*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 97

Dedication

" I dedicate this book. I dedicate this creation. This endeavour of mine is my dedication."

If you have read books then you would have seen the first page wherein the author, the writer dedicates his work to a few people and thanks them for their help and support. The people could be family, friends, editors and staff members from the publishing house.

Each and every life is a book, a story, a song and I am sure that it too has a dedication somewhere to someone deserving.

Over the years, I have seen, met, interacted with many other lives, shared silences and shared thoughts of ourselves and others who inhabit our lives.

I tell you, people will never ever fail to surprise you with their behaviour and social conduct and it always turns into a good story.

My friend Rajan, messaged me yesterday informing me that Raghu Mama's wife had passed away in the morning and that she would be brought back by afternoon and that the cremation was fixed for late in the afternoon.

It was the second day of my surprise holidays due to all shootings suspended until the end of March, I had just woken up from a late morning siesta and although it was time for my fiesta, I managed to drag my lazy arse out of bed and after dressing, left to Raghu mama's house to pay my respects to his wife.

The house was full of old people and all their eyes turned to me and Raghu mama's son led me directly into the inner sanctum while the other mortals waited and I sat besides Raghu Mama who is now nearly 94 and both of us looked at each other and exchanged sad smiles.

" 64 years, we were married for 64 years and it is has come to an end."

His eyes filled with tears and my heart broke and all I could do was place my hand on his chest and rub it gently and whisper " Sorry boss. I am really sorry for your loss."

His son informed me that his mother had been in the hospital for nearly 15 days and had endured surgery for complications that had risen from a ruptured intestine and which had caused septicemia.

On my way back, I thought aloud " 64 years of being together" and I felt something move my spirit.

That was yesterday and today with the Gym closed due to the coronavirus, I started my walk by 5.00 am and just as I was finishing it, I found myself near my old house on 33rd cross street and at the same time came face to face with the lady who delivers milk to all the houses in that area.

" How is your mother doing" I enquired and she said, " Amma poitaanga, she passed away during Pongal."

The milk lady's mother too was in her early 80's or a bit more.

" OMG, What happened? I hope she didn't suffer too much?"

The milk lady, nearly my age shook her head happily " No, she didn't suffer a bit. It was krithigai and she got up, bathed, said her prayers, did the pooja and made coffee for me and for herself and then carried her tumbler to the front portion of the house where she sits regularly and that is how I left her while I went to the nearby shop to buy some vegetables. I must have been gone for about ten minutes and I came back to see her leaning against the wall and she was gone."

My obvious reaction was " Wow! that was quick and peaceful" and thought to myself " if only our end comes like that, quick, easy and without troubling anyone and importantly without spending much time in the hospital."

She looked at me and said " Amma still has that umbrella you gifted her last summer and it hangs by the door."

I think about ten or twelve years ago, I was driving by on a hot summers day and I saw this plump, cheerful old lady sitting outside the gates of Anna school, Besant Nagar with her products for sale.

Cut raw mangoes, ezhantha palams, guavas, tiny sapaotas and an aluminium pathiram full of home made steaming sundal.

Drooling, I stopped and got out of my car and purchased two packets of sundal and then casually asked her, why she was out in the sun and not under the shade, to which she replied the place that was shady was stinking with urine and human's social manners.

I smiled and then walked across to the newly opened Tamil Nadu stores and bought a large umbrella and gifted it to her and that started it.

Once in two years or less, I would see her and replace her old umbrella with a new one and both of us would spend time chatting, sharing stories over hot sundal topped with extra raw mango bits. She, probably with a son she never had and I with a mother I never had.

Dedication at the beginning of a book and a dedication at the end of a life.

Vaanathai Pola 67

Chennai Police Commissioner Dr A. K. Viswanathan, IPS looked up from his Laptop as the door was hurriedly opened and in rushed Inspector Maarimuthu and watched casually as his subordinate saluted and blurted ' Sir, a situation in Crowne plaza hotel.'

Commissioner Viswanathan cursed to himself ' what is it now?'

' A hostage situation and Minister Kavita Durai Pandi Arumugam is right in the middle of it.'

' What? How?' screamed Commissioner Viswanathan and jumped out of his chair and then placing his hands on the table, leaned angrily and yelled ' what about her police escort and her armed guard? what were they doing? are they all right?'

