THE CHASE
"Excuse me, thoda shoes hataengey taaki main luggage rakh sakoon"? - A strong deep voice broke the bald and bearded Anil out of the trance of the book he was reading. "Sorry sorry" said Anil and moved his shoes. The loud chit-chat and hustle bustle continued till everyone settled down and the train started moving. A strong scent of perspiration had filled the place, as Anil tried to adjust without embarrassing his new co-travellers.
"Kya din tha, Ufff… Chalo ab thoda aaram karenge" said the lady among them, as she took off her mask and started chatting with her co passengers in Marathi. The men looked burly and the lady strong too, but all had the mark of tiredness on their worn out faces. However hard he tried, Anil could not concentrate on his book, because of their chatter. Although he could not understand a word, he knew they were talking about their day. The lady's phone rang and her face lit up with joy. It was a sweet little voice at the other end, as the lady said "Bas beta kal shaam". As she hung the call, her eyes were wet. Anil was watching all this from the corner of his eye.
"Kahan tak ja rahey hain"? one of them asked. When there was no response Anil looked up and found the person asking him. "Bhopal, aur aap"? "Nagpur" he replied with a smile. The chit chat continued, but now it was in Hindi to include Anil in their discussion. They said they had a bad day in Bangalore because of the traffic, and could not reach anywhere in time. Anil too joined with intermittent memes about Bangalore traffic. Dinner arrived and got over with the hilarious traffic discussion. As the men took out some relaxing clothes, a clanking sound came from one of their bags. Anil looked back and saw a pair of metal handcuffs and a long strong rope. "Kya aap log Police mein hain"? Anil asked. "Haan", the man replied with a smile. With beds laid, everyone went to sleep after a while.
Next day while Anil and the police woman woke up early, the policemen woke up only when breakfast arrived. After the usual greetings and breakfast, they got talking again. "Kya kartey hain aap"? one of them asked. "Professor hoon, par visiting". "Arey wah sabse nek kaam hai. Par visiting matlab"? the lady asked. "Mujhe lagta hai ki, ek hi college ke bacchon ko ek hi cheez har saal padhaney se achha hai, alag alag college mein jaa kar alag alag cheezen padhaun" Anil replied. "Wah bilkul alag aur achhi soch hai" one of the men replied, extending his hands for a handshake. While Anil shook hands with him, he could feel the toughness of his hand, and the roughness of the shake too. "Kya aap sab kaam ke silsiley mein Bangalore aaye the"? Anil asked. "Arey mat poochiye. Saara din aaropi ko dhoondne mein nikal gaya. Bangalore traffic ke marey track kiye hue location par pouchney ke pehele hi aaropi wahan se nikal gaya. Na barabar khana naseeb hua na kuch. Pichli raat soye bhi nahin the, kyunki train 10 ghantey late ho gayi thi" all of them said one by one, as if they were waiting for someone to hear them and sympathise. The lady's phone rang again and her chat with the child continued. After she had finished she said the younger one becomes restless whenever she is away. When Anil asked about their ages she said they were 6 and 3 years old. The discussion continued with each one of them talking about how the police duty affected their family life adversely.
Breaking the personal discussion Anil asked "Par aap jis aaropi ko dhoondne gaye the, usney kiya kya hai"? "Arey kya bataaen, Pradhan Mantri griha nirman yojana ke naam pe 6 gaon ke har ghar se 25-25000 rupay liya aur farar ho gaya. Jab tak gaon walon ne bataya, tab tak woh Maharashtra chhod chuka tha by road. Hum raton raat nikale train se, taaki uskey aagey pahuch sakey, par train bhi late ho gayi, aur woh Bangalore ki bheed aur traffic mein humein chakma de gaya", one of them explained. "Bangalore police ki madad nahin li"? Anil asked. "Bangalore police? Jis thane ka mamla hai, usi thane ko dhoondna padhta hai. Doosra district bhi madad nahin karta. Hum Bangalore mein ek thane ko photo aur case bataa aaye hain, par pataa hai kuch nahi hoga" they said with great distress. Anil asked "Aaropi mahila thi ya purush"? "Do log the. Ek district officer bana tha aur doosri uski secretary. Tabhi to humein mahila police bhi lana pada. Ab aap hi bataiye garibon ke pasiney ki kamai ko, yeh log kaisey loot lete hain"? one of them said.
