*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 22

Jannal oram 189


Until you are broken, you don't know what you're made of. Being broken gives you the ability to build yourself all over again, but this time around build yourself stronger than ever. Therefore you will be unbreakable.
- Melissa Molomo



Jeeva's mobile rang and five old heads and one young head bent together in a circle and stared at the phone on the table as the large display screen announced ' Raman calling' with a wallpaper photo of his smiling face displayed clearly in the background and all of them sighed in relief and happiness and jeeva grabbed the phone
and answered ' Hi raman,god it is so good to recieve your call.'

Raman in a slightly better voice ' How are you doing sweetheart and how are your parents doing?'

Jeeva fell silent and that moments hesitation alerted raman that there were others around her,near her and in all probability watching her every move.

Standing in the cool shade that was so lovingly bestowed on life by the large tamarind tree,he stared into the distance and then softly ' please give the phone to my dad.'

Jeeva held out the phone to shaktivel who too grabbed it and hurriedly spoke ' Iyaa,you are okay.Are you all right?'

Raman said he was doing okay and told his dad not to worry and then spoke to his mother too and requested her to put the phone on speaker mode and in a loud voice ' Sensei,i know you are there for logic dictates that my dad would have contacted you the first and also since he knows nobody else who he could have turned to for help.'

EX DGP Devarajan ' See,you just confirmed what i have told you so many times and that is you possess a really brilliant mind which is being wasted in the practice of law,when you should have been in a high ranking position in the police dept.'

Raman replied ' and i will give you the same reply and that is i can do a better job upholding the law by being part of the law than by just an officer who is maintaining law and order.And let me add to that sir,you can only maintain law and order but can you deliver justice and can you decide what is right and what is wrong?'

Devarajan shook his head ' my boy,you know you are better than me not only in judo but in the field of law and justice.But that is not what is at stake for right at this moment,we are all worried about what you are up to for the Raman i know will not just go off on his own without consulting me or in the least call me and discuss the matter on hand.'

Raman smiled ' sir,i am okay.' And in a loud voice ' i am okay and safe.can you all hear me speaking.'

Valliammai whispered ' ram,when are you coming back son?'

' soon amma,soon.Maybe in a couple of days time.But then again that depends on the situation and also timing.'

Devarajan's instinct told him raman was up to something and anxiously ' ram,please,let me in so that i can be of some help.You know me right and so you know that i will go to any length to protect you and to help you.'

Raman calmly ' sir,i love you sir and you know that too.But i am sorry for i think it is better you sit out this one for it might affect your position and also come back in a later date and bite us when we are least aware of it.'

All of them looked at devarajan although it was only jeeva who knew what was happening and remained quiet.

Maningandan in a quivering voice ' Thambi ram,please listen to a old man's words and come back right now.For,my heart is already broken with the loss of suja and it will not be able to bear any more pain of bad news.My only dream and wish is now to see you and jeeva married and hopefully stay alive long enough to see my grandchildren.'

Raman ' mani sir,thank you for those kind words and let me assure you that you will be around to see your grandchildren and more importantly to see Suja come back to us in the form of a grand daughter.I promise this and i am a man who always fulfills his promises.'

Shaktivel looked at jeeva and then spoke to his son from his soul ' iyaa,i don't know what has taken you away from us or what it is you and jeeva promise each other.But ...'

Raman interrupted his dad before he could finish ' appa,can i ask you something frankly and will you answer me honestly?'

Then in a loud voice so all of them could hear his question ' kamakshi amma,mani sir,amma,appa,sensei i want all of you to answer me honestly to the question that i am going to ask you.'

All five old people looked at jeeva for raman had not mentioned her name and so all of them understood that she knew what was about to be said or asked.

All of them could sense raman's anger,anguish,pain and his wrath as the question came loud and clear through the mobile's speakerphone.

' Appa,amma,the first question is for you and the question is what will you do if you found that someone was the reason for my sudden death?'

Even before shaktivel or valli could speak,kamakshi spoke ' i will kill them.I will burn them all.'

Raman smiled ' appa,amma,i am waiting.'

Shaktivel and valli nearly spoke in one voice ' it does not matter how much money or how much time but we will hunt them down and destroy them.'

The voice that now growled through the phones speaker sent shivers down all of them ' Correct and that is what i have set out to do and that is to find who or what the reason was for suja's death.'

Devarajan hurriedly ' ram,suja committed suicide my boy.'

' Reaction sir,suja only reacted in a way that she thought of.But what was the action that made her react in that way sensei?

For every action has a reaction and every leaf that falls on water sends ripples,however slight they may be.I am hunting that leaf,that action behind all this.'

Silence fell as raman in villupuram and the rest of his family in saidapet absorbed the incredible and horrifying meaning behind raman's words and actions.

Again it was Kamakshi who spoke first ' kill him.If someone was the reason for sujas' death,then destroy him or them raman.'

Mani feebly ' just come back to us safely raman.'

Shaktivel whispered ' My son,there is a reason and a purpose for each and everyone of us and it is that very reason why you are and also where you are.All the best.'

Valliammai ' don't waste too much time.Finish it quickly and return home to us.'

Devarajan in a calm and pained voice ' Raman,do what you feel is right to your soul.For,as far as i know,your soul is the most purest and kindest and i trust its judgement.'


Jeeva leaned forward and her tears fell on the table and she whispered ' my hero,my lover.I just want you to know that i love you and will die for you.Thank you for what you are doing for us sweetheart.'

Raman spoke in a cold,cold voice ' if you were like a mother to suja,then i was like a father to her.And this is for all of us.Bye baby.i will talk to you soon.'


Later that night,at about 10.00 pm,four men came out of their room in which they had stayed all day and quickly got into their red maruti swift and drove off quickly from the hotel totally unaware that a black skoda was shadowing them.

The car with the men headed towards pondicherry which was just about 40 kms or so and Raman followed them and also kept an eye on their every movements.He watched as the men kept drinking themselves silly and it was a miracle how they kept their car on the road and drove without hitting anybody.

The road became a bit twisty and was surrounded by deep ravines on both side of about twenty feet and just as raman was about to make his move that he had been planning for many a minute now,the red car with the men suddenly slowed near a turn and got off the road and immediately raman switched off his headlights and saw that all the men were getting down to take a piss.

Raman switched off his cars engine and coasted in neutral which was tricky and dangerous for unlike old cars,the new cars had hydraulic and electronic power steering and once the engine is switched off was very difficult to steer and raman managed with great difficulty and in total silence came to a halt about twenty feet away from them and parked the car behind a boulder and that too before the curve where the men had stopped to take a leak and got out and moved towards them to find out what had happened in gingee fort,two days earlier.

His hands were covered with black leather gloves and that was the only thing extra on him from the usual but for the anger and pain that filled his soul.

In the darkness of the night,he moved like a shadow and launched himself on the four men and in the darkness,dark questions about dark intentions were asked and the moon stayed away,tucked and hidden behind clouds for it too was an ally of raman and it too wanted answers to the burning question.why did suja kill herself?'


The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides
By the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.
Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will,
Shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness,
For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger
Those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.
And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Jannal oram 190

"Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.

Raman stood in the darkness of the night and sighed in solitary sadness for he knew now that there was no turning back.He realised that they would come and they would come with fire and axes and the only walls and defense against them was offense and intelligence.

He smiled in the dark as he remembered some of the teachings from the great master Sun Tzu,who had lived nearly 2500 years ago and which were relevant even now,in this day and in this night of war.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

Raman bowed to the elements of the night and life and to all his masters and whispered ' sensei.'


It was nearly 5.00 am when Priya,shreekanths elder sister heard the door bell ring and wondering who it might be at such an early hour,came out of the bedroom and switched on the lights in the hall and went towards the front door and saw in the newly installed cctv camera monitor,that it was Raman standing there.

Her fears about who could be calling so early now vanished,a new fear about what might have brought raman to their house at this early hour began to clutch her heart and praying that all should be well,priya opened the door and wished raman good morning.

' Good morning priya.I am really sorry for coming here and that too unannounced at such an early hour.But,i am sorry for the matter cannot wait and i need to see bharat right away.'

