The little stars had aligned. They were twinkling
in the night sky. My dear friend had something special for me in-store. I sat quietly
on the backseat, wondering, watching the lunatic hunter high above. The alien
was stealthily following, keeping a keen eye on us through his antic binocular.
‘Wow! Ow...ow...’
‘Yes!
And you know what the best part is?’
‘What?’
‘All
the shopping malls, Big bazaar, multiplexes are right around the corner!’
‘Ow...Wow,
really!’
The star-studded hunter had made his first move. The
WOW signal had hit me. I was on the receiving end.
‘Yes,
yes! Didn’t you see them all on the way?’
‘Errr...yea...ow...Wow!’
The hostile road was hitting us hard. My beaming friend
Bulbeer was driving, leading the way. I was relying on him heavily.
‘Ow…ow…ouch!
Slow Bullu...Slow down!!’
‘This
road is the only problem...’ he lamented, manoeuvring his motorbike through the
unending bumps.
It was edge of the seat stuff. The action was
rear-guard. The terrain was out-of-this-world; junglee, rocky, dusty; the path
ahead heady and pitch-dark. Bulbeer had gone out-of-the-way. He had found an exotic
place to live.
‘Hmmm…ow…ow…’
‘Otherwise
everything else is good. You will like it! Believe me!!’ he exclaimed, his
voice quaking.
‘Yeah…’
I grumbled. ‘Ow…Where…where is his house? How long will it take to reach? Ouch!’
I asked, clinging on, bouncing to his tunes.
‘Just
round the corner.’ he assured.
The hunter was whipping us. The Bajaj discover had
lost it. It was rearing up and down like an old Chetak.
‘This
is the place I was talking about!’
‘Oh…ok…’
I mumbled, busy cursing the stars.
We had at-last found a booming civilization. The
rays of hope eased the pressure on my back. The back-lashing road had finally
ended.
‘The
building is going to come up here!’ he demonstrated, zooming into the
developing society.
‘Eh..eh..chokre! Ruko, ruko!! Kisse milna
hai? (Hey..hey…boys! Stop, stop!! Whom do you want?)’ the undressed
watchman demanded scampering behind our vehicle. He was in civilian clothes.
‘Kyun? Kya chahiye? (Why? What do you
want?)’ my friend retorted, parking inside the building premises.
‘Aah...ah...’
They were not coming out. I fell short of words.
Stepped down gently and limped away writhing in pain. My cute tail bone was
fractured in several places.
‘Entry karo idhar paihle! (Make an entry
here first!)’ the rude-old-man ordered pointing towards the register.
I picked it up and passed it on to Bullu.
‘Kisko milna hai? (Whom do you want to meet?)’ he probed again.
‘Errr…Maa..haat…ma, Mahatma? Mahatma-ji se!’ I exclaimed reading out
loud.
‘Chairman saab!! (Chairman sir!)’ he cried out.
The ghost of the Mahatma seemed to be haunting
him. The old man was shaken up. He let go of the human race; started seeing
stars in the night sky.
‘Haa…Haan Mahatma!! (Ye…yes Mahatma!!)’ I howled; my eyes enlarged,
my voice underwent a drastic change. I suddenly grew from a squeaky rat to a hairy
monster.
‘Haan! (Yes!)’ Bullu roared.
‘Teesra mala! Jao! Jao! Lift se jao! (Third floor! Go! Go! Use the
lift!)’ he directed immediately. The information was half. The star-struck guard
snatched the copy from Bullu’s hands.
‘Isn’t he your uncle?
Don’t you come here often?’ I probed pressing the button.
‘He is not my own or
cousin uncle...’
‘Oh…’
‘I just know him through
a friend of mine.’ my friend informed.
The door opened. We fitted ourselves in. The elevator
cranked up. It could carry only three persons at one time. We were of the size
of four.
‘Nice
surname’ I remarked closing my eyes. ‘Hope he gives some discount...’
‘Will
have to!’ Bullu guaranteed, taking it upon himself.
‘Let’s
see…’
The lift was quick. We had reached. The tiger was
already loitering out. I was a sleeping duck. Opened my eyes hurriedly and scurried
out of the three-by-four cage in the nick of time; my neck and limbs intact.
‘This
way!’
Bulbeer was at it again. He was leading me.
‘D.D
MAHATMA’
The name plate on the door rang a bell in me. I
was feeling honoured. Bullu rang the bell. I took off my shoes.
‘Yes...’
The great man was coming; his voice overwhelming.
‘Namaste
uncle.’ Bullu greeted.
‘Namaste’
I huffed bowing. My only chance went begging.
The gangly man dressed in shirt and baggy jeans was
not a look-alike by any means; did not resemble Bapu from any mad angle.
‘Yes,
what is your name?’
