Posted: 03 Nov 2004 03:56
Awakening Parallel II.
Part V: Ilm
The young man stood as Usman sat to the right of the older man, who seemed more interested in his rosary than what Usman was saying. Usman knew this was just his style, despite appearances the old man's aging brain would be crunching through the possibilities before them. A kind and compassionate man, is what most who met him considered him to be. Perhaps it was the carefree white kurta or perhaps it was the greying beard, or perhaps it was the soft round eyes but something about the man would put people at ease. And then there was his speech, words of precision and accuracy unparalleled. As with any other reasonable university in the world, there were those that disagreed with him, a newer breed especially was now preaching a more aggressive gospel. Such energy had to be harnessed, the younger folk were fired up with something or the other as usual. It was a full time job keeping them pre-occupied and productive. The men in Pakistan had taken a different approach - that approach would not work in India. It was a question if it even worked in Pakistan, but still after the partition, people had decided to make independent choices, and that had itself closed the door to certain kinds of discussion. Despite warnings in the 80s, a few ambitious fools had taken it upon themselves to pander to the dictates of the brown sahibs that the Angrez left behind. The fallacies inherent in this approach were now all too visible. What was once a quietistic search for inner peace, a battle against the innermost sources of fear had turned into a vulgar and all-too-bloody form of exhibitionism. Such is the peril of the way of bloodshed, once you set yourself down it, it becomes nearly impossible to turn away from it. These things would weigh heavily on the old man's mind. There were rumors about his illness or perhaps it was the growing pressure of the times with all that was happening in the world, but the old man was taking longer to come to decisions.
He finally sighed and turned to the younger man who was standing and said, "Why don't you sit down too..." The Younger man complied. The younger man was another enigma, enjoying a reputation and a popularity far beyond his years. His classrooms were filled to capacity and people would stand in the halls to hear him speak. From across the world Ulema would come spending precious funds to hear his words. Pilgrims coming to the shrines of the saints would also make it a point to visit him and hear his evening lectures. The serenity of the town only seemed to grow with his mere presence there. And yet all this seemed to have had no impact on him personally, his austerity was natural, his words sparse.
The older man began to speak, Usman began to pen down his words. The speech lasted fifteen minutes and Usman looked up steadily at the younger man. After a pregnant pause, the younger man simply replied, "Okay I will go right away." With that the meeting ended and after exchanging greetings. Usman and the younger man left. As Usman's car left the campus, he made a telephone call to the PMO, a Joint Secretary picked up the line and soon Usman gave additional instruction. An hour lated in shady courtyard of a small town near near Jamnagar, Police Inspector Chavda found himself sitting in front of his mentor, the lord of the Kandla underworld, Anees Shah. Police Inspector Chavda was about to petition Don Anees for a favor. This was an odd thing for Chavda to be doing, but the people from the CIU who had trooped into his office an hour ago didn't seem to be in the mood for arguments. Being corrupt as sin could be, PI Lalit Chavda couldn't really have argued with the CIU people anyway and then there was the senior looking plainclothesman who simply said "Jo bol rahe hain woh kar - nahi toh upar jayega.." (Do as you are told or you will "go up".) With luck Don Anees would not refuse him otherwise Chavda was looking at a very delicate situation. Luckily Don. Anees agreed and Chavda breathed a sigh of relief. In twenty minutes he returned to his office and found the CIU men waiting there for him. The plainclothesman was sitting on his chair. The CIU man said, "Gadi mein baith - we are going" Again Chavda found he didn't really have a choice.
After a drive to Nalia police station, PI Chavda found himself facing a fifty-year old man who looked quite religious and government bureaucrat in his gray safari suit. Chavda was puzzled but the men all drove off in an unmarked vehicle towards a equally unremarkable house in the city. Once inside the house the CIU men and PI Chavda nearly had a heart attack when they saw the men waiting for them - the religious man was certainly taken aback. Only the plainclothesman and the government bureaucrat were unfazed. Samir and the boys had made an impression again. PI Chavda was now baffled. Turning to the CIU guys he asked, "What's going on?". The CIU guys eyed him angrily but said nothing. Finally the plainclothesman spoke, "Chavdaji, you are going on a little trip" and with these words, the briefing began. PI Chavda's jaw dropped when he heard what was being asked of him - and to think his uncle paid 10 lakh rupees to his supervisor to get Lalit transferred from the traffic department to the Crime Branch!!... all for this!.. what would his uncle think now..