Priya asked him to sit down while she went and woke bharat up and raman asked her how he was doing and priya replied ' he is able to talk better now and the pain has reduced a lot.But it will be a couple of weeks before he is completely fit and ready as new.'

She came back a minute later and informed raman that bharat was up and was in the toilet and asked him if he would like a cup of coffee and raman brightened visibly ' priya,i never say no to coffee.Please and make it strong and just on tea spoon of sugar.'

Priya smiled ' sure,do you want me to make you something to eat for you look like you have just returned from some trip.'

Raman ' thanks priya.I confess i am quite hungry and any decent food is most welcome to enter my tummy.'

Priya opened the massive fridge which looked a vault and rustling through the many shelves,looked at raman ' ram,bread and eggs and sausages ok for you?'

Raman ' priya please,do you even have to ask? sure,bring it on and pile the plate up.'

It was a small table for two in the kitchen and it was set near the window and facing the east and just as the sun began to rise and throw gold and oranges over its domain and the same gold crept through the windows and lit up raman's face and threw an aura around him and then bharat entered the kitchen.

' Good morning raman,all well?' and sat in the other chair that was next to raman.

Raman looked at him ' so far so good bharat but we cannot go on like this and so i have decided on a new plan.'

Priya placed the steaming plate of Omelette and sausages and then placed a small bowl of butter and a knife and fork near raman's plate and looked at him ' well ram,the trip seems to have charged you somehow for i sense something different in you.'

Bharat looked at both of them and then at raman ' raman,things are going smoothly and quietly right now and i have decided to do something which will make all these problems go away.'

Raman forked a sausage and biting into it,lifted an eyebrow and smiled at bharat ' right and that something which you have decided to do is run back to Canada with kutty jeeva and make yourselves hard to find.'

Bharat shocked ' what,but how did you guess my mind?'

Raman smiled and priya in anger ' bharat,what crap of a decision is this? running off to canada when we have done nothing wrong?'

Raman looked at bharat ' okay,you and your child go off to canada and then what.You think your father-in-laws money and power cannot reach out and touch you in canada or for that matter where ever you hide in this world.'

He placed the fork back in the plate ' bharat,Minister Vaidyanathan's power and contacts might very well go up to the prime minister himself and that means global contacts.'

Bharat cursed quietly and then looked at raman ' how is jeeva doing? please say hi to her from me and my family?'

Raman looked away from bharat and priya and both of them sensed and literally saw raman react visibly and that too with great sorrow at the question.

Priya dragged a stool from nearby and seated herself between raman and her brother and gently asked him ' raman,is everything okay? are you all right?'

Raman nodded ' i am okay' and then softly and sadly whispered ' but jeeva is not doing so great.'

Bharat's face reflected how much he still loved and how much he still cared for jeeva and anxiously ' what has happened raman? is she hurt? are her parents okay?'

Raman nodded ' all of them are fine but suja is not doing so well and in fact is doing pretty badly.'

Priya worriedly ' why,what is she up to? I thought jeeva said she was doing well in medicine and that she might get married pretty soon.'

Raman looked at the sun through the windows and both priya and Bharat saw the fires of the morning sun dance in his eyes as he spoke ' suja is no more for she hung herself a few days back.'

For priya and bharat, hearing raman say these words felt like thunder and lightning striking them inside the kitchen of their house and bharat ' omg,omg.this is terrible raman.Such a sweet soul and i cannot even begin to think what it must be doing to jeeva for she sacrificed everything,even marriage with me for her sister's sake.'

Raman chewed calmly on the last bit of sausage and used the napkin to wipe his lips and then slowly sipped the steaming coffee ' Now my question to you is,are you going to fight or are you going to run away?'

Getting up from the table,he looked at brother and sister ' call me when you have decided' and taking a last sip of coffee and placing the cup back on the table ' Bharat,whatever you decide is okay with me and i will not judge you for it for it is not my place to do so.But,there is no turning back once you have decided for it will be too late to turn back.'

They followed him to the front door and then he turned and facing both of them ' i have a small request and that is that you come when i call you and i might do that either today or tomorrow.Can you both do that please?'

Bharat shook hands with raman ' count me in' and priya ' yes ram.count me in too.'

It was 6.30 am when raman left bharat and priya and headed towards saidapet.

Jannal oram 191

Look into my eyes you will see
What you mean to me.
Search your heart, search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more.

Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.
You know it's true:
Everything I do, I do it for you.


Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.


All three of them heard the door bell and all three of them hesitated for they were tired of body and mind and the pain of losing suja was like a ten thousand tons of stone weighing on their heads and shoulders.

But life has to go on and it has to go on by one pushing away pain and painful memories to a dark and dangerous place where it may or may not lie in shadows but will most certainly return and with a bang.

Jeeva got up and tied her hair into a knot and dressed in a rumpled kurta and pyjama slowly walked out of the bedroom.

Kamakshi held her child back ' ammadi,i will go see for it must one of our caring and well meaning neighbours probably bringing coffee and breakfast for us.'

Jeeva helped her dad Manigandan up from the bed and slowly holding him walked out of the bedroom and watched her mother open the door and the sun eager to do battle with the darkness that lay inside the house streaked in and lit up everything and everyone and in the middle of the light along with his parents beside him stood Raman.

Jeeva looked at her dad who held on to the wall and with a smile asked her to go ahead and jeeva slowly walked towards the light and towards Raman and nearly collapsed to the ground in joy and sorrow.

Raman reached her and held her and hugged her tightly and she looked at him ' you are back.You have come back safely.Thank god.'

Raman looked at her and smiled even as tears of both joy and sorrow flowed from his eyes and whispered ' will you marry me jeeva? Will you marry me and make me the happiest person in the world?'

He looked up at Kamakshi and mani ' will you please grant me permission to marry your daughter jeeva?'

Jeeva looked at him searchingly ' but when' and raman ' today,as soon as you are ready.'

Kamakshi frozen in her chaotic emotions ' iyaa ram.how is this possible and where can it be done at such short notice?'

Raman ' In our very own Amman temple in the next street and with god as witness and with the blessings of all our loved ones.'

Manigandan looked at Raman's parents and shaktivel ' it is their decision mani and i am okay with whatever they decide on.'

Kamakshi smiled and nodded ' why not? today is friday and the day of our goddess and so it is just apt and fitting that they are getting married on such a powerful day.'

She looked at all of them ' jeeva was born on a friday at 10.30 am and today is friday and she will get married at the same time.'

Raman looked at jeeva who whispered ' it means that i am going to be born again in your arms.Yes,i accept and i will marry you raman.'

Raman looked at her and then at all the others ' by the way,the short trip that i took was successful and at this moment that is all i can divulge.'

Jeeva smiled ' that is the best wedding gift any wife can get from her husband.Thank you ram.'

Intelligence is like underwear.You should have it but should not show it off.

Stupidity is like a bra,even with attempts to cover it,conceal it,it shows up.

Ego is like the bum.You can't see yours,but others can and you in turn keep noticing others bums,i mean egos.

Jannal oram 192


Raman looked at her ' jeeva,this marriage ceremony and rituals are but for public display and for the sake of law.But,i married myself to you,three years ago,the moment i saw you in the bus stand.But,until you gave me your love,i lived like a widower lost and lonely and with only dreams and memories for company.As far as i am concerned,i love you,you love me and that will do for me.'

Jeeva looked at him ' ram,i am at a loss for words and everything about you leaves me speechless.'

Shaktivel and valliammai who had gone to the temple to find out what was an appropriate timing came back with smiles and valli looked at raman and jeeva ' the priest said the only window of time for a wedding available today was between 12.30 and 1.00 pm.It is about 9.00 am and that should give us enough time to get ready and also do a bit of shopping.'

Shaktivel looked at jeeva and her parents ' Please let me handle everything and i know that you will not take that request in the wrong way for we are more than just families and our bonds now go more deeper than those of others who are joined together by their children's wedding.'

kamakshi ' shakti sir,we are now one family and are goal is our children's future and their happiness.Even if me and Mani want to,we just don't have the energy to go about preparing for this surprise wedding.'

Raman looked at jeeva and then turned to his parents ' please,both of us just want a simple wedding and importantly a quiet and discreet wedding.'

