O My Babydoll

Dr. Jahangir Khan was not a doctor, but he had been in medical practice for around ten years before he was arrested on charges of forgery. This apart, his wrong medication had taken the life of an IPS officer's daughter. After four years in jail, when he was released on bail, he found himself on the streets. His paternal uncle had fled from India with all his valuables and the cash he acquired selling Khan's three houses in the city. "Ill got, ill spent, "was the general verdict.

However, he was lucky enough to get back his lost fortune. Very soon people found him driving a BMW. His behavior was turning rude and insolent. He was even treating people more contemptuously than ever previously. Although nearing forty, his face exuded an aura and people salaamed him wherever he went. Now he was the owner of a huge transport company having more than a hundred trucks. KHAN TRANSPORT COMPANY became renowned in a mere span of four years only. Later the company had another tag at its beginning. The company name read BABYDOLL TRANSPORT COMPANY. The chief accountant of the company a respected old Muslim gentleman took offense at the boss's mollycoddling of his snooty wife in the presence of the employees. His Irish wife Helena was a beauty par excellence. Jahangir's employees didn't like Helena's interference in their work. They also strongly disliked hearing the word "babydoll" so many times a day. Jahangir's obsession with his lovely wife was exasperating to his employees.  

The company manager Amaresh Patnaik was a trusted servant of his master. He had attracted Jahangir for his flair for singing all-time Bollywood hits and cooking the tastiest possible non-veg dishes. He was not even a matriculate. This proved to be his greatest lacuna for his critical running times.  

When Jahangir was treating everybody like trash, how could Amaresh fall out of the category of his employees subject to his tantrums? He cursed his fate day and night. Now he had a beautiful Honda City and he inspired respect in people everywhere. Nobody knew why the dashing manager of the company stoically bore the lacerating indignities heaped upon him by their difficult cross-grained boss. He had no way out of the soup. If he left the company, nobody would give him any placement since he was almost uneducated, and this secret taking air would degrade his current stature and those inimical to him would get feedback to sneer at him.

Jahangir Khan and Helena loved partying and both loved to be sozzled and drugged. Most outsiders suspected Jahangir Khan of drug trafficking. Even the authorities had raided his house twice but they had not got the slightest iota of evidence confirming his complicity in the alleged crime. Once a friendly police officer had remarked, "What a genius you are Jahangir Bhai!If God laid a trap to catch you, you would undoubtedly escape capture. . . . "Jahangir had given him a proud but meaningful smile. "

Amaresh was very much infuriated the day he was asked not to ask for his pending remuneration. Jahangir had said to him, "Keep chanting 'Money. . . money. . . money. . ' every passing second. I have given you a house and you get free food from the office canteen. You know we are passing through hard and very difficult times. Yet you have been asking for money?" 

Whenever the question of salary was mooted by anyone, Jahangir would swear at them angrily. Most of the employees wondered if their boss had no money, how he would waste money recklessly on partying and drunken nights. Some people would opine the rich didn't at all prefer to part with their money. . And this was ninety-nine percent true in the case of their boss.  

Henceforth, Amaresh and Jahangir Khan would regularly have hot-headed outrageous exchanges. Ultimately, the unfortunate manager declared he would quit the company. Contrary to the expectation of the company staff, Jahangir Khan was nonchalant. After a string of skirmishes and arguments, Amaresh gave up his managerial job and left. But before going he had said to Jahangir, "Jahangir Khan, I will teach you a very memorable lesson. . !"

"You rascal. . . . !You dog. . !Traitor. . !I have given you everything. . !It is rightly said that one should not plant the tree that is human. . !Never come here again. . . . . !" Jahangir ordered his two or three trusted men not to allow ungrateful Amaresh take a single article from his house.

Amaresh left loaded with stabbing memories and bitterest wounds. Everybody had realised how monstrously the poor fellow had been wronged. The chief accountant Yusuf Ali had remarked: "Allah will punish Jahangir. " The accountant too had to take voluntary retirement on account of Jahangir's growing misdemeanours.  

As predicted by Yusuf Ali, Allah sent his reward to Jahangir Khan on the next new year's eve. A parcel arrived by airmail from London. Jahangir was perplexed to see his babydoll Helena and Amaresh Patnaik's amorous lip locked photos in it. The babydoll had applied for her divorce from Khan. He staggered a while and said to himself:"What rubbish. . !I wasted so much on her. . !

My Allah. . . !Is this Your sense of justice. . ?" He decided to keep the fatal news from all.

The next morning some of his drivers came to him and reported that they had also received some such shameful photos. .