HOLDING HANDS
His eyes filled with tears, and mind apprehensive, Samar
dint even touch the food which was lying before him. I felt pity for Samar but as a loyal officer held
under the arms of law, I dint have any right to look towards a convict with sympathy
in my eyes. Samar was a young guy in his
thirties but was going to be hanged in next two hours.
Samar just drank a cup of water and since I forced him, he
ate one piece of Roti out of the two that were thrown before him by the
warden. I was more curious to know his
point of view, what had led him into this world of crime? Being a junior officer, I was not allowed in
the court trials and also was forbidden to talk to him. The pandit
came inside the cell and taught Samar about the different ways of ‘dharma’ followed by which he asked Samar
for his last wish. Anxiously, I was
looking at Samar to Know about his last wish and I think Samar had seen that
anxiousness in my eyes.
“I want 45 minutes of my life, to talk to them who had
served me for six years”
Saying so he smiled and pointed at me.
At once I reported this to my senior and Mr. Karmakar
allowed me to fulfil his last wish on a condition that I shall go in with a
secret recorder and record this conversation.
I followed his instructions and went inside Samar`s
cell. Samar was getting ready for the
death penalty and he welcomed me inside saying-“sorry sir!! Cannot sit and talk to you, need to finish a
lot before going….”
I asked him “You could have asked for something better, why
did you want to talk to me in your last wish??”
“Something better !!! …like??” Samar asked while walking
towards the tumbler of water.
“Something better, like,
something for your family, money, facilities, or any desires you had,” I
said in reply
“Sir, do you know why m I getting this gift of death?” asked
Samar
“You are a terrorist and a murder convict!! You murdered four people brutally, who were
supposed to be your friends.” I answered to him.
“Most of the people in this country think like that only…..I
tried explaining everybody, but no one understood me!! Sometimes you need to pay heavy prices to
make people understand about friendships!!” said Samar.
“But at a point you yourself confessed in court of law that,
you killed your fourth friends preceded by a conflict. Then your whole logic of justification goes
wrong!!” I said in a uncompromising
voice.
“I had always said one thing in my confessions!! SOMETIMES IT APPEARS TO BE DARK, BUT YOU
MIGHT BE FACING THE SINK OF LIGHT!!” said Samar in a much louder voice than
mine.
After this he walked towards the water drum, and started
bathing.
“So, what led you here?” I asked exquisitely.
Samar looked at me and gave a big smile. He read Maha Mrityunjay Mantra and looked at
me with apprehensive eyes-
“We as Brahmins have strange beliefs, look at me!! I shall be hanged in another hour, and I am
chanting the protective charm of death…”
Saying so he started laughing. I was puzzled!! May be the trepidation of death is having a
great impact on his brains!! He stopped
laughing after sometime and wore his white colour new shirt which had come from
the authorities. After that he went to
switch on the light of the cell so, that we r able to see each other`s face
while speaking but it did not work –“ Ahh….This machinery by Indian
government…never works when needed…” grumbled Samar.
He came near me and sat down with two deep breaths and
started the conversation again- “so, now listen, last night I saw my mother in my dreams, she
was shouting at me, shouting at me for
not conveying the reality to them, for being so altruistic in nature and for
having kept these things deep inside….
So I promised her that I shall confess the truth to the most honest
person here and I chose….you.”
“What exactly happened six years ago?” I asked Samar.
Samar gave a pause and started:-
“ Haneef, Ashwin,Navin and David…..all five of us were best
friends, we did everything together, all of us were in the same college, having
fun and everything was going good, I was a photographer and preserved every
moment in my home. Ashwin was a shy guy
with lot of feelings hidden inside, Navin was a strict and conservative boy who
had anger on the tip of his tongue….both Ashwin and Navin were so opposite in
nature but shared everything with each other.
One day all five of us went to Syria
for event coverage, this event changed my life completely……” saying so Samar
paused again. He was continuously
looking at the bars….
“Whom are you searching for?” I asked
“nothing!! I was just checking the time!!” said Samar.
“Life is based on regular wars in Syria, David, me, Ashwin were covering the events
there for our documentary, we had special permissions with us, and we wanted to
get into internal camps as deep as possible.
This is where we committed a mistake.
All five of us went into different camps!! I wasn`t in a favour of this but had to agree
for the sake of journalism. Life is next
to hell there and then something unanticipated happened!!”
Samar paused again!!
“All five of us were abducted by a terrorist organisation….
We were kept in one place, tormented day and night, cold ice slabs were our beds
and soil had become a part of our food… they wanted us to join them, work for
them, and fulfil their missions.”