Jeeva looked at valli ' amma,a simple thali will do and no clothes for me for i have the saree that suja gave me for my birthday last year and with the money from her first stipend from the hospital.It is a silk saree and although not very expensive,it will be just apt for it will have my sisters blessings and i am sure it will make her happy where ever she is and if she is watching over us.'

Valliammai hugged jeeva tightly and kissed her cheeks tenderly ' ammadi jeeva, i always used to wonder what kind of woman will come into my sons life and if she will justify him and match him but now i know that it is raman who has to measure up to you in all aspects of life.'


Raman looked at jeeva ' sweetie,i will see you in the temple.Bye for now.'

But unknown to him things were being set in motion and the day was just gathering steam and only later in the day would it be known what the end result was.

The phone rang and the wife picked up the mobile and ran to the dining hall where her husband who was a magistrate in the Saidapet court was just about finishing his breakfast.

He looked at her with irritation ' you know better than disturbing me while i am having my breakfast.Who is it?'

The wife just shook her head and handed the mobile to him and Magistrate Peter Chellappan took it and answered ' hello,who is this?'

The person answered and from her husbands reactions,she knew it was a really important call and left him to his official affairs and went about her work.

The magistrate ' okay sir.I will try my best sir.But these cases are a bit tricky ones.Let me see what i can do.'

It was nearly 11.45 am and Raman dressed very simply in a white shirt and dhoti looked at his watch and smiled and glanced at his parents and all three of them left the house and slowly began to walk towards the temple which was just a few streets away,although the songs in Amman's praise that were being played in the temple could be heard even here loudly and clearly.

Just as they turned the corner and entered the temple street,Raman and his parents saw Jeeva and her folk already waiting there for their arrival.

All six of the family came together and then a screech of tires made them all turn towards the noise and in the direction from where it came and all of their eyes filled with a police jeep and stopping near them,an inspector and five constables got out and the Inspector looked at Raman ' sir,are you Raman?'

Raman nodded and the Inspector loudly ' sir,i have been issued an warrant for your arrest and also i have summons from the Saidapet magistrate.'

Raman took the warrant,read it and then very politely asked the Inspector ' summons on what grounds inspector?'

The inspector ' Mr.Raman,a Habeas corpus has been petitioned against you in the court regarding the disappearance of four people by their families.I am sorry sir but i have to take you into custody and produce you before the magistrate.'

If Raman was shocked and scared by this sudden turn of events,none of them saw it reveal itself in his face or body and instead calmly looking at the inspector ' okay,just a moment please' and turning and facing Jeeva,he looked at the plate his mother was carrying and took a bit of kungumam and pressed it on jeeva's forehead ' i am sorry baby but looks like we have to do this some other time.'

Seeing tears shining in her eyes,he whispered ' don't change clothes and wait for me to come back and i promise i will come back.'

Saying this he looked at all of them and got into the jeep with the Inspector and left to appear before the magistrate in Saidapet court.


Habeas corpus


Habeas corpus is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful.

The writ of habeas corpus is known as "the great and efficacious writ in all manner of illegal confinement",being a remedy available to the meanest against the mightiest. It is a summons with the force of a court order; it is addressed to the custodian (a prison official, for example) and demands that a prisoner be taken before the court, and that the custodian present proof of authority, allowing the court to determine whether the custodian has lawful authority to detain the prisoner. If the custodian is acting beyond his or her authority, then the prisoner must be released. Any prisoner, or another person acting on his or her behalf, may petition the court, or a judge, for a writ of habeas corpus. One reason for the writ to be sought by a person other than the prisoner is that the detainee might be held incommunicado. Most civil law jurisdictions provide a similar remedy for those unlawfully detained, but this is not always called habeas corpus.For example, in some Spanish-speaking nations, the equivalent remedy for unlawful imprisonment is the amparo de libertad ("protection of freedom").

Jannal oram 193

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve. Isoroku Yamamoto

Chennai has apart from the famous high court in Broadway a few other courts starting with the Egmore court,Saidapet court,george town court,kellyes court and periamedu court.But for the High court the rest mentioned are all Magistrate level courts.

The Metropolitan magistrate court complex at Saidapet houses six courts and a magisterial level Fast track-III court and is over 100 years old.It is a double-storeyed Victorian era construction.The court, which started functioning along with Egmore and George Town courts, is among the oldest in Chennai.

The jeep carrying Raman who had been arrested from the temple where he was about to get married pulled into the court premises and raman slowly got out and politely thanked the inspector for not handcuffing him.The Inspector knew better than to play with fire for even a cursory glance at his prisoner was enough to know that he was an educated man and a good man at heart.But the Inspector had seen many people,good people,highly intelligent people who had committed crimes of very serious nature and had leart from years of experience that looks and instincts could be very deceiving and just nodded and asked raman to follow him and the constables.


It was not everyday that people who thronged the Saidapet magistrate court witnessed a man being brought in by the police still dressed in his wedding clothes and many shook their heads in wonder and amazement and went about their work thinking ' what is the world coming to.'

But for the many advocates who were there waiting for their cases to be called and many others who were standing near the tea and coffee stalls,drinking and smoking at the client's expense,it was not only shocking but also very painful to see one of their own whom they recognised instantly for he was not only their peer but part of the bar council committee.Most of them rushed to raman's side,enquiring about his safety and well being and raman gently thanked them and politely assured them that he would handle it and that he was okay.

He strongly requested them to go about their work and not create any trouble in the court for lawyers have their own unions,association and all it needed was a spark and they could easily go on a rampage.

Twenty minutes had passed since the time of raman's arrest and now another twenty passed as he stood with other criminals waiting for his name to be called in the case that had been filed against him.

Raman knew that all this was being staged and managed by someone very powerful but also knew that these were just pin pricks and small stones that were piercimg his feet on his path to finding out the truth.

He stood calmly and shut himself off from the outside world and charged his mind with deep meditation that comes only with years of experience in not only meditation but in martial arts.

He opened his eyes and saw the magistrate peter chellappan seat himself in his chair and both locked eyes for a brief moment and then Raman looked away as a real tough looking guy nudged him ' enna brother,kalyanam overa, illiya?'

Raman shook his head ' timing miss ayiduchu?'

The man looked at raman from head to toe ' ennappa,unna paatha big man,rich man pola iruke? enge un lawyer?'

Raman smiled ' Naane oru lawyer thaan.'

The rowdy slightly taken aback ' unnaiye arresta?appuram naanga ellam enge porathu.'

Then he came closer,so close that raman could smell the stale booze and days of sweat from him and held his breath as the man spoke ' don't worry brother.you have money,you go home.This judge ask money from back door and give bail to all criminals.so,you get bail and go home and kalyanam panniko.'

Raman smiled ' thank you very much.But why are you here sir?'

The man looked very touched hearing raman address him with respect as sir and sighing ' usual boss.I beat up a few people who owed my neighbourhood pawn broker money.I will go to puzhal for a few weeks and then i will come out on bail and by that time the cases against me will be withdrawn and the money will be paid back to the pawn broker.'

Then the rowdy whispered ' listen brother,worse situation and you come with me to jail,i will take care of you and protect you until you get out.Okay.I have connections with the cops there and also the other big thugs and thalais inside puzhal who are there for a long time.'

Raman nodded ' okay.Thank you and i really mean it.By the way,what is your name? my name is raman.'

The rowdy all teeth and smiles,winked once ' my name is anbu,gold anbu.The gold in my name is to show how pure my heart is and my boss named me that after my first assault.'

While they were busy exchanging their bio datas,the news that one of their kin and that too a committee member had been arrested and had been produced in the court had spread like wildfire and raman noted nervously that nearly 40 to 50 advocates now stood looking at him with respect and also to see what was going to happen.

After disposing a few cases,the case against Raman was now called and a police constable asked raman to step forward and he did as told and a ghostly silence fell as everyone knew that this was a very unique and important situation.

Magistrate peter chellappan looked at the public prosecutor ' please state your case.'

The public prosecutor Senthil ' your honor,a Habeas corpus petition has been filed against the person here and not one but four petitions have been filed by the missing persons families.This is a very serious offence of grevious nature and might involve cold blooded murder too.So,i request the judge to place this man in police custody until the investigation is over and evidence has been collected.'

The magistrate glanced at raman ' mr.raman what do you have to say for yourself?'

