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rhe
speaker
after
thel'had
been
on
the
door
for three
hours.
They
e cold
chisel
on
the
lock first,
but
b.r.i iooked like brorvn rvood
from
a
arvay
was
in
fact
some
kind of
metal,
and
although
it rumedwhite
the
bhc{e
and
rang
l-ike a sharp
tem-
the door
dicln't give.
Then
thry had
to
thc
lintels with
tools
borrorved
;1
r(i'Jd
cretv,
but
even
rvhen the
road
took
ovcr,
wieiding
the
sledgeham-
rvith
long,
expert nrings
and
huffing
rhe c()ncrete
bounced
their blows
and
tl-re Sony
speaker
next
to
iaughed
at
them.
"You're
behind
Gaitonde
crackled.
I'm
not getting
in,
you're
not get-
Sartaj
said.
I cen't
hear you."
stepped
up to
the
door.
The
build-
a precise
cube,
lvhite
rvith
green
on
a square plot
of
land
in Kai-
which
was on the
sdll-develop-
edge
of
Zone
13. Here,
among
machinerl'groping
at swamp,
out
talther
and
wider,
In-
S-artaj
Singh
had
come
to
arrest
Genesh
Gaitonde,
gangster,
don
rvilv and eiernal
survi?oi
long are
you going
to
stav
in
Gaitonde?"
Sartaj
said,
craning
his
up. The
deep,
round
video eye
of the
above
the door
srvivelled
from side
and then
setded
on
him.
that fucking
Sardar
inspector,"
said.
1 am,"
Sadqi
said.
There
were
Sikh
commissioners
on the
force,
but
-o_nty
S_ ttt_i$g9ctor
in the
citl
ina
ao was
-niea
to
being
by
his turban
and
beard.
He
was
fbr the cut of
his pants,
which
tailored
^tavery
film-starrybou-
in
Bandra,
and also
for
his
pro61e,
had
once been
featured
by
Modern
magazine
in
"The
Ciqv's
Best-
FICTION
ETERNAL
DON
Has Inspector
Sartaj
Singh-the
silky
Sikh
nnd
Munbai\
'
fnesi-mZt
his
match'at
last?
BY
VIKRAM
CHANDRA
Looking
Bachelors."
His assistant,
Katekar,
on the
other
hand,
had a
large
paunch
that
sat
on
toP
of
his belt
like
a
iuitcase,
and a
perfectly
square
face
and
very
thick
hands.
Katekar
was a senior
constable, and
an
old
colleague,
and norv
he
came around
the
corner
of
the build-
ing and
stood
wide-legged,
with his
hands
in his pockets.
He
shook
his head.
'Where
are
vou
going,
Srrdarji?"
Gai-
tonde said.
'Just
some
things
I have
to take
care ot,"
Sartaj
said.
He and
Katekar
rvdked to the
comer
together,
and
norv Sartaj
could
see
the
ladder
thev
had going
up to the
ventilator.
"That's
not
a
ventilator,"
Katekar
said'
"It
onlv looks
like
one.
There's
just
concrete
behind
it.
\\'hat
the
heli
is this place,
sir?"
"I
don't knorv,"
Sartaj said.
It
rvas
somehorv
deeplr'satisfi'ing
that
even Ka-
tekar,
Ilumbai
native
and
practitioner
of
a
ven'
superior
Bhuleshwar-bred
cy'n-
icism,
rvas startleci
by
an impregnable
white
cube suddenlv
grown
in Kailash-
pada,
w'ith a black
srvivel-mounted
Sony
video camera
above
the
door.
"I
don't
know.
And he sounds
very strange'
you
knc'rv.
Isn't
he supposed
to be;ery
polite?"
'Yes,
like
a
congicssman
who wants
a
\,'ote from
vou,"
Katekar said.
&iitglike
an
g_il
ma,ssage'el'en
with constables."
"I've
never
met
him.
You?"
"No,
but
that's
what
eve{yone
says.
Never
heard of
him being
rude
to
poLice."
'Today
he must
not
want an1'thing,"
Sartaj said.
"But
what's
he doing
here, in Kailash-
pada
ofall
places?"
Sartaj
nodded.
The
Gaitonde
they
had
read about
in police
reports and
in
the
newspapers
lolled
in the
stands during
Sharjah
cricket
matches
with
bejewelled
starlets,
he bankrolled
politicians
and
bought them and sold them,
his dailY
skim
from
Bombays
various
dau.k
dhan-
daswas
said to
be greater
than
annual
cor-
porate
incomes,
and
his name
was used
to
frighten
the
recalcitrant.
Gaitonde
Bhai
said
so, you
said,
and the
srubborn
saw
reason,
and all
roads
.'vere
smoothed,
and
there
lvas
peace.
But he had
been
on the
run
for many
months,
on the
Indonesian
coast
in
a
yacht,
it
was rumored,
far but
onlv
a
phone
call
arval'.
Which
meant
that
he might as
lveli have
been
next
door,
or
as
it turned out,
amazingly
enough,
in
dusry
Kailashpada.
The tipoff
had come
from
an anonrmous
mirle','oice
on Sanaj's
direct
line
rt
the station,
bringir-rg
them
to
Kailashpada
in
a h'.rsn'cirrtvan
bristling
*'ith
rifles.
"I
don't
knorv,"
Sartej
said.
"But
norv
that
he's here,
he's ours."
"He's
a prize,
r'es,
sir,"
Katekar
srid.
He
had
that
denseh'snobbish
look
he al-
rvars
assumed
rvhen he thought
Sirnaj
lvas
being
naive.
"But you're
sure
you
tvvant
to
make
him
yours?"
"He's
already
mine, only
he doesn't
knorv
it," Sartaj said,
tuming
to
rvalkback
toward
the
door.