10 days….. we suffered that torture, finally one day , me ,
Ashwin, David and Haneef managed to escape but Navin stayed there. He had broken down before them, we saw him
holding guns, and he knew our every hideout.
People say friend`s betrayal is worse than a murder. He chased us everywhere, finally he caught
David, and ruthlessly he fired the bullets in his chest. Even after David was dead, he kept on firing
bullets on him. There was no humanity in
his eyes. I had to save, Haneef and
Ashwin. Finally we got a hideout for the
night, a deserted building. We stayed
there for a night, all of us traumatised.
I made another plan, taking advantage of the civil war; we went to the
Human Rights Activists!! Somehow Haneef
convinced them and they were ready to drop us till Lebanon, where we could
board a ship and move out. The Human Rights
Activists sent three of their escorts along with two armed men for protection, but
as soon as we reached Damascus, the terrorist group along with Navin welcomed
us. We managed to escape from there, but
all 5 people escorting us were killed.
We were cornered now; we knew that wherever we shall go we will get
trapped, above everything the terrorists had put a mark of their organisation
on our palms.”
Saying so Samar pulled up his sleeves and showed the mark of
the organisation. Then he continued
“Ashwin looked at me and made a plan, which I never wanted
to be a part of. He wanted me to kill
both of them and win the trust of the terror organisation, so that they don’t
doubt on me and believe on my plan to terrorise India. Then I can betray them and go back to
India. I did not want to do any such
thing because if it backfired, then their lives would cost nothing.”
For first time in six years, I saw tears in his eyes, his
voice was trembling and I could see what he was looking in the wall clock hung
ahead!! After a brief silence, he continued.
“My worst fear came true!!
Haneef and Ashwin started emotionally attacking me!! They were requesting death and preferred me
to kill them, I broke down, and fearfully I thought if I stab them with broken
glass then their wish will be fulfilled.
Slowly I picked up a large broken glass but before I could stab them,
Navin discovered our hideout and entered alone, he stood there, for 10 minutes
I tried to turn him in my favour, but after 10 minutes, he loaded his gun and
shot Haneef and Ashwin.
He turned towards me and said- “I want to live!! The only way of survival is to kill…kill
those against you.” Saying so he lifted
his revolver, I jumped towards him and the revolver fell. I lifted the revolver and shot Navin!!”
After saying this!! He
took a long pause!! The clock showed
5:50. He looked down….
“The only way to reach India was to reach the coast, but if
at all I had asked for help from anybody, they would had killed me also, may be
in the presumption that I am a terrorist,
but still I managed to reach the coast .
I hijacked a small streamer of coast guards and drove for three days in
the sea, and finally near the Indian sea limits, I surrendered myself.”
I was taken aback. I
dint realise the whole point of Samar`s suicidal attempt. I went ahead and asked him.
“Why dint you tell your story to the Indian government, they
would had believed you!!”
Samar just smiled and said- “a man with terror symbol on his
hand, a revolver and only one to be alive out of 5 friends….without any
evidence…who will believe?? Even you
should not believe!! I remember Navin had once said
“5 of us are 5 fingers making one HAND.”
These were the last words of Samar and our conversation, I
Came out of the cell, 6:00 am in
morning, Dr. Ranjan had come to check
Samar and certified that he is fit to die.
How ridiculous was that? For death also there has to be a fitness test
now!! I went to Mr. Karmakar. He was so anxious that he was walking from
one corner of the room to another waiting for me!! As soon as he saw me he started to ask
questions
“What did he tell, did you record it in the recorder??”
I went ahead and said- “ sir, trust me!! He is mentally sick, for 45 minutes, he was talking about his researches
in foreign countries!!”
Mr. karmakar took the recorder and started listening to the
conversation, but all he could hear is the hymns and Mantras which were being
chanted!!
“What nonsense is this, where is the recording?” wrathfully
shouted Mr. karmakar.
I just made a surprised face and said- ““ Ahh….This
machinery by Indian government…never works when needed…”
At 6:30 the news was delivered to Mr.karmakar that Samar is
hanged. I dint know what to say? Before ending the conversation with me, Samar
had also told me about the addresses of his friends, I went and met their families,
they existed, I told them the truth.
Samar had no one to convey in his family, I tried searching
for them but couldn`t trace them. The address
in records was an abandoned house. Possibility
is there that his family was aware of this story.
Now I understood Navin`s words-
‘HANDS’ was nothing but an acronym for these five friends:-
Haneef, Ashwin, Navin, David and Samar.
Best work of urs till date :P
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