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HE - Episode 8

Discussion in 'HE - Serial Story' started by varalotti, Dec 29, 2007.

  1. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    HE

    A Serial By Varalotti Rengasamy

    Episode 8

    Timeline B


    Before leaving Le Meridian Sharada had warned Sethu of her husband’s vicious propensities.

    “He is a very wealthy industrialist. I am ashamed to say that he is venomous. I am afraid that he might try to hurt Sethu. Sethu, I am really worried about your safety.”

    Nalini’s face darkened. But Sethu was smiling.

    “Don’t worry, Madam. If God decides that I should be hurt by someone, nothing I do can prevent it. If God decides that I should not be hurt, a thousand persons like this man cannot even touch my hair. Thanks for the concern, Madam. So Long.”

    Sethu bowed to Nalini and walked out of the room leaving the two ladies in a state of shock.

    As Sharada’s black Skoda Octavia was gliding on the almost deserted GST Road around 11 PM that night, her mind was in a state of turbulence. She was deeply disturbed by Balki’s behaviour that evening. She was afraid that Balki might in all probability hurt Sethu.

    But just remembering the word Sethu brought pleasant feelings to her mind. As the car was crossing Raj Bhavan, Sharada looked outside. When she thought about Sethu and his point-blank replies to Balki, her mind was brimming with happiness. The forest-like Raj Bhavan campus looked very beautiful to her.

    Her feelings of pleasure lasted only till the car reached her palatial house at Indra Nagar.

    She got down from the car and went into the house. Seeing Balki chatting with somebody on his mobile, she developed a shooting pain in her head. Holding her head with her hands she ran to the kitchen.

    The cook was just preparing to go to bed. She requested her to make a cup of strong tea for her.

    Balki was watching her movements through the corner of his eyes. Had Balki and Sharada been in talking terms, he would have openly abused her with his sharp tongue. His mind was thinking of ways to hurt her some way or other.

    The cook prepared strong tea laced with ginger and cardamom and placed a jug full of it before Sharada. She also placed Sharada’s favourite tea mug. As Sharada sipped the strong brew she felt a little relaxed and refreshed.

    Balki was now in the adjoining room and was seeing her actions. He knew that he could cause maximum damage only at this time. His mind was feverishly looking for ways to hurt Sharada. He found one and smiled cruelly.

    He punched some fictional numbers on his mobile and started talking to an imaginary person.

    “Oh that guy was rubbing all over your body! Simply great! And you enjoyed his actions right? Marvellous. And were you wearing any dress …..”

    That was the last straw on the camel’s back. Sharada threw her tea mug across the room. The sound reverberated throughout the house. Balki now ran to his bedroom in the ground floor with a wicked glee on his face.

    Sharada ran to her bedroom in the first floor. She fell over her bed and cried herself to sleep.
     
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  2. varalotti

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    Part 2!

    Part 2!

    Sharada got up a little late in the morning. When she came down for breakfast, she saw Balki talking enthusiastically on his mobile. A good night’s sleep had strengthened her mind and now she did not want to leave Balki unpunished for what he did last night.

    She used the same technique to turn the tables against Balki. She punched some imaginary numbers on her mobile and started talking very loudly.

    “Yes, dear. It was simply great. The man has something in his hands. When his hand touched my knee, I would rather say, a little above my right knee, you know, a chill of pleasure went through my spine.. and … I…”

    Balki now threw his N-60 Nokia mobile phone against the wall. It broke into pieces. He left home in a fit of rage. Sharada was now in a meditative state of mind. She really enjoyed her breakfast.

    Balki’s Elantra was now caught in the peak-hour traffic near Madhya Kailash temple. Balki was no longer emotional. He was now full of evil.

    Evil was almost a second nature to Balki in the same way dance was to Sharada.

    Making Sharada to throw her tea-mug and her making him to break his mobile phone were all minor skirmishes in the grand scheme of war which was being framed in his mind. He first formulated the objects of his grand plan.

    Object number one, to disgrace and then destroy that masseur. Object number two, to divorce and disgrace Sharada after accomplishment of object number one. If Sharada is incidentally killed in the process, it is all the more better.

    Balki had a unique mind, something which could not be replicated even by the world’s most sophisticated computer system. When he thought of something good, then only 10% of his brain would be working and that too on a single track. But if he is engaged in something malicious, almost 80% of his brain will be working and that too on multiple tracks.

    When he reached his large office complex in GN Chetty Road he was ready with a plan of action. He had to just utilise what was running on two of the several evil tracks, to formulate his war plan.
     
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  3. varalotti

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    Part 3!

    Part 3!

    His first call was to a famous divorce lawyer. He did not want to close any of his options right in the beginning.

