When The Going Gets “Rough”

By Mandar Chitre

We all know that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. However what would happen when the going gets “ROUGH.” Rough is much worse than tough because it has involvement of criminals & terrorism. This is not just a work of fiction, but a guide book of survival in the world full of rough situations, without us turning into rough individuals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Jan 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9789388573436

Mandar Chitre

The Author, Mandar Chitre is a creative person & a business professional with over two decades of corporate experience. He is an engineer by profession with addition of business management, marketing, law & indirect tax diplomas. Mandar also spends his time with students as a visiting faculty in MBA colleges.

Book preview

Birth

Silence is not a usual thing for a typical Mumbai night. They say that as a city Mumbai never sleeps. People work day & night. They also don’t think too much and are happy with the problems that keep them occupied. But this night was different and unusual. There was not a soul on the street and the city bore a pregnant silence, a nervous silence of expectation. People had gathered together in houses and were praying to their own gods irrespective of religion. There was tension in the air. The city was awake, wide awake, but absolutely silent. The situation was somewhat similar across the country. In the villages, some folks had gathered at the temples to perform prayers. The entire country was actually tense.

It was the evening of 25th June 1983. For the first time ever, India was playing in the cricket World Cup final. After batting first, the performance of the Indian team was not very good. The favourite opener, Sunil Gavaskar, was able to score only one run. The West Indies bowling was super powerful. Andy Roberts, Malcom Marshal, & Larry Gomes did not allow any Indian batsman to perform well. India had been bowled out for 183.

The game now totally rested on the Indian bowlers & fielders. Nobody gave them a chance. But then, Balwinder Singh Sandhu had other ideas. He was continuously bowling outswingers and Gordon Greenidge was on strike. Expecting another outswinger, the batsman lifted his bat in the air to allow the ball to go. But the ball had other ideas, it darted in and took the off stump. The whole country erupted in joy. Out came one Mr. Vivian Richards, a great cricketer, a fine batsman.

His shots were well timed & not a single bowler had the capacity or the capability to outsmart him. His great batting skills & the current situation had made Indians bite their nails.

He settled down, quickly crossed 30 and was treating the bowling with contempt. Those who had placed the bet on West Indies were smiling because they were sure about Richards. Mumbai city was glued to the television sets which were few but enough to gather people. They had almost lost hope as Richards had virtually paralysed them.

Then came the main moment of the match. Madan Lal the medium pace bowler bowled an innocuous ball. Vivian Richards, who once called him the fastest off spinner he ever faced, decided to launch it into orbit. However, Richards’ timing had gone slightly wrong. It was certainly not going to go out of the ground for a six. The ball was in the air, but looked safe beyond the reach of any player. He was sure to score two runs. Suddenly from nowhere, the cameras focussed on Kapil Dev, the Indian captain who was running backwards at a great pace catch the bowl. Though it looked impossible, Kapil was not going to let go of the chance. He put in his best efforts and created history. Yes, he was able to catch the ball. The impossible had happened. At this point, there was a loud roar of joy which came from the entire country. Indian citizens were leaping in joy. This was a major wicket and a game changing event. The long silence was broken with roars of cheers. Some enthusiastic & optimistic Mumbaikars already started laying out fire crackers. Finally India won the match & became the world champions.

History was happy to put India’s name on the list of top teams of the world. It was a happy moment and the city of Mumbai was out on the streets. The fire crackers were bursting in all areas. The highest number of firecrackers ever bursted on a day other than on Diwali was on this day. . Everybody was happy, everybody was partying. The streets were full of walkers, bikers & a few motormen who were driving & shouting slogans for India.

However during this night of celebration, two people had a sombre mood and were not celebrating. They were standing on the street outside a hospital. They didn’t even have a smile on their faces and were really sad. The entire celebration & the magnitude of people in joy were not able to change their mood. Both had tears ready to pour out. They looked at each other and started wondering as to why the other was sad. In a way they could empathize with each other, as they were standing on the street outside a hospital, it was obvious that it was a medical emergency.

Hi, I am Prakash Jain the younger man of the two went and shook hands with other. The pain is lesser if you can share your grief with somebody. Prakash was in his thirties. He was a stout, short and balding. He was an electronic goods trader who lived in Mumbai with his wife. The rest of his family stayed at Rajasthan. He had migrated to Mumbai to start his own business. He was not highly educated but was able to run a successful business in the rapidly growing market of Mumbai. It was the era of calculators and the supply was relatively lesser than the demand. Prakash had taken advantage of this situation to earn good profits. He had done well & had managed to buy his own home in a busy suburb of Mumbai. It was a matter of pride for him to own a house in Mumbai.