Don Anees was a man of his word at 8 pm the motorized launch appeared on the Kandla coast, and PI Chavda, the religious man, and Samir's gang climbed aboard. After about two hours, the coastline of Karachi loomed ahead. The religious man was clearly not used to travelling in this way and for some reason, the well built Afghanis accompanying him insisted on keeping one finger on the triggers of their Ak-47 machine guns. Finally around 10:30 pm the launch made land at a secluded private beach east of the Karachi coast. PI Chavda was met by Talibuddin, Don Anees' landing agent in Karachi. Tali was even more puzzled than PI Chavda. After some explanations, Tali agreed to take Chavda and his party to the destination of their choice. This was easier said than done, considering that between them and the destination lay three divisions of Pakistani security forces but Tali knew his way around and only the dumbest idiot in the Karachi Police or Rangers would insist on stopping a vehicle with occupants that looked like this. After a rather circuitous drive - the Suzuki minivan lurched to a halt at a mosque with a green gate in Banuri Town. The guards at the gate eyed the occupants suspiciously but then finally the religious man spoke, and the guards were reassured. After some discussion the gate opened and the men passed inside. PI Chavda and Tali waited just inside. The Mini van was also parked inside, no sense in attracting attention. Inside as the khatib prepared for the Azaan, a Maulana walked into the courtyard and greeted the religious man and embraced Samir and the boys. A round of adaabs and As-salaams followed. As the group walked across the courtyard, in the distance one could see the young boys in the madrissa getting ready to perform the first prayer of the day. After a short walk the men reached a house set into the side of the courtyard and knocked on the door. The door opened and the men walked in. In the house was another old man, also wizened, also grayed and he greeted them. After another round of pleasantries, the men began to speak - Samir and his boys withdrew to the corners of the room.
After about an hour the talk ended, and the Man from India got up and offered his thanks. After performing the first prayer of the day, the group left as quietly as it came. By 9:00 AM. the next morning, Usman, the religious man, PI Chavda, Samir's gang, the plainclothesman and the CIU people were all having sweet tea and biscuits at the guesthouse at Nalia AFS. Their flight - an unmarked learjet landed shortly after. The CIU guys walked off in one direction and the rest boarded the plane which took off pretty quickly.
A tired PI Chavda rubbed his neck and wondered two things, firstly, how was he going to get home, and secondly what was he going to tell his wife....
Part V: Ilm
The young man stood as Usman sat to the right of the older man, who seemed more interested in his rosary than what Usman was saying. Usman knew this was just his style, despite appearances the old man's aging brain would be crunching through the possibilities before them. A kind and compassionate man, is what most who met him considered him to be. Perhaps it was the carefree white kurta or perhaps it was the greying beard, or perhaps it was the soft round eyes but something about the man would put people at ease. And then there was his speech, words of precision and accuracy unparalleled. As with any other reasonable university in the world, there were those that disagreed with him, a newer breed especially was now preaching a more aggressive gospel. Such energy had to be harnessed, the younger folk were fired up with something or the other as usual. It was a full time job keeping them pre-occupied and productive. The men in Pakistan had taken a different approach - that approach would not work in India. It was a question if it even worked in Pakistan, but still after the partition, people had decided to make independent choices, and that had itself closed the door to certain kinds of discussion. Despite warnings in the 80s, a few ambitious fools had taken it upon themselves to pander to the dictates of the brown sahibs that the Angrez left behind. The fallacies inherent in this approach were now all too visible. What was once a quietistic search for inner peace, a battle against the innermost sources of fear had turned into a vulgar and all-too-bloody form of exhibitionism. Such is the peril of the way of bloodshed, once you set yourself down it, it becomes nearly impossible to turn away from it. These things would weigh heavily on the old man's mind. There were rumors about his illness or perhaps it was the growing pressure of the times with all that was happening in the world, but the old man was taking longer to come to decisions.
He finally sighed and turned to the younger man who was standing and said, "Why don't you sit down too..." The Younger man complied. The younger man was another enigma, enjoying a reputation and a popularity far beyond his years. His classrooms were filled to capacity and people would stand in the halls to hear him speak. From across the world Ulema would come spending precious funds to hear his words. Pilgrims coming to the shrines of the saints would also make it a point to visit him and hear his evening lectures. The serenity of the town only seemed to grow with his mere presence there. And yet all this seemed to have had no impact on him personally, his austerity was natural, his words sparse.