"All
right. Cut
offhis
porver."
"Hey,
Sardarji,"
Gaitorrde
boomed
over
ihe
speaker.
'You
lvere
the one
rvho
I
urkaa
e
d IVlahinder
Mathu's
i*q_L_"
There
rvas
a strange
rolling richness
about
his voice, even over
the tinny
speaker.
"I
did," Sartaj
said.
"Friend
of yours?"
"Not
exacdy,"
Gaitonde
said.
"Butwhy
the
hell
did
you have
to
shoot
him five
times? In the
face?"
"He
was
trying to bowl
me
out
also'
Gaitonde. And
it rvas four
times,
and only
twice
in
the head."
"Mathu
should
have goften
you.
But
he
thought too
long,"
Gaitonde
said.
"Mahinder
N{athu
always-"
And
his
voice stopped
short, as
if
cut
by
a
knife.
Sartaj turned
from
the door.
Now
it
was a
matter of
lvaiting, and
an
hour
or
two
under a hot
June
sun
would
turn
the
unventilated,
unpowered
building
into
a
furnace
that even
Gaitonde,
who
was
a
graduate of
Arthur
RoadJail
many
times
and
many years
over, would
find as
hard
to
bear as
the corridors
of
Hell.
And
Gaitonde
had been
lately
very
successfirl
and
thus
a
litde
softened,
so perhaps
it
,,v,rr.rld
rrken
,
hurrr
r:
knees,
"\\'
crsvi"
ll()\vc
tl
Sor
the
cul-
in
Artl
in
Bonr
it,
safe
l
trades
r
constni
think
r,
.r.i-
Slltrl.
is r,'en
designe
"Ne..
signe
d
qLrestior
going
t,
"\vl
c()lllc
(l
l
krt oi'-
out
h,:r
rr
hert.l.i
'I"hc;
fillccl rv:
inc
of
ti
\\'cre gai
of th':1:r
I c:r.
'\
\
''.
"
I'nr
me
bv
rl
"I
th
'-.'^fiiends
c
: evenrvh,
8/17/2019 ChandraV_Eternal Don.pdf
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;uld
be doser
to
an
hour. But
Sartaj had
ken
only
two
steps
when
he felt a deep
rm
rising through his toes and into his
iees, and
Gaitonde
lvas
back.
'TVhat,
you thought
it
u'ould
be so
.sy?"
Gaitonde
said,
chortling. 'Just
a
)\4rer
cut? \\trat,
I'ou
think
i'm
a
fooli"
So
there
was
a
generator someu'here in
e cube.
Gaitonde had been the
first
man
Anhur
RoadJail,
perhaps
the first rran
Bombal', to
o\l'n a cellular phone.
\\rith
safe in
his
ceil, he had run the essentia-i
.rdes
of
drugs, ma//:a,
prostitution,
rnd
,nstruction. "No,
I don't
ink
vou're
a fool," Sanaj
id.
"This,
this building
verv irnpressile.
\\'ho
'signcd
it
for
voui"
"Never mind u'ho
de-
;ned
it,
Sardarji. The
restion
is, hou'
lre lou
,ing
to
get
ir.ri"
"\Vhy
don't
.
ou
jusr
nre
outi
It'll
s,n'e
us
dl
ot of tinre. It's rcallv hot
:t
here, and I'r-n
qcning
'readache."
Thcre
u'as
a
silence,
lcd
u'ith
the mr.rrnrur-
';
of the spectrrt()rs
\\'ho
rre
girtherinq
.rt tlrc
cnd
thc lrrne .
"]
crtn't
conrc
()Lrt.
'\\Ihv
not?"
I
nl
alone.
I
nr
(,nl\'
c bv rnvsclf."
"I-thought
vor.r
hrrd
cnds
evenrvhcrc,
Gaitonde. Evcn'one
rnl'here
is a
fricnd
of Gliton.lc Bhrri's.
r't
iti In
the
government,
in
thc
|ress,
,:n
in
the policc forcei
Hou'
is
ir
thcn
.lt
vou
are a]onci"
"Do
vou
krorv
]
get
applications,
Srrr-
rjii
I
probabh'
get
rnore
applicrrtions
iln
vou
police lircks.
Don't
believc nrcl'
cre, I'11 read
vou
one .
Hold
on. Ilcrc's
e.
This
one's fiom \Vardha.
Hcrc it is."
"Gaitonde "
"'Respected
Shri
Gaitonde.'
Flcrrr
.rt,
Sardarji?'Rcspected.'
So thcn
. . ,'l
l a
f\\'enn.-nvo-\'ear-old
vounq nrlrr lir'-
1
in
\\/ardha,
l\
Iuh:rrashtra.
Currcrtlr'
I
J,,i11g
11,'r'
\l.(',r1n.,
lrr6'irrq
l,.r:'r,.1
r'r11
L'onr.
eram
u'ith
scvcnfi-onc-ircr'-.
rt
.r'ks.
I
lrnr :tlso knou'rr
in
rlt
it,ilcge .,.
lie.t
.rtlrlctt,
.ir,'u
I .rrrr t:r1ri.1111 ,,1
i1 .
'.kct
tcun.'
l'lre
n
tlrerc's
li
lot
oi'crrLir
,ut
ho\v bold
anJ
strorrg hc is,
hol'cr
-
one
in tou.r.r's
scarecl olhir.n.
O.K., thcn
qoes
on,
'l
arr surc
that
I
can [.c of
u.c
to
you.
I
have for long
follorved
I'our
dar-
ing
exploits in
our ne'rvspapers, rvhich
print verv
often
these stories
of1'our
great
porver and
porverfirl politics, rvhich
make
1.ou
the first
man in Xlumbai.
N{any times
rvhen
my friends get
together,
v'e talk
about
your famous adventures.
