An Eye For An Eye

Criminal Court Suratgarh, any day of any month 10 years back from today
“Considering all the evidence produced and arguments from both defendant and plaintiff it is proved beyond doubt that Mr. Manohar Lal Sisaudia was not responsible for the accident and eventual death of Mr. Rajesh Jaurani, his wife and their daughter. The court acquits Mr. Manohar……..”
The old man knew the verdict days before but hoping against the hope he was attending the hearings. He suddenly felt very weak and almost impossible to stand up. Slowly, he stood up and dragged himself towards one of the exits of the court hall. There was a lot of noise - people talking and attorneys moving in their black attires but for him it was a deafening black silence around. Suddenly he stopped. His eyes fixated on the long shadow stretched on the floor for a moment then his gaze followed the source of the shadow. He saw the glittering speckless shoes, expensive trousers then coat and finally his eyes met with those of the single person he wanted to kill with his bare hands but could not. It was beyond his physical and financial might to cause any harm to renowned businessman Manohar Lal Sisaudia.
Sisaudia was the owner of a personality and had an air of typically shrewd businessmen. Through his gold rimmed spectacles, he was looking into old man’s black and white eyes surrounded by wrinkled skin and thicket of white drooping eyebrows. The old man looked at the demon with a straight face. Sisaudia was smiling. The old man noticed the smile. It was not a smile. For old man, it was a deafening roar of laughter, blended with contempt, gibe, pride and self-conceit which only he could hear and feel.
The old man beheld that smile as if he wanted it to pierce through his heart and drop him dead. He brought in all his will power to command his tears keep away from dampening his eyes. He had been crying alone through all these years but today he didn’t want to. Today, at this moment, he wanted to watch this smile closely because for rest of his life he had to live with this smile.
With unblinking eyes he scanned the smile playing on Sisaudia’s lips one last time and slowly met his eyes with Sisaudia’s. Expressions in Sisaudia’s eyes were a flawless match to his smile. Then he stepped forward, struggle his way slowly through the narrow gap between the door and Sisaudia’s strong six feet person to move out into the open lawns of court. Awning of gray cloud was hanging up in the sky but the old man noticed a laser-thin silver lining in the east too.

Suratgarh Present Time
“Who is this taxi driver?” Sisaudia held up his hand, holding the cigar, tip smouldering, midway in the air and asked Jaichand.
“Last week Limousine had broken down and could not pick up baby from school so she herself took a taxi. It was raining heavily and seeing her waiting for a taxi this old taxi driver dropped baby home…..”
“Dropped her home? Didn’t he take money?” Sisaudia interrupted Jaichand “…and why was the car broken? Have I kept these drivers for free? This is not an orphanage. Next time this happens, I shall fire all of them”
“Sure Sir” gingerly Jaichand continued “…so this old taxi driver was going to submit taxi back but seeing baby in distress he came off route to drop her here. Since then baby seems to like his services for pick and drop for school. We tried to explain baby that she doesn’t need the taxi anymore but….…”
“You were trying to reason with whose daughter Jaichand?” Sisaudia seemed to have a liking to interrupt people “After all she is my daughter.”
Jaichand had to smile. So he did.
“But keep an eye on this taxi driver.”
“We have done a background check already. Quite harmless, slow old man, 75. Lives alone in a rented single room house. Kukreja follows the taxi daily anyway.”
“Fine. Soon Nikita will be fed up of this oldy. Then we shall easily persuade her to go in the Limousine.” Sisaudia abruptly focused all his attention to the cigar, puffing it heavily, thus signaling Jaichand that he was finished with him.
Jaichand, already familiar with this gesture, left.
[][][][][]
“What does she like, Nikita?” Old man asked in the usual low, gentle, warm but heavy voice while keeping his eyes on the road and his wrinkled hands firmly on the steering wheel.
“Who? My friend Sushi?.........Umm….she is fond of purses.”
“So, on her birthday why don’t you gift her one? If you trust me then I have an advice” Old man smiled below his thick snow white moustache.
“Tell me”
“I drop you home and then buy a purse for your friend. Meanwhile you get ready for the party. I shall pick you and give you the purse. I am sure you would like my choice.”
“Oh, great. I’ll sure like your choice dada.” Nikita had become the fan of this old man in a few days “But how much would it cost?”
“Don’t worry I’ll buy it, later you pay me.”
“Fair enough.” Nikita agreed.
[][][][]
For Anoop Kukreja it had become a boring routine. For past almost a week he had to reach Civil Lines early morning. The old man would take an auto to reach the North end of Civil Lines where his master, the owner of the taxi, resided. He used to go pick up Nikita baby from the bungalow by taxi.
He had told Jaichand that it was not necessary to follow the old man from his home back to bungalow but Jaichand had instructed Kukreja strictly to keep an eye on the old man. Nikita’s father never interfered between his only young daughter and her fancies. If she was happy going in that taxi she was allowed to do that but under constant vigil.
