*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 51

Jannal Oram 281

"People trust their eyes above all else but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really there? Zoe Marriott, Shadows on the Moon


Former Dgp Devarajan stood outside Raman's house waiting for the army commandos to arrive from where they had been lying in hiding, biding their time to snare the assassin who had cruelly murdered their beloved officers only child.

The army commandos came dressed in casual clothes and all carrying sniper rifles and were also fully armed and Head constable Asif and constable Peter stepped back a few feet wary and also feeling embarrassed for having unknowingly intruded upon a covert operation and also for cutting a sorry figure before their fellow officer.

All this movement happened in total silence and in a street in one of the poshest resident areas in Chennai and yet people slumbered on in peace as armed warriors went about their duties fully alert.

One of the commandos introduced himself to Devarajan ' Sir, I am major Akash and these are my commandos sent by the Brigadier to handle this assassin.'

Devarajan greeted them and Akash and the other men nodded their greetings and slowly began to spread out around the compound to nab the two hidden assassins that were inside the compound.

Devarajan spoke into his mic and informed his employee about that the army commandos had begun their attack on the assassins and warned him to stay well away and not get hurt.

It was Major Akash who heard the buzz of an angry bee and yelled ' sniper' and fell to the ground and was followed immediately by his men and also joined by Devarajan and the two cops.

Far away outside Delhi, V.k.Singh glanced at Raman and grudgingly acknowledged with a nod and whispered into his mic ' Brigadier, did you hear Major Akash say the words?' and Brigadier Sooryanarayanan screamed back ' men, I hope that bullet was not from one of your rifles?' and his question got an instant answer from the major in Chennai and who was lying on the road in Adyar outside Raman's house.

' negative sir, not us for all of us are here and it must be him, sir. And sir, bullets not bullet.'

Strangely the Brigadier instead of exploding just cursed filthily and the told major Akash to proceed into the house.

Devarajan took out his handgun and looked at Asif ' go to your vehicle and call for back up and do it quietly and ask them to block all the entry points to this locality. Do it now.'

Head constable Asif looked at Devarajan ' sir, what do I tell the officer and what reason should I give for this sudden request?'

Devarajan smiled ' my name and I think that should do the trick.'

Jannal Oram 282


The two Assassins rose from their hiding positions on hearing their leader's orders to go ahead and totally unaware and utterly clueless to the fact that their every move was being monitored by the Army commandos who lay in hiding and who had been lying in wait for them to deliver justice and payback.

With handguns extended in front of them, both moved forward from opposite directions and towards the target which was the occupants of the house in whose compound they were in.

Both Assassins heard a familiar buzz and then they heard nothing and they would never hear anything again, at least not in this life.

From inside the house, Shaktivel saw the army commandos move like shadows into the compound and then one stopped and knocked and spoke hurriedly ' Sir, Mr. Shaktivel, stay inside until Mr.Devarjan returns. You are in no danger but stay inside until we tell you it is okay to come out.'

Shaktivel said ok and then heard his name being called and turned to see Jeeva standing there and the stealthy shadows and their movements caught her eyes and she asked her father-in-law ' Appa, what is happening? what are you doing with that knife and who are all those armed men in our compound?'

Shaktivel quickly explained everything to Jeeva whose only reaction was whispering the name ' Raman'.

' Raman is okay Jeeva and is in no danger. His Sensei Devarajan is outside too and is standing guard around us. So, nothing to worry child.'

But, Devarajan did not remain still for he knew how important time was and how imperative it was to move and move like the light.

Leaving the commandos to deal with the assassins who he knew with certainty were dead, he quickly ran his eyes and scanned the direction from where the bullets had come and began to run in that direction.

There were four high rise apartments from where the bullets could have come from and he quickly ran towards the first one and saw that it was well manned by several security men and a few of them instantly recognized him and saluting him asked him what the problem was.

Devarajan asked them if they had seen anyone come and go in the last few minutes and the security men replied no and then he requested a few of them to go the buildings nearby and enquire if they had seen or heard anything suspicious in the building and then himself rushed towards the last building.

The ten-floor apartment block seemed calm and serene and well lit and Devarajan saw a solitary watchman walking inside the compound and ran towards him.

The man turned on hearing Devarajan's footsteps and quickly came forward and when questioned replied that he had not seen any strangers in the building or in the vicinity of the other buildings.

The watchman then pointed to the cameras and smiled proudly ' total CCTV coverage sir and 24 hours of every day and it observes everything.

Devarajan felt suddenly deflated and tired and whispering thanks turned and was about to walk away when his police instinct kicked in suddenly and turning back to the watchman asked him ' How many flats in this block?'

The watchman hesitated for just a brief moment and then answered ' first five floors are of three two bedroom flats and then the next four are of two three bedroom flats and the final and top floor is a penthouse sir. So, that makes it 24 flats sir.'

Devarajan looked at him curiously ' 24 flats in this ten tower block and just you to watch over it.'Pretty strange it seems.'

The man smiled ' sorry sir, we are two per shift sir' and casually pointing to someone behind Devarajan's back ' here comes my other colleague sir.'

Devarajan turned and saw a woman of slim proportions coming towards him and that was all he remembered along with the tremendous pain that impacted on his head.

metaphorical ecdysis

New skin shining
dead skin floating
whispering here now
gone now or soon

The snake sheds its skin two to four times a year and that number maybe more when it comes to younger snakes.
Many a time, I have stumbled upon pieces of shed snake skin and have stood rooted, frozen as I looked down on the remains of what was now a newer, shinier and a larger snake.