Prakash shook hands with the other sad man who did not respond. He looked into his eye and waited patiently for a reply which did not come.

On this night, Prakash Jain was a worried man. His wife, Priti was pregnant and expected to deliver any moment. Her blood pressure had shot up and to add more complexity to the problem, her blood group was O-ve, a rare group. Throughout her pregnancy she was suffering from various diseases. Her doctor was not very happy because she had not been following his instructions & was upset. Over all it was a challenging nine months for Prakash and Priti.

Prakash still remembered the day when Priti walked out of the bathroom and said I am pregnant. Prakash was delighted to hear this news. He was a happy man and it was a unique feeling. He was wishing for a child for a long time and four years into the marriage, the dream had now come true.

During the first three months of Priti’s pregnancy period, Prakash could not concentrate on his work. They were busy facing Priti’s multiple illness & multiple medical tests. Priti also was on unpaid leave. The doctor had advised that she should not work. Therefore Priti decided to quit her job. The drop in income was only the beginning of their problems.

Priti’s date of delivery had arrived. She was hospitalised because her doctor was not willing to take the risk. Her blood pressure was very high. That night she had mild pain & the nurse had confirmed that the baby had passed stools in her womb. There was a need to operate immediately. If this was any other day, it would not have been an emergency. However that night, the doctors were not available. Even the resident junior medical officers had sneaked out. Way back in 1983, mobile phones did not exist. So Prakash’s first task was to get hold of a doctor. But the bigger problem was to get a donor for O-ve blood. The doctor had clearly indicated that he would need at least two donors for the operation. It was risky to operate Priti with high blood pressure and availability of blood was mandatory.

Prakash was prepared with the list of donors, but on that night not a single donor was available at home. All had either gone to a friend’s place or were in a local bar enjoying the match. This was not a planned operation and therefore Prakash could not get a single donor even after making many phone calls. The nurse kept calling the doctor’s residence but he was not receiving calls. A ward boy was asked to go to his house & look for him. But with the match going on TV, the ward boy would probably go home & watch TV. Prakash could not bear to watch the worried look on Priti’s face. Her mother was sitting beside her bed reading the Bhagwat Geeta. Prakash was almost blank with tension.

Priti was also getting tense because she knew that if the doctors did not turn up on time, her child would not live to see the light of the day. This was increasing her blood pressure. The only nurse available had to use some sedative to get her to relax.

Let her sleep till the doctor arrives advised the nurse I cannot take the risk due to her high blood pressure. In the next two hours her pain will begin, till then the doctors would be available.

Are you sure asked Prakash.

The nurse did not say anything. Both Priti & Prakash had been very nice to her. She knew the danger which they were facing if the doctors did not arrive on the scene on time. She was also aware that both the mother and the child would not survive without the doctor.

Let us leave her alone. She will sleep. I will try to get a doctor by calling all of them she said as she walked out of the room.

There was nothing he could now do. He left Priti and went to the nurse. She was continuously trying all doctors on the phone. Almost in tears, Prakash walked out of the hospital & was standing on the street.

The old man was still blank. Prakash once again introduced himself and waited for his reaction. He did not react. Prakash decided to walk away.

Alam Ali Sheikh said the man who was in his fifties. He wore a Muslim cap & white pathani suit. Sporting a long flowing beard, he looked like a Muslim maulvi. He had a sad look on his face. His eyes were moist.

Prakash invited Sheikh to take a seat with him on an empty metal bench on the road. They still wore a tense and worried look.

I believe that grief can be reduced if it is shared started Prakash. My wife is waiting to deliver a baby. It is an emergency and there are no doctors available. She would also need O -ve blood. I don’t have any donors. If they do not operate my wife in the next two hours, she or the baby or both, may die. If during the operation, they require blood; my wife would probably die because I do not have any donor. By sunrise, I will come to know the exact number of members in my family.

Prakash burst into tears as he completed the sentence. He cried for what seemed like a long time. Then took out his soiled handkerchief and tried to wipe the tears from his face. Once again there was a long silence. Sheikh was sitting still and had not uttered a word. He did not react to Prakash’s outburst. He was absolutely blank and silent. They were once again disturbed by a long chain of bikers who kept blowing the horns and shouted slogans for India.

Do you believe in God ? Prakash was finding it difficult to keep quiet. Sheikh was still not reacting. Prakash kept his hand on his shoulder. Sheikh looked back at him.

