The phone rang again. My mother picked it up, “Hello…I will not call the police…tomorrow
evening at 7:00…” and she hung the receiver. She looked at me and smiled.
After a couple of hours my uncle came in. My mother
asked me to go to bed. As I lay on my bed, I could hear hushed voices. They
were discussing about the ‘naxalite’ but I could not make out what they were
talking. I was feeling sleepy. My eyes closed.
Next day was a regular day. I woke up and got
dressed for school and went to school. My mother came to pick me up in the
evening. I saw the sky blue colored maruti car waiting for me at the school
gate. I was surprised that she drove all the way to take me home. The distance
from my school to home was about 3-4 km and I went to school and came home in a
school bus. I went home, freshened up and sat on our dark green colored sofa
with a book in my hand. The clock ticked away without any worry. I could not
concentrate on what I was reading. My mother was walking to and fro across the
marble floor and her pink saree rustled as she moved. The phone rang. Beads of
sweat formed across her well shaped brows just above her red bindi, and
as she picked up the receiver her hand trembled. She said, “Hello…yes I will
be there” and hung up. She called somebody else and said, “He will be here in 5 minutes. Yes…yes I
will do it”. Then she went downstairs to her clinic and the maid came
upstairs and watched over me as I looked down into the book. (Our house is
a one-storey building, downstairs is my mother’s hospital establishment and
upstairs is our home).
After half
an hour she came upstairs, huffing and puffing. I put my booked aside and
watched her.
She called my father on cell phone and said, “He came. He was tall lean and had a cap,
which covered his features. He did not say anything; he just stood there in the
Out patient (O. P) waiting room and looked at me. There were also other
patients in the O. P. room. I went close to him and asked, ‘What do you want?
Why did you come here?’. The patients heard me talking loudly and looked at
him. He became nervous and he started walking away. May be he did not expect
other people to be present. I walked after him. The patients and their male
relatives realized that something was fishy and they followed me as I went
behind the guy. He started walking fast, as I was catching up with him. I
increased my pace. I shouted at him, ‘Is it you who asked for money? Are you
really a naxalite or are you looking for easy money?’ He walked faster and we
approached the main road. As we walked on the road, the people behind me and a
few on the road joined in and shouted at him, ‘Stop! where are you going?’ Just
about that time the police jeep approached and he ran away. The police went
after him. I do not think he was a naxalite. I came home. After a few minutes,
the S. I. came and said that they lost him. He asked me to report if I received
any more calls from him’…Ummm”.
She put down the phone came to me, smiled and said,
“Everything is fine”.
After that day we did not receive any prank calls
from that ‘naxalite’ or any other person claiming to be such. This incident
made me realize that my mother is a strong and courageous woman.
My mother at my marriage, 8th August 2012
I am surprised that you remember all this. All this has happened in Feb - 2000.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first complained to the police they asked me to trace out the calls. .... From there I immediately went to the shop as informed by the locality man and bought the phone. I went to the T-Exchange and met the chief Engineer there. I told him about the problem. He said that I should apply for the facility. Then I made attempts to contact the owner of the phone and asked him to apply for Called ID facility. I did not give him the reason as I suspect his role in this episode. He gave me.The next day was Sunday. Monday I submitted the application. That same day the person insisted on my paying without delay.
They told me that a man will come that evening at about 6 PM. I gave all instructions to my staff, as what to do when the man comes. And when he came my LT came from the ward door via steps upstairs and informed of his arrival. Then I gave further instructions as what to do. I called the police and they said they will come in 10 min.and I should engage the man in conversation. I even called kaka. I wanted to wait upstairs for few minutes and then go down just before the arrival of police. But a cousin of dad was there at that time. He came up anxiety personified. Told that the man is in hurry to get money. He may be having a pistol as he put his hands inside his shirt above the belt, and there was some bulge there. Then I said ok and went down. Four of my women staff members were standing in waiting hall. A woman attendant of a patient was also there. I sat in the chair. Cousin also sat in the chair beside me. That man was standing. I asked him to sit. Feigned complete ignorance of who he is and why he had come and started bombarding questions at him. That man initially tried to tell me that I assured him to give money. But my questioning him as to his particulars in a loud voice took away his courage. He started fumbling. Just then two persons (sent by kaka) had come on a bike. The gate which was closed and locked previously by the staff, was opened. Seeing that, that man started going out and I had to be behind him asking to wait and take money. He simply walked out of gate at faster pace and I was behind him shouting that he can take my 'pustela taadu' if he really wants to take money. People on the road in front of the house started gathering and watching me. I was telling them about the issue running behind the man a few yards. Then a jeep with few men entered our street. I asked whether they are police and when they said, 'yes' I pointed out the guy to them and asked them to catch him. The police first confirmed my identity and meanwhile the man simply ran away towards the main road and turned to left and disappeared in some by lanes. Myself on the bike of kaka's man and the police in their jeep searched few lanes and came back to the hospital. After coming to the hospital, they asked me few more questions, assured help in future and left. The next day also I got the call asking what happened to the guy who had come to collect money. That time I had the caller ID. I shouted at the man and as dad and Kaka were there I asked dad to engage him in conversation. But that could not be prolonged. The number we traced to some place. It was a clerk in some pvt establishment. As we did not get calls from that number again we did not probe much.
That was the most stressful week I ever had in my life. Now when I view myself running behind the man shouting "Neeku dabbu kaavaalaara? Undara, naa pustela taadu istha teesukapoora", I just laugh and laugh.
Thank you mother for the detailed write up. Those were really tense moments and I will tell this story to your grand kids. It will be a tale that will pass on from one generation to another.
DeleteWOW! Akka, all this is very interesting to read. It gave me goosebumps. Pedamma, You really are very very brave, Hats off to you :D :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Shiv.
Delete