Raman looked at him and then at the public prosecutor ' your honor,i declare that i am innocent of the charges that are being levelled against me and so i request that i am not placed in police custody and that i be released immediately.'

The magistrate looked at the public prosecutor ' Mr.senthil,with what proof should i place this person in police custody.'

The public prosecutor in a loud voice ' we have a very strong eye witness who has given evidence that is important in this case.'

The magistrate looked at raman with a smile ' okay,can i see this eye witness with my own eyes and then make my judgement.'

The prosecutor loudly ' yes your honor.The eye witness is here and i shall call him.Mr.Gurunathan,please present yourself.

Raman calmly looked on as gurunathan the cab driver from villupuram walked towards the magistrate and began to answer the questions that was asked of him.'

After finishing with the retired teacher who was currently making a living as a cab driver,the public prosecutor now addressed the magistrate ' so you see your honor,this person was enquiring and gathering the information about the four missing people earlier in the day and who all happened to mysteriously disappear later that evening.'

The magistrate looked at raman ' sir,what do you have to say for yourself.The witness has given evidence that you were asking about these missing people and so you have to give me a proper explanation as to why i should not place you in police custody.'

Raman bent his head to collect his thoughts and the magistrate rather sarcastically and also unnecessarily spoke ' your body language suggests that you are hiding something and maybe you are involved in this case and so i have no other go but place you in police custody.'

A loud voice boomed like a voice from the heavens ' One moment your honor' and just as the sea had parted before moses many thousands of years ago,the sea of lawyers gave way and made a path for a giant to walk through and the jaws of many a senior advocates dropped to the floor as they watched with open mouths as a true legend walked into the court hall.

It had been twenty years or more since krishnaswamy Iyer had stepped into a court house and that too to handle a criminal case and here he was with that same giant frame and booming voice as he came and stood next to raman.

He bowed to the magistrate ' your honor,i am krishnaswamy iyer of Rangachari & associates appearing on behalf of Mr.Raman here and i have with me an Anticipatory bail petition that has been approved by chief justice of the high court Mr.Sunil thakur himself.'

If the appearance of the famous legend krishnaswamy iyer himself was not enough,that he was armed with an Anticipatory bail approved by the chief justice himself was enough to let the air out of the magistrate peter chellappan.

Krishnaswamy iyer handed over the petition for anticipatory bail to the court staff member who handed it over to the magistrate who quickly scanned the contents and spoke loudly and rather rudely ' the court recognises the bail and releases the person charged in this case.But,i strictly warn him not to leave the city and also appear in the police station and before the investigation team that are handling this case when required.I hereby adjourn the case to next month when i expect the public prosecutor to bring forward irrefutable proof of the person's involvement in this criminal case.'

If the magistrate had thought that the matter was over and one with for the moment,he had thought wrong for now Krishnaswamy iyer spoke ' i am sorry your honor but i need to take a bit more of your valuable time in this case for i am filing a criminal conspiracy case against the public prosecutor and also the so called eye witness mr.gurunathan himself.'

And then he dropped a bombshell when he turned and faced the seated magistrate with a steely cold eye and announced in a loud voice that boomed all around and was heard by everyone ' your honor,along with this defamation charges against these gentlemen i will be returning to the high court and personally will be talking to the ethics committee that is made up by the senior chief justice about your personal involvement in ruining my clients reputation and also will be talking about criminal conspiracies hatched by your honor himself along with the public prosecutor who is present here.'

Magistrate peter chellappan's heart skipped many beats as he gathered his thoughts and faced the challenge that had been thrown at him ' Mr.krishnaswmy iyer,don't you think that you are over reacting and also stretching the boundaries of your reach in the field of law?'

' no your honor,on the contrary i think i am perfectly in the right side of law and well within my reach for a huge injustice of the law was about to take place just a few moments ago right here.'

Magistrate peter chellappan ' sir,please enlighten me as to what criminal conspiracies were hatched against your client who himself has been charged with rather grevious charges.'

krishnaswamy iyer with a twinkle ' your honor.My client raman here is a well known advocate and who practices law in the high court and if you had not known this,please note that he is a sitting member of the Bar council of Tamil Nadu.And you were willing to place him under police custody with just a testimony of a single witness and with that said i request permission to be granted at this very moment to cross examine his statement.'

If the call had sent tremors of fear coursing through his soul,these charges that were being levelled against him were proof enough that his day of reckoning had now arrived.

Magistrate peter chellappan had started his career by bribing certain people and then had resorted to further bribings to stay posted in chennai for that is where he made most of his money through dealings with all kinds of people who had themselves dealt with serious crimes day in and day out.By simply adjourning many cases he had given time for criminals to wipe out the cases and the witnesses against them and in the end the cases themselves were dropped for lack of evidence or simply because the people who had filed the cases backed off in fear or were paid money and settled out of court in mutual agreement.

Magistrate peter chellappan now knew what the words ' holding a tiger by its tail' really meant for before him was a lion and next to him stood a tiger and sadly he had both their tails in his hands and if he let go,then they would turn against him and finish him.

In a very soft voice,he spoke ' i grant permission for the eye witness to be cross-examined by Mr.krishnaswamy iyer' and when Gurunathan was brought in front of him he whispered ' proceed please.'

Jannal oram 194

Just as krishnaswamy iyer approached the eye witness Gurunathan from villupuram,the public prosecutor who seemed to have had enough jumped up and addressed the magistrate ' your honor,you just adjourned the case to next month and now you have allowed the defence lawyer to question the witness.Isn't all this a bit too rushed for a case that has just been filed?'

It had been nearly twenty years since Krishnasawmy iyer,Grandson of Rangachari had raised his voice and now his distinctive voice that spoke of expensive education and more importantly class apart and leagues ahead in terms of grey matter once again clapped like thunder in the saidapet court ' Mr.Public prosecutor,as of now 40,000 cases are still pending in this court and of the seven magistrate posts,three are lying vacant and have been so for the past five months.People involved in nearly 25,000 cases before this court have been coming and going for nearly five to six years and all they hear is case adjourned,case adjourned and then the magistrate gets a transfer to a better court and the new one takes another year before he settles down and tired out repeats the same.'

Removing his gold rimmed glasses that screamed expensive,the legend of law looked at the public prosecutor ' you have a toilet in your chambers,but have you seen the conditions in this court.Have you visited them recently? Have you had anything to eat in any of these so called stalls? Tell me sir,think of all the people who travel from as far as chengalpet and even vellore,once or twice a month,spending so much money,valuable time and all they hear is case adjourned.'

The public prosecutor timidly ' sir,what am i supposed to do about the courts amenities and eateries.'

Krishnaswamy iyer dropped his voice and modulated into a sarcastic tone ' well,you can stop filing frivolous cases and that too under false charges and without any evidence and also stop trying to send innocent people into the already crowded jails of our city.'

The public prosecutor tried and could only manage a squeak ' objection your honor.'

The tired magistrate ' mr.krishnaswamy,please no personal attacks and also there is no need to level such heavy accusations against the govt.We are all trying to do our best here sir.'

The glare that krishnaswamy iyer gave the magistrate was message enough and it also conveyed that he was not done with him,not by a long shot and now walked menancingly towards Gurunathan who was looking desperately at the Inspector who himself was looking for a hole to bury himself in.

If the magistrate and the public prosecutor along with the Inspector had thought the proverbial shit had hit the ceiling,they were drastically mistaken for the shit hit the sky literally as Krishnaswamy iyer turned back to address the magistrate ' your honor,before i talk to the witness,i would like to concur with my client Mr.raman and i request five minutes to go over a few details.'

The magistrate now looked like a cowering animal with its back against the wall and nowhere to hide and just nodded.

The five minutes was more than enough for more advocates to assemble outside the hall and many stood along with criminals and rowdies just to see the famous krishnaswamy iyer in action and that too cross examining a witness.For most of the advocates this was like a field trip,a practical class and it was being conducted by a true master who had come back like a phoenix from the ashes.

Dozens of mobiles were out and videos were being streamed live on to facebook and you tube accounts and as luck would have it was picked up by an unknown tamil channel and by the time krishnaswamy iyer turned to face the magistrate,more tamil channels had now hitched their wagons to the live streaming media from you tube.