    “Mohan, one of my close friends wants to divorce his wife. Reason, her infidelity……OK you want evidence, agreed. What do you want, pictures or video? Anything is good, right. I’ll make a full-length feature film. Will that be enough? Good, he will see you in a week’s time. Good day.”

    Then he called a lady on the phone. He explained his plan to her for more than fifteen minutes. The lady was a little heistant at first, but when Balki indicated the price he was going to pay for service, her acceptance was enthusiastic.

    Now Balki had just one more loose end to tie up. This he wanted to do in person considering the delicacy and the importance of the job involved. He called up ahead to tell that he was coming to see him.

    He walked out of his office. Seeing him the driver came running to the car. He waved him off and opted to drive himself. It took more than fortyfive minutes for him to drive to Harrington Road. He stopped his car two blocks away from the intended destination and walked the distance.

    He met the Chief of a private detective bureau and entrusted to him the task of photographing Sharada and Sethu together.
     
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  4. varalotti

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    Part 4!

    Part 4!


    Sharada did not move out of the house during the next two days. She spent her time in reading, in doing yoga, apart from her usual dance practice for about 90 minutes every day.

    It was sheer hell for the person posted near her house to shadow her. For two days he had nothing to do but just watch the house and send messages to his bosses.

    On the morning of third day, he let out a smile of relief. He saw Sharada’s black Octavia backing out of the garage.

    The car joined the pre-peak-hour traffic at the Sardar Patel Road and was heading towards Raj Bhavan. And then it joined the traffic at Mount Road and was heading towards GST Road, to Hotel Le Meridian. A helmeted motorcycle rider was shadowing her.

    Sharada was not sure of her reception at the hotel now. She hesitantly approached the Reception Desk and asked for Nalini. She was told that Nalini would come a little late that day.

    Sharada told them that she wanted to spend sometime in their health club.

    As she was walking along the swimming pool, her mind was in a state of conflict.

    ‘Am I in love with Sethu? Is it morally right to be constantly thinking of another man? Is my relationship with Sethu purely platonic? Or is there something more to it? And if there’s something more to it, where will it lead to?’

    The moment she saw the sad, soft expression in Sethu’s face all her inner conflicts disappeared.

    Sethu stood up and greeted her. He pulled out a chair for her to sit.

    “Sethu, I am not going to say, that I came for some other work and just peeped in to see how you are doing. I came only to see you and spend some time with you. Can I, Sethu, please?”

    “You can, Madam. Absolutely no issues with me. I will be free till my next customer comes.”

    Sethu enquired about the cramps in her ankles.

    When Sethu praised her for her dance performance on that day Sharada blushed.

    Sethu saw her blushing and was aware of what was happening inside her. They could not speak to each other for a few minutes. They were sitting across each other at a distance of about four feet. They were not even seeing each other.

    Both were looking at a distance. Even then something strong and powerful was passing between them. Sharada had never been so blissfully silent in her whole life.

    It was not a state of mindless trance, which an ordinary pschedelic drug could induce. It was a state of mindful bliss happening simultaneously in two souls fusing them into one. It was caused by the world’s most powerful drug, love, a drug for which there are still no known antidotes.

    The person engaged by the detective agency was on the other side of the swimming pool and was taking a tight close-up picture of Sethu and Sharada in his powerful Nikon Camera.

    He was frustrated that they kept too much of a physical distance between them, and at this distance, the photograph might lose its value as incriminating evidence.

    After what seemed as an eternity they both came out of their state of bliss.
     
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  5. varalotti

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    Part 5!

    Part 5!


    Sethu, I simply loved the way you replied to that man. Where did you learn all these?”

    “A life well lived is sufficient enough to teach these basic truths, Ma’am. I might not have been fortunate in that. But I had the greater fortune of learning them at the feet of my Master.”

    Sethu was lost in admiration for his Master. Then he recollected some of his Master’s words.

    “My master used to say, whether an activity will help us spiritually grow or not, depends not on the nature of the activity itself; but the intensity with which we do it.

    “Thus a person who does Puja all day may not grow at all, if he is not intensely involved in it. The same thing goes for the mindless chanting of the holiest of scriptures in the world.

    “On the other hand a butcher who is so intensely involved in what he does for a living will spiritually grow.

    “He used to quote a Zen story again and again. One Zen student, in spite of years of his training, had not realised the truth. One day his Master sent him to buy fruits for the monastery. Now the fruit-vendor was a Zen Master himself.

    “The student asked him to give the best of the fruits he had. The fruit-vendor replied, “whatever fruits I have are the best. There is no need to choose.”