The older man began to speak, Usman began to pen down his words. The speech lasted fifteen minutes and Usman looked up steadily at the younger man. After a pregnant pause, the younger man simply replied, "Okay I will go right away." With that the meeting ended and after exchanging greetings. Usman and the younger man left. As Usman's car left the campus, he made a telephone call to the PMO, a Joint Secretary picked up the line and soon Usman gave additional instruction. An hour lated in shady courtyard of a small town near near Jamnagar, Police Inspector Chavda found himself sitting in front of his mentor, the lord of the Kandla underworld, Anees Shah. Police Inspector Chavda was about to petition Don Anees for a favor. This was an odd thing for Chavda to be doing, but the people from the CIU who had trooped into his office an hour ago didn't seem to be in the mood for arguments. Being corrupt as sin could be, PI Lalit Chavda couldn't really have argued with the CIU people anyway and then there was the senior looking plainclothesman who simply said "Jo bol rahe hain woh kar - nahi toh upar jayega.." (Do as you are told or you will "go up".) With luck Don Anees would not refuse him otherwise Chavda was looking at a very delicate situation. Luckily Don. Anees agreed and Chavda breathed a sigh of relief. In twenty minutes he returned to his office and found the CIU men waiting there for him. The plainclothesman was sitting on his chair. The CIU man said, "Gadi mein baith - we are going" Again Chavda found he didn't really have a choice.
After a drive to Nalia police station, PI Chavda found himself facing a fifty-year old man who looked quite religious and government bureaucrat in his gray safari suit. Chavda was puzzled but the men all drove off in an unmarked vehicle towards a equally unremarkable house in the city. Once inside the house the CIU men and PI Chavda nearly had a heart attack when they saw the men waiting for them - the religious man was certainly taken aback. Only the plainclothesman and the government bureaucrat were unfazed. Samir and the boys had made an impression again. PI Chavda was now baffled. Turning to the CIU guys he asked, "What's going on?". The CIU guys eyed him angrily but said nothing. Finally the plainclothesman spoke, "Chavdaji, you are going on a little trip" and with these words, the briefing began. PI Chavda's jaw dropped when he heard what was being asked of him - and to think his uncle paid 10 lakh rupees to his supervisor to get Lalit transferred from the traffic department to the Crime Branch!!... all for this!.. what would his uncle think now..
Don Anees was a man of his word at 8 pm the motorized launch appeared on the Kandla coast, and PI Chavda, the religious man, and Samir's gang climbed aboard. After about two hours, the coastline of Karachi loomed ahead. The religious man was clearly not used to travelling in this way and for some reason, the well built Afghanis accompanying him insisted on keeping one finger on the triggers of their Ak-47 machine guns. Finally around 10:30 pm the launch made land at a secluded private beach east of the Karachi coast. PI Chavda was met by Talibuddin, Don Anees' landing agent in Karachi. Tali was even more puzzled than PI Chavda. After some explanations, Tali agreed to take Chavda and his party to the destination of their choice. This was easier said than done, considering that between them and the destination lay three divisions of Pakistani security forces but Tali knew his way around and only the dumbest idiot in the Karachi Police or Rangers would insist on stopping a vehicle with occupants that looked like this. After a rather circuitous drive - the Suzuki minivan lurched to a halt at a mosque with a green gate in Banuri Town. The guards at the gate eyed the occupants suspiciously but then finally the religious man spoke, and the guards were reassured. After some discussion the gate opened and the men passed inside. PI Chavda and Tali waited just inside. The Mini van was also parked inside, no sense in attracting attention. Inside as the khatib prepared for the Azaan, a Maulana walked into the courtyard and greeted the religious man and embraced Samir and the boys. A round of adaabs and As-salaams followed. As the group walked across the courtyard, in the distance one could see the young boys in the madrissa getting ready to perform the first prayer of the day. After a short walk the men reached a house set into the side of the courtyard and knocked on the door. The door opened and the men walked in. In the house was another old man, also wizened, also grayed and he greeted them. After another round of pleasantries, the men began to speak - Samir and his boys withdrew to the corners of the room.
After about an hour the talk ended, and the Man from India got up and offered his thanks. After performing the first prayer of the day, the group left as quietly as it came. By 9:00 AM. the next morning, Usman, the religious man, PI Chavda, Samir's gang, the plainclothesman and the CIU people were all having sweet tea and biscuits at the guesthouse at Nalia AFS. Their flight - an unmarked learjet landed shortly after. The CIU guys walked off in one direction and the rest boarded the plane which took off pretty quickly.
A tired PI Chavda rubbed his neck and wondered two things, firstly, how was he going to get home, and secondly what was he going to tell his wife....