' Your honor,i thought things might have changed for the better but i see that they have only gotten worse.'

He looked at the FIR and also the witness statement and then looked at the magistrate whose ulcer started acting up and all he wanted was to run and hide somewhere.

' your honor,can i ask the Inspector a few questions?'

With the consent granted,he turned to face the Inspector ' sir,at what time was the FIR filed and who was the first one to come in with the complaint that a family person was missing?'

The inspector's adam apple moved up and down and in and out as he gulped for air and quivering like a kindergarten student facing the wrath of the school headmaster,he replied ' at about 7.00 am sir.'

' 7.00 am.okay.But can you explain how all four FIR's were filed at more or less in a span of few minutes.The reason i am asking is that these four people who have gone missing are all from chennai,i agree but all of them are from different parts of the city and one of them has an address in thiruvallur.So,the family members who filed these complaints miraculously all arrived at your station and that together in a matter of hours and you being a very considerate and kind man filed our FIR's without any fuss or delay.'

The inspector gulped awkwardly ' i was just doing my duty sir.The family members were all panicking and were very worried for they felt that something terrible might have happened to the missing four.'

Krishnaswamy iyer with concern ' true,very true and i agree that when a family member goes missing,it is really an aggravating situation and we should take immediate action.'

Looking at the inspector as if he could not understand something ' But,i am just curious to know why the FIR's were filed here if they went missing in Villupuram.I am sorry inspector,maybe my knowledge of law is a bit rusty and maybe some new laws have been brought in that i am not aware of.'

The inspector felt a pain beginning to bloom all over his body ' sir,the family members came to the station and i was left with no other option but to file the FIR's and bring it before the court and request an arrest warrant for Mr.Raman so we could investigate the matter more thoroughly.'

' okay,perfectly understandable although in a vague and twisted way.But after that,did you get in touch with the Villupuram police dept and ask them to investigate and send you a report.'

The Inspector stumbled,fumbled ' no time sir.For the situation was serious in my opinion and i feared for the welfare of the missing four.'

Krishnswamy Iyer laughed aloud ' right,the missing four.okay lets talk about the missing four.'

He opened a thick file on his desk and took a bunch of papers that looked like FIR'S and also many written complaints and held it up so that everyone in the court could see for themselves ' the missing four' and looking at the papers,read ' Murthy,selvam,Rocky,kokku parthiban' and looked at the inspector ' sir,these are the men you were so concerned about right.'

The inspector sighed and looked down and Krishnaswamy iyer turned and faced the magistrate and in a loud and clear voice thundered ' your honor,these so called missing men are notorious gangsters,thugs,rowdies and also have many murder charges against them.'

He read from the papers ' your honor,as of today,each of these missing men have about 72 criminal case against them and they are supposed to have gone missing.'

The magistrate cursing the caller and the day he had met him ' Krishnaswamy sir,we get the picture so can you please get to the point you are trying to make.'

The twisted smile that appeared on his face alerted Raman to what his boss was going to do for he knew his mentor pretty well and that was he was just about ready to deliver the killing blow.

' yes your honor,i will get to the point and that is aa very simple and clearly visible point that even the most least educated person,leave alone one who knows law will be aware of and that is,four notorious thugs go missing and a highly respected man,an advocate,member of the high court bar council is arrested and that too on his wedding day without the least bit of respect for his rights.'

He paused for a moment and now turned to face the magistrate ' your honor.you sit here in a state appointed post as a magistrate while the gentleman who is been brought here is being considered for a high court judges post and he has been brought here by your authority and with your sign on the arrest warrant.Could you explain yourself your honor as to why all this was so hurriedly and so suspiciously handled and without any proper evidence and with evidence that is totally unreliable and unusable in this situation.'

The magistrate with whatever dignity that remained ' but mr.krishnaswamy iyer the fact remains that there is a witness and he is here right now before us.So sir,why don't you go ahead and question him instead of finding fault with me or the process in which this case has been handled.'

Krishnaswamy iyer graciously bent his head and replied ' valid point your honor and i am not leaving here without talking to this so called witness.But before that,one more question for the inspector.'

Turning to the inspector ' sir,isn't it true that the public frequently complain that their complaints are not looked into and that Fir's are not filed and that getting a copy of the FIR is a long drawn process and also that bribes have to be given to get a FIR copy.'

The inspector angrily ' sir,please.I have no idea as to what happens in other places but i assure you that no bribes are taken for handing out FIR copies.Yes,i agree that sometimes filing a case takes time for we need to look into the complaint and see for ourselves if there is a case to be made.'

Krishnaswamy iyer now stabbed deep with his reply and with sweet sarcasm dripping ' then why was that not followed in this case and why did everything happen so swiftly.Is that because you were asked to do so and because of higher pressure from someone who has a grudge against my client?'

These words were like bolts of lightning in everyone ears and the magistrate immediately knew what was happening and what kind of trap the famous krishnaswamy iyer was laying around the case and all of them and he hurriedly interrupted krishnaswamy iyer ' Mr.iyer,i think we should stop now and put an end to this.It is clear that things were not done by procedure and so i am going to dismiss the case for now and also request the police dept and public prosecutor that in future that they do a better job.'

The magistrate's words were heard clearly by everyone in the courthouse and by lakhs who were watching the proceedings live on facebook and you tube and many judges in the high court yelled ' bravo,bravo iyer sir' and in the court house raman shook his head sadly for the magistrate had by his own admission had implicated himself and everyone else involved in the case.

In chess this is called checkmate and that is a situation when the king cannot make any move without being killed and so will surrender the game and accept defeat.

But unknown to the whole world and only known to Krishnaswamy iyer and Raman,the magistrate had surrendered because he did not want the case to go in the direction that it was going and did not want to land in the trap that was being set up.But it was too late for the trap had been sprung and now krishnaswamy iyer looked at the magistrate ' your honor,thank you for dismissing the case and let me now inform you that i will be going directly to the High court and will be filing cases against you,the inspector and also the public prosecutor and i will also be meeting the law minister personally and also will meet the governor to inform him about the situation and also the manner in which your court is being run by you.'


A huge roar of applause filled the air in the court and it took several minutes for it to die down and many of the lawyers had tears in their eyes for they had just witnessed a legend in action and that too with their own eyes and heard him cross examine not just a witness but the police dept and also the magistrate himself.

All the advocates that were watching the proceedings felt that this one case was equal to a few years of education in their law colleges and all of them knew that this case was going into their syllabus in the very near future.

The magistrate, a thoroughly beaten man looked sadly at krishnaswamy iyer ' sir,what do you want? what more do you want now?'

Krishnaswamy iyer with a twinkle in his eyes ' beat the grass with the stick for a little while longer your honor.'

The magistrate now caught in the trap was a bit confused ' i am sorry Mr.iyer,what was that you just said?'

Krishnaswamy iyer in a soft voice ' i am the stick and this case is the grass and i want to continue beating the grass and see what snakes and other things come running out in fear and shock and from the cover in which they have been hiding under and more importantly behind this case against my client raman.'

Jannal oram 195

Magistrate Peter chellappan had never scrapped or fought for anything in his life and had proverbially scraped through life by the skin of his teeth.He had scraped through his public exams and had just got into law college with the last seat and that too by bribing a few faculty important members and had the after five years just passed the bar exams by a whisker and had emerged a lawyer.But then,he got lucky and became an assistant to a famous criminal lawyer who died a few months later due to a massive heart attack and had hung on to his bottom rung post in the late lawyer's office.Then,using his wife's money,he had bribed his way through the state govt and with the help of the P.A of the then law minister had gotten the magistrate post but it was down in Nagercoil.But a rat and that too a clever one survives by adapting in any given situation and Peter chellappan survived in Nagercoil by adjourning every case that came before him and made a lot of money through the nexus between criminals,cops and law.Using this wealth,he finally bribed his way back to the city of chennai and well life was made,Until now.


Krishnaswamy Iyer's voice boomed and he spoke ' your honor,my client who himself is a great lawyer wants to do the final stretch of cross-examination and i hope you have no objections to it.'

Magistrate peter shook his head and looked pointedly at the Public prosecutor whose expression told him that the client raman was probably a better proposition at that moment for there were none who could handle the old lion's knowledge of the law and also his intelligence.