Inspector Maarimuthu was about to reply when the door was again opened and in rushed Assistant commissioner Abdul Qasim and Commissioner Viswanathan glared at him and asked, ' what good news have you brought for me now?'

' Sir, very sorry sir but this problem in the hotel seems to concern Anbu Chezhiyan and the recent problem he had with the powerful Thevar community leader from Madurai, Jagatratchagan who is also a high ranking member in the ruling party and a close friend of Deputy chief minister OPS.'

Commissioner Viswanathan slowly sat down and asked in a safe voice ' Is, his son Podhigai Selvam involved in this problem?'

Both, Assistant commissioner Abdul Qasim and Inspector Maarimuthu nodded pathetically and Commissioner Viswanathan thought for a second and ordered ' send in the commando force and place the whole building and the surrounding streets under lockdown.'

Assistant commissioner Abdul Qasim's throat bobbed up and down nervously and Commissioner Viswanathan noticing it asked ' There is more bad news right?'

' sir, it is not only Kavita who is there but also..'

' Also who, Abdul, for God's sake, spill it man before my ulcer explodes and kills me.'

' Sir, Mr.Raman's wife, Jeeva and both the mothers are there with Kavita.'

Commissioner Viswanathan felt something or someone grab his heart and squeezing it and he croaked ' OMG, what are they doing there? This now becomes a problem that will soon reach Delhi and then the PM'S office for Raman now works for Raw and you know what a tough B..t..d that V.k.singh is and he will surely drill a new a..h..e for all of us and don't doubt that for even a second.'

He quickly reached for his mobile and called the Chief secretary K. Shanmugam who had replaced Girija Vaidyanathan a few weeks ago and hurriedly informed him about the situation and waited as Chief secretary K. Shanmugam handed the phone to the Chief minister EPS himself.

' Sollunga commissioner sir.'

Chennai Police Commissioner Dr A. K. Viswanathan, IPS quickly explained what was happening in the Crowne Plaza hotel and after hearing him, Chief minister EPS smiled and said ' Sir, unga duty pannunga. Nobody will stop you and I mean nobody and that goes for every member of my party and no matter who he or she is.

Commissioner sir, please be careful with the matter.'

Commissioner Viswanathan quickly replied, ' yes sir, I know what caste and its politics can do.'

Chief minister EPS smiled again and said ' Commissioner Iyaa, naan sonnathu, Kavitavaiyum, Jeevavaiyum. They have just come out of a huge problem and in which both the families suffered tragic losses and they shouldn't suffer anymore. So, deal with these criminals with deadly intent and I promise you that nobody will hinder you in any way.'

From the time this conversation took place, it took five minutes for the rapid action police commando team to reach Adyar and place the Crowne plaza hotel under lockdown and under the scopes of their machine guns.

But, by the time Commissioner Viswanathan reached the place, the ambulance carrying Radhu and Kavita had already left to Apollo hospitals.

A student went to his meditation teacher and said, “My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, my legs ache, I’m constantly falling asleep. It’s just horrible!”

“It will pass,” the teacher said matter-of-factly.

A week later, the student came back to his teacher. “My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It’s just wonderful!’

“It will pass,” the teacher replied matter-of-factly.

Yes. Everything passes on eventually, moves on and fades into the past. The present becomes the past and sometimes the past becomes the present. Good passes on to become bad and bad passes on to become good.

Vaanathai Pola 68

Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls. Saying from South Africa

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited was founded by Dr Prathap C. Reddy in 1983 as the first corporate health care in India. Several of the group's hospitals have been among the first in India to receive international healthcare accreditation by America-based Joint Commission International as well as 13 NABH National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers hospitals. The first branch at Chennai was inaugurated by President of India Zail Singh.

Apollo Pharmacy, a unit of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise is India's first and largest branded pharmacy network, with over 3000 plus outlets in over 18 states was started in 1987.

Prathap Chandra Reddy, born 5 February 1933 in Aragonda who founded the Apollo Hospitals is ranked 48th in its 2017 list of India's 50 most powerful people by India Today.

Dr Prathap C. Reddy has four daughters, Preetha Reddy, Suneeta Reddy, Sangita Reddy and Shobana Kamineni who are all serving as directors in the Apollo Hospitals.

Kavita had made the call to Preetha Reddy, the eldest, although she was closer to Sangita and Shobana, for Preetha was the one who was next in line after her father when it came to running the hospital and also because she had interacted with her on many Government health projects in which Preetha had been involved in both organization and consultant capacity.