Like how
lou
finished
Dhanraj Kalia's
game,
in
spite
of
his
police guards.
And
of course I
hope
you
are not offended if
I
mention
vour
great love aft-air rvith
our ou'n X1iss
India,
Iliss
Nandita
Kumar. Please,
Shri
Gaitonde,
I
respectfi.r1lr'submit
ro vou m\/
vita,
and
sorre
srnall clippings
about me.
I
uill
do u'hatcver *'ork
r-ou
irsk I
am
very
poor,
Sirri
Gaitonde. I'fuI1i'believe
that
vou
u'ill
give
me
a chrrnce
to rnake
a
life.
Yours
frrithfirllri
Amit
Shirraj Patil.'
"I{ear
that,
Sardarji?"
Giritonde called
out.
"Yes,
Gaitor.rde,"
Sartaj
said.
"I
do. He
sounds
like
a fine recmit."
"He
sounds
like
a
prick,
Sardarji,"
Gdtonde
said.
"I
u'ouldn't
hire
him
as a
bhangi
to clean
m),toilets.
But he'd prob-
ablv
do u'ell
as a
policeman."
"l'rn
qcttirrq
tircd
,'f
rhis,
Gaitonde."
Gaitonde
lauehed.
"Are
vour
feclings
hun,
sadb?
Should I be
nrore respectfirl?
Should
I
tell
you
about the u'onderful
and
rrstonishing
Jcrrts oi
thc
police
,
our
de
-
lirrticrs
rriiti
givc
tlrcir
livcs in scrlice
n'ithtiut
a
thought
ftrr thcir
ou'n profit?"
"Critonde)"
"\Vhati"
"l'll
be back.
I need
a cold drink."
t3t
Gaitonde
laughed
long
and very
hard,
and became
ar,uncular,
affectionate.
'Yes,
I'es,
of course
you do.
Hot
out
there."
"Fory'ou
also?
AThums
Up?"
"I've
a fridge
in here,
cbikniya.Justbe-
cause 1,ou're so
fair
and
so
herolike
good-
looking
doesn't
mean
you're exra
smart.
You
get
1'our
drinli"
"I
will.
I'll
be back."
'What
else would
you
do, Sardarji?
Go,
go."
Sartaj walked
down the
street, and
Katekar
fell
in
beside
hirn.
The
cracked
black tarmac
seemed
to
sr.l'im
and shimmer
in the
heat.
The
street had
emp-
tied,
the spectators
bored
bi'
the
lack
of
explosions
and
bullets
and hungrv
for
lunch. Benveen
Bhag-
s'an
Tailors
rnd
Trinrirrti
11usic,
ther
found
the
straightfonvardiv
nancd
Besr
Cirf6,
u'hich
had
tables scattered r.urdcr
a
neem
tree
ar.rd
rattling
black
floor
frns.
Sartaj
pulled desperatell'
lt rr
Coke, and
Katekar sipped
at liesh
lin.re
and
sodr,
onlv
slightli'
s\\'cet.
Hc
u'as
tn'ing
to lose rveigl.rt.
From u.herc
thev
sat thcy
could sce
Grr,itondc's
rvhire
bunker.
"Let's
blorv
it
up,"
Katekar
said,
'With
rvhat?"
Sartaj
said.
"And
that'll
kili
him for
sure."
Katekar
grinned.
'Yes,
sir.
So
u'hat,
sir?"
"And
wl.rat
would
the intelligence
bols
say?"
"Sahib,
excuse
me, but
the intelligence
boys can suck
my
lauda.Why didn't
they
know
he was
building this
thing?"
"Norv,
that would
have
been very,
very
intelligent,
rvouldn't
it?"
Sartaj
said.
He
leaned
back in
his
chair and
stretched.
"You
think
we
can
find *
bulldozer?"
Q.rnra;
lud
a nretal cheir
brought to
t)
the
fiont
of the
bunker, lrrJ he
.at
on
it pattine
his face
'rvith
a cold,
u'et
tou'ei.
I{e
vyas
sleepy. The vidco
camerr
uil)
ur)rr0\'ing
arrJ silcrrt.
"A1i Gaitondel"
Sartaj
said.'You
there?"
Tl.re
camera made
its very sn.r'all
buzz-
ing
machine
noise, nosed
about
blindli',
and then
found
Sartaj.
'Yes,
I'm
here. I
8/17/2019 ChandraV_Eternal Don.pdf
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searching
this
bastard
place.
S:udarji,
vou beLieve
iti
There's
nothing
to eat
hcrc.
"\othing?"
"-\
brand-new'
nvo-lakh
liidge
big
to
rvalk
into,
and
not a s[ce
of
.iJ in it.
I
hrrve
i,iiots u'orking tbr
me."
S::tii
Crou:r:
:uJ,Jeniv
th;t
Gaitonde
lef,:iec
th.rl biZ
r-oice from
the
mor-
tio:r
Pd'.:rrxrj
Kr-toor
in
a smoking
co::.9hi:.in3
about
the sen'ants.
*'e
selJ
vou
somethingi"
Sartaj
:.
-S:-j:::pi
Cirickenl'
-\.r.
r'c.l
can't.
end stoP
tning
to
be
---r--imlf
-\'eruli
s:rr:hungq'?"
Sanaj
rvas trying
;:-J.r:e
dre
chrnces
of staning
Gai-
out.
But
he
remembered
that
hrd
lested
for
rveeks
on water
::i.je.
The bulldozer
would
arrive in
iour-an
hour
and
a
half,
at most.
'1're
been
hungn'before,"
Gaitonde
said.
hungl'
than you
could
imagine."
"Lisien,
it's too
bloody
hot
out
here,"
s,rid.
"Come
out
and
back
at the
vou cm tell
me all
about
how hun-
"
ou
\l'ere.'