But,unknown to them the old lion had just delivered a Coup de grace.

A coup de grace "blow of mercy" is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal.It may be a mercy killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent.

Examples of coup de grce include shooting the heart or head (typically the back of the skull) of a wounded, but still living, person during an execution or by humanely killing a suffering, mortally wounded soldier, in war, for whom medical aid is not available. In pre-firearms eras the wounded were finished with edged or impact weapons to include cutting throats, blows to the head, and thrusts to the heart.


Raman felt a nudge and turned to see the petty criminal Gold Anbu smiling and then whispered ' ,good luck boss.Leave your card for in future if i have problems i want your boss on my side.'

Raman nodded and left Anbu with a smile and walked towards his mentor,boss and Employer who looked for a place to sit and four advocates jumped out of their chairs and pointed politely at their empty seats and Krishnaswamy iyer thanking them lowered his bulk into one of the creaking wooden chairs that had been there in the courts from the time of christ himself.

C. V. Shanmugam,the current Law minister of Tamil Nadu was in his office when his Secretary came rushing in with a lap top and placing it on the table told him ' sir,this is from you tube and it is live and happening right now in the saidapet magistrate court.

The minister looked at his secretary ' what is going on?' and the man quickly explained the situation to his boss who leaned back cursing madly ' W*F man,we just got screwed in Thoothukudi with the police opening fire on the Sterlite protestors which left a dozen dead and now this.Who is the magistrate? I want all the details of him in the next ten minutes.'

He picked up the phone and called the chief secretary and asked if the chief minister was free and was told that he would be available after one hour.

The law minister thanked him and went back to watching some idiot who was streaming the video live from the court and wondered aloud ' Paavingala,ippo livea enga govt oda maanatha vaangureengala.Sethom.'

Everyone watched as the old lion sat down and a young tiger stood up and one of the advocates murmured ' I have seen this guy in action and he is as good as Mr.iyer himself and if he has stepped up to cross examine then it means that the end is near.'

Raman looked at the magistrate ' your honor,i apologize for my improper attire and beg the courts lenience at this moment' and the magistrate's expression said everything and that was ' enda,konjam too mucha ille.'

Raman politely folded his hands and greeted gurunathan ' good morning sir.How are you doing? I am really sorry to see you going through all these unnecessary tensions on my behalf.'

Gurunathan from villupuram remained quiet and raman asked him ' sir,we met yesterday morning and you have already stated the situation in which we met.Now could you please tell me in your own words about what we spoke and how long our conversation lasted?'

Gurunathan whispered and raman ' sir,a little louder please' and in the pin drop silence Gurunathan's voice was heard clearly as he began to speak.

' sir,you wanted to go to Thiruvannamalai temple and then we stopped and you got a phone call.Then you asked me about the people who had traveled in my car and particularly you asked about two people whose names were Sujatha and Mohan.'

Raman thanked him politely ' sir,at any given time of our conversation did we talk about these four men who are supposedly missing and in whose disappearance i am supposed to be involved in and did you mention their names or whereabouts to me.'

Gurunathan shook his head ' no sir.You did not ask any questions about these four people and our conversation was about my children and the poor girl suja who is now dead.'

The silence was broken rudely by a ringtone that played the song
' Ponaal pogattum poda.
Indha bhoomiyil Nilaiyaay Vaazhndhavar Yaaradaa?'

and everyone turned to see who the idiot was and then all eyes and ears went in the direction of the magistrate whose mobile was the cause of the song and that too a rather well suited one for the given situation.

The magistrate hurriedly saw the number and placing the mobile to his ears nodded ' sir,okay sir.yes sir.But sir,that is impossible.'

Raman politely looked at the magistrate and then at the crowd around him and rolled his eyes as if to say ' a case going on and the magistrate is on his mobile.what an example for others?'

The magistrate timidly placed the call and then with sudden and unexpected anger he glared at raman and krishnaswamy iyer ' i think we are done here mr.iyer and i repeat that the case is dismissed and all charges against your client will be dropped.Now please leave the hall so that i can get on with the other cases.'

Krishnaswamy iyer raised his voice harshly ' then what about the manner in which my client was arrested in front of his families and that too just as he was going in for his wedding.Do you realize the trauma and agony that he and the others who were witness to it had to go suffer.How is that going to be healed and with what compensation your honor?'

Moving away from the chair,he came close and face to face with the magistrate ' your honor,i am not sure how you went about your cases when you were an advocate yourself but i promise you i am not that type to let things slide and questions unanswered.If you do not let me continue with this cross examination i will meet the bar council,ethics committee and place before them this very case,your attitude and they way you have conducted yourself in it.And you know what that means sir.It means all your cases over the years in which you sat judgement will then come under scrutiny and you will be drowned in all sorts of troubles starting with investigations from the Judiciary,CBI and so on and so forth.'

The magistrate suddenly stood up ' mr.iyer and mr.raman,i would like to meet both of you in the chambers and we will decide there how to go about things.'

The silence rose to loud murmurs and then all hell broke loose as the fellow advocates began to use filthy words against the magistrate who disappeared with a couple of constables to protect him and soon there were loud chants ' Magistrate down,down.Magistrate down,down.' And then even louder chants of Iyer sir Vazhga,Raman sir vazhga'ran through the corridors and even after shutting the doors behind them did not muffle the loud chants and Krishnaswamy iyer and raman stood facing the magistrate as he hurriedly downed a bottle of water and wiping his lips with the black gown stared at both the lion and tiger that stood before him and did something that was totally unexpected and took all of their modesty from bursting out laughing.

He fell at Krishnaswamy iyer's feet and holding it began to sob loudly ' iyaa,please forgive me for my mistake for i was just following orders.What can i do sir when powerful people are involved and in this case really scary people who can make me and my family disappear with just a glance and a word.Please help me sir,please tell me and guide me as to what i should do now?'

The door to the magistrate's chambers opened and the crowd of advocates who had swamped both the constables began to raise their voices but krishnaswamy iyer raised a hand and like children they all fell quiet and like lambs following a shepherd followed both of them back to the court.

Raman left krishnaswamy iyer who went back to his chair and began to look at some documents while he did the same and all of them waited for the return of the magistrate

Raman was busy checking some documents and then looked up to see the magistrate clutching his chest and ran to his aid.He lifted the magistrate into his arms and ran down the two floors and placing him in a police jeep yelled loudly to the constable to rush to Kaveri hospitals.

The magistrate whispered ' raman sir,kaveri hospitals,why there sir?'

Raman winked at the magistrate ' kaveri hospitals belongs to stalin and DMK.If anyone can protect you from who was behind this whole drama,then it is the opposition party.But for god's sake stay mum and act like you are really having chest pains like most politicians who are charged with corruption scandals do.'

Just as they were reaching the hospital,raman looked at the magistrate and the poor man who was already under tremendous stress nodded ' Yes,Minister Vaidyanathan.'

Then raman saw a flash in the magistrate's eyes and the man asked raman to come closer and whispered something in his ears.

Raman thanked him and looked up to see the big board of Kaveri hospitals pass over them and they were into the lobby and a stretcher was brought out and the magistrate was rushed into the ICU.

It took just a few moments but everyone began to recognise raman and then thankfully Krishnasamy iyers mercedes benz screeched to a halt just outside the hospital and raman quickly got into the car.

The old lion looked at the younger cub and one whom he was secretly grooming to take over his law firm ' well,looks like everything went by your script.Where to now raman?'

Raman smiled ' to my sita sir for whom i have been waiting all my life.'

C. V. Shanmugam,the current Law minister of Tamil Nadu sat before the Chief minister who asked just one question and the most important question ' who is behind the magistrate shanmugam?'

Hearing the answer,he tiredly closed his eyes and lowered his head into his palms and cursed ' It is nearly 18 months since Amma left us and that too so suddenly.Our party and govt has barely survived and endured that huge loss and then we went through the takeover bid by Sasikala and her gang,who thankfully was sent to jail and then we faced the scary jallikattu problem and now with this sterlite and Cauvery problems looming like death over us,we are faced with this new problem.'