Preetha Reddy had not asked any questions or any sort of explanations as to the nature of the wound in the patient that Kavita had brought to their hospital and had just said one word ' Don't worry. I will handle everything.'

Kavita had whispered in fear and quivering with tears ' the knife was poisoned' and the doctor who stood next to his boss Preeta reddy had enquired ' What kind of poison? how do you know it is poison?'

Kavita shook her head and then pointed to the unconscious Radhu who was being rushed into the ICU ward ' He, he told me so.'

Preetha Reddy gently threw her arm around Kavita and comforted her and told her it was going to be okay and then looked at the three kids and asked her who they were and Appu, Pappu and Meena introduced themselves.

Preetha Reddy looked at Kavita ' what happened? who is this gentleman and who attacked him?'

Kavita sighed sadly and was about to answer Preetha when she caught sight of the time and realized that it was nearly 1.30 pm and apologised to Preetha and asked her to hold on for a moment and looked at the three kids.

' Hi, my name is Kavita. I know that you must be all very worried and scared at the same time and trust me for I too am still shaking from the experience. We can talk about it later but now, I want you to come along with me to the canteen and eat something. It might not as good as what they serve in a five-star hotel but I promise it will be healthy and tasty.'

Meena shook her head and calmly folded her hands and placing it on her chest stared with purpose at Kavita and Appu and Pappu mimicked her action and watched and listened as Meena spoke ' Sorry, lunch can wait and even though our tummies are growling with hunger we would prefer to wait here and see our Master sir.'

Preetha Reddy clapped her hands in delight ' so sweet and so bold.'

She pinched Meena's cheek and said ' no problem for I will arrange for some food to be brought right here and you kids can eat them in that office and keep vigil over your master sir. Is that okay?'

Appu's tummy made a little squeak and he chirped ' Meena akka, say okay. It has been many hours since those five idlis in the morning' and Meena and Pappu looked at him with shock and at his small tummy ' Oye, we just had two idlis each and are keeping quiet and you are complaining after having five idlis.'

Preetha Reddy looked at Kavita and then glanced at the ICU ward where Radhu was being treated and she shook her head to indicate that they were not his and then added a shrug.

A sudden hush seemed to fall on the corridor rivalling the already quiet space of the hospital and both Preetha Reddy and Kavita looked up to see the tall figure of the Chennai Police Commissioner Dr A. K. Viswanathan striding towards them and behind him came five armed police commandos and Preetha looked at Kavita ' what is going on? what really happened out there?'

Commissioner Viswanathan stopped in front of Kavita and in worried voice asked her, ' Kavita ma, are you okay? you were not hurt in any way, are you?'

' ille uncle. I am perfectly okay.'

Again another hush followed by soft murmurs filled the corridor they all stood and all of their eyes turned towards the elevator and saw the big boss himself, Dr Prathap C. Reddy walking towards them with a very distinguished woman by his side and Preetha Reddy wondered aloud ' Dad is here and with Girija aunty.'

Kavita looked at Commissioner Viswanathan and both knew that this was not some co-incidence and Kavita asked Preetha ' who is Girija aunty?' and her question was answered by Meena ' our big master sirs sister.'

Dr Prathap C. Reddy nodded ' Commissioner sir' and then looked at Kavita ' The little girl who had her appendix is back and as a minister now. Good to see you, child.'

Kavita smiled and said' hello sir.'

Dr Prathap C. Reddy pointed to Girija Padmanabhan and introduced her ' This is the famous Cardiologist Dr.Girija Padmanabhan and a dear friend of mine and also one of the consultants in our late Chief ministers case.'

All of them stood looking at each other and then Meena, Appu and Pappu ran to Girija's side who hugged them and holding them by her side looked at Preetha Reddy ' Preetha, how is he doing?'

' I am sorry Girija aunty but he was just brought in a few minutes ago and he is being treated for his wound and also for poisoning.'

Girija startled and confused at the same time, exclaimed, ' poison. what, but who and how?'

Kavita in a weary voice said ' Ma'am, it is a long story and I too am as confused as all of you.'

The ICU door opened and the chief doctor came out and walked towards them and then catching sight of Dr Prathap C. Reddy, greeted him and then looked at both Preetha and Kavita ' who is this guy?'