There was one respite for Kureja out of this routine. Old man, daily, used to take a break at 1 pm exactly. He used to park the taxi in front of Babloo Restaurant to eat something. Kukreja too used to buy the lunch from the restaurant and saw the unsuspecting old man inside engrossed in eating his lunch followed by a special tea. Exactly after 30 minutes, the old man would return to his taxi to reach Nikita baby’s school to pick her up for home.
Yesterday, it was a little change in old man’s routine. He had bought a ladies’ purse from a big shop then he picked up Nikita baby up from home again and dropped her to her friend Sushma’s place.
Right now he was following old man’s taxi already knowing where he was going. Taxi, after a while, stopped outside Babloo Restaurant. Old man alighted from the taxi and slowly went inside the building.
Kukreja parked his car on the other side of the road at some distance. He, then, got down from his car and entered the restaurant. He reached the counter and ordered a cheese jumbo sandwich. From the corner of his eyes he saw old man reading newspaper, apparently waiting for his ordered lunch. He started waiting for his sandwich to be packed. Meanwhile he saw the old man getting up and going into the back side of the restaurant where probably kitchen and toilets were situated. After a while his sandwich was packed, he paid for it and returned to his car. He unlocked his car and settled in his driver’s seat. He unwrapped the sandwich. A hungry Kukreja, salivating over the warm delicious smell of the fresh sandwich, could not bite into it. He was hit so hard with the iron rod on his temple that even before seeing any constellations he slumped into the seat, unconscious. Sandwich dropped off his hand. Kukreja would later discover that this was necessary to be done to him since the “slow and quite harmless” old man did not want to be followed anymore by anybody to execute his plan further.
[][][][]
“Where is your taxi? This is different. No?” Nikita asked him.
“Today, my taxi broke down so I borrowed one from my friend.” old man lied.
They both entered the taxi. Old man brought the taxi on the main road and increased the speed.
“Today we will stop over somewhere before going home.” old man said smiling and looking at Nikita’s face reflected by the rear view mirror.
“Where?” Nikita asked shuffling the pages of the book in her hand.
“What is this Niki?” old man, seeing the book asked her.
“Oh, this is the book of short stories. Sushi had given it to me as a return gift of her birthday party.”
“So, did you like it?”
“I haven’t read it all yet but I liked one quotation in the book.”
“Quotation?”
“Yeah, it is a story about Gandhi ji and he had said - An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”
“Right. If we take revenge on people who have done harm to us then this whole world will be full of hatred.”
“But if someone harms us we have all the right to payback. You know, tit-for-tat?” the young girl argued.
“Oh dear, you are too young to understand these things. Only time teaches us such things, when we need it. Anyway, you were asking where we are going, right?”
“Oh, yes! Where are we going?... as you said.”
“You will see for yourself. Have patience for a while. It is a surprise for you.” old man said and pressed the gas pedal a little more. Speedometer’s needle climbed another ten kmph.
After sometime, the borrowed taxi stopped in front of a huge bungalow with “Sisaudias” written on the main gate in heavy silver metal.
“This is daddy’s another bungalow?”
“Yeah!” old man replied “this is unoccupied. Nobody lives here. Your daddy has bought it to gift you on your birthday tomorrow.”
“Wow! This is very nice. But why have you brought me here?”
“Your daddy had a word with me today. He wants you to see this from inside and approve of it. If you like it then it is yours otherwise he will sell it”
“This seems to be so nice already. But I am too small for this. I would have appreciated if daddy had arranged for a trip to Disney World instead.”
“That too is there. C’mon.”
The old man opened the gate with the keys he had snatched from the only old watchman pretty early in the morning after knocking him unconscious, silencing and tying him down in the basement of the bungalow.
They entered the bungalow and old man began showing Nikita the building from inside. Finally they reached an anteroom which had a single, grilled window and single door for entry and exit. It was probably a store room sort of. They both entered the room.
“You like the whole place?”
“Very much!”
“Then call and tell your father.”
Nikita took out her cell phone.
That was probably one thing which the old man had done so swiftly in many years. He snatched the cell phone from girl’s hands, almost jumped off the room and locked a dumbfound Nikita inside.
“What is this?” he saw Nikita’s frightened face though the window.
In response the old man pulled out his wallet and retrieved an old faded photograph. He displayed the photograph to the girl and said in his slow, gentle, husky but heavy voice “This is my son, his wife and their 3 year old daughter. They are no more thanks to your father. Your father was drunk and driving his land rover that night. I was clicking this photograph. Rajesh was standing behind Maruti. Sarika and Ahana were sitting inside when this land rover, with your father behind the wheel, erupted from nowhere and rammed into the car from behind Rajesh. Rajesh and Sarika died on the spot and Ahana?.....the small child died in hospital after suffering agonizing pain and…….” the old man’s voice distorted and he began to cry bitterly. Tears rimmed a shocked Nikita’s eyes.
“But…..but….” with difficulty she said “why should I believe that my father…..”
Old man looked up with a jerk but said in the same gentle voice “I sued your father. With his financial might he finally went scot free. I fought for five years but justice eluded me. Tomorrow I will prove that your father had done this and then I will punish him.”