'
tI
a"n't
come
out."
"I'iI
t,riie
care of you,
Gaitonde.
There
all sorts
of people
trying
to
ki1l
you,
I
But
no danger,
I
promise.
This is
;oing
to fttrn
into
an
encounter.
You
-
=e
out
norv
and
we'il be
back at the sta-
in
slx
minutes.
You'll be
absolutely
From
there
you
can
call your friends.
eAitnt
safe. You
have
my
promise."
But Gaitonde
wasn't
interested
in
"Back
when I
was a kid,
I
left
counm'tbr
the fust
time.
It was
on
a
:::.
\'ou knou'.
Those days
that
was
the
get on
a boat,
go to
Dubai, go
3i:rain,
come
backwith
gold biscuits.
',.':.-,.
ercited,
because
I
had
never left the
j:]5'betbre.
Not
even
to
Nepal, you
O.K.,
Sardarji,
establishing
r,ilere
was
the small
boat,
five of
us
i:. sea,
sun, all that
kind
of crap. Salim
rvas
the
leader, a
six-foot
Pathan
l:::
a long
beard,
good
man with a
Then
there
was
lMathu,
narrow
thin
evenrvhere,
always picking
his
supposed
to be a
tough
Buy.
Me,
and
didn't
know
a
damn
thing.
fiere
*'as
Gaston,
the
owner of the
and
Pascal,
his
assistant,
two small
-:1-r\s
from
somewhere
in the South.
'.',:-.
Salim
Kaka's
deal,
his contacts
a:i.j
his
monet'that
hired
the boat,
i:rs
anpeience,
when to go
out, when
:
:::ri
':rcii
er-enthing
was his. Mathu
THE
MOST
BEAUTIFUL
JVEET
THINC
I live
rvherc
the
rvorld's
most
exceLlent
fruits
and
m.rst
respectable
people
are
and
rvhere the
most berrr,rtiful
birds
build
their
ncsts.
Vulgar people
live
here,
too,
in
filthy
ditches
brilliant
waterlilies
bloom.
The
smell
ol
children's
pee-soaked
blankets
surrounds
the
Place,
and I
live
here,
too,
as excess.
I am
the citizen
of
an
ertremelv
oveqpopulated country:
everything
in
it drorvns
at
times
in
the flood tide
of
the
new moon.
Sometimes
the slvan's
neck
emerges
from
the
lava stream
glistening
in
the
sun.
The
dream
pitcher
doesn't
rvait here
for
the touch
but
simplv floats
au'a.r-
With
such
coundess
disgraces,
unbeanble
w'ounds and
pain,
under
the
merciless gaze
of
the
developed
rvorld
I
live
on
in
this
country
like
this.
Because
the
w'orld's
most
amazing
thrits
have grotvn
here,
the
most
respectable
people,
the
most
beautiFrl
birds,
I survive
through
the
year,
through
rein
and
shine-
I
survive
with
the
indomitable
longing
for
the
harv'est's
golden
grains
in
this
place,
like
this.
-Srru,urt
Azlo
\Translated,
fom
the Bengalt,
by
Carolyne
ll/right,
Syed
fulanzocrul
Islam, and the authar,)
and I
were his boys,
behind
him
all the
time. Got it?"
Katekar
rolled
his
eyes. Sartaj
said,
'Yes,
Salim
Kaka
was
the leader,
you
and
N'Iathu
the
thin
guy were the
guns,
and
Gaston and Pascal
sailed the boat.
Got
it."
Katekar propped
himself
against
the
wall next to the
door
and spilled paan
ma-
sala
into his palm.
The
speaker
gleamed
a
hard metallic
silver.
Sartaj
shut
his eyes.
Gaitonde
went on.
"I
had
never
seen
such
a huge
sky before.
Pulple
and gold
and pqple.
Mathu
was
combing
his hair
again
and again
into a Dev
Anand
puff.
Salim
Kaka
sat on
the
deck
with
us.
He
had
huge
feet,
square
and
blunt,
each
cracked
like
a
piece
ofwood, and
a beard
that
was
smooth and red
like
a
flame.
That night
he told
us about
his fust
job,
robbing
an
angadia couriering
cash
to
Bombay
from
Surat.
They
caught
the
nngadia as he got
offthe
bus, tossed
him
in
the back of an
Ambassador,
and
went
roaring
away
to
an
empty
chemical
godown
in
the
industrial
estates at
Vikh-
roli.
In the godown
they
stripped
him
of his
shirt,
his banian,
his pants,
every-
thing, and found
sewn
inside the pants,
over
the
thighs, four
lakhs in
five-hundred-
rupee notes. Aiso
a money
belt
with
slx'
teen
thousand
in it.
He
was
standing
there
baby-naked,
his
big
paunch
shaking,
holding his
hands
over
his
shrunken
Iauda,
as they
left. Clear?"
Sartaj opened
his eyes.
"A
courier,
they
got him,
they
made
some
moneY.
So
what?"
"So the
story's
not
over
yet'
smart Sar-
darji.
Salim
Kaka
was closing
the
door,
butthen he tumed around
and
came
back
FI.
hir
fw
sor
'S,
ils
cr(
br,
tal
gr(
agl
ne:
Kl
lVi.I
thi
Bu
tal
Pc,
br,
cr'i
cr('
d/i
K.
hir
\,\
sai
do
hi'
/a:
hi
..tl
stl
sh
cu
tu:
Kl,
afi
aIl
sti
wi
e\'
Ir
clt
te
ni
se
an
p(
lit
ot
d,
h,
I
t
I
I
i
rt
I'
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He
caught
the
guy
by
the
throat,
lifted
him
up
and
around,
and
put
a knee
be_
tween
his
legs.