    “Then it hit the student that there are no superior activities like meditation or prayer and there are no inferior activities like eating, sex and selling meat. At that very moment the student became enlightened.”

    “Great, Sethu, great.” Sharada stood up, reached up to Sethu and shook his hands.

    The detective got what he was waiting for since morning. The Nikon camera captured the wonderful moment for future record.

    That was one of the grandest failures of technology. The state-of-the-art device could not capture a millionth of the current of love that passed between them a few minutes back. And could only capture an apparent physical nearness in which there was not much of love or romance.

    “Your Master is a great man, Sethu. When I dance, in that white heat of intense passion and precision, I feel that I am much closer to God, than when I stand in the sanctum sanctorum of the world’s most sacred temple.

    “While dancing I am in communion with God. While standing in His temple I feel that I am away from him.”

    The discussion now became even more lively. Sharada was impressed by Sethu quoting from Herman Hesse and Alan Watts.

    Like the many scholars Sharada knew, Sethu did not quote to prove a point, much less to prove his erudition. He quoted them because he enjoyed what those people said and wanted to share his enjoyment with Sharada.

    Sethu was transfixed by Sharada’s spritual inclination.
     
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  6. varalotti

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    Part 6!

    Part 6!



    Sethu was trained in a form of martial arts, Varmakkalai, which demanded a kind of eternal awareness. At times the awareness was so intense that a good warrior can “see” something happening right behind his back.

    So Sethu did not miss a buxom woman who was about to plunge into the swimming pool. Sharada was a trifle hurt when she found what Sethu was looking at. She thought that Sethu was ogling that buxom woman, while Sethu was looking at the article she had placed on the floor, before taking the plunge into the pool.

    Their conversation was interrupted by a ten year old boy who asked Sethu in a pleading voice, “Uncle, can I use the rest room here?”

    “Oh, yes. Go ahead.”

    Sethu looked again at the pool. The buxom woman had come out of water. She was frantically looking for something.

    Sethu excused himself from Sharada and walked into the rest room attached to the health club.

    He came back after fifteen minutes.

    Sharada was restlessly waiting for him.

    Sethu now talked to Sharada about the constant awareness and alertness which are essential for any activity, spiritual or otherwise.

    “Spritual life does not contradict this worldly life. It just transcends it. A person who is not alert is neither fit for this world nor for the other.”

    Sharada was surprised as Sethu’s words were totally out of context. She never thought that soon the context would grow large enough to accommodate Sethu’s words of wisdom.

    “What’s that, Sethu?”

    The question came not from Sharada but from Kanchana who had just come out of the ladies room after servicing a customer.

    Now all the three looked ahead. The buxom lady who was swimming earlier was leading a group of people towards the Health Club.

    “I don’t know.”

    Sethu replied with non-chalance.

    As the group was nearing them, Sharada saw Nalini running behind them.

    “I want this place to be searched. RIGHT NOW.”

    The buxom lady was shouting amidst tears.

    There was a couple of burly security guards in the group.

    By that time Nalini had reached the place.

    “Madam, tell me what happened.”

    “I left my golden necklace by the pool side and went for a swim. When I came back the necklace was not there. There was no one in the pool. From a distance I could see only these two.”

    She now pointed her accusing hand to Sethu and Sharada.

    “You mean to say, this man or this lady would have stolen your necklace? This lady is one of the finest dancers of South India. She is so rich that your necklace is just a piece of metal for her.”

    “But then there is this man. And now I see another lady.”

    She was pointing her hand to Sethu and Kanchana.
     
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  7. varalotti

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    Part 7!

    Part 7!
    Nalini, Sethu has been talking with me all along. He did not go to the poolside at all.”

    Sharada pleaded on behalf of Sethu.

    “You mean to say that you are going to search our belongings?”

    Kanchana was almost in tears.

    Nalini did not know what to do. Sethu asked her,

    “Madam, can I, with your permission, ask a few questions to this lady?”

    “No. I want to have you, this lady and this room searched first.” The lady was shouting.

    “Yes, Madam, you have the right to search us all. But just give me a minute.”

    “Madam, did you come with somebody?”

    “No. I came alone.”

    “Are you sure?”

    “I am damn sure.”

    “Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. Because I saw a plump boy of about ten years old, having your resemblance, being carried away by two masked men. That’s why I asked.”

    Suddenly the lady broke down.

    “My son! Rahul! My son!.... “

    When Sethu spoke to that lady his voice was full of compassion.

    “Madam, you are working for a wrong person. Even now it is not too late. If you come out clean, you will have your son as well as the necklace. Otherwise.. who knows.. they might even kill….”

    “NO. Please don’t say that. I’ll confess. I was sent here to disgrace this man. The idea was that my son should drop the necklace in his bag and run back to the car. And when the necklace is found out…..”

