Chapter 19

Chapter 19

May 19

A helicopter arrived to receive Kalu Yadav and Master; they were to join the other leaders in Almora.
Master took off his shoes to relax.
In the noise of rotors Kaka shouted, “Mater your feet stink we all will faint, put your shoes back or we will all crash.”
Master put back his shoes.
Kalu Yadav shouted again, “When did you wash your clothes last time.”
“I have no time. You give me no time,” Master shouted back. “I have to write hundreds poems for the speeches. Then I have to read poems to you till midnight. When do I get time?”
Kalu Yadav wanted to beat his head with his hands. “I will myself wash your clothes in Almora.”
Master shouted, “I am slowing down on my poems.”
“Which medicine worked?”
Master said, “Your friend Rishi told me that the tip of pencil could hide the beauty of a majestic mountain. I was never watching beauty but inventing the heap of words to blacken my notebooks.”
“Jai-Ganga-Mai.” Kalu Yadav had tears of joy.

2

Roger, Vinita, Jennifer and his mother were to go to first Hungary and then to New York. Sonny, his mother and Hermit were join them to Dehradoon to see them off. CEO and Mahadev were to board on Roger’s plant till Delhi, there another chartered plane was arranged to take them to Mumbai. Rishi was to split with them at Dehradoon airport, in few days, he was to go to Vancouver, Canada on a new assignment; his passport was at his home in Bangalore.

They were on the helipad and two helicopters appeared in the sky. Hira Singh and Joshi were there with their families, to see them off; they had tears in their eyes.

One hour later they landed at Dehradoon airport. Roger’s jet was already there.
A pack of monkeys was jumping over and around the aircraft and Eddie and Freddie were feeding stale bread to them.
Rishi went to Eddie and whispered in his ear, “Do you know that a monkey went inside.”
Eddie screamed to Freddie in torn up voice, “Freddie a monkey went inside.”
Freddie yelled to him, “You fool, why left the entrance unattended. You go in and get it out.”
Eddie backed away from the aircraft and said, “I get paid to fly the plane, not for the monkey job.”
Rishi turned his face to hide his laugher. Vinita was also laughing.
Roger was unaware of this, he looked at his watch and yelled, “Eddie, Freddie what are you waiting for. We are getting late.”
Eddie and Freddie backed further away from the plane.
Roger was now angry.
He yelled, “What are you scared of, why are you moving away?”
“Boss a monkey went inside the plane,” Freddie screamed at full volume.
Now everybody was laughing.
“Holy cow, how did it happen? Get it out,” Roger yelled.
Both Eddie and Freddie shook their heads and backed even farther from the plane.
Roger was to call to security personals then Vinita whispered into his ears, “It is Rishi’s drama.”
He started laughing too.
“Hey Eddie and Freddie,” Rishi took off his shoe and yelled, “Let’s get the monkey out or the airplane, let’s hit it with our shoes.”
Eddie and Freddie took off their shoes and walked behind Rishi. They were alert and cautious. Each was shaking the shoe, and waving the other hand.
Rishi shouted, “Hurr! Hurr! Hurr! Hurr!”
Eddie and Freddie also made the same sound, “Hurr! Hurr! Hurr! Hurr!”
Everybody else was laughing hysterically.
As Rishi was at the plane entrance, he screamed, “Monkey is here, hit it.”
Both Eddie and Freddie threw their shoes at the door, jumped out and raced away from the plane. They were wearing just one shoe.
Rishi went in the plane and quickly hid one shoe in the bathroom cabinet and walked out. He picked up his own shoe.
“Hey Eddie and Freddie, Monkey is gone.”
They laughed for long.

It was the time to farewell. There was hugging and crying.
Roger said to Rishi and Hermit, “Thanks for everything. You have transformed my life.”
“Take care.”
“Jai-Ganga-Mai,” Hermit shouted.
Roger said to Sonny, “Take care of your mother. Start the school, once your hand recovers bring your mother to USA.”
Sonny nodded. “Uncle thanks for everything.”
Roger, his mother, Vinita boarded the plane and waved to them. They waved back.
Jet taxied to the runway, took of and disappeared in the sky.

Eddie found his shoe in the aisle but Freddie was still searching for his.
Roger yelled, “Let’s go, you can search your shoe later on.”
Everybody was still laughing hysterically.
Once they were cruising on the level, everybody was hunting for Freddie’s shoe. Vinita found it in the bathroom. It was understood that it was Rishi’s mischief.
They kept on laughing till they landed in Delhi to report the check out from India.