'Come
on,
Salim
pathan,'
someone
yelled
to
him,
'this
is
no
time
to
want
to
fuck
a
boy.'And
Salim
Kaka,
u,ho
was
groping^
the
angadia's
bum,
said,
')ometlmes
rf
you
squeeze
a
beautifirl
ass,
as
you
would
a
peach,
it
reveals
all
the
se_
crets
of
the
world,'
and
he
held
up
a
lide
brown
silk
packet,
which
the
orgodiohad
taped
behind
his
balls.
In
it
weie
a
good
gross
of
the
highest-qualiry
diamo"nds,
"gl.r*
and
aglitter,
rvhich
they
fenced
the
next
week
at
fifry
per
cent,
and
Salim
Kaka's
cut
alone
rvas
one lakh,
and
this
was
in the
days
when
a
lakh
meanr
some-
thing.
'But,'Salim
Kaka
said,
,the
lakl
was
the
least
of it,
money
is
onlt.monel,.'
But
after
that
he
rvas
knoun
as
a
iusrrous
talent,.a shalp
lad.
'I'11
squeeze
i.ou
like
a
peach,'
he'd
say,
cocking
r
.r^gg.,.
..,..-
brow,
and
the
poor
unfornrnate
,iih.
,.-
ceiving
end
would
spill
cash,
cocaine,
se-
crets,
an'"thing.
"'How
did
1'ou
knou,
rvith
the
angadia,
Saiim
Kaka?'I
asked,
and
S;.iinr
Krka-said,
'lt
is
verv
simple.
I looked
rr
hirn
from
the
door
and
he rvas
still
alieid.
\44'ren
I
had
my
knife
at
his
throat
he
had
said
to
me
in
a
child's
linle
voice,
..please
don't
kill
me,
rn\,
/,nnp."
I
h.rdn't
killeJ
him,
he \\'rrs
srill
alirc
end
holding
his
lnuJa,
the
mone\'\\'rs
qone.
bur
it
r,iisrr't
Itis,
u'c
u'crc
lcar.inq,
so
uhr.rvas
hc
:till
.rfraidi
A
nran
u.lro
is
al-r.iid
is
a lrran
u.ho
stiil
has
sorxerhing
to lose.'
"
.
,
-V:ry
impressive,"
Sartaj
said.
Hc
shifted
in
his
chair,
and
regremed
it
im_
mediately
as
his
shoulde,
blade
found
a
cun'e
of
heated
metal.
He
adjusted
his
turban
and
tried
to
breathe
slor"ly,
evenly.
K-atekarrvas
fanning
himselfrrith
a folded
.rttcrnool
ne\\.spaper,
his
eles
abstracted
end
his
forehead
slack,
u,hi1e
into
the
slorv
stirring
of
the
air
came
Gaitonde's
voice
u'ith
its
cool
electronic
hiss.
"I
r-esolved
to
be
sharplv
rvarchfi-rl
for-
rver
after,
for
I
u'as
ambiiious.
That
night
I.laid
my
bodl'dorvn
along
the
bo,,'rlas
:lose
as.
I
could
get
to
the
o-nrushing
u,a-
-er,
and
I
dreamed.
Did
I
tell
you
T
.,,r,*,
rirrcteen?
I
u'rs
ninetccn
and
I
made
mr._
elf
stories
about
cars
and
a
hieh
house
.nd
m1'self
entering
a
par$.and
flashbulbs
roPplltg.
"llathu
c:rme
and
sirr
bcside
rrc.
I
Ic
t
a
cigarctte
ior
hinrself
and
grn,e
nrc
ne.
I
drerv hard
on
it lke
hirn.
In
rhe
.rrk
I
could
see
rhe
pulIof
his
hrir,
Iri,
.r{{ard
shouldcrs,
and
]
tried
to rcmcrn-
ber
his
features,
which
were
too
bonv
to
be
anlwhere
close
to
Dev
Anand's,
iut
still
ev€ry
day
he
stroked
ta_lcum
powder
onto
that
poinry
rat
face
and
triei.
I
felt
suddenly
kindly
toward
him.
,lsn't
this
beaudfi.rl?'I
said.
He
laughed.
,Beautiful?
We
could
drown,'he
sJd,
,and
nobody
rvould
know
what
happened
to
us.
\Ve
would
drsapp:N,
phat,
gone.'
His
ciga_
rette
made
spirals
in
the
dark.
,Whatlo
1'ou
mean?'I
asked.
'Oh,
you
pitfii
de/tati
idiot,'
he
said. 'Don't.r,ou
knorv?
Nobody
knows
lve
are
out
here.'
,But,'
I
said
'Salim
Kaka's
people
knou..
his
boss
knou's.'I
could
feel
him
laughing
at
me,
his
knee
.jogginq
aqainsr
mv
shloulder.
'No.
rhev
don'r.'Heivas
leaning
closer
to
me,
rvhispering,
and
I
could
s:lell
his
banian
and
see
the
pale phosphorescence
of
his
eves. '\obodi
kno,,,rs,
he
didn't
rell
his
boss.
Don't
vou qer
iri
This
is
his
ou.n
deal.
\\hr
do r.ou
thirrk.,.\.e
re
on
rhis
Lnle
Ahatara
ot-a
boat.
nor
a
rrau.leri
\\'hr.do
'r'ou
rhirrk
\\.e
are nirh
him.
one
,ltl,t:i
smelling
oipig
shit
and
firrr
din
rrnd
a
111',_t_1ry'
junior
menrber
of
the
companr.i
Ehi
\\hr
i
This
is
Salim
Kakr's
o.,,,,r,
li.,l.
operation.
He u'ants
to
go independent,
and
to
go
independenr
rrhat
do
r
ou needi
Capirrl.
Th.rr's
u.h.ir.
Th.rr's
r*.hr.
