The Day The State Split Asunder - 49

It was a typical winter morning, foggy, chilly, and warmth was reluctant to arrive until the afternoon. The mist hadn't lifted and dewdrops settled on the windows and the bushes.

Swamiji woke up at 06:00 and sat up straight on the bed, crossing his legs in a meditative posture, and glanced around the room, his eyes searching for Karthik. He found him standing near the window, staring outside, lost in his own world.

'Good morning, Karthik,' Swamiji interrupted him. 'What forced you to get up early?'

'Nothing, uncle. I couldn't sleep the entire night,' Karthik replied, turning towards Swamiji and rubbing his eyes. 'My blood is boiling with anger, my hands are longing to squeeze Dhyaneshwar's neck, and…' Karthik floundered, not knowing what to speak next.

'Karthik, in my case, I have had a pleasant sleep after a long time,' Swamiji said.

'Amazing! And what's the agenda for today? I hope you have a plan in your mind against our mutual enemy, Dhyaneshwar.' 

'First, remove that devil from your mind. Don't start your day with negative topics.'

'Uncle, my mind is not a computer to delete whatever kind of file you want, just by pressing a delete key.'

'Our mind may not be a computer, but we have an option to restart ourselves and there are a million ways to do it.'

'Can you tell me the easiest out of those millions?'

'Go to the bathroom and wash your face with water.'

'What! Even I know it,' Karthik's upper lip curled in disdain.

'Everyone knows it, but not everyone follows. It is the simple actions that produce the most extraordinary results.'

With a nod and smile, Karthik walked into the bathroom, ran cold water in the sink, splashed it on his face and down his neck, and for a moment stared at himself in the mirror. He felt a crushing weight getting released from his shoulders.

'Uncle, reboot was successful. I will go down and get the toothbrush and breakfast for both of us. I will get Idli for you, let me know if you need anything,' Karthik said.

'No need, Idli is my favourite,' Swamiji took a pause and stared at Karthik's face. A burst of gratitude came upon him. 'Karthik, thank you so much. You've been taking good care of me since yesterday. I am not sure whether I could repay you, you've placed an enormous debt upon me.'

'Uncle, you can pay the debt by marrying me to Sanjana,' Karthik laughed.

'I will try my best, but don't rely too much upon my suggestions. In the matters of love, it's better to trust your instincts, go with your own guts, it is the voice of your soul that tells what is right and wrong for you.'

'Uncle, I will trust your wisdom more than my instincts, because you have already seen life much ahead of me,' Karthik added with admiration and walked out of the room. 

He came back after ten minutes carrying two polythene cover bags, one containing two toothbrushes and toothpaste, the other having their breakfast. After brushing their teeth and having their breakfast, the doctor came for the checkup and declared Swamiji is perfectly fine to go home.

Karthik booked a cab for Swamiji. Swamiji collected the key from his neighbour and opened the door. 

'Karthik, what happened to you? Since the time you have met the doctor, you're not feeling good? What exactly is the matter?' Swamiji asked as he sat on the sofa.

Karthik sat on a wooden stool, facing Swamiji oppositely and said, 'Nothing uncle. I am thinking about how to tackle this Dhyaneshwar,' Karthik cleverly averted the topic.

'For now, let us leave him,' said Swamiji.

'Does it mean we just let him go? You told me yesterday that we will begin as soon as you get discharged from the hospital and now you're saying to leave him. This isn't fair!' Karthik retorted.

'Karthik, have patience. It's only a day for you. I have been waiting for fifteen years. Executing an action without a plan is a synonym for suicide. Pin it in your mind.'

'Uncle, plan in whatever way you want, but we need to complete our mission before January 10th.'

'What's special about January 10th?'

'Nothing important, just a kind of deadline. Unless ‌we don't keep any deadlines for ourselves, we can achieve nothing and things just remain where they are, nothing would get done.' 

