A hushed silence descended……It took a few minutes for the reality to sink in……Mr. John realised what he had done…..Chakor was raging. She held Mr. John and tried to hit him saying…..I will not spare you……You will pay for your crimes…and again ran and hugged the motionless Raghav…..tried waking him up …but to no avail……..The four guards who were there, were shocked too….They knew who Raghav was…..Mr. John realised that he had committed a grave blunder…If the villagers would come to know then there could even be blood bath in Azadganj. He couldn’t afford to take that risk…. There were 5 days more for 13th April and he didn’t want any problem and certainly not this one…..he gave the guards some money, asked them to keep their mouth shut and bury Raghav’s body in the vacant space nearby…..he asked them to keep quiet till the 13th….Then they would see what is to be done……
He dragged Chakor and said ….If you dare open your mouth be assured that his parents will be the first to go followed by Rana, Vikrant, Leela, Ashfaq and Peer and last but not the least you……She was shocked as to how he knew the core team….She said…I don’t care what you do to me but you dare not touch Raghav’s parents and my friends…..He gave a devilish laugh and said…you have seen what I can do, so be assured I mean each and every word that I have spoken….The otherwise strong Chakor jittered a little looking at the maniac eyes…..The guards picked up Raghav after they had dug the grave…..Chakor was wailing, wanting to hold him and sit there forever …John asked her to keep her mouth shut lest her wailing caught somebody’s attention…. ….she was pushed and his body buried……
Mr. John then asked his guards to arrest her, all thanks to the Rowlatt Act.
The main provisions of the ‘Rowlatt Act’ envisaged the arrest and deportation of any person on mere suspicion of sedition and revolt; the trial of those arrested by special tribunals established for that purpose; and the declaration of possession of treasonable literature as a punishable offence. It was already a cause of great distress for the freedom fighters. But the British Government was unaffected….
Chakor was anyways in a state where she couldn’t comprehend anything…She had basically become a walking corpse!!!! Her world had turned upside down within moments.
Slowly the news of her arrest spread in the village…..The five came to meet her…..They were shocked….They said that they had been to meet Raghav but he was also not to be seen around…..She barely controlled herself listening to his name and whispered that she was clueless about his whereabouts….She was missing her parents very much….
Chakor was so tired that she flopped down after they left and cried enormously…..all the moments she had spent with Raghav flashed before her eyes……The first eyelock, the first touch, the first hug, the first kiss, all invoked a flood of emotions in her….
The next day saw the Rajvanshi’s coming to meet her…. They said they were shocked when they had heard about her arrest…..At the same time they were plagued with Raghav’s disappearance…They wanted to know whether she knew anything….Mr. John had personally accompanied them…..She hung her head and whispered a no……Kamalnarayan assured her that he would do whatever he could for her release…She muttered a wholehearted thanks…...Mr. John also very sweetly said that he would try his best to find out Raghav’s whereabouts…..Chakor wanted to throttle him then and there….
After they had left, Mr. John tried questioning her about the plan…She said….Raghav had made the plan and none of us knew about it…..you finished him you wretched before he could tell us anything…she tried to hold him through the bars…He laughed loudly and walked away…His laugh kept ringing in her ears and tormenting her…..
The others kept coming to meet her ……….They were all worried with Raghav’s disappearance and her imprisonment…They had lost their pillars of strength ….…They weren't sure whether they would do anything at all on the 13th....She tried to keep a brave face and encourage them though she herself was totally broken inside.....Once when she thought that the guard was not looking, she tried to tell Leela about Raghav, but Mr. John came and she ended up saying “INQUILAB ZINDABAD”…
She was continuously under scrutiny and did not get a chance to tell anything to anybody…
On the 11th of April, Mr. John had an unexpected visit by Kamalnarayan. He told John that he was very worried about Raghav’s sudden disappearance. He further said that since the Hindu new year, Pratipada as they called it, was on the 13th, he and his wife were wanting to do a puja. As per their family astrologer, the puja would yield maximum results if it was done on the night of the 12th lapsing into the 13th. According to them this would be the best time to invoke the gods. He further said that the puja would be done in front of thevillage deity so that the peace and prosperity of the village was also ensured……..as per the tradition the villagers would expect him, his family and all the chhaoni members to attend it. Mr. John tried to refuse saying that he was very busy but Mr. Kamalnarayan insisted and said Saheb, the villagers would be very upset if you do not come. Also, the puja is after your office hours, so it should not be a problem. Mr. John had heard a lot about the Hindu traditions and how the Hindus were fiercely protective about it. He decided it best to attend and reluctantly said yes.
Mr. Kamalnarayan only had one request to make to Mr. John…he asked him to get Chakor along…He said that as the puja was for the welfare of the entire village, he felt that Chakor should also be a part of it…he assured Mr. John that after the puja he could take her back with him to the prison cell…..Mr. John said he couldn’t guarantee but would think about it.
On the 12th night the entire village was lighted with oil lamps. The girls were busy drawing rangolis. The boys were putting up flower decorations everywhere. A huge Yagna (a ritual sacrifice) was arranged at the centre of the village. The pundits had begun their chanting. Visibly disturbed Kamalnarayan and Tejaswini were sitting and doing the puja. Mr. John and the others accompanying him were welcomed in the Hindu traditional way with a village girl garlanding and applying vermilion to them. He had managed to leave two guards at the office to keep a watch.
He had got chakor with him but guards were stationed near her so that she wouldn’t interact with anybody. Everybody was happy seeing her……Mr. John had thought it better not to disappoint anybody at this stage…..The puja was going on in full swing with the entire atmosphere resonating with the chants……Seeing everything and everybody, Chakor all the more missed Raghav and tears started flowing…She somehow managed to control her feelings….
At that moment the village clock chimed 12 and a huge explosion was heard. A big ball of fire rose. The villagers ran towards it. They saw Mr. John’s office up in flames. The explosion had been so powerful that the entire set up was gutted in no time. However there seemed no casualties…..All were shocked. Mr. John was completely baffled. Slowly he turned red in anger. He shouted for the guards. There was nobody around…….He could do nothing but sit down and clutch his hair……..
The next day news started pouring in from different parts of the country speaking of similar blasts in several parts of Hindustan. Hundreds of offices were gutted. It was a big jolt to the British. That day they understood that revolutionary India and peaceful Gandhian India together was a lethal combo which they could no longer take lightly.
The Lucknow British office came to know that help had poured in from Azadganj right under their nose. They were so upset with Mr. John that he was transferred with immediate effect. The Chhaoni was asked to be withdrawn. Across India there were celebrations. Many places saw British officers getting transferred and chhaonis being removed…….
This also resulted in the immediate release of Chakor. She decided to run to the Rajvanshis to inform them of Raghav before Mr. John left…..When she turned in the alley a familiar voice called out…Chakooorrrr . She was stunned.