Sonny, his mother and Hermit were to return to Uttarkashi on the same helicopter they arrived upon.
They hugged Rishi. Hermit was weeping.
“Why are you weeping Gangagiri.”
“You are leaving.”
“We all leave one day, cheer up.”
Gangagiri smiled. He looked at Rishi’s hands, dog bite wounds were completely cured, not even a mark left. His head wound too healed.
“Gangagiri, that ointment that you gave me worked like a wonder.”
Gangagiri nodded. “Nature offer lots of wonders, Rishi Sahib.”
“Gangagiri, I feel I want to know more about herbs especially the healing power of poisonous plants.”
Gangagiri nodded again. “Rishi Sahib, anything that can kill, can also cure. All poisonous plants can cure also. Healing powers of some plants are known and of some are not known yet.”
“I will learn more. It is becoming a hobby of mine. Now any plant I see, I want to know more about it.”
They hugged again. Hermit was working hard to resist his urge to weep with a forced smile on his face.

“Uncle Rishi,” Sonny said, “I promise that I will never ever let you down.”
“Please take back your promise.”
“Why?”
“Who knows, may be one day, Ganga Mai need you to let me down. Go with Ganga Mai.”
Rishi waved his hand.
Helicopter took off.

Noon sun was blazing on the sky. Rishi turned and walked out of the terminal with his backpack strapped on his back. Heat of the plains was oppressive but he wanted to walk, he walked two miles. Sun was relentless. He stopped under a huge banyan tree near a village, took off his backpack and sat cross-legged on a brick platform. A soothing air was coming from the mountains.
He was hungry; a Muslim boy came to him with a glass of water.
“Salaam Walakum, come join us for food.”
Boy led him to a green painted mosque in the village.
Several people were sitting cross-legged on the carpet and food was being served. A man handed him a large plate. Other who carried flat breads in a basked gave him three flat breads. One man carrying a bucketful of mutton curry and a service spoon came to him.
“I am a vegetarian.”
That man shouted to a boy, “Mohammad, go home and bring the pot of lentil and vegetable curry.”
Rishi ate the food and chatted with them.
One Muslim elder looked at his backpack and asked, “Where are you going?”
“Haridwar.”
“We are going to Haridwar in ten minutes,” Old man said, “We have a car.”
One boy brought him a cup of tea.

Rishi arrived in Haridwar in the evening and got a free basic room in an Ashram.
He took his loincloth and walked to the holy river, sat on a step by the water, his conscious merged with the gurgle of water, sounds, and smells of the atmosphere.
Enlightened became one with the holy rivers. All rivers are holy.

3

Heads of the opposition party had a damage control meeting. They were repeatedly watching another recorded DVD of Kalu Yadav.
Speaker of the Parliament said, “He washed the clothes, underwear and socks of his secretary Master.”
Leader of the opposition said, “And his secretary Master, was busy writing his poems while wearing a loincloth.”
One said, “Now, they both are living martyrs. The leaders of masses.”
Another said, “Tomorrow he was washing Ghat and doing pushups in the feet of a Hermit.”
Top leader said, “What takes one’s life’s effort to achieve; he is doing it in a day. He is a walking encyclopedia of Tricks and Publicity stunts.”

4

Ex King of Terror sobbed in Karachi, Pakistan, “God you played the cruelest joke on me. You made me the whore of terrorists. You did this to me at the time when I was ready to serve you. Why?”
His phone rang.
Caller said, “Remember me.”
“Who are you?”
“Remember Afghanistan.”
“Omar, who gave you this number.”
“Open the door. We are going to Afghanistan together.”
Receiver fell down from his hands and he had another epilepsy seizure.

Omar walked in and saw Ex. Don of Mumbai convulsing, he took off his sock and tucked it in the don’s mouth and he recovered immediately.
“See,” Omar said, “you love my smell. We are friends. We work for the same cause. Our cause.”
He looked at Omar with fear.
“You ganged up with Rishi and ruined me.” Ex-Prophet-of-crime-said, “You killed my brother Danny.”
“No. I tried to save him but I was a bit late.”
“Thanks.”
“Pakistan means holy land,” Omar said, “On this land I won’t say lies. I killed Rishi in Thailand.”
Ex. Don smiled after long time. “And Mulchand?”
“I killed him too,” said Omar, “in Thailand.”
Both laughed.
Don shouted for his servant, “Zafar, it is the time to give me insulin shot.”
“I will give you insulin shot. Now on we will be living under the same room.”
Zafar brought insulin kit and Omar filled up a small disposable syringe.
Omar pointed his finger on a picture on the table.
“Who are those two boys in that picture?”
Ex. Don turned his head to look at the picture; Omar inserted that needle in an open wound, in the back of his hand, to contaminate it with HIV virus.
“They are my sons, now both studying in Vancouver in a prestigious Simon Frazer University.”
“Good for you.” Omar injected him with insulin and his HIV virus.

End of Chapter 19