No Mr. Prakash, I no longer believe in anything said Sheikh. His hair had started to grey and his eyes were red. His husky voice signified an intention of hatred and vengeance He was looking at Prakash straight in the eye.

I can understand sir, something bad must have happened with you replied Prakash.

No Mr. Prakash, you cannot understand what happened with me. You cannot even imagine what happened in my life. The pain in my heart cannot be compared. You just cannot understand said Sheikh.

Sheikh turned his face away from Prakash. Even though Prakash had managed to make him talk, the Sheikh clearly wasn’t in the mood for a conversation.

What’s the matter Mr. Sheikh ? asked Prakash Don’t worry, I may be able to help you.

No Mr. Prakash said Sheikh from now on, I will help myself. I have crossed all levels.

A group of celebrating men approached them. They all shook hands with Prakash and Sheikh. Sheikh was in no mood to shake hands, but seeing that the guys were drunk, controlled his simmering rage. They kept thanking each other for India’s victory. The group was full of laughter. Probably they had won their bets on India and had made good amount of money.

See, God has ensured that there is happiness in the world said Prakash. He now had a smile on his face. He looked up in the sky, folded his hands and chanted a few shlokas.

What did you ask your God, Mr. Prakash said Sheikh he must be busy celebrating India’s victory.

Mr. Sheikh, you do not ask for anything to God said Prakash you just worship him. Whatever happens is his wish and if he wants us to suffer, we have to accept this suffering as his command.

This statement released the simmering anger within Sheikh. He got up from the bench, picked up a big stone & threw it towards to road to hit the traffic signal. The stone missed the light & fell on the other end of the footpath. Luckily nobody was hurt. Prakash got up & he held Sheikh with his hands. He pulled him back. Both of them were back on the bench. They were lucky because nobody saw this act of petty riot. Some police constables were also standing nearby. Getting arrested at this moment would only add more trouble to both of them. In such situations, police have to react instantaneously to ensure full control.

After a few more minutes of silence, Prakash decided that there was no point in sitting with a guy who does not talk and is violent. He got up and took a step towards the road.

Sit down Mr. Prakash said Sheikh.

It was more of a command than request. Prakash had finally managed to open him up. He then started speaking and he spoke a lot. His story was really disturbing.

Sheikh hailed from a town called Malur, in Karnataka district.. This place is about one and half hour away from Bangalore & near the border of Tamil Nadu. Just like any other town in India, Malur was extremely peaceful. The economy of Malur is primarily dependent on business and it is famous for clay tile-and-brick industry and some other small-scale industries. It is also famous for large number of Eucalyptus plantations. The residents are simple folks who lived in peace. The town has a diverse population of Hindus, Muslims, Harijans, Christians etc. Politics was strong & active in Malur.

It all started with three petty criminals doing a hideous crime of raping a woman. This was not a common event for the town. As per the regular procedure, the woman or her family should have raised a complaint at the local police station. Then the police would then take action to punish the criminals. But what happened in Malur was totally different. Giving importance to religion is not bad at all, but bringing religion into non-religious matters is wrong. The moment you add religion to any crime it has the potential to take a communal turn. Unfortunately A simple miscommunication can lead to disastrous side effects.

Unfortunately that is what exactly happened in Malur. The news that started spreading was that three Muslim youth had raped a Harijan woman, thus giving it a communal flavour. The ex-political member took this up as a trump card to do mud-slinging against his rival, who was the acting member. This led to riots between Hindus & Muslims. Both communities got upset with the attacks and the situation spiralled out of hand Property was damaged, people were injured, and some lives also were lost.

Sheikh lived slightly outside the centre of the town. He owned a large brick kiln. He had three sons. The eldest son was married and had a son, Ramid, who was 7 year old. Sheikh’s wife was a very kind lady who was completely dedicated to their home. The men worked very hard in the kiln and supplied bricks to traders in Bangalore and Chennai. They were a happy peace loving family. Sheikh read about the violence in the newspapers but did not participate in the same. He was against killing others in the name of religion.

In the next week, when the riots were slightly under control, one more incident took place. A Hindu girl was molested by a Muslim youth. The local Hindu political party took full advantage of this incidence to promote their agenda. They instigated the Hindu youths to take revenge on behalf of their sisters. The embers of the riots which were still hot caught flame again. Soon after, trouble erupted leading to large-scale damage to Muslim property. The deaths of Muslims had caused a rein of hate.

Sheikh