Scattered Fates by Ram Garikipati (best affordable ebook reader txt) 📕

‘That is a load off my shoulder,’ Ganapathy said relieved, when the phone rang. ‘Oh, that must be Damodaran.’

He scampered to the phone. The perfunctory greeting later, just one word seemed to be escaping his lips ‘hmmm’ as the voice on the other end seemed to be doing most of the talking.

‘Ok machchan, take care, and be safe,’ he ended the conversation, placing the earphone on the handle.

‘What did Damodaran say? Anything new?’Subbaiah asked Ganapathy as he settled back on his chair.

‘The situation is bad, more South Indians have been hacked to death. Curfew has finally been declared because of the international attention. It will be lifted tomorrow morning. Damodaran will be taking an Indian Airlines flight to Chennai tomorrow, all the train are full.’

‘He is a high-ranking government official isn't he? Why should he leave? The government should make arrangements for his safety.’

‘That is what he was hoping for, but is worried about his family, as all South Indians have been abandoned. The mobs are in frenzy and it is not just the North Indian Hindus, even the Sikhs have joined them. Indira has raised the bogey of a foreign hand in agitations here.’

‘Foreign hand? DMK and Swatantara Party are not funded by any foreign countries, from what I hear it is the Congress party which has been receiving election funds from Soviet Union.’

‘That doesn't matter; the people will only listen to what they want to hear. She has put the blame on CIA and ISI, saying it is an attempt to break up the country once again. Using the plank of patriotism she has asked people to break up the agitations in South India.’

‘This is the first time that an Indian Prime Minister has accused the CIA of direct intervention in our country. I guess if it works, she will continue to use it to crush any dissent in the future.’

‘Subbaiah, can I ask you something sensitive?’

‘Go ahead, I will answer to the best of my knowledge.’

‘Are you sure that the CIA and ISI haven't approached Anna or other leaders assuring help?’

‘I don't know about CIA, but yes, a few ISI agents did make an attempt to contact Anna. He refused to entertain them.’

‘Do you think he will take the CIA's help if they offer it?’

‘What kind of help can they offer? Our political front has a strong grassroots network, and we can fight on our own. That is one reasons we are getting the support of a section of the military and police force. The Hindu and entire local media is backing us, but they have been forced to shut down.’

‘The Madras regiment is just one tiny unit in the Indian army; I don't think they can stand up to the might of the entire military. I think you will have to take America's help if you really want to fight the government and make it an international issue. What is happening in Delhi and Bombay is nothing short of a genocide, if it is not contained it will spread like a virus to other cities in North India.’

‘Bombay? The attacks have spread to Bombay too?’

‘That is what Damodaran told me. He has access to sensitive government information which most outsiders are unaware of.’

‘We have a very poor information network in Delhi and we could use Damodaran's contacts. You said he is coming tomorrow, maybe he can help us get the right information and also contact various embassies.’

#

Damodaran proved to be of great assistance to the movement. Two days after his arrival and a flurry of phone calls to foreign embassies, the tide was turning in their favor.

The exodus of South Indians from the northern part of the country was still continuing at a brisk pace, as the attacks on them intensified.They brought back horror stories that had the ability to churn the stomachs of even the most ferocious lions.

North Indians in the southern States were relatively unharmed, as Anna had issued strict warnings to his cadre that it was necessary to gain sympathy from the west. Despite this, many North Indians preferred to be safe and started returning back to their hometowns.

Just as the northern regiments of the Indian army reached the borders of Mysore, and the Indian Air Force was on standby to launch ariel attacks on the southern states, United States announced the withdrawal of troops from South Vietnam.

Getting a toehold on the Indian subcontinent seemed to be a more important agenda, now that its ties were strained with Pakistan, which in turn wanted to avail of this opportunity and liberate Kashmir.

Realizing that the situation could get out of hand soon, Subbaiah purchased a one-way ticket to Pyongyang and put Moon on the first flight out. He could now concentrate on the more important task of liberating South India from Indira's grip.

Although he no longer had a first hand account of the volatile situation, Moon kept regular tabs from Corea. It would be nearly two months after his departure that South India would finally gain independence. The United Nations could not intervene because of opposition from Soviet Union and China, so the United States decided to go it alone.

The final straw on the back was when Pakistan launched an attack over Kashmir, after a number of infiltrations to precipitate an insurgency in the region.

Facing a war on two fronts, Indira announced a ceasefire with the southern states and concentrated all efforts at pushing back Pakistan. The civil war that divided India was one of the shortest in history, but left a deep mark that would haunt the subcontinent for decades to come.

Chapter 15: THE CLOUDS PART

It was a bit late by the time Maya woke up from her slumber. She checked the clock on the table, it was already 10.30 am.

