I called my mother and told her I would be safe at the bank. We had slept over
at the bank several times in the past. Many booze parties had ended with us
passing out on the mattresses in the branch manager's room on the first floor.
We sat on couches in the cashier waiting area and played cards after dinner.
Ali slept soon. Ish brought a quilt from the manager's office and tucked him in on
a separate sofa.
Omi dropped three cards. 'Three aces,' Omi said with an extra-straight face. He
sucks at bluff.
I tapped the cards. I wondered whether to turn them. Loud chants disrupted
my thought.
'What's that?' I said. I saw the time - 1 0 p.m. 'Those are Hindu chants,' Omi
said. 'Angry-Hindu chants,' Ish said. Calls to Shiva and Rama combined with
drumbeats. We climbed the stairs two floors to reach the bank's roof. The city
glowed orange in the thick winter night. One, two, three -I saw three balls of
flame across the pols. The nearest flame came from a building fifty yards away. A
crowd of people stood outside. They threw stones on the burning building. I
couldn't see well, but could hear the screams of the people inside the pol. The
screams mixed with celebratory chants. You may have heard about riots several
times or even seen them on TV. But to witness them in front of your eyes stuns
your senses. My neighbourhood resembled a calamity movie film set. A burning
man ran across the road. The Hindu mob chased him. He stumbled on a stone
and fell, around twenty yards away from us. The mob crowded over him. Two
minutes later, the crowd moved away while the man lay still. I had witnessed
someone's death for the first time in my life. My hands, face, neck, legs -
everything turned cold. My heart beat in the same irregular way as it did on the
day of the earthquake. Nature caused that disaster, man made this one. I don't
know which is more dangerous.
'Come inside,' Ish tugged hard at my sleeve.
We went downstairs. My body shivered.
'It's fine. Let's go to sleep. The police will come soon. By morning it will be ok,'
Ish said as he put his arm around me.
'Can we sleep together?' I said. Yes, I admit it, I felt super scared.
Ish nodded. He picked up Ali from the couch. We went to the branch manager's
room on the first floor and shut the door. I checked my phone before going to bed.
Vidya had given me a missed call. I was in no state of mind to call or SMS back.
Ish lay next to me anyway. I kept the phone in my pocket.
I took three quilts and slept in the middle next to Ali. Omi and Ish surrounded
us. We switched off the lights at 10.30 p.m.
At 11.30 p.m. I woke up again. We heard a shattering noise. Someone shook
the main gate of the bank.
'Who is it,' I said. Ish stood up and wore his shirt.
'Let's find out,' Ish said and shook Omi's leg, 'come Omi.'
We went downstairs. I switched on the main lobby lights. Ish looked through
the keyhole.
'It's the mob,' Ish said, one eye still on the keyhole, 'Mama is leading the pack.'
We looked at each other. Ish turned the door knob and opened the door.
avery
(avery)
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