,r.e'rc
our
here
s).tppin.q
rrr.ru.
in
rhi.
iucking
\vncezlng
tln
rrxp,
orre
pitch
au,av
tiorn
t33
the.
big
fishes.
He
thinks
he's
going
to
make
enough
to
start
himself"all
iew
and
fresh
a.nd
shiny.
Capital,
capital,
you
understand?'
.
"I.
sar
up
rhen.
He
put
a
hand
on
my
shoulder
and
swung himself up.
.Beta,,
hle
sard,
if
)'ou
want
to live
in
the
ciry
you
have
to
think
ahead
three
turns,
.nd
took
behind
a lie
to
see
the
truth
and
then
be-
hind
that
truth
to
see
rhe
lie.
And
then,
and,then,
if
I'ou_want
to
live
well,
you
need
a
bankroll.
Think
about
it.,Mrth"
patted
my
shoulder
and
drew
back.
I
saw
his
face
lbr
a
second
in
dim
light
as
he
lorvered
himself
into
the
cabin.
A"a
I
a;a
think
about
it."
f frotn
thc
speaker
Katekar
rurned
his
,\J.
head,
right
and
left,
and
Sartaj
heud
the
snrall
clicking
noise
of
the
borres
in his
neck.
"l
renrimber
this
Salim
Kaka,"
Katekar
said
softlr..
,,I
rerr:.:mber
seeinq_him in
Donqri,
,,,jking
eround
in
a red
lun{ai
and
a
silk
kuna.
The
kunas
u'ere
of
ciifi-erent
colors,
but
the lungi
rvas
rrlu'a_r-s
red.
He
u'orked
u,ith
Haji'Sal-
mrn
s
gang,
and
he
had
a
\\,oman
in
Don-
gri,
I renrenrber
hearing.
Dongri
u.as
Bachchu
Singh's
area,
butitill
Satil
faU
..1T..
for
rhe
t'oman,
in
a r.ed
lungi
and
silk
kurras."
Sartaj
noddcd.
Katekar's lace
u,as
6
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t34
puffi,
rrs if he had
just
rvoken
from sleep.
"Love?"
Srirtaj srrici.
Krrtekrrr
grinrrcd. "fLrdqinq
bv
thc
silk,
it
rrLrst h.n'c bccn," hc said.
"Or
rnaybe it
lvls
jtrst
that shc w'.ls sevcntecn
ar.rd
hird
',rn
irss like a
prrrncing deer's. She was an
rtuto
ntcchrrnic's
drrughtcr,
I
think."
"Don't
belicve
in love,
Kateklr?"
"Satb,
I befievc in
silk, and
in
every-
thing thrrt is
soft,
'.rnd
ever)'thing
else
that
is hard, but . . ."
Abovc
their
heads
the
speaker rum-
bled.'\\4rat in
God's
name
are you mum-
bling about, Srrd'rrji?"
"Go
on,
go
on,"
Sartej said.
'Just
mi-
nt;r instructions."
"Not
eiving
up? Good,
I like
that. So
listen.
The
next xfternoon,
we
started to
see
tree brirnches
in
the water,
pieces
of
old
crates,
botdes bobbing down
and up,
tires, once the
whole wooden
roof
of a
house
floirting
upside
down.
Gaston
strncJ orr dcck thc
rvhole
timc now, one
arnr arouncl.
the
mlst,
looking
this way
and
that
lvith
binoculrrrs, never stop-
ping.
I
askccl Nl.rthu,
'Are
rve
close?' He
slrru.{ged.
S.rlirn Klkl c:lmc rrp in
r ncrv
kurtr.
Ilc
stood
by the
bo'"v, looking to
thc
north,
and I s'.rv his fingcrs dabbing
at the
sil'r,er
medallion
at
his
chest.
I
lvanted
to
ask
him
where we
were, but
there
was
a narrow-eyed grlviry*
on
his
face thlt kept me frorn
speaking."
Srrtaj
leaned
fbnvard
torvard
Katekar.
"Do
you think
our
friend
Gaitonde
reall1'
hrd an aftair r,.'ith Nliss
Indie)"
Katekirr
grinned.
"She
wls
a
very
English-medium
t)?e, that
one. But it's
true, she stayed
at
his
house in
Hong
Kong."
"N1aybe
he learned English."
"Nlay'be
she
liked his
sweaters.
He has
a lot of
sweaters."
Srrtaj
remembered the
pictures
of
Gritonde,
the
medium-sized body
and
the medium
face, neither
ugly nor hand-
some,
all
of
it instandy
forgettable
despite
the bright-blue
and red
cashmere
sweat-
ers,
everything
quite commonplace.
But
now
there was
this
voice,
quiet and ur-
gent, and Sartaj
tipped his
head toward
the
speaker.
"As
night
came,
in
the
last
failing
light,
there was
a pinpoint of
red
wink-
ing
steadily to
the
north.
We dropped
an-
chor,
then headed toward
it
in
a dinghy.
Nlathu
rowed,
and Salim Kaka
sat oppo-
site,
watching our
beacon,
and
I
between
them. I was
expecting a'"vall, like
I had
seen near the
Gateway of India,
but
in-
I
I
JHOVCAJE
DY MAX
VADUKUL
I
tcad
there
'"vere
high
nrshes that towered
above our hcads.
S.rlim Kakr took a
pole
rrnd
pLrshcd
trs
throrrgh
thc felthcred
brnks
thrrt creakecl rrnd r.vhisperecl,
and al-
though
I
rvasn't
toltl
to
I hrrd
nry
pistol
in rny'ha.nd.
Thcn
the',voocl
scraped
un-
der m1'fect, irarcl
on
ground.
Flashlight
in
hrr.rcl, S:rlim Kakr
led us up the island,
that's what
it
was,
a soft wet rising in the
swamp.