It had been a very long dinner with Sunder's father and they continued talking till late into the night after getting back home. She had retired back to her room, even as Naga and Sunder had a nightcap and discussed political developments in the country.

She opened the door to her room, and noticed that both had left for work. Naga had placed a note for her on the kitchen table. He had to leave early for a breakfast meeting, and promised to be back by lunchtime.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice and switched on the coffee maker. She decided to skip breakfast. The rich Dravidian food had forced a few extra kilos on her and she badly wanted to shed them, now that she was undressing in front of Naga.

She noticed newspapers lying in a heap on the floor near the sofa, the latest issue of The Economist next to it. In no mood to read anything, she switched on the TV and watched a buxom lady gyrating to loud music, as a fat dark man with a bushy upper lip danced along. She immediately started surfing channels until she reached CBS. It had been a long time, and even if it meant watching stale programs dished out by the state broadcaster, it somehow relaxed her.

A documentary on the irrigation system in Corea had just ended and titles were rolling.

Maya moaned and stared at the screen. Her mind wandered to Ganapathy and the scheduled meeting today. There was no time to lose, he had been stalling her, and she needed more answers about Naga's father. She was certain that he was hiding something.

Suddenly she remembered the photo that Naga had showed her. There was a third person, whose face was slightly obscured.

Who was the third person? Was it Venkatramaiah?

Maya walked up to the bookshelf and searched for the packet that Naga had shown her. She located it in no time, and walked back to the sofa. Another documentary was playing on the TV, but she hardly looked up at the screen. She was now concentrating on the packet in her hands, which she had unwrapped. The diary and the newspaper clippings were all in different languages, and she could not make sense of the contents. She looked at the photo keenly. Squinting her eyes, she tried to focus on the face of the third person.

Then it struck her.

It is abboji!

Before her trip to Dravida, her father mentioned about his trip as an exchange student, his stay in the hostel, difficulty adjusting to the food and weather, near-death situation at a public rally and the tough time he had being caught in the midst of the civil war. But he never said anything about his professors, both of whom were clearly close to him, as this photo was taken in one of their houses.

Maybe they were just acquaintances, and he forgot to mention it, or, he did so on purpose. She could find out the truth only after getting back to Corea, as he had a computer phobia and even refused to open an email account.

For quick answers, Ganapathy was the only other person who could throw more light on this photo and their relationship. She decided to take the photo along for their meeting in the afternoon.

#

As soon as Ganapathy spotted Naga walking alongside Maya, he got up from the bench and raised his arms towards him.

‘You look so much like Subbaiah. How did I miss it the first time?’ he said, giving Naga a warm embrace.

Embarrassed, Naga mumbled his greetings.

‘Let us sit over there, it will be more comfortable,’ Ganapathy said pointing towards a wooden table with benches on either side.

Ganapathy sat on one side, while Naga and Maya sat on the opposite.

‘How is your mother? Is she doing well?’

‘Yes, she is in Hyderabad. She has taken a vow to step foot in Madras only if nanagaru comes back,’ Naga lied, hoping to latch on to the topic early in the conversation.

Ganapathy refused to take the bait and started describing the taste of her delicious sambar.

Naga tried the confrontationist approach. ‘Why did you lie to me that you did not know my father?’

‘Are you willing to talk to perfect strangers about your best friend? Take that man over there walking his dog. If he comes up to you and asks you about your best friend in school, will you volunteer to give all the information pronto?’ Ganapathy retorted.

Maya was afraid that they would be asked to leave again, but decided against intervening. She was confident that Naga would be able to handle the situation.

‘No, of course not, I would be suspicious, but I would not walk away rudely. I will try to get to the bottom of his curiosity.’

‘You are a young man and may have the patience to engage in nonsensical conversation with strangers about your personal life. I am not.’

‘I am sorry for misunderstanding you. I should have introduced myself as his son.’

‘Young man, you may be an experienced reporter, but remember that simple courtesies will get you a long way. If you want information, don't talk to people in an accusatory tone.’

‘I apologize once again. It was just that I have been really stressed about nanagaru's fate. I don't believe that he defected to Hindustan, and since you worked with him, I am sure you know the real story.’

‘Not just worked with him, we were best friends and neighbors for ten years. Although he was my boss, he treated me like a brother.’

‘You mean neighbors in the university campus? My mother said that we lived in the university till the day my father disappeared.’

‘Yes, and we also planned to remain neighbors after retirement. We had actually checked out houses in Goa, just near the border with Hindustan, it was the perfect retirement place.’

‘Goa? But isn't it close to the DMZ?’

‘What is Deemzee?’ Maya asked.

‘It is the demilitarized zone, a strip of land running across our border with Hindustan. It serves as a buffer zone between the two countries, 1,500 kilometres long and approximately 5 km