“So you are going to kill me? But daddy will find you and kill you too.”
“This is the last place they will look for us Niki…..and what is written in your book?” he signaled the short story book still in the girl’s hand ‘an eye for an eye….?’”
“So you will pressurise daddy to confess to his crime?”
“Let’s see. Today we shall stay here. Let your father suffer the pain of the loss of the beloved ones. Tomorrow is your birthday, right time to pay your father back. Now catch some sleep. Tomorrow is the judgment day.”
[][][][]
The revolver was snatched by the old man from Kukreja. Nikita saw him remove all the bullets but three. She could not understand why only three bullets.
“If you want to find the truth today then cooperate.” saying, he tied girl’s hands and took her to the taxi. They entered the taxi. Old man secured Nikita firmly with ropes on the front seat of the taxi and covered her with a thick blanket.
Then he dialed Sisaudia’s number from Nikita’s cell phone. After single ring he heard Sisaudia’s troubled voice “Nikita, my darling, where are you?”
“Don’t worry Manohar, you will soon see you daughter. Alive.” old man replied in slow gentle voice.
“You….you bastard…..where is my daughter?....who are you?.....dare touch my daughter and I will….”
“Stop barking like a rabid dog Manohar. This is the plaintiff, judge and hangman calling. I am a ghost from your past. Soon we will meet. You will see how. Till then stay fit and pray to God.”
He disconnected the phone and threw it on the road.
[][][][]

Car was turned into a dented tin can when it finally entered the drawing hall crashing through the huge French window. It had crashed down the main gate first, then crushing the beautiful flowers in the lawn to the ground it rummaged into the drawing hall window. Amongst raining shrouds of glass and wood, car landed with a heavy thump on the marble floor of the drawing hall.
Sisaudia was on the stairs that time with a hand gun. There were his four other men too, all armed. They all were jolted with this dare devilry. Slowly, old man emerged from the car, with gun resting on Nikita’s temple. Girl’s hands were not tied anymore.
“Nikita!” Sisaudia cried.
“Daddy!” the girl cried too.
“Manohar, tell your men to drop guns and put off their clothes now. I give you five seconds. One, two, three……”.
Suddenly he shot one man in his thigh. “Four”
Two bullets left. Nikita counted.
“Five” old man shot another man in his foot.
Only one bullet left.
“Drop your guns!” Manohar shouted like a caged monkey.
Men hesitated. Old man shot one more man in his abdomen.
Empty gun!
“C’mon Manohar. Next is your daughter!”
“Daddy!” Nikita shouted “don’t worry he has no bullets now in his gun! Relax. No need to kill him daddy!”
Sisaudia, who had come down the stairs meanwhile, halted, weighed the situation and moved forward.
“Manohar stop!” old man said in a way as if instead he wanted to provoke Sisaudia to do what he intended to do.
Sisaudia stepped forward with his armed hand straight in old man’s direction.
“Daddy! No! He is harmless! Daddy listen!”
But Sisaudia, possessed with rage and hatred, squeezed the trigger three times.
Old man pushed the girl away. Bullets entered his body. Old man dopped on the floor with a faint cry. Blood rushed to turn his white uniform ruddy.
“Noooooooo” Nikita shouted at her father. She ran towards the old man and knelt down beside him, crying “Call the ambulance….call doctor…....what have you done, You Monster!”
Sisaudia halted in his track.
Monster!!!!
His girl called him monster!
Old man held Nikita’s hand and said in the same slow but gentle voice “Niki….baby…wait….ambulance is not in my plan…I told you I will prove your father’s crime…..I am dying…..and a dying man doesn’t lie…..your…your father killed my family….your father…..”
He saw rage, hatred and pain in the girl’s eyes.
“I am sorry baby…I did this to you on your birthday….”
He looked at Manohar Lal Sisaudia – not a businessman but a tired father – face white, shoulders drooping with repent and shock, knelt down on the floor, his still loaded hand gun lying beside him.
The old man was saying in his soft, gentle but heavy voice “Manohar…..after the court’s judgment I…..I had decided to…..to kill myself but……that day….ten years back…I still can’t forget your smile…..smile blended with contempt, pride and self-conceit….that smile gave me my goal to live for this day. Manohar…….M…..M…Manohar….th…..that day y…..you took aw….away my f……..f..a..a..a..mily. T…..t…..to…day I have taken away y…..your…..daughter……Manohar…your…..daughter………”
The old man slumped with a smile in the girl’s lap. Dead.
“Noooooooo Dada!!!!!!……nooooooooo” Nikita’s cries were piercing through Sisaudia’s heart.
Today I have taken away your daughter!
A helpless cry blurted off Sisaudia’s mouth and then he started crying bitterly, bent on the floor. His girl – estranged – was entwined with the dead old man and crying her heart out.
Nikita’s short story book was lying at a distance on the floor.
Was it a coincidence? The same page had opened in the book where it said what Gandhi once spoke – “An eye for an eye……….”
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