January 10th is Sanjana's birthday, but Karthik averted it by bringing the concept of a deadline.

'Boy! You have taught me a wonderful lesson today,' said Swamiji with a smile, 'deadlines are essential. Throughout these years, I didn't take it into consideration. And today, I commit myself to the deadline. I will take this week to sharpen my axe.'

'Axe! Are you planning to strike him with an axe?' asked flummoxed Karthik. 'Police will arrest us if we do it.'

'Karthik, for God's sake, please don't amplify the statements with your intelligence. Sharpening the axe means planning with accuracy. Didn't you hear Abraham Lincoln's famous quote? 'Give me six hours to chop a tree, I will spend the first four hours sharpening my axe?''

'I see, so you were referring to planning. Why don't you explain it in plain language?'

'I apologise for not being precise,' Swamiji chuckled, 'Karthik, for now, go home and take a rest. Let's meet this Sunday.'

'Ok uncle. But before I leave I want to see the photo of Sanjana's father. If you don't mind, can you show it to me?'

'Sure, dear!' They walked into the bedroom and Swamiji opened a big iron suitcase inside which he kept many books. He then took out one photograph of him along with Raghavendra and gave it to Karthik. 

'Wow! Sanjana looks exactly like her father!'

'And that's why it became easy for me to identify her. He always used to say my daughter is a xerox copy of mine, And…' He took out a bunch of papers that contained the stories written by Raghavendra. 'These were the complete stories written by him. A total of 369. It included the daily struggles of people in Hyderabad mostly during the time period between 1980 and 1990. These were well received by the audience and I forgot,' he then fished out an envelope and gave it to Karthik, 'this is a letter written by former chief minister N.T.Rama Rao appreciating Raghavendra's stories. But unfortunately, Raghavendra didn't get to see it.'

'Wow! This is really amazing. I got an idea!'

'What idea?'

'Can you give me these stories?'

'Take it but keep it careful. Return those to me once after you finish reading.'

'I will give it soon and can you give me the mobile numbers of RadhaKrishna, Vijay and Sudheer?'

'Why?'

'Nothing. Since they are going to be my prospective partners I need to have their contacts. Who knows what help I may require from them in future?'

'Those numbers are recorded in my mind. Note it down but please don't approach them. They are very busy people and have lots of work. I will introduce them to you at the right time.'

'Don't worry. I will not contact them. I am just saving their contacts on my mobile.' 

Swamiji gave him the numbers of all three.

'Thank you so much, uncle. What about food?'

'Don't worry. My neighbours are there to look after me. Raju will come tomorrow morning.' 

'Take medicines on time and if you need anything just give me a call at any time,' Karthik said and hugged Swamiji. 

At the same time, a girl dressed in blue jeans and a white top knocked on Swamiji's door. Her face and head were wrapped with a scarf. Swamiji strained his eyes to take the picture of the girl while Karthik released him from his embrace. As the lady unwrapped the scarf, he could identify that it was none other than his friend's daughter Vineetha.

'Uncle!' She said, standing at the door.

'Come inside Vineetha! Why are you standing there?' echoed Radha.

She walked in and sat opposite to Swamiji.

'Uncle, I have to discuss something important with you,' she said as she settled.

'What happened dear?' Swamiji asked.

Vineetha then turned her gaze towards Karthik.

'His name is Karthik!' Swamiji said, sensing Vineetha's hesitation. 'He is our friend.'

'Uncle, I think most recently you might have heard about HBN-7 channel journalist Suresh's murder?'

'Yes! Radha told me. It was really unfortunate. But what exactly is the matter?'    

'Actually, Suresh and I loved each other. We wanted to get married,' tears trickled down her cheeks. 

'Control yourself dear! Can you tell me what exactly happened with him?'    

'Suresh was on a secret investigation. He discovered a big scam, and one of the biggest industrialists from our state is the kingpin of it.' 

'Vineetha, make your point clear.'

'I will tell you everything.'