"Goli maar deni chahiye aise logon ko. Kar do encounter" Anil said. "Hah encounter,'' one of them smirked. "Yaad hai woh Hyderabad wala rape case, jismein police ne rapist ko encounter karkey maar dala tha"? he continued. "Bilkul sahi kiya tha" Anil replied. "Par kya hua ussey? Woh policekarmi abhi jail mein hai", one of them said. Reacting to the sad but surprised look of "But why" on Anil's face, the lady continued "Yeh jo human rights waale hain na, unhein aise darindo ke hi human rights dikhtey hain. Padh gaye peechey police waalon ke. Us police waale ko jail mein daal ke hi unhein chain mila. Us ladki aur uskey parivar walon ke human rights ke baarey mein kisi ne nahin socha. Hum rapists aur murderers ko kitni mushkilon ke baad pakadte hain, aur yeh human rights waley, wakil aur neta unhein chhudwa lete hain”.
“Arey netaon ne to apney gundon ko bachaney ke liye purey desh ki vyawastha bigad rakhi hai” Anil remarked. “Humse poochiye, hum woh gulaam hain jinhein mujrim pakadney bheja jaata hai, aur phir usi mujrim ki hum gulaami kartey hain” the lady said. The Sub Inspector who was quiet all this while, probably reading Anil’s mind, now spoke up. “Ab aur suniye. Kya aapko pata hai, humein is train (Rajdhani) mein travel allowed nahin hai, kyunki humari rank low hai. Bhaley hi doosra train 10 ghantey late ho, par is train mein jaana ho, to apney kharche pe jao. All trains are running late. Ab aap bataiye, hum apna kaam karein to kaise karein”? Anil was surprised to know this and asked “To yeh travel aap apne paise se kar rahen hain”? “Aur kya, ab kam se kam ghar to samay pe pahuch jayen. Itni pareshani ke baad ek parivaar hi to hai, jo sahara banta hai. Agar paise ka moh hota to ab tak bahut tarakki kar chukey hotey. Bharenge sab 3-3 hazar rupay jab audit hoga”, the Sub Inspector said.
The train was running at full speed, probably trying to help the cops reach faster. With Nagpur hardly a few hours away, the cops were feeling better, and smiles started returning back to their worn out faces. Anil was trying his best to understand the lives of the cops and the ways they manage both home and work fronts. Torn between two extremely contrasting lives, they either wear out completely or become insensitive or succumb to corruption. And amid this continuous struggle, they still try to maintain a smile and calmness on their faces. The cops had started to collect their belongings together. Seeing a set of hats (for men and women) Anil asked, “Kya yeh hats aap disguise ke liye le gaye the”? “Arey nahin nahin, itni bheed mein koi disguise ki zaroorat nahi thi. Yeh to humein luckily station aatey waqt rastey pe biktey huye dikh gaye the, to humne bachhon ke liye le liya” the lady said with a beaming smile.
Nagpur was nearing and all luggages were arranged. Ready to disembark, the cops thanked Anil for his wonderful company that brought cheer to their travel. After shaking hands, exchanging names and contact details, the cops disembarked at Nagpur station, and waved Anil goodbye as the train departed. As the train picked up speed, so did Anil’s thoughts as he reflected on the 16 hour journey that took him on a ride into the lives of the hapless cops. How they had to bear the pressure of their political bosses, leave their families behind, run pillar to post panning states, just to catch an offender and later lose him/her to systemic glitches created by the same political bosses. What wrong did the cops do, to have such a thankless and miserable life, while the offender basked in the freedom of political powers? How difficult it was for the cops to stick to their ethics and values, not fall into the clutches of corruption and politics, and get punished for not falling in line. Immersed in deep thoughts Anil did not realise when the train entered Bhopal city, until the coach attendant came to pick up his used bedroll.
Grabbing all his belongings and shoving them into his bag, Anil rushed towards the door and sneaked out between the incoming rush of passengers.
Back in their homes playing with their kids and pets, the cops had a peaceful dinner. Before going to bed they had to narrate the whole journey to their families. But towards the end of their traumatic journey, the part with Anil brought smiles on everyone’s faces. Happy ending.
A week had passed by. On Monday the local postman brought 5 letters marked with the names of the cops who had travelled back from Bangalore last week. The cops were trained to watch the contents of the letters by holding them against the light. As the contents of the envelopes showed up, the Cops eyes became wider. Each envelope contained some cash. Who had bribed them, they thought? The Sub Inspector’s envelope contained a letter too, that read, “I salute your efforts in enduring the pain to come all the way to Bangalore and back, and try to trap me. But knowing that you had to spend money out of your pocket to do so, I am sending your return fares in cash. Till we meet next …”