Kavita was about to reply but Girija spoke first, ' he is related to me and someone very dear to me and my family. But, could you please elaborate as to his condition.'

Doctor Ratna Kumar smiled ' He is okay. The wound required 20 stitches and nothing more. Since, poisoning was mentioned, we did the blood work and isolated it as the common Nerium oleander or Arali plant poison that affects the heart. We took an ECG and also have administered drips and are treating him.'

Girija Padmanabhan in a worried voice, ' how is he doing?'

Doctor Ratna Kumar smiled again and replied, ' much better than any of us here and I tell you that it is pretty remarkable and the man himself is remarkable for he became conscious as we were stitching him up and then calmly proceeded to talk to us while we were doing our job.'

He suddenly fell silent and stared uncomfortably at the ground and it was clear for everyone there that he was struggling to find words or express himself clearly.

Dr Prathap C. Reddy encouraged him softly, ' It is okay to speak your mind for you are among friends. So, say what you have to say.

Looking at all of them, ' that is one hell of a soldier we have back there and maybe a Rambo in real life.'

Dr Prathap C. Reddy in a curious voice, ' What do you mean by Rambo and a soldier?' and turning to Preetha ' who or what is a Rambo?'

Preetha Reddy, Kavita and Commissioner Viswanathan himself had seen Sylvestor Stallone's film First blood many a time and looked at their dad with surprise and wondered how to answer his question.

Doctor Ratna Kumar did the answering 'Well, sir, the scars that he is carrying for one thing and the other for being completely oblivious to pain and also the last but not the least and that is the most mysterious thing in this case and that is why the poison did not spread rapidly and somehow seemed to have halted or slowed itself thus minimising the damage which could have been more fatal. Now, that makes me wonder if John Rambo himself can do that.'

His cryptic answer hung like a bomb among them and they all stared at him and he said ' all of you are civilians and that is why you are not getting my words. I served in the army for ten years and know a special ops soldier when I see one and also know that this is not just a soldier from a special ops division but from the most elite squad, but which one I have no clue about.'

'Sir.'

Commissioner Viswanathan turned to so Assistant Commissioner Abdul Qasim standing behind him and quickly said ' Report please.'

Assistant Commissioner Abdul Qasim looked at the others and Commissioner Viswanathan seeing this said, ' It's okay, just tell me if everything is under control. Have the criminals been arrested?'

' Yes sir, but just the three who ran out of the door and who were staff members in the hotel.'

Commissioner Viswanathan was taken aback by this vague reply,' what do you mean by just three? what about Podhigai Selvam and the other two?'

'They have all been taken to the hospital, sir and into surgery for broken jaws and broken ribs and punctured lungs.'

' What? How? who did that to them?'

Assistant Commissioner Abdul Qasim pointed to the ICU ' Him sir, the man who was brought in with the knife wound.'

Vaanathai Pola 69

Commissioner Viswanathan shook his head wearily and said ' Now that opens the proverbial can or worms and that means, preventive measures and other tactics.'

Kavita's voice took on an angry note that was also filled with authority as she said, ' Commissioner sir, I was there along with 25 other friends when those thugs barged in and threatened us with deadly weapons. I bet AC Abdul Qasim will confirm what he saw on the CCTV which will clearly prove that Mr.Radha Krishnan acted purely in self-defence and also please note the most important fact which is that these three kids were there and those criminals threatened to harm them too.'

Fuming with rage, she continued,' let me call the chief minister and inform him about what happened and we will take it from there.'

' Not necessary Kavita for I already did that and he has given me free rein in this matter and the case will be handled by the book and nobody will be spared. I promise you that.'

Girija Padmanabhan thanked the Commissioner and then looked at Dr Prathap C. Reddy and said, ' Prathap, thank you so much for coming along with me. But,I have to go and see how my boy is doing. So, kindly excuse me and I will drop into your office on the way out.'

Meena, Appu and Pappu looked at Girija and she smiled ' Of course, you can come along for I really doubt if anything can stop you, three little devils, from meeting your friend.'

She looked at Kavita with a twinkle in her eyes and asked ' Ma'am, Do you want to come along with us?'

Kavita nodded and said, ' Please, it is just Kavita and yes, I want to see him too.'

Commissioner Viswanathan looked at both father and daughter ' I need your permission to secure the room that he is in.'