Disappointment writ large on my face I spotted
the stark reality, eventually. The man was no Mahatma. He was not his great-son-in-law
either; neither Bullu’s mama; just a mere chairman.
‘I
am Bulbeer, uncle…I had come two days back…to enquire about the flat…’ my
friend stuttered reminding over and over again.
‘Oh…yes,
yes Bulbeer…’
‘This
is my friend…’
‘Yes,
yes come in! Come in!’ he welcomed grinning.
The living room was messed up. His wife was cheerfully
away. We had to fill in. Gathered the clothes, newspaper supplements littered
on the sofa and chucked them on the dining table.
‘Tell
me! Have you guys decided to book?’ he asked facing us.
‘Uh…no
uncle....’
‘Book
it quickly otherwise the rates will go up!’ he opened fire. Bullu ducked, I leant
back on the sofa.
‘Uh...yes...uncle, actually
I brought my friend along to show him the area and get all the details.’
‘Ok,
ok…but I have already provided you all the cost details.’ the smart-old chairman
recollected.
‘Yes…but…can
you give us the brochure?’
‘Book
it quickly otherwise the rates will…’
‘Brochure...uncle?’
I reminded, interrupting.
‘I
did not provide you the brochure?’ he enquired. I sensed it. The pesky-old-man
was profitably and unarguably deaf.
‘No…’
I murmured. Bullu shook his head.
It was my first visit, his second. We were two-little
innocent children. We had done our homework.
‘You
sit here, I will bring it!’ the man groaned up from his plastic chair and
headed inside. His own cushy sofa was occupied.
‘Come to the point Bullu!’
I whispered.
‘Yes, yes…don’t worry!’ the
tiger winked.
‘Ask him to reduce the
rate at-least by two-hundred!’ I challenged.
‘Yes, yes…’ Bullu nodded.
‘And also some from the
parking amount…’
I was not afraid of him anymore. The
money-spinning, uncooperative Mahatma had irked me. I was in the mood to
bargain.
‘Yes…’
‘And also ask him about
those two buildings…’
‘Yes, yes…’
Bullu carried on nodding vigorously. His brain
was in danger of popping out. The risk was too high. He had work to do, things
to say on my behalf. I was alert, ready to take the diving catch and throw it
back in.
‘Here
it is…Hold it!’ the chairman presented stepping out. He was holding it in-front
of my friend. An unmindful Bullu stopped rocking his head. I seized the booklet
from his wrinkled hand and began studying it.
‘When
will the construction start uncle?’ Bullu queried.
‘What
is the rate now uncle?’
The monster in me growled pouncing on him. I
jumped straight to the point. The tiger was lurking behind the bush.
‘Thirty-one
hundred.’ he informed plonking down on his plastic chair.
‘Whew!
That would be around thirty-five lakhs…’ I whistled. My calculator beeped up.
‘So,
when will you be providing the booking amount?’ the greedy Mahatma enquired
again.
‘This
looks small! Don’t you think so?’ I suggested pointing at the miniature layout printed
on the brochure.
I had no prior experience. The plan seemed flawed
to me.
‘No,
no it’s fine!’ the tiger roared, silencing me. He stamped down the monster. I
turned into a squeaky rat again; lost, unable to find my way out of the fallen
hairs.
‘Pay
up the booking amount by tomorrow…’
‘Yes
uncle…’
‘Yes!
What yes!!’ I screamed inside.
‘But
if you could talk to the builder and make something le…sss…’ the tiger hissed.
‘Less?’
he asked reconfirming, turning his deaf ear towards my dear friend.
‘Ye...yes...’
‘In
this area you will not get a flat at such low price!’ he refused, shaking his
head.
‘Just
see uncle if you can…some from the parking amount…at-least...if possible…’ the
tiger stammered.
‘Pay
the booking amount first, then only I can speak to the builder.’ D.D Mahatma conditionally
agreed.
‘And
what about the two buildings by the side? Is he going to…’
Bullu was following my orders. He was doing his
job, alright. I kept quiet.
‘Oh
those! He will be demolishing them soon.’ he rubbished, waving his hands. I instantly
demolished them in my mind. ‘He has got the FSI increased after all, so he has
to!’ he reasoned.
‘Oh,
great!’ the tiger let out, smiling. ‘When will we be getting the possession,
uncle?’
‘Problem?
No, no, there will not be any problem!’ he reassured. His left ear too was not
working. ‘He will have to demolish...’
‘Possession
uncle... When will we be getting the possession?’ Bullu asked again; his voice
loud and clear.
‘Possession?
Eighteen months! Give me the booking amount cheque by tomorrow!’ he demanded
again.
‘Yes
uncle, let us talk to our families’ first, show them and then we will come to
you in two-three days’ time!’
