manager's office had a giant six-feet vault. We kept our cricket kit in the
otherwise empty safe.
We hung out most in the haveli's backyard. In its prime, it was the lawn of a
rich family. As part of the bank branch, it was an under-utilised parking lot and
now, our practice pitch.
I rotated the beer bottles in the ice bucket to make them equally cold.
Ish walked into the bank.
'So late,' I said. 'It is 8.30.'
'Sorry, watching cricket highlights. Wow, strong beer,' Ish said as he picked up
a bottle. We had parked ourselves on the sofas in the old customer waiting area
downstairs. I reclined on the sofa. Ish went to the kitchen to get some bhujia.
'Omi here?' Ish said as he opened the packet.
'No, I am the only fool. I take delivery, clean up the place and wait for my lords
to arrive.'
'Partners, man, partners,' Ish corrected. 'Should we open a bottle?'
'No, wait.'
Omi arrived in ten minutes. He made apologies about his dad holding him back
to clean the temple. Omi then prayed for forgiveness before drinking alcohol.
'Cheers!' all of us said as we took a big sip. It was bitter, and tasted only
slightly better than phenyl.
"What is this? Is this genuine stuff?' Ish asked.
We paused for a moment. Spurious alcohol is a real issue in Ahmedabad.
'Nah, nobody makes fake beer. It is just strong,' I said.
If you filled your mouth with bhujia, the beer did not taste half as bad. In fact,
the taste improved considerably after half a bottle. As did everyone's mood.
'I want to see this Ali kid. Three customers have mentioned him,' Ish said.
'The Muslim boy?' Omi said.
'Stop talking like your Mama?' Ish scolded. 'Is that relevant? They say he has
excellent timing.'
'Where does he play?' I enquired through a mouthful of bhujia.
'In our school. Kids say his most common shot is a six.' 'Let's go check him
out. Looks like the school has your worthy successor,' 1 said.
Ish turned silent. It was a sensitive topic and if it was not for the beer, I would
not have said it.
'Succeeding Ish is hard,' Omi said. 'Remember the hundred against Mahip
Municipal School, in sixty-three balls? No one forgets that innings.' Omi stood up
and patted Ish's back again, as if the ten-year-old match had ended minutes ago.
'No one forgets the two ducks in the state selection trials either,' Ish said and
paused again.
'Screw that, you were out of form, man,' Omi said.
'But those are the matches that fucking mattered, right? Now can we flip the
topic?'
Omi backed off and I gladly changed the subject. 'I think we should thank our
sponsors for tonight - The Team India Cricket Shop. In seven months of
operation, our profit is 42,600 rupees. Of which, we have distributed 18,000 to
the partners and 22,000 is for the Navrangpura shop deposit. And the remaining
2,600 is for entertainment like tonight. So, thank you, dear shareholders and
partners, and let's say cheers to the second bottle.'
I took out the second bottle for each of us from the ice bucket.
avery
(avery)
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