Dr Prathap C. Reddy looked smilingly at his eldest daughter Preetha and joked, ' Commissioner sir, forget security for that chap inside, we and this hospital might need security too for somehow this hospital seems to attract some political controversial case or other every now and then. We have yet to recover from the death of our late chief minister Jayalalitha in this hospital and if that is not enough, they are now raking in the death of the other chief minister MGR who died in 1987 although he was DOA when he was brought here for treatment.'

Commissioner Viswanathan both of them that the whole thing would be kept under wraps and that the hospital would be given full security when the situation arose.

As he walked away from them, Commissioner Viswanathan turned to AC Abdul, ' watch him and watch his every movement. I don't know why but I have a gut feeling about this and that this matter is not going to end with this altercation.'

' Very true sir, for Podhigai Selvam's father Jagatratchagan is known to be a very vindictive person and has a huge following among the people in Madurai that rivals Azhagiri himself. If that was not enough, he is also very wealthy and has powerful connections with leaders from all the major parties.'

'It does not matter Abdul but we will tread cautiously and we will see where this case takes us. So, what was on the CCCTV tape.'

Assistant Commissioner Abdul exhaled noisily, ' Feats defying gravity and all laws that govern a human body.'

Vaanathai Pola 70

Doctor Ratna Kumar led Girija and the kids into the ICU ward and Kavita followed feeling a storm raging in her whole body and threatening to engulf her with its power.

Girija who had until then looked tired and beat, changed as the doctor took command and the very first thing she did when she entered the room was to take Radhu's hand and feel his pulse and the gently opened lifted his eyelids and saw that they were bright white and clear.

She put out her hand and Doctor Ratna Kumar understanding her request handed her his stethoscope and Plugging it in her ears, she gently placed the other end and heard his heartbeat strongly, slowly, steadily and without any irregularities.

She removed the stethoscope and gave it back to the doctor and told Radhu, ' I wonder what your diet is for I don't mind starting on that from today.'

She bent down and gently kissed his forehead and whispered worriedly' I was scared, really scared for you and imagined all sorts of scenarios and even connected Raja's brutal attack with your attack and thought that maybe the same people were behind this too.'

Wiping her tears, she smiled and said, ' forget me for your fan club members are desperate to see how you are doing?' and the moment she said it, Meena, Appu and Pappu threw themselves at him and since both the younger ones could not reach him they held on to his arms and began to sob loudly.

Meena stood on her toes and hugged Radhu ferociously and it took all of Girijas strength and stern voice to break them free from him.

Radhu pinched, ruffled and tickled all of them and said in a cheerful voice ' kids, I am okay and will be back tonight and promise to have dinner with you all. Okay.'

All of them nodded okay and Girija shepherded them away towards the door and told Radhu, ' we are leaving now for it is time for me to go back to my brother and spend some time with him. I will see you tomorrow morning at the Flock.'

She gave a meaningful glance at Kavita who nodded and said bye and left with the kids and the room was empty but for him and her.

Radhu looked at her and then patted the space near his side on the bed where Girija had sat just a few moments ago and Kavita went to him and every bit of her went to him and into him.

All lovers remember that moment, that precious moment when totally lost in love, one takes the first step forward towards their lover, their object of affection for that is a treasure, a rare jewel that will stand fresh until their death.

Ten feet of distance, her two dainty feet walked and yet the ten feet of distance felt like a Millimeter for her eyes were locked on his and his eyes were locked on hers.

She sat down next to him, her arm touching his arm and that sent a fire blazing all over her and then Radhu who was lying on his right side, threw his left arm around he neck and pulled her down and buried his mouth on top of hers, and at that moment, two lives that had walked different paths, in different directions, converged as one and both their lives would never be the same again.

She melted for a moment and then kissed him back with a hunger that arose not from the body or lust but with pure passion, that comes from souls that have known each other for eternity. It was a kiss, the kiss that brought their souls, lives, thoughts and futures together and the circle closed and they were one and united.

Vaanathai Pola 71

They stayed with their mouths locked and they stayed with their tongues inside each other and they did not want to let go.It was as if one was breathing life into the other and the other was doing the same and all the while they were resuscitating each others souls.

It is vital that the lungs have air to breathe but it is imperative that the soul breathes too for what is a husk without a grain in it and what is a balloon without air in it and what are you and me if there is no love in it. Love, beautiful love comes alive only when the other part of your soul comes carrying it to join it with your and yours with them.

