ACTION TIME:
Sachindranath Sanyal,the ‘bomb man’ as his friends fondly called him, promptly arrived the next day. He showed them how they could make bombs with a Cadbury cocoa tin packed with a pound of picric acid and three detonators. They had to then pack this into a hollowed section of a book to avoid suspicion. There was another option also. He showed them how to make a bomb which was composed of 6 ounces of dynamite, a detonator and a black powder fuse. He said that they could make any type which they found comfortable. The only condition was that they had to make as many as they could from the available raw material so that they could be used in other places too, not just in Azadganj. Also, once everything was ready, they had to arrange for the extra bombs to be sent to Lucknow from where they were to be then dispatched to different locations. He had managed to get quite a quantum of raw material with him……. no wonder then that he was called the bomb man. When he was asked how he could sneak in so much, he just gave a dubious smile but refused to divulge further.
They thanked him for all his help and he in turn thanked them for agreeing to lend a helping hand. “INQUILAB ZINDABAD” was rendered in unison and Rana went to drop him off at the bus stand. Thankfully it was only after Sanyal had left Azadganj that the Lucknow police became a little alert and guards were stationed at bus stops and railway stations to detect suspicious activities. All the revolutionaries were asked to be very careful.
Here in Azadganj, work was going on in full swing. Initially the packing and rolling took a little time but in a day or two, all the 7 of them got a hang of it and were managing it well. Ashfaqulla Khan and Peer Ali were the other two, apart from Chakor, Raghav, Rana, Vikrant and Leela in the group. Unknown to Raghav and Chakor, the remaining gang had named them Ragkor (Thanks to Vikrant and Leela) and would smile amongst themselves whenever RagKor managed to sit near each other or steal glances. Thankfully for the gang, Mr. John had guests over from England so he was a little occupied.
As a precautionary measure and to avoid suspicion, the gang decided to work in different houses everyday. Rana’s father was in service at the General Post Office at Lucknow and his mother had gone there to look after him as he was unwell…. So, Rana’s house was one place. Raghav’s room was the second and Chakor’s parents who had gone for a pilgrimage paved the way for a third house. Raghav and Chakor would never leave a chance to spend some time together. For e.g. whenever it would be Chakor’s turn to make tea when all would become tired working, Raghav would immediately volunteer to help…..Unknown to them, just for the fun of it Leela would pip in saying that she would help Chakor, but Raghav would somehow convince her!!!!…After RagKor would go to the kitchen the others would enjoy supressed giggles. The kitchen of course was witness to a few eye-locks and subtle pulls and hugs and crimson faces. Sometimes one of the remaining five would unexpectedly enter the kitchen acting very innocent and startle the duo but all in all Raghav and Chakor cherished this time.
One day Rana came looking very terrified and all worked up. Sachindranath Sanyal had been arrested with some raw material at one of the stations and he was being tortured in the prison cell to know what it was all about. Of-course he had not opened his mouth but the atmosphere everywhere was tense and now more so all the revolutionaries wanted the paln to succeed as a tribute to the effort taken by Sanya.l
In Azadganj everything was ready by the designated date. Now the big question was, who would take the extra bombs to Lucknow!!! Raghav volunteered to do so. Chakor without realizing,said a vehement No and all the others looked at her. She suddenly kept quiet not knowing that the others knew by now the reason behind her No. Raghav looked at her and said …..all thanks to Chakor and her idea, Mr. John has yet not realised that I am a part of your gang. Hence, I am the only one who can take the stuff out of Azadganj without raising any suspicion. So, then Raghav it was to be! It was also decided that he would do so within a day or two because hoarding the stuff for too long in Azadganj would be risky. On the last day, the gang worked in his room and packed all the stuff and loaded it in his Ambassador carefully. He said he would manage the rest. They wished him all the best and asked him to be careful. Vikrant hugged him lovingly and asked him to come back soon. All the while Chakor was very quiet. She stayed back after all had left saying that she wanted to discuss everything once again with him. The others just glanced amongst each other and left.
She was determined to stay with him for some time and he had to very carefully take her to his room . As soon as he had bolted the door she started sobbing. He cupped her face and said…. My dearest Chakor, what is wrong with you? This is not the Chakor I know. My Chakor was not scared of anything. She had big dreams for her Hindustan. I want my Chakor back. She looked at him and said …this Chakor loves her Raghav very much…..He has to promise that he will come back safe to her….Raghav held her hand and said …I promise dear…don’t you worry….but also promise me that once all this is over you will come and stay in this room forever. She smiled, could not hold herself and caressed his face, his stubble and hugged him. Both stayed in that bliss , again not wanting the night to end.....Finally when it was time for her to leave, he cupped her face, kissed her eyes and forehead and asked her not to worry. ....with a heavy heart she bid him goodbye.....
At the break of dawn, Raghav got ready to go to Lucknow. Mr and Mrs. Rajvanshi came to him and said that they would also be accompanying him to Lucknow. He was surprised and wondered how they had known about his plans. They just gave a smile and said ……we are your parents and parents are supposed to know everything. He tried to deter them saying that he didn’t want them to face any problem because of him. But they just wouldn’t listen. Instead they said that they had a plan. Mr. Kamalnarayan asked Raghav to put on his best clothes. When he raised his eyebrows, they asked him to keep quiet and listen to them. When he came down the stairs, he saw all of them dressed in their finery, even Girija Mausi.
As he was about to check the car once, Vikrant and Rana came to see him off …They were surprised to see the family ready in all their finery…..Raghav quickly told him how he was stumped himself when his parents said that they would accompany him to Lucknow …..Vikrant smiled and asked him to be careful and gave him a brotherly hug. Rana also embraced him and asked him to take care and come back safely. Mr.Kamalnarayan then asked Raghav to hurry and said that he had checked everything. They all waved to Vikrant and Rana and set off.
When they reached the village border on the road to Lucknow, their car was stopped for checking but the guard recognised Mr. Kamalnarayan and saluted him. Mr. Kamalnarayan engaged the guard in small talk telling him about a family wedding to be attended at Lucknow and how they were carrying gifts and sweets for all and the guard left them without any major checking. But the main hurdle they were to face was at the checkpoint at Lucknow.
Indian Mythology
Hindi TV Shows
Cricket