We
rvalked
for
a
long
time,
half
an hour ma1'be,
Salim
Kakr in front, un-
der a rising moon. He had
a
brown can-
vas
bag over his shoulder, big
as a
wheat
sack. Then
I
sarv
the bercon agein, over
the
top of the stallis.
It
."vas
a torch tied
to
a pole.
I
could
smell
the tallow;
the
flames
junrped
nvo feet high.
Under
it
there
lvere three me n. Thev rvere
dressed
like
city people, and
in theieaping
light
I
could
see their
fair
skin, their bushyblack
eyebrorvs,
their
big
noses.
Turla? Iranis?
Arebs?
I don't knorv
still, but
nr.o
of them
hrrd rifles, muzzles
pointed
just
a
little
:rway
from
us. IIv trigger
,,vrrs
cool
and
swertl'
on m\' finger. I
cramped and
thought, \'ou'11
6re
and
6nish
us all. I
took
a
breirth, turned
n.rv
wrisr,
feeLing
the
butt
against
mv
thumb,
and rvatched
them.
Srlim
Kaka and
one
of
them
spoke,
their
heads
close together. Now
the bag
rvas
offered,
and a suitcase in re-
turn.
I
sirrv a
gleam
of
vellorv, and
heard
the
clicks of
locks
shutting. IIv
arm
ached.
"Salin-r
Kala
srepped
backrvard, and
rve
edged
a*'ar-lrom
the foreigners. I felt
the
smooth
rvet
rim of
a stalk against rnr.
neck,
and I couldn't
find
a
rvav
out, onlv
the
vielding pressure of
vegetation,
and
panic. Then
Salim Kaka
nrned
abrupdy
and
sl,ipped benveen
the bushes,
the
faint
beam
of
his flashlight
marking
his
wa1',
and then Nlathu.
I
came
last,
sidervise,
my
pistol hand held
lorv, my neck
taut. I
can
still
see
them rvatching,
the
three
men.
I
see the gleam
of the metal
bands
around the
rifle
muzzles,
and their shaded
eyes.
We
were
walking
fast. I felt
as
ifwe
were
flying,
and
the
tall grass
that
had
pulled
and clawed
at
me
at first
now
brushed
softly along my
sides. Salim Kaka
turned his
head,
and I saw his frantic
smile.
We
were
happy,
running.
"Salim
Kaka
paused at the edge
ofa
little
stream
where
water
had cut a drop
of three feet, maybe
four, and he reached
down
with
his right
foot
and
found a
place
for
his
heel.
Mathu
looked at
me,
his face
cut into
angles
by
the
gaunt
moonlight, and I
looked at him. Before
t.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
L
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
t:
I
I
I
MALCUDI'J
MASTER
K. N,\R\\'d\,
born
in
1906,
lives
on, as if preserved
in
the
tranquil,
.
perennial
essence
of
Nlalgudi,
the
fictional to'"vn where
almost
all
his
fiction
takes
place. The lightness
of his
touch,
the
smallness
ofhis chosen field
of
obsenation,
and
the
profound equanimiryof
his
Hindu
vision
have
been criticized
as inadequate
to the
problem-ridden, poverry-stricken
immensiry
of India. But who
takes
a
con-
tinent
for a subject rvhen humaniry
is
dose
at
hand? An
observed detail
has
a reso-
nanc-a
branching
truth-that
no gen-
eralization
can
match.
V.
S.
Naipaul,
who
as a
boy
in
Trinided and
a
young
man
in
England
had read and adrnired
Narayan,
rvas
dismaved, on first
travelling
to India,
to
find it
"cmel
and
overwhelming"
com-
plrcd
to
the cozv and
comic
lvorld
of
Nlrll'an's
no'"'els.
He concluded
that
"hrs
comedv
and ironv rvere
not
quite
rvh'rrt
thel'
had appeared
to be, were
prrrt of a
Hindu
response
to the world."
As a Hindu,
Nrravln
believes
in reincernrtion---a
uni-
verse
of
infinite rebirths-and
a
genial
eterniw
keeps
company
rvith
his
unb[nk-
ing
social
realism. In'The
Guide"
(1958),
a
con mrn
becomes a
saint; in
"The
Painter
ofSigns"
(1976),
the heroine
ofa
doomed
romancc
is
momentlrilv
"per-
haps a
goddess to
be
rvorshipped."
lVeste
rn liberal
prejudice
demands
that
Indian
rwiters
confront
suffering.
Naray'an
confronts
it
somervhat as Fielding
and
O. Henry
do,
with
the
recognition
that
suffering
is never all
there
is
to the picture;
human
buoyance
and hopefulness are
also
part
of it.
"India
will
go on," Narayan
told
the
young Naipaul,
and
if
this
affirmation
falls
short ofa
political program it
does
pro-
daim
a
lifelong
opportunity
to observe,
to
in-
vent,
to express
sulprise at the permuta-
tions
ofhuman
behavior, to smile. Travellers
to India
frequently remark
upon
its
exhil-
arating
liveliness,
once culture shock
has
been absorbed;
Narayan
gives
the
reader
that
livelyjoy
as
registered
by a
native
im-
munized
against shock.
He
surveys
his
teeming
scene
partly from the perspective
of
this most
ancient of practiced
rel-igions'
and
pardy
from that of
Edwardian
En-
gLish
fiction, which
took an animated,
caste-
conscious,
at times heartless
sociefy
as
selF
widendy
an entertainment
-JorD{
UPDIKE
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r36
Srrlim
Kaka
had
complctcd
his
step,
I
knerv
where
rve
were
going.
The
report
of
the
pistol
bounced
ofl
tte
r.varer
into
my
belly.
I knew
the
butt
had
bruised
the
base
of
my
thumb.