The law minister's face softened for here before him sat a man who had not been known to the public unlike OPS who had been thrice chief minister and yet he was somehow doing managing to do a decent job with the given situation and immense problems that kept coming one after another.

' sir,i think the best course of action is not to do anything and let this whole situation play out by itself and then we will step in and see what we can do.'

The chief minister thoughtfully ' no shanmugam,you don't know vaidyanathan like i do and he will strike back hard and with deadly intent.That is one poisonous and deadly snake that even Amma herself kept at a arms distance and used only when force was necessary.'

Law minister C. V. Shanmugam smiled ' sir,This young man is the perfect opponent for our minister for he is not only brave but very smart and sir he has minister durai murugan,vijay and kavita on his side and if my information is correct,i think our city commissioner and former dgp devarajan are secretly helping Raman sir.'

The chief minister nodded ' okay shanmugam,just keep me posted and constantly update me on what is going on with this fight.But remember,that we are not like others and if the situation gets very messy then we will be forced to choose sides and i would like to be remembered for doing some good in the time i was in the office and i know that it will be really tough to be reelected once more and it will be virtually impossible if Modi and BJP lose in the general elections next year and the moment congress come to power they will do their best to dismiss our govt and hold elections on our state.'



Far away and in his house and in the privacy of his den Minister Vaidyanathan yelled his question into the phone' did the bas***d really have a heart attack?'

After listening to the reply from the caller he smiled grudgingly ' this lad raman is good.Kaveri hospitals and it belongs to stalin and there is no way we can go in there without creating a ruckus and he will be constantly monitored and there will be cctvs all around.'

After thinking for a short while ' no,let him go for the bas***d has served his purpose and we cannot use him anymore.Lets lie low for a little time and then we will strike when the right moment presents itself.'

The caller ' sir,what do we do about the missing four men sir and more importantly what about their cell phones sir for that is dynamite sir and is enough for the roof to come crashing down on all of us sir.'

Minister vaidyanathan cursed ' damn that raman.I did not expect him to move so fast and now we have to wait for his next move for we are in the blind.Let him come and this time we will finish him once for all.'

Jannal oram 196


"God believes in you even if you don't believe in Him.


It was nearly 2.30 pm by the time Raman and Krishnaswamy iyer parked their car and entered the house of jeeva.Shaktivel and valli ran to their son and to see if he was okay and Raman smiled and gently hugged them both and told them he was okay and that the police had been pretty kind to him.

Shaktivel nearly opened his mouth to ask the question but the look raman gave him made him realize that it was not the time or the place to talk about it.

Raman sat next to jeeva who was still dressed in her wedding saree that had been gifted by suja and told her that he was sorry that he couldn't return earlier for things had gotten a bit crazy in the courtroom.

Shaktivel greeted Krishnaswamy iyer and then introduced him to everyone and kamakshi and manigandan thanked him for saving raman from the case that had been built on false charges.

krishnaswamy iyer sat next to jeeva ' so this is the lady who has total control of my raman's soul.Now that i see you my child,i have no doubts as to why raman fell in love with you.'

Jeeva sadly wiped her tears ' thank you sir but as bad luck and our fates would have it we just seem not to be destined to get married and live a quiet and peaceful life.'

Krishnaswamy iyer with a smile gently patted jeeva's head ' child,all things that concern humans are under the control of the gods and their stars.But don't worry for i am here and i will see to it that your marriage takes place and that too on this very day itself.'

Valliammai and kamakshi looked at each other in panic and valli ' sir,the nalla neram has passed and the only window is again from 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm and our amman kovil opens only at 5.30 pm and i don't think anybody gets married in the evening or for that matter after 12.00 in the morning.'

Krishnaswamy iyer looked at all of them ' listen all this rituals,religious practices are all human made and for our own conveniences.i don't personally believe in all this bullshit of good times and bad times for time itself is man made and anything man made is definitely cause for suspicion.'

Shaktivel tentatively ' but sir,we have become used to all these practices and do you think that it is wise to break them now.'

Raman in a loud and clear voice ' appa,yes.I am going to break them and me and jeeva are going to get married today,come what may and that means even if god stands in my way.Just because we have become used to certain practices and ancient ritual,does that mean we have to fear them and respect them out of only fear and because they are old and ancient.'

Jeeva looked up at all of them ' i stand by raman's words and yes i am going to marry him today.'

Manigandan with a trembling voice ' But where,for even a registered wedding will not be possible now.'

krishnaswamy iyer with a twinkle in his eyes looked at kamakshi ' kamakshi madam,i have heard raman sing songs about your cooking and if i am allowed on request that would be that you make something for us to eat for i am starving.'

Looking at everybody ' don't worry about the place and time for i will handle it.'

Coming to the entrance of jeeva's house,Krishnaswamy iyer spoke on his mobile for a few minutes and coming back inside ' it is done and we haev to be there by 4.00 pm and i think we can manage that after eating something.No point in going to a marriage on an empty stomach.'

Kamakshi went into the kitchen and a few moments later,the cooker began to hiss like a giant snake and then screamed its steam,one whistle after another.

Jeeva went into the room and washed her face clean and then quickly combed her hair and looked at the door as valliammai came in with a bunch of jasmine flowers that spread their fragrance all over the house and lifted everyone's spirits.

Twenty minutes later,everyone pulled a chair to the table and fought over the food.Kamakshi had whipped up a potato curry,chappatis,cucumber raita and curd rice with grated carrots,mangoes,curry leaves and green chillies.

Krishnaswamy iyer placed the food and swooned in joy ' aha,aha' and opening his eyes winked at kamakshi ' madam,i am your slave and your lawyer for life and i promise never to charge you any fees,not even a naya paisa.But please,promise that you will call me home to eat your food at least once a month.'

Kamakshi's face went through many varying expressions and then she timidly asked ' sir,where is the wedding going to take place?'

krishnswamy iyer dumping a huge karandi of curd rice looked up at her ' you will see,you will all soon see and also realise that things happen for a certain reason and there is really a power,a god above all that is man,his fate and all his calculations.'

The time was 4.05 pm when all of them reached the T.nagar Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam and all of them got down quickly and entered the temples premises.

A very important looking man came running and greeted krishnaswamy iyer and escorted them inside and all of them were taken aback to see two priests holding plates with garlands and a priest who must have been easily 80 years or more asked them ' thaali yaaru kitte irukku.'

Valliammai who was also holding a big shiny brass plate with garlands and the mangalsutra came forward and the old man took the whole plate and slowly went inside and placed it at the lord's feet.

From inside he asked ' Mappillai peru natshatram' and valliammai happily yelled ' Gothanda raman,Punarpusam nakshatram.'

The priest looked at her in surprise and then slowly came out and asked' Ponnu peru,nakshatram' and kamakshi ' Jeevitha,Pushya Nakshatra.'

The old priest closed his eyes and chanted ' narayana,narayana.All this is your drama.'

He opened his eyes and looked at all of them ' Punarvasu nakshatram is the nakshatram under which lord rama was born and pushya was the nakshatram of sita was born.But strangely both of them are governed by the moon sign which dictates that they must be apart for many years for the influence of saturn is very strong.

Fortunately today is a very sacred day for both these nakshatrams and once they are married,nothing,not even god can separate them.'

Krishnaswamy iyer true to his advocate's mind ' sir,then why don't most people get married in these kind of times and in the afternoons or evenings.'

The old priest smiled ' fear,bayam.daylight,mornings have always been thought of as auspicious for all good things and rituals.And they have been followed from ancient times and even if we want to change it,people will not be willing to do it.In those days,there was no electricity,lights,bulbs,invertors or generators and conducting weddings in the night would have been an invitation for robbers and looters.And in those day,people lived among thick forests where wild animals prowled in the dark and so it would not have made any sense ot conduct weddings and other auspicious events in the dark of the night.'

With a smile,he looked at all of them ' in my 85 years of service to the lord,i have not seen a wedding and that too between a couple who were meant for each other and surely must have connections through their earlier births.'

He looked at raman 'child,today is a very,very holy day for your star and it means that from now on all that you do will be good and end in victory.God bless you my son.Jayam,jayam.'

The garlands were exchanged and with the priest chanting ancient sanskrit shlokas Raman took the mangalsutram that had been placed at the lords feet and which had been blessed by the god and gently tied it around jeeva's neck.

