An Encounter - Chapter 3

"Chal saab. Thodi hawa khate hai," [Come saab, let's go out for some fresh air] she held my hand and walked out.

Outside the bar, I shrugged my hand off hers. I had suddenly started having doubts. Was all of this planned? Were they her men? What if she was pretending to be something she wasn't? What if I was placing my trust in the wrong person like I had done once before? What if...She chuckled at my reaction and I scowled."Kya saab... Dhandewali ka hath pakadke sharam aati hai. Koi baat nahi. Mai hath nai pakdegi. Tum bas chalo" [Saab, are you embarrassed to hold a prostitute's hand? No issue. I won't hold your hand. You just come along.] "Kahan le jaa rahi ho mujhe? Kon ho tum? Kya chaiye tumhe? Plan kya hai tumhara?" [Where are you taking me? Who are you? What do you want? What's your plan?] I asked her. She started laughing out loud. I was all confused and scared at the same time. She hailed a cab and sat in, gesturing me to follow her. I raised my eyebrows at her and she smiled.

"Saab.. Bharosa rakho. Kidnap nai karungi. Merese kaiko darte ho" [Saab, have faith. I'm not a kidnapper. Why're you scared of me?]

I silently sat in the cab hoping that I wasn't believing the wrong person and she asked the driver to go towards Marine Drive. We stopped at a secluded area. She opened the door and got out while i paid the driver for his services.

We were sitting on the parapet, facing the sea, both quite and enjoying the silence. I closed my eyes and remembered the happy moments I had spent with her ever since i knew her. She had been my world, my life, my everything. I could go to any lengths to see her happy. I could do anything to fulfil each demand of hers. I wish I hadn't been late that day. That one day I let my guard down and i lost her, forever! I realised i was crying when i could feel a trail of cold and wet on my cheeks as the breeze hit my face."Pata hai saab, mereko na padne ka bohot shoak tha. School me hamesha top kia hai maine. Papa import-export office me clerk the. Zyada nai tha pagar unka lekin unhone kabhi kaam karvane ke liye rishwat nai liya. Hamesha imandar rahe. Meri padhai ke liye unhone loan liya tha kisise. Wapas nahi de paye toh usne maar dala papa ko. Maa ko bhi.Papa chahte the ki mai pad likh kar desh ki sewa karu. IPS join karu. Police ki wardi me dekhna chahte the mujhe.[You know saab, i loved studying. I was always the topper in school.

My dad worked as a clerk at the import export department. He was a honest man. Never accepted bribes. He'd borrowed some money for my education but couldn't repay it and the lender killed him. They killed maa also.Dad always wanted me to study hard and do something for the nation. He wanted me to join the IPS. He wanted to see me in the police uniform.]I turned around to ask her if this was another of her fake stories to earn a few extra bucks. If it was, her stories were getting beyond annoying. I wanted to giver her a piece of my mind but what i saw left me shocked. There she was, sitting with her knees huddled up to her chest. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was starting at a distance. She turned back in a bit, maybe because she saw me staring at her.

"Phir ye sab.. Mera matlab.. Dhanda.." [Then all this.. I mean.. Prosti..]"Chodo na Saab.. Rehne do." [Leave it na Saab. Let it be.]Not wanting to prod her further, i just nodded my head. We heard a cycle bell and she quickly wiped her tears."Chai piyega saab? Chotte aya hoga." [Do you want yea saab? Chotte must be coming] She looked at me and smiled. My mind wandered to how good she was at masking her emotions. She was acting like she doesn't care, but deep inside, he knew she was hurting each second.A boy of around 17 years of age approached us on his cycle. A tea kettle was tied to his cycle carrier."Didi, tu idhar?" [sister, you? Here?]"Chotte, kaisa hai? Padhai karta hai na?" [Chotte, how're you? You're studying well na?]"Haan didi. Iss baar awwal aya college ke exam me." [Yes didi. I stood first in this semester.] he beamed. "Mereko garv hai tujpe chotte. Khoob tarakki karna. Acche se padhna aur desh ki sewa karna" [Im proud of you chotte. Study well, succeed and serve the nation.]The kid nodded his head and I smiled at the exchange."Chal ab. Rula mat. Do chai de. Aur der ho gayi hai. Aai pareshan hogi. Ghar jaa." [Okay now. Don't get me emotional. Gimme two cups of tea and go home. Your mother must be worried.]He nodded and handed two cups of tea and i paid for them. I saw him look at her with expectation and then at me with doubt. I turned around and walked a little further, realising that maybe he wanted to tell her something but didn't want to do that in my presence. 

