Shriramnagar Episode 2

#Nameofstory: #Shriramnagar

#Shriramnagarepisode2

#Episode2

#Author: #RhituparnaChakraborty

#Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction with no relation to any person/organism living or dead. Every episode, every character is a work of imagination. Any resemblance to any person, organism, place or character is purely coincidental. There is no intention to hurt or rebuke anyone through this work. This story/episode cannot be copied, published or reproduced without the permission of the author RhituparnaChakraborty.

Mushtaque looked for transport options to reach the place where he was supposed to stay. A 6 seater passenger auto rickshaw came along. It was scorching hot. The driver of the auto rickshaw took out some tobacco from his packet and started rubbing them in the palm of his hands. There was a guy who stood there calling for passengers and collecting fares for tickets. The guy was rough. His tone of talking was boisterous. Mushtaque quietly went to him and said, ‘One ticket to Janakpath’. The conductor looked at Mushtaque from head to toe, smirked and said, ‘That will be 50 rupees.’ Mushtaque had checked the location well. According to distance, he knew that the charges could not be more than 20 rupees. Without saying anything, Mushtaque composedly paid the amount and boarded the rickshaw. Some other passengers arrived. Mushtaque saw them paying 10 rupees. That’s probably the standard rate here. Mushtaque neither had the time nor inclination in getting into petty arguments with anyone. He had come here for a purpose. The driver started the rickshaw. A young school girl, around 14 year old, came and boarded the vehicle. A man in his early 50s sat beside her. The girl tried to squeeze herself in the seat, so that her body did not touch that man. However, that man constantly pushed himself so much so that his body touched the girl. Mushtaque observed what was happening. He saw how uncomfortable the girl felt. He patted the driver and said in his baritone voice, ‘Please stop the vehicle for two minutes.’ The conductor said rudely, ‘No, this rickshaw does not stop in between.’ Mushtaque tried to keep his cool and said, ‘I need to pee. Hence I am asking.’ The conductor said insolently, ‘Okay okay.’ He then yelled at the driver and said, ‘Stop the rickshaw.’ Mushtaque got off the rickshaw. He then looked at the girl and said, ‘Sit in my seat. I will sit in your seat.’ The girl smiled happily. The man sitting beside the girl looked at Mushtaque. Mushtaque looked at the man with cold eyes. The look itself was so scary that the man did not utter anything.

The rickshaw reached Janakpath. Mushtaque disembarked from the rickshaw. The conductor said rudely, ‘You will have to pay extra 10 rupees because you made us stop the vehicle.’ Mushtaque said subtly, ‘I won’t pay.’ The conductor yelled, ‘You are new in this village. You don’t know the rules. You have to pay. Who the hell are you?’ Mushtaque looked at the conductor through his glasses and said , ‘Mohan Awasthi. I am a teacher.’ The conductor looked at Mushtaque’s oiled hair, thick framed glasses and sneered at Mushtaque and said, ‘Oho school teacher. You have come to teach ABCD? Hahahahha. Now pay me 10 rupees more or else..?’ Mushtaque looked at the conductor and said, ‘Or else what?’. The conductor raised his right hand to hit Mushtaque. Mushtaque promptly held the conductor’s wrist, twisted it till he heard a cracking sound in the wrist. The conductor screamed in pain. The fear and shock in his eyes were evident. The driver shivered. Mushtaque looked at the terrified eyes of the conductor and said, ‘This is the first lesson of ABCD. I will meet you often to teach more.’ Saying that Mushtaque looked at the man who was troubling the young girl and said, ‘Women are meant to be respected. I hope you understand.’ The man quivered. The 14 year old girl gave a bright smile to Mushtaque and said, ‘Thank you Sir.’ Mushtaque smiled back at her and said, ‘Nice to meet you little girl.’

Mushtaque was assigned a two bedroom house in Janakpath. The house was an average accommodation with basic amenities. The school where he was supposed to work with, was adjacent to the house. At some distance from his home was Jagat Nivaas. The Haveli of Malhaar was couple of kilometres away from Jagat Nivaas. Mushtaque had all the details with him. Abhay and Sofia had already reached the police station of Shriramnagar.

Mushtaque kept his stuff at the house he was assigned and then went to the school. The school had a huge field. Some children were playing football during recess. Mushtaque went to meet the Principal. On seeing Mushtaque, the principal greeted him and said, ‘Mr. Mohan Awasthi, welcome.’ The principal checked all the papers of Mushtaque and said, ‘You can start working from tomorrow. You must be tired.’ Mushtaque said, ‘No Sir. I would like to start from today.’ The Principal then whispered, ‘Sir, I have been informed why you are here. However please ensure that no one knows that I know that you are a cop and not a teacher. I will not be able to protect myself and my family if any one knows about it.’ Mushtaque smiled at the principal, Mr. Gajraj Chauhan and said, ‘ I am here to help people. Trust me , you are safe and so is your family.’ The principal nodded and said, ‘Thank You.’ Mushtaque then said, ‘Tell me something about Sitara.’ The principal said, ‘Sitara was in grade 8th. Her father had fixed her marriage. All of a sudden one fine day she disappeared. They say she was walking in front of Haveli of Malhaar and after that she is nowhere to be found. As everyone says Rani Kalavati’s ghost must have gulped her. Whosoever goes there never comes back.’ Mushtaque did not say anything. He had to go to the Haveli to know more about it. But before that he had to know more about Sitara. He told the Principal, ‘I need to meet Sitara’s teachers.’ The principal took him to the staff room. He then introduced Mushtaque to Sitara’s class teacher and said, ‘This is Mr. Mohan Awasthi. He will be teaching mathematics to our students.’ Sitara’s class teacher joined her hands and said, ‘Nice meeting you. My name is Priyanjali Mohan.’ Priyanjali was Jagat Mohan’s younger daughter. She was 24 years old. With a height of 5 feet 3 inches, lean structure, oval face, sharp pointed nose, long strands of silky hair which she neatly tied into a plait, Priyanjali looked younger for her age. She was fair. Because of the scorching heat, her cheeks had turned pink. Her kohl clad eyes seemed to tell a story. A story of pain. Mushtaque knew there was something hidden in those eyes. However, at this point, he needed information about Sitara. He knew he could not ask anything directly. He would have to play the colleague card to pull out information.

Priyamvada sat in the locked room crying. She wanted Nihir to be safe. Satyawati, her mom, came with a plate of food. Priyamvada pleaded, ‘Maa, please tell dad not to hurt Nihir. He has done nothing.’ Satyawati hugged her daughter and said, ‘We are just puppets darling. We can’t do anything.’ Priyamvada sobbed and said, ‘How much these men hurt us. Yesterday Jagdish Chachu hurt Nirmala chachi. Why?’ Satyawati said, ‘This will continue all our life.’

Jagdish Mohan, brother of Jagat Mohan was an alcohol addict. Once he is drunk, he would hit his wife black and blue. Usually he would beat Nirmala enough to ensure that she is at least able to wake up and do all the household chores. But today, Nirmala was unable to get up.

Night seeped in. The dogs in the street got busy barking. Jagdish Mohan was driving home. Suddenly his car broke down. Drunk to the core he did not know where his car broke down. A mystic voice whispered ‘Come with me.’ Jagdish followed the voice. He never reached home…………..

To be continued…….