Then both of then fell at the priest feet and he blessed them heartily and then they took the blessings of their parents and also krishnaswamy iyer.

The old priest asked them to wait and went inside and came back with a plate which held a silk veshti and a silk sari and on top of that was prasadam( my favourite tirupati laddu) from the pooja and handed it to both raman and jeeva.'

Raman looked at jeeva and whispered ' I love you and thank you for accepting my love.'

Jeeva grabbed his hands with tremendous strength and her eyes shone brightly ' My hero,My man,i am the one who should be thanking you for accepting me and loving me.'

Continuing to stare into his eyes,she asked the question and he answered and it was heard only by her I killed all four of them jeeva and they are in a place where they will never be found.ever.'

Jeeva smiled and then she looked away as tears began to sting with their salt and looking at him ' is it over ram.Is it all over now.'

Raman calmly ' No,not by a long mile for there are a few very important questions that need answering and i will not stop until i get them and it does not matter who holds the answers to my questions.'

Jeeva began to cry softly ' but,what happened ram.What was so terrible that forced suja to take such an extreme decision?'

Raman wiped the tears from her eyes ' i will answer all your questions baby but not now.the time will come when we can breathe in peace and in safety and then we will sit down and talk it out.Soon,i promise.very soon.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfW2oUxapk

Vaazhkkaiyil Aayiram Thadaikkal Appa
Thadaikkalum Unakkoru Padikkal Appa

Vetri Kodi Kattu, Malaithanai Muttum Varai Muttu
Latchiyam Ettum Varai Ettu, Padaiyedu Padaiyappa

Kai Thattum Uli Pattu, Nee Vidum Netri Thuli Pattu
Paaraigal Rettai Pilavuttru, Udai Padum Padaiyappa

Vettu Kili Alla, Nee Oru Vettum Puli Endru
Pagaivarai Vetti Thalai Kondu, Nadai Idu Padaiyappa

Mikka Thunivundu, Ilaignargal Pakka Thunaiyundu
Udanvara Makkatpadaiyundu, Mudivedu Padaiyappa

Jannal oram 197

All the good deeds,great things you do in life and that are recognised and praised by fellow human beings is just not seen by god's eyes.All the good deed you do without even being conscious about is what is taken into your account and added into the ledger of Karma.

It is said that when you die and news of your death reaches the ears of someone whom you helped without even being aware of it,whose life you touched without even being aware of it and on hearing of your passing away,that soul thinks of you,thanks you and cries for you then it is said that your soul will pass into the realm of heaven and peace.

Many a time,i have been among much older people than me,wiser than me,richer than me,more educated than me and yet i have listened in shock and horror as they talk about caste and class status.

What is even shocking is that the way the iyengars treat the iyers themselves and go on about Brahmins and vedas.

I always look up into the sky and think of my blue god,lord shiva and say ' Appa,Brahmin or Brahman' and as always he whispers into my soul ' kutty paiya.brahmin,iyer and iyengars and such bullshit are for shallow human beings.

Brahman,I am that and all is I and I am the same and exist as the same in all objects,living,dead,moving and non moving.



Aham Brahmasmi

In Hindu philosophy, the Sanskrit aphorism - Aha Brahmsmti I am of Brahman"(Aha Brahmsmi) or "I am the Infinite Reality". It is one of the four Mahavakyas used to explain the unity of macrocosm and microcosm.

And if you just stop and think about one word and that is Love,yes,the very common and cliched word called love is the Brahman and that kind of love means,love for everything and seeing everyone with the same loving eyes.I am sure what kind of pure love i am talking about and that all though is not practical to feel is in the end the only way.

End,you say satish,you might ask and question and the answer is a loud and clear,YES.If,everyone in this world love each other and help and stand by each other and truly care for each other,then will there be so much chaos,killings,rapes and other evil acts that come from the opposite of love.


Life over the past few days finally caught up with all of them but for krishnaswamy iyer who sat in a chair who still was in the dark about what had transpired and was now transpiring.

They were seated in the small mandapam behind the temple and they were seated with a bit of privacy and silence which seemed such a rare thing to have and enjoy,given the situations that had unfolded over the past few days.

Krishnaswamy iyer looked at Kamakshi and mani ' Please accept my heartfelt condolences for the loss of your child.I know that no words can fill the void or ease the pain that both of you and jeeva here are feeling but still,i am sorry,i am really sorry for your loss.'

Manigandan folded his hands in namaskaram ' Iyaa,you seem to have come out of nowhere and out of the blue and managed to save our raman.I thank you from the bottom of my heart and you have my families complete gratitude for helping us in this dire situation.'

Krishnaswamy iyer looked at all of them ' Mr.manigandan,why do you thank me for just doing my duty? Raman is also like my own family and more importantly works for me and so it is my duty to be there for him when he is in trouble?'

Raman looked at krishnasamy iyer ' how did you know sir? who informed you about me being arrested and that i was being taken to the court?'

Krishnaswamy iyer smiled ' Good question raman for two people called me and one was your father who did the natural thing and that was a call for legal help but the other person calling me was what kind of what shocked me and so now i will frame my own question with my answer.'

Everybody around raman looked at him curiously although all of them kind of knew most of what had happened but were now intrigued by this new bit of information.'

' Raman,why did the city police commissioner call me to inform me about your arrest and request me to rush to your aid.What is the nature of connection between both of you?'

Raman sighed and looked away and a puzzled krishnaswamy iyer ' ram,what is going on? Honestly,i was going to only ask you about today later and in privacy of the office.But,your question about who called me was what prompted me to ask you these questions.'

Seeing raman's predicament and also his worried look,krishnaswamy iyer with a twinkle ' ok,we will let that ghosts be at peace for now for now the more important question is where the newly weds are going to spend time today and maybe for a little time to come.I mean do you both have any plans for a honeymoon?'

Raman strangely instead of looking at Jeeva looked at Manigandan who with a tender smile ' Ram,the moment jeeva began to work and i retired,i passed the baton to her and she became the head of our family.Now that she is your wife,you have become the head of our family.So,whatever decision you make will be okay for us and we will accept it.'

Raman felt jeeva's body next to him stir in panic and she looked at him with fear in her eyes but raman pointedly ignored her and looked at his dad and mum and shaktivel in a very gentle voice ' Iyaa,why do you even look at us for isn't it obvious that we live and breathe for you and for jeeva.So,what is okay for you is okay for us and you have always been the head of our family.so,i leave all decisions in your hands.'

Raman nodded with a smile and looked at his boss ' sir,there is no honeymoon or first night for now and all that will come after we have finished with sujas funeral rituals and we will be driving down to rameswaram for the final kaariyam.And then,i have decided to look for a three or a four bedroom house so that all six of us can stay together and only when we move into the new house will there be a first night and also talks about honeymoon.'

Saying this he looked at jeeva who sobbing loudly,fell into his arms and raman holding her tightly ' sweetie,you are mine now and all that is yours is mine now and importantly that means your parents for now all of us are legally bound and tied into one family.'

These words of raman moved his boss krishnaswamy iyer and he thought to himself ' bravo,bravo my son and god bless your kind soul.'

' raman,you know that i own many properties in and around chennai and one of them is my ancestral house in Adyar,where i gre up with my grand father,the great Rangachari.Itn has been lying vacant and shut for a few years now and i have been constantly badgered to sell it and got very good offers from not only from ramaniam,ceebros but the mylapore MLA and a few other crooked politicians.'

Raman looked at him ' i know that property sir and it is opposite gandhi nagar club.Right sir.'

Krishnaswamy iyer replied ' yes,the very same one raman.Now,i am offering that house to you and your family for a nominal monthly rent.I know that your dad is very well off and that you can move in or even buy a posh flat like that.But,i want you to go live there with your family for it will be a honor for me and also since that house holds so many good memories for me and my family.I hate seeing such a beautifully built house locked and lying unused.The time has come for that house to be opened and also for you to start your new life with jeeva there.

Raman just stared at his boss ' sir,i have no words with which to thank you.Thank you sir and i accept it wholeheartedly.'

' But,in return you have to tell me what is going on for as your counsel i cannot help you without knowing the complete and whole truth and facts.'

Raman smiled ' Tomorrow morning sir.'