Realizing that she was in a hospital and that she being a minister should not be caught doing what she was doing, Kavita slowly lifted her head and stared into Radhu's eyes and then touched her lips and felt them and felt his kiss on it and she smiled and cried at the same time, ' I am scared' and Radhu's eyes flared wide and he asked ' scared, about what?'

' I am scared of losing you and I am scared that I will not survive the pain if that happens. It all seems like a beautiful illusion, a magic trick and a beautiful dream that might shatter, vanish once it is done and gone when I wake up.'

Radhu smiled and Kavita's heart sped and beat faster for she saw that he was truly beautiful, even more with her face in his face and he said, ' I am here now. I will look after you. You are mine and your life is my life and I promise that I will never let it go not until there is life left in me.'

Kavita stared at him and then slowly peeled the sheet that was covering him down to his waist and bending slightly took a close look at the deep slash on his back and shivered in fear as she recollected him saying " poison" and losing consciousness.

She saw many coin-shaped scars on his back and other old jagged scars and slowly, tenderly touched them and then looked into his eyes ' how did you manage to get all these scars?'

Radha Krishnan looked at her sadly, ' a long story Kavita. I will tell it to you one day but not now, not when my soul is singing so happily for having you by my side.'

His fingers touched her face, traced her nose, her lips and Radhu said, ' My God, you really are beautiful.'

Kavita blushed and Radhu pulled her close and they kissed again and again as if it was their last kiss they would ever share.

The gentle spattering of hair on his chest was soft and silky and laying her head on his chest she closed her eyes and heard his heart beating and then she felt his hand pressing her closer to his chest and heard him say,' hear it, hear my heartbeat your name Kavita, Kavita.'

She raised her head and told him that she had to get going for she had to return back to the hotel and check on her friends and see if they were doing okay.

Radhu nodded and asked her when they could meet again to which Kavita taking out her mobile phone asked for his number and saving it said, ' I will call you later in the evening.'

Then worriedly she looked at him and requested him to stay back in the hospital, just in case to avoid any complications arising from the poisoned knife and Radhu shook his head and told her that he was fine and that his presence at the Flock was important and so he would discharge himself later in the evening.

She looked at him, ' you are a hero now after what you did back there in the hotel.'

' About that, Kavita, please, could you do me a favour and see that this whole thing is kept quiet, especially me and my photos.'

' I will see what I can do Radhu. Rest now, and we will meet soon.'

The door closed behind Kavita and Radhu hurriedly reached for his mobile phone and said something to voice activate it and the screen came alive and he pressed the number on his speed dial and once the call was answered, quickly told the person on the other side what had taken place and what to do next.

The man and woman who manned the entire security of the Crowne Plaza hotel, Adyar went numb with shock as the all the fifty screens flickered and died and then flickered back to life after a few moments.

The cybercrime Police team Inspector who stood behind them asked them what was going on and whether it was some sort of power failure and the woman who sat before the screens turned slowly and said ' No sir, not power failure. I think we have been hacked.'

Space, DNA, A, C, G, T

The spot on the walker's path opposite the Karl Schmidt memorial is where I mostly start my morning routine and also is the endpoint where I usually sit and cool down and watch the eastern sky for another sunrise.

Man-made light pollution notwithstanding, the night sky before the first light of the sun pollutes it, remains a vast ceiling with thousands of stars shimmering, twinkling their distant light from thousands and millions of light-years away.

Then, the only star we have, know and which we call our creator rises up to shine its glory on our planet and I am always left wondering and amazed at the fact that there is so much space out there and why that is.

In the morning light, I also witness spaces, smaller when compared to that of the celestial objects, but that which appears deeper and larger than them and that is the space that lies between all of us, you and me and them and others.

Yesterday, I was feeding a nearly blind dog, old and obvious that he was on his final ride to the blue and my heart has been telling me that he will not last out the summer. He limps badly from a badly healed broken front right leg and hobbles around for food and water.

I have been doing my best to feed him and give him water whenever it is possible and that which has become a daily norm and ritual.

I see everything and my eyes, my inbuilt radar is constantly scanning and upgrading my immediate surroundings and I saw an old man, clad in blue shorts, a dark polo tee and his adorned by a baseball cap muttering and mumbling as he stumbled towards me and then just as he passed me, he spat at me and his spit landed near my foot and I did not react.