"Saab, mere sath chal. Aur mai jo bolegi na, waiseich karna." [Saab, come with me. And do as i say]I was about to ask her something but she quickly removed the bracelet she was wearing and held it out to me. "Isko pehne rakhna saab. Utarna mat." [Wear this saab. And don't remove it.]I did as i was told and we were soon in a cab. "Kamathipura, jaldi" she said to the driver.

I looked at her shocked. Why was she taking me there? What was I supposed to do in a red light area? A million things revolved in my head and i felt dizzy. She held my head and looked into my eyes. There was something in the way she looked at me that immediately made me feel better. She smiled at me and I returned the gesture. Soon, we reached the destination. I got off the cab and looked at the dirty streets ahead of me. "14th Lane, Kamathipura" a board in front me me read. I looked around to see litter everywhere. The rains had messed the place even more. There were puddles everywhere and it was stinking. 

I could see old, dingy chawl like structures, each of them having two to three floors on each side of the street. The barricades looked like they were old and shaky. The buildings looked damaged. Most of them had no paints and were stained with 'paan' all around. I saw women standing on most of the balconies, skimpily dressed, probably looking for customers. There were men roaming around on the streets. I saw some of them shake hands and exchange money. They were probably pimps, dealing. 



This place looked so very different from the rest of the city. While every other part of Mumbai was deserted, this place was full of activity. It felt like a normal day at the railway station where people thronged to get into the locals and go to work. I saw a few women standing on the street too, showing off their 'assets'After i saw all around, i looked towards her. She had a smile on her face as though she was trying to read my expression. 

"Mujhe yahan kyu laya?" [Why did you get me here?] I asked her."Bas teri hifazat ke liye. Akela chod ke aati toh Shakya ke log maar dalte tereko. Har koi pehchanta hai tereko. Tu star jo hai. Chal ab." [For your own safety. Had i left you alone, Shakya's men would've killed you. Everyone recognises you because you're a star. Let's go now.]She led me to a quiet street perpendicular to the main street and i followed her quietly. In a normal circumstance, I would've been scared at such a place. This was not something we saw regularly. It was not the kind of place respectable people of the society visited. But somehow, i wasn't scared. I didn't know what was happening to me.It was pitch black as I stumbled through the labyrinth of the dark corridors of a large brothel house. Eventually, we came to a dimly lit door at the end of the corridor. She huddled close to me and whispered in my ears

"Saab, ye yaad rakhna, jo bhi ho, mere pe bharosa rakhna. Mai tumko kuch nai honeko degi. Bas itna yaad rakhna ki agar kuch hua, tumko ye bracevlet sambhalna hai. Isko ACP Vikram Talwalkar tak pochana. Baki woh log sambhal lenge." [Saab, remember, whatever happens, just trust me and do as i say. I won't let anything happen to you. And if something goes wrong, just take care of the bracelet and hand it over to ACP Vikram Talwalkar. He'll take care of the rest.]

At that moment, I realized, things were not very simple. I had somehow landed myself in a mess and things were not as straightforward as it sounded. Something big was happening and I wanted to ask her what was going on. I needed explanations and i wanted them now. I turned to put forth my doubts but she gestured at me to keep shut. Like a prison guard, an ageing madam came to the front of the brothel and unlocked the large padlock with her set of keys.