    Nalini did not let her finish. She slapped that lady on her face with so much force that she almost fell down. Sethu held her.

    “Madam, please, she is not to be blamed. She is acting for somebody. And if we force this lady to squeal, she might even be killed. Poor lady!”

    Sharada was too stunned even to speak.

    Sethu went in to the rest room and came out with a boy. The boy had the necklace in his hand.

    “I smelt the fish when this boy asked my permission to use the rest room. I just went behind him and caught him when he was about to drop the necklace in my bag.”

    Then he turned to the lady.

    “Madam, this is your son and this, your necklace. Don’t you think that your son is more precious to you than all the money in this world? And what kind of a lesson you are giving him? Just think over this. You may go now.”

    The others in the group wanted some Police action taken against the lady. But Sethu convinced them all that it was worthless and sent the lady away.

    Nalini gripped Sharada’s hands. Sharada was still in a state of shock. After a while she asked Sethu,

    “But Sethu, how did you know?”

    “When I was betrayed by my friends and lost everything in my life, my Master saved me. I asked him, “What sin did I do to merit all these sufferings?”.

    “I have never forgotten my Master’s words. “My son, you committed the gravest sin of not being alert enough. To make sure that you do not commit the same sin again, I am going to teach you a form of martial arts, which demands alertness as an eternal state of mind. It was my Master who saved me then and it was him who saved me now.”

    Sethu placed his right hand reverentially on his heart and closed his eyes.

    Nalini knew the pain in Sethu’s mind. She looked at him with affection. Sharada looked at him with admiration.

    The private detective, still standing at the same place, looked at them with frustration.

    For such a long wait he had only one picture of value. But his was a state of the art camera and he had a sophisticated computer and an even more sophisticated software back in his studio. He could work miracles with that one picture.

    Even Sethu’s alertness could not extend as far as the private detective.

    The detective sent a curt message to the mobile number he was given. “Subject caught in action.”

    A few seconds later Balki was reading the message with a wicked smile on his face.
     
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  8. varalotti

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    This is a small note of thanks to my wife Indhu who patiently read the entire episode minutes after posting and pointed out more than half a dozen typos.

    Thanks a lot, my dear.

    love,
     
  9. Kamla

    Kamla IL Hall of Fame

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    That was one of the grandest failures of technology. The state-of-the-art device could not capture a millionth of the current of love that passed between them a few minutes back. And could only capture an apparent physical nearness in which there was not much of love or romance. .....

    So true! That was a brilliant observation...at once bringing forth the uselessness of man made objects against the fine creations of the Creator!

    Balki seems to be the vilest of people...am already afraid of what havoc his hate and cunningness can cause.

    Sethu...he seems to be the universal Mr Right! I am sure that every woman will readily fall in love with him and can't blame the much maligned Sharada for being in love with him. Though you are not saying in so many words, from the currents that passed, looks like Sethu is also smitten by her.

    If Sethu is so well tuned to alertness, understanding and marital arts, I cannot see any danger for him from a wolf like Balki. Let's hope God ( and his personal creater!!) also bless him with happiness?:)

    For the sake of being nit-picking..it does jar to see such a lovely and mature Sharada getting hurt at a casual glance of Sethu towards another woman, buxom or not. She has to be above such pettiness!!

    Another smooth sailing episode Sridhar. It ended before I could savor it fully...Wanting to read more and very soon!

    L, Kamla
     
  10. varalotti

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    Dear Kamla,
    I felt very happy that the very first fb for this episode captured those lines I loved to write.
    Of late we have all started giving too much of importance to technology forgetting for a moment that it is no way near our human capabilities. I realised that when I was in the US. As we were cruising on a hilly road towards a German Village in the state of WA, I saw the beautiful scenery that was enveloping us. I took out my digital camera and clicked. The picture was a poor imitation of the reality. Any day the eyes we have are a hundred million times more powerful and more precious than the best cameras in the world. That moment probably should have been the inspiration to these lines.

    Now I am contrasting Balki and Sethu. So I am painting my hero with a extra dash of whiteness and my villain with an extra dash of darkness.

    That is an universal trait, Kamla. All said and done, Sharada is a woman. And being possessive is almost the first trait of love. I almost find no exception to this rule. May be if the marriage is ten, fifteen years old, and the lady above forty, then may be she might overlook these things. But even then she cant escape a mild heart-burn when she see things like that.

    Now, Kamla, I am not making these assertions as a know-all writer. I am making these statemens after living with one of the finest women for almost a quarter century. Let me just hope that my wife does not see this part of the reply.

    Thanks once again, Kamla.
    Love,
     

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