A few minutes later, having forgotten the spitting man who spat literally and verbally, I made my way into Ooty vegetables and caught sight of the very same man and who had his back turned on me and gently tapped him on his shoulder to ask what his action meant and what his problem was.

I knew the answer, Dogs, stray dogs and have faced the same problem and backlash from various people in varying degrees and have mostly come out unscathed, physically but not mentally.

The old man turned, saw me and erupted ' How dare you touch me? who gave you permission to touch me? Stay away from me? and screaming his head off, quickly made his way out of the shop.

It was obvious that he did not want anything to do with me and I sighed and said thanks to my fate and my stars for it could have turned ugly any moment.

I had been provoked and had been spat at and I am sure that 9 out of 10 humans would have reacted strongly but I being the 10 understood that when it comes to old people, physically weaker people than me have to push me, really push me to react.

Most of the people in the shop rushed to my side and asked what was going on and I shrugged my shoulders and said ' The poor man was having a bad day and I happened to be in his path.'

The space between us and the Moon is 385,000 kms. The space between us and the nearest planet, Venus is 110 million kms. The space between us and our Sun is 150 million kms. The space between us and the nearest star other than the sun, Alpha Centauri is 4.3 light-years, 40 trillion kms.

Yet, the distance between each of us feels more than that and more dangerous and empty.

The human body has 100 trillion (100 000 000 000 000) cells and each cell contains a copy of the entire human Genome. A genome is the genetic material of an organism and consists of its DNA.

There are three billion letters in the Human Genome. Written out, the Human Genome would stretch 5,592 miles, (9,000 km). It would take a typist working eight hours a day half a century to type it out. It would fill one million pages, 5,000 books stacked 200 feet high or two hundred telephone directories. Even, if you read for 24 hours a day, it would take a century to finish reading it

Yet, every cell in our body contains all this information. One single cell. Just one single cell carries this much information and our DNA and every strand of DNA carry the four letters – A, C, G, T - the instructions to make all living organisms on this planet.

I wonder if these four words translated into Gods language are read as L, O, V, E or Love, for without that I doubt if all this is possible.

Vaanathai Pola 72

The eyes they see.

The ears they hear.

The lips they speak.

The nose it smells

The hands they touch.

The legs they carry.

The heart, the poor heart beats and beats and is beaten again and again.

The soul sees, hears, speaks, smells and in the end seeks that which speaks its language which is silence and solace.

Deep underground in the Mossad headquarters, Raman sat alone before the large screen, his eyes seeing and his brain memorizing every photo that his hand clicked again and again and the time was nearly 12.30 in the afternoon.

Leaning back he stretched his hands and then yawned loudly and decided that it was time to take a break and getting up slowly wandered out of the small cabin that he and his boss V.K.Singh had been given and finding Aaron, a Mossad agent who had been assigned to help them out enquired as to where both their bosses had disappeared to.

Aaron shook his head and pointed to the ceiling and said ' the top brass are bashing heads after what you revealed to them about this Khalid and his connection with the dreaded terrorist Abu Nidal.'

Raman smiled and said humbly, ' It was just beginners luck and I am sure one of my colleagues would have stumbled upon this vital piece of information sooner than later and I just beat them to it.'

Aaron scoffed and said, ' Sorry Mr.Raman, there is no such thing as luck in this game of spies and terrorists. You are good and that is it. What makes you good and valuable is that you see and connect dots that most of us in this business cannot so easily do and that is something very rare and a gift that has to be treasured and nurtured.'

Raman nodded, ' we will see Aaron but right now I need a small favour from you.

Aaron looked at him, ' anything for a guest and a good friend. What is it? do you want me to sneak in a couple of cold beers.'

' Now, that does sound really cool and will surely hit the spot. But, maybe for later in the evening for right now I need you to point me in the direction of your Gym. It has been a few weeks now since I have exercised or visited my dojo and thought that 30 minutes on a treadmill would be good for both my body and mind.'

' Sure, Raman. Come, I will take you there although it will be empty right now and might fill up a bit after office hours.'

Raman picked up his small blue gym bag that had his shoes and gym clothes.

They walked through a few corridors and then Aaron stopped and pointed to an elevator and the stairs beside it and Raman without a word quickly ran up the stairs followed by Aaron nipping at his heels.

Two floors up, Raman saw a large whiteboard with " Gymnasium" written in green letters and waited for Aaron to punch in the secret code on the keypad and then both entered the gym.