The smart cat was expert at beating around the
bush.
‘But
hurry up! Book it quickly! If the rates go up I will not be able to do
anything!’ he yelled.
‘Ow...ow...’
We fled.
++++
‘Hello?’
I called him back; desperate to have a word with
him.
‘Sign
here...’
‘Hello!
Simon? Simon!’
It was my lucky day. He picked up my call on the
second try.
‘Yes,
yes... give me the documents by tomorrow...’
He backed away talking nonsense.
‘I...’
‘Give
me a minute sir!’ Simon commanded.
I obeyed, hung on.
‘Yes... tomorrow,
tomorrow...Bye...Bye...’
‘Yes,
tell sir!’ Simon belatedly answered; his tone harassing, harsh. He was my
agent. I was his customer. ‘Hello? Hello!!’
‘Errr...yes...are
you talking to me?’ I queried.
‘Yes
sir! What’s the problem?’
‘When
is the disbursement going to happen? My builder is calling me…’
‘You
haven’t paid up the twenty-percent amount to the builder till now sir! What can
I do?’ he paused backfiring.
‘Uh…Wh…ho…’
Tongue-tied, I froze, stopped breathing. The bomb
dropped on my head. It detonated instantly. I started sweating profusely.
‘When
are you going to?’ he resumed, backfiring.
‘What...How?
What do you mean?’ I spat out, finding myself lost in my own flat.
‘Come
to my office, I will explain!’
My calculations went for a toss. I was praying
throughout, had prepared well; spent nights on it lying flat on my back. The result
was depressing. My confidence was shattered. I had failed miserably in my maths
exam yet again. The banker flatly refused to clear my papers.
‘No!
But how…I don’t understand!!’
‘Come
to my office sir!!’ he invited me over, again, sternly.
I had hit a cracked-pot. The money was looted,
delivered to the builder. I had nothing left in the bank.
‘Let
me see…’
‘Moreover his property is
not approved yet!’ he stated.
‘What!!?’
It was raining time bombs. The naughty Simon was dropping
them on me at regular intervals. The demand letters were bombing my house
weekly.
‘What
is going on? What are you saying?’ I screamed.
The second one dropped near my feet. The brand
new Reinforced-Cement-Concrete slab shook below. My sinking head quaked
violently. The bomb fizzed out, failed to detonate itself completely.
‘No,
no! Not there...sign here!’ he began talking to someone else. I was left
gasping, drowning in dire straits.
‘Hello!!’
I recalled him back; my tone restless.
‘Yes!
Pushkar properties na?’
‘Yes…’
I uttered gulping down my bouncing heart. It had made its way to my mouth.
‘It’s
not approved!’ he announced.
‘But
why?’
‘He
hasn’t demolished some buildings, the on-site inspection report says!’
‘Some?
There are just two!’ I blurted.
‘Whatever…but
it’s not approved! His legal documents are also pending!’
The third bomb was the smallest. It was harmless.
I caught it.
‘When
is he going to then?’ I hollered, clenching my teeth, toying with the grenade. I
was mulling to throw it back at him, send him up once and for all.
‘How
will I know sir?’
I was not getting a favourable answer. The
questions were haunting me. I was asking them to the wrong person.
‘Talk
to him and tell him to provide the complete the legal documents! Nothing can
happen till then! And you also pay up the twenty-percent!’
The line went dead. My brain pointed straight.
‘Hello!
Mr. Jholkar?’
‘Hare
Krishna…’
‘What
is going on?’ I erupted.
‘Hare
Krishna! What, yes tell me sir? When
will the disbursement happen?’ Jholkar demanded.
‘Your
property is not approved Mr. Jholkar!!’
‘Not
approved?’ he belched. The reply was abrupt, the builder was corrupt and I was
bankrupt.
‘Yes,
when will you demolish those two buildings?’ I roared. The agreement was
signed. I had the fundamental right to question. Fifteen-percent of the lump
sum was prepaid.
‘We
will be starting soon…’
‘So
until they are demolished the disbursement cannot happen!!’ I relayed. ‘That’s
what my agent…’
‘Do
one thing. You apply again and get your loan sanctioned from non-cooperation bank.
This bank has approved our property.’ he directed.
‘How…?
No! I cannot do that! Nothing is pending from my side. It’s your legal
documents and demolition job that’s pending!’ I shot back, hurling the grenade
at him.
‘Listen
to me sir!! It will hardly take ten days for your loan to get sanctioned.’ he
cajoled, coolly.
Mouth wide-open, I stood still, stunned. The bomb
had no effect on him.
‘Apply
there...’
‘No…’
‘I know an agent…’
‘No!
I…’
‘Can
he come today and collect the documents?’
‘No!!’
‘I will message you
his number, contact him! Hare Krishna!’
