thought and thought.

The enormity of everything was sinking in now. The decision to settle this matter had come up on him. There was a way out, but one that he would have to accept on his own.

He could not tell the Karanjkars. They were simple, decent middle class people who lived in a glass house of their own. They had never trusted him, they would be shocked at what he was suggesting, rebuke him and ultimately Varsha would be left here all alone.

He shuddered. God knows what sort of things happened in police jails nowadays..,.. Plus if the Lokhande trio came to know of all this, they would lose no time in spreading the news like wildfire.

He could not tell Sachin. Sachin would immediately fire him and ask him not to get into another mess for the Karanjkars, who never valued him anyway.

And Tarun was unreachable.

The plan he could think of right now was this- 1.) Settle the matter as of now. 2.) Drop Varshu home. 3.) Meet Archana personally, explain everything and ask her to break the news at home in a proper manner considering Aai's fragile condition.

But in all this, what about his court case?

The court case- one about which he had thought and planned so much. Two months of work, desperation- everything had gone into it. His family's savings had gone into it. The future of the garage loan depended on it. He had taken a big risk by jumping into it.

And Archana? She had pinned all her hopes on the court case. He remembered the night in Mahabaleshwar, when she had told him that she trusted him because of the evidence he had against Ajit. That was it. No evidence= no trust. She had been very clear about it since the very beginning. Now without him as the most important person during the cross questioning, wouldn't the opposition lawyer make mincemeat of the proofs?

He walked out in the empty corridors. He was on the 6^th floor of the hospital building, near the surgery department. From the large windows in the corridor, he looked at the J.J. flyover. He looked at the dingy alleys below it, and the skyscrapers of Mumbai Central in the background. What a contrast it showed! Two Mumbai's together- and both were extremely beautiful, together they gave life to the city.

His mind went back to the Shinde Bhau's words. "You have to compromise in life at times." He had said. He closed his eyes. It was a difficult decision, he was doing something which was illegal.. completely illegal. He had not resorted to crime even when there had been no money in his house, when he had to give up school, when the garage money hadn't been sufficient, never!!!

But today..??

He held on to his amulet. He remembered how he had told Archana that it helped one make difficult decisions in life. He closed his eyes and tried to think.

Had Ajit been fair when he had bribed the law and made a police official give false testimony against Manav, proving him to be a characterless man?

Had Prasanna job agencies been fair when they had used Varsha for their drug trafficking, not caring of what would happen to her if she got caught?

Who was fair? To be correct, who was fair in todays world?

No one. The world was a pack of wolves, which lost no time in using and then ripping apart. Each one was to his own.

And in all this, if he used the wrong means and sided with the wrong people to save an innocent girl, was it so bad? IT WASN'T!!! The world never played by fair rules. Then why were the 'good' expected to play fair all the time??

All this was okay, a corner of his mind spoke. "But what about the court case? Have you thought what will happen about it?"

His mind went back to all that had happened in the last 12 hours. He had tolerated a brutal attack for this court hearing. All these days he had done so much for the court hearing- used up family savings, fought with Sachin and Aai, made plans. Could he now leave it to destiny and stuff at the last moment for someone else's problems? Wouldn't there be problems for him as well?

There was no doubt that things could go terribly wrong in this scenario. The cross questioning was to be directed at him, Mr. Farooq had said. And the evidence that he had could be ripped to shreds too, if the cross questioning on the other side was strong. He had the perfect evidence no doubt- Ajit's confession- but it was in his pocket right now, not along with the other proofs ready to be presented. He would have to go.

But then what about Varsha?

His thoughts went back to Archana. If he lost the case, wouldn't she think that he had been lying to her all along? That he had made Ajit out as a criminal when he wasn't? That he had tried to blackmail Ajit with phony proofs, saying that if you don't take the blame of sending Archana to brothel on your head, I'll trap you in this garage-burning issue?

He would be ruined. Archana would start hating him.

But wait! All wasn't lost. There was still hope. There was Tarun and he could handle the situation at court and home just as efficiently. There was Shravani- she knew everything and could request the court to postpone the hearing in case Manav did not reach on time. And there was Varsha, who could easily tell why Manav hadn't come. He took out his cell phone and kissed it. It had the evidence against Ajit. As long as he had the cell phone everything was well. He would be able to tell Archana the truth. And who knew, the matter could be sorted out even before the court case? After all, the hearing was at 8 in the morning. Right now, it was just 4.30 am. If everything went smoothly, he could go to the hearing as well. Everything could be reclaimed.

COULD HE TAKE THE RISK???

Beads of perspiration and anxiety ran through his forhead. He took out his handkerchief to wipe it, when suddenly he saw a second amulet, one that he had brought for Archana, tied in a corner.

He held it in his open palm for a long time. Words echoed in his ears, "It helps you take difficult decisions in life." Well, today he had to take a difficult decision. It was his family, his love, his marriage, his future, against a vulnerable, scared girl who desperately needed help. Just looking at the amulet and remembering Archana somewhere gave him the strength that all would go well with her. After all- she DID have the strength to analyse, understand and take a stand. She DID have the strength to take difficult decisions like him. She hadn't come so far with him for nothing. It was Varsha whose matter was more important right now, even more than his court hearing.

Money could be earned back, relations could be restored, but Varsha..??? Her life could be destroyed if he didn't stay back today for her. And that would make Archana hate him TOO.

He was silent for a long time. Finally he spoke to himself. "Archana can wait, court case can wait, savings can wait, garage repairs can wait.. Varsha CANNOT wait.."

******-----------******

It was a gloomy morning, with the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds. The air was humid and suffocating.

Manav was with Shinde Bhau in a doctor's cabin. They pored over the reports and files together.

"Can be done." The doctor said. "I'll have to speak to the Narcotics head myself."

Shinde Bhau beamed. "Lets go now. The sooner all this is done, the better it will be." And the sooner I can go back to sleep, he thought to himself.

Manav's attention was on the cuckoo clock on the wall. It came out six times to say 'Cuckoo'.

The Doctor and Shinde Bhau stared at him. Had he got hypnotized?

There, Manav thought, there's still time. I can still go..,..

Shinde Bhau shook Manav's shoulders. "Chalein kya?" Manav came out of his thoughts and looked down. He gave a long last look to the clock, strengthened his heart and then said in a firm voice, "Chaliye."

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Hope you liked part 49! In the next part we have the much awaited court hearing, and now I'm waiting for your comments and feedback.