It was a large gym and exceptionally well planned. What caught Raman's eye was the running track around the perimeter and appreciated the thought behind it.

Raman's appreciation filled Aaron with pride and then he came closer and whispered, ' I like you and that is why I am betraying my boss who will break my neck if he finds out that I warned you in advance.'

' Warned me about what, Aaron?'

Aaron told Raman about the conversation in which his boss Dr.Otto Hauptmann had told V.K.Singh that he was going to test his own fighting skills against the newcomer.

' But, Aaron, I am only trained in Judo and know, maybe a little about karate and boxing and have absolutely no clue about your " Krav Maga" fighting style and so it makes no sense to test two totally different styles of fighting skills for it is a no contest.'

' Raman, it is not about syles and skills but purely about my chief's rather petty Ego when it comes to his fighting skills. He was our nations champion for twelve years running before he got shot on some assignment and was in bed for many months. Then, he was placed behind a desk and soon rose to the position he is in now and that is the head of Mossad. But, he still practices for a few hours every day and also takes on all newcomers and shamefully, he still is the best and I myself have lost many bouts with him.'

Well, that means there is no shame in losing to a champion and that too a great champion.'

' So, are you going to fight him?'

' We will see, Aaron.'

Aaron left and Raman carried his gym bag into the bathroom and quickly changed clothes and then slowly began to run around the small track and ran for nearly 30 minutes.

Sensing a movement at the entrance, Raman, turned and saw a tall man with a thick beard covering his face entering the bathroom and coming out a few minutes later with boxing gloves on and then quietly proceeded to a dark corner of the large gym where a boxing bag hung from the ceiling and began to slowly jab and punch at it.

Raman left him to his boxing routine and went back to concentrating on his own routine and soon his body and mind came together and moved and flowed as one entity.

Vaanathai Pola 73

I rose and stood on my legs

I walked swinging my hands

I thought using my brain and my senses

I sat, closed my eyes and shut myself and surrendered

I was one with my self and the universe

I disappeared and became us

Raman ran for about an hour and then spent another hour lifting weights and then slowly cooled down using some tai-chi movements and in the end sat in the lotus position and closed his eyes in meditation and contemplation.

The " Thud, thud, bam, bam" noise of the punches on the boxing bag which had accompanied him during his workout now stopped and Raman closed that window too for he did not expect any attack on him, not here, deep underground in the Mossad headquarters.

Time passed, time flowed and Raman stood under a small tree which stood guard over a small stream and waited for the messenger.

Raman knew from past experiences that this kind of vision usually meant something, a warning, a prophecy, a whisper telling him to be alert and ready and the few times in his life when he had experienced such visions, dreams, it had been in the forms of his masters who had taught him his martial arts.

Raman turned to see a very tall, handsome man with a thick beard covering his face standing next to him, in a loose-fitting tee and shorts and looked with surprise at the boxing gloves that he wore on his hands and spluttered, ' you, why you? when I don't know you and when we both have never met before now?'

The stranger smiled, ' But I know you and have been tracking you.'

Raman opened all the doors and then finally opened his eyes and saw the same man who had been boxing with the punching bag crouching in front of him and with a smile on his lips.

Raman looked at him calmly for his instinct told him that the stranger posed no danger to him.

' Surprised' the stranger asked and Raman nodded ' yes, for usually, I see people in my visions or when I am lost in my meditation. So, I am indeed surprised to see a person physically and in front of me and also curious as to how he knows what I was thinking and why he has been tracking me.'

The stranger looked at Raman thoughtfully, ' I, we are tracking you and your career and it was I who pushed V.K to bring you into our intelligence business.'

Waving his hand, the stranger continued, ' I just wanted to tell you this, you will soon come face to face with another who will be your equal and who is on a different path from yours but not very different. When that happens, step back and let him be for he is on a very important mission and the magnitude of it will be revealed when he reaches the spider who sits in the middle of the web.'

' Well, if you know so much, why don't you move now and act on your suspicions and take down this spider in the web who sounds pretty nasty to me.'

The stranger smiled, ' all in good time, brother.'

Getting up, he stood and looked down on Raman and said,' please go easy on Dr.Otto for he is very dear to me. Carry him through the rounds and let him down easy.'

The stranger started walking away and Raman hurriedly yelled, ' excuse me, but what is your name?'

The tall stranger turned and with a smile said, ' Rudran. But, you may call me Rudy.'