Sometimes I too wish to shed my skin, slip it off a like a cloak and with it cast away many more subtle things and needs with the dead and shed skin.

I wish with the casting away of old skin, I too like the snake emerge anew and vital in thoughts and soul and in action. But, alas, it seems not to be.

Now, unlike the snake, I slough away old and dead thoughts on a daily basis and the faster I try to cast away and emerge anew, the faster the skin grows and is ready to shed.

Stupid grammarly corrections keeps correcting my small i and keeps prompting me to make it capital.

I curse the red highlights and mumble to the screen ' f..k the guy who wrote this software thinking and giving importance to a capital I. Capital God, I can understand but i too.

Just when I am trying to shed my self,overblown and over estimated image of myself.

Well, my fellow souls, the journey and the fight continues and
i go back to shedding and molting old and dead skin along with old and dead thoughts.

Jannal Oram 284

"When things fall apart, the broken pieces allow all sorts of things to enter, and one of them is the presence of God." Shauna Niequist


Before he came regained consciousness and before he opened his eyes and saw and heard with his ear, Former super cop and the owner of Global securities felt the touch. The reassuring touch of his student, friend and most importantly a soul who he thought of as his own child and it was his fingers that were holding his arm in them with great love and with great strength and he came back.

Raman saw the flickering of his master's eyelids and tried to get up to call for the duty nurse but he was held back and so he stayed seated and saw his sensei regain consciousness and sighing heavily, whispered a prayer to the God that watched over them.

Devarajan's eyes flickered open and then his lips flickered with a weak smile and it prompted Raman to say softly ' Take your time and don't rush it sensei'.

It took a further few minutes for Devarajan to regain full consciousness and with that done his eyes slowly moved sideways and then in all directions taking in the place he was in although Raman knew he was checking the place out as a cop would do even though retired.

Devarajan saw just the twinkle and glimmer of a smile in Raman's eyes and whispered huskily ' what is funny Ram?'

' Once a cop, always a cop sensei' remarked Raman and Devarajan smiled and replied' 35 years of service.'

His eyes now flared with concern ' Delhi, what happened in Delhi ram? when did you get back?'

Seeing Raman hesitating, he asked ' I see. How long have I been out?'

' Three days sir. You have suffered a fracture, a linear skull fracture to be precise and nothing serious but for the hematoma and the resulting concussion. Your high Bp did not help so they kept you under sedation.'

Devarajan closed his eyes and cursed ' three days. three damn wasted days and such a waste of precious time.'

Raman gripped his master's right hand tenderly ' It is okay sir.'

Devarajan growled nastily ' No ram. It is not okay for it was the silliest mistake on my part to not watch my back and I fell for the most amateur trick and ruse in the book.'

Tear of shame, frustration, and anger directed at himself forced themselves to his eyes and Raman could not take it anymore and said ' Why? why do you judge yourself so harshly sensei? why is it so difficult to accept a mistake?'

Devarajan shook his head ' I don't make mistakes Ram. Not such rank amateur mistakes and not after being in the business for nearly 40 years and not after nearly 50 years of judo training.'

Raman smiled sadly and with his eyes focussed like lasers boring into devarajan's eyes, said 'Koubou ni mo fude no ayamari.Shippai wa seikou no moto' and Devarajan with a smile closed his eyes and replied ' Even the greatest expert or master sometimes fails. Failure is the stepping stone to success'.

Master and student, father and son, friends and all bonded together not as two but one soul looked at each other with great love and understanding.

Raman leaned forward and gently wiped the tears away that were shining on his master's cheeks, catching even the little light that illuminated the room and looked at the wetness on his fingertips with great amazement and asked Devarajan ' why sir? why do cry so?'

Devarajan turned away ' I cry because I failed you and your family, Raman. I think I wasted the only chance the bas***d gave us to nab them and now we don't know when they will strike or who they will strike against and that is what that breaks my heart for I cannot stand the thought of losing you or any harm coming to your family.'

Raman broke down on hearing such emotional words from his master and then whispered ' Master, I think it is they who have failed and they have made the gravest and the greatest of mistakes and I will tell you that they also have made the last mistake they will ever make again.'

Devarajan confusedly ' what? what do you mean by those words, Ram?'

' Sensei, by letting you live and not killing you they have spared not only the lion but its cub and now that we know more, we will be stronger and better prepared. We will not fail again and by saying that it was that hired assassin's last mistake, I meant that he will not be alive to do another one.'

' Not one, son but two of them. Male and female and partners in crime and life'.

Startled, Raman leaned back and repeated ' two, two of them sir.'

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day. All the best.

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. Eskimo Proverb


"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. Dalai Lama

"When you finally accept that it's OK not to have answers and it's OK not to be perfect, you realize that feeling confused is a normal part of what it is to be a human being. Winona Ryder

"A sacred thing is timely silence, and better than any speech. Plutarch

"Self-disciplined begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward. Napoleon Hill


I have been familiar with the second quote and i openly confess that i have been struggling for answers with the third one due to that damn state called " EGO" which has nearly faded away but has in the process left me a master at the art of lying with a straight and importantly smiling face.

The fourth one has now dawned on me completely and again i smile, nod and accept with a straight and rather a dumb expression.

The fifth, I admit is a tough hill to climb and every foot i climb up, it seems two down, slithering and scrambling.

Hey, what not to say or reveal when among loved ones and with whom I feel safe and secure in my own mediocrity and honest mode.

We're each a pure note
in God's heavenly song,
The world's out to love you...
Pssst: Pass it along.