Onll.
rvhen
the
flare
left
my
e)€s
coLrld
I
see
again,
and
m)r
stomach
rvas
trvisting
ar.rd
loosening
and
twisting,
and
at
the
bottom
of
th
ditch
Salim
Kaka's
feet
rvere
treading
steadil)i
as
ifhe
\vere
still findrng
his
rvaf
to
the
boat.
The
rvater
thrasted
ani
boiled.
'Fire,
X{irthu,'I
said.
,Fire,
damn
you.'
Those
rvere
the
first
rvords
I
had
spoken
since
rve'd
come
ashore
.
N4r,r
oice
*'as
firnr
and
strange,
the
souni
of
it
alien.
X{athu
tilted
his
head
and
pointed
his
barrel.
Again
a
flash
brought
the
rveeds
out
from
the
shador,i.s,
but
still
those
feet
clirrnbercd
au'a1',
going
ste
adilr.
sonteu'here.
I
aimed
mv
pistol
into
the
round
frothl'turbulence,
and
at
the
first
discl.rrrge
all
ntoven-rent
stopped,
but
I
put
:rr.rother
one in
just
to
make
surc.
'Conrc
orr,'
I
said,
'lct's
go
horne.'
\ larlru
noddcd,
as
i[
I u'ere
in
charge,
and
he
.jurnped
into
the
ditch
and
sciabblcd
fbr
thc
stritcrrse.
The
flashlighr
g.rrs
gloning
undcr
tl'rc \\,ater,
a |.rn-rinous
r.cllorv
bub]
ble
tlrrrr
enrbr,rcetl
c\.rcrh.
h.rliof
S.tlinr
Klkrr's
lrcird
and
his
grccn
kun,r
cojl:rr.
I
snappcd
ir
trp
as I
u'ent
through,
thouglr
I
all
the
rval'back
to
the
dinghy
the
fat
moon
rvas
lou.orerhead
and
lit
us to
,afeg,.."
Q.lnr',+1
and
Katekar
heard
Gaitonde
LJ.
drink
nou..
The1.
he,rrd,
clearly,
er._
:1..1?iS
gulp
and
the
glass
empq-ing.
"WJ'riskey?"
Sartaj
rvhiip...,l.
.iB...i"
Katekar
shook
his
head.
,,No,
he
doesn'r
drink.
Doesn't
smoke
either.
\rery
health-conscious
don
he
is.
Exercises
er,l
ery
da1'.
Water
he's
drinking.
Bisleri
rvith
a
nvist
oflime
in
it."
.___Gaitonde
\\'ent
on,
hurrying
norv.
'When
the
sun
came
up
on
the
b-oat
the
next
diu'l{athu
and
I
u,ere
still
ar,vake.
\\'e
hrrd
spent
rhe
night
sitting
in
thc
crrbrn,
across
trorn
elch
other,
rvith
the
suitcrrse
nrcked
under
llathu's
bunk
but
stiU
risiblc.
I
hrJ
nrr
pi:rol
in
nl
l,ip,
and
I
coulJ
sec
JIrihu'i
unJer
his
thigh.
The
roof
above
mr-head
crerrked
out
aite
a.lthr.
step.
\\'e
h,rd
roli
Cr.ron
:rnd
pa.c,il
rh.rr
rve
hrd
been
ambushed
br-the
police,
rhe
police
oi u'hatever
countn.
rve
h.rd
be
en
in.
Pr.ial
hrJ
rrepr,
anJ
ih., u-erc
horh
nrovin:
r'rn
gcrid,,-notr..
in
,..pcat
tur
orri
mourning.
Behind
Jierhu's
heird
there
\f
its
rhc
drrrk
brcrrvn
of
the *.ood,
and
the
ri'hire
o1-his
biinirrn
llorrring
and
dipping
u'ith
the
s*'ell
oithe
rvirr.es.
There.r.,,
th.
hazl
distirnce
benr.een
us,
and
]
knerv
THE
NEV
YORKER,
JUNE
23
T"
3C.,1997
what.he
rvas
thinking.
So
I
decidecl.
I
pL,t
mypistol
on_the
pillorv,
put
my
feet
up
on
thc
bunk.
'l'm
going
io slelp,'
I
said.
'\Vake
me
up
in
thre"
hour,
.ni
rhen
you
can
rest.'
I
turned
to
the
rvood,
lvith
my
back
torvard
i\{athu,
and
shut
-y
.y.r.
Ver1,,
very
lolv
dor.vn
on
ml.back
there
iuas
a single
circle
on
ml.skin
u,hich
nvitchecl
and
cra'u'"led.
It
expected
a
buliet.
I
could
not
calm
it.
But
I
kept
m1.
breathinl
I:ody,
my
knuckles
"gainst
my
lipJ
Thcr_e
are
somc
thir.lgs
).ou
call
conr;ol.
'When
I
rvoke
ir
wai
evening.
Therc
wrrs.
a
thick
orange
light
pushing
into
rhe
cabrn
fronr
the
hatclr,
coloring
the rvood
like
fire
. M1'tonppe
flled
m1,-ihroat
and
mouth,
and
my
hr-rnd
rvheir
I triecl
to
mo'"'e
it
had
becorne
a
loathsome
bloatecl
rveight.
I
thought
the
bullet
had
founcl
rne,
or
I
had
found
the
bullet,
but
then
I
jerked.once
ild
-l'
hean
rvas
thudding
pain6.rllr' and
I
sat
up.
N{,v
stomuch
."af
co'ercd'*
irh
siveat.
Niethri,r.,
;;i.;1,
il;
f,rce
dou'n
on
rhe
pillou..
I
nrcked
mi
pis-
tol
into
ml
u.:ristband
and u.ent
up.
p.r_
c.il
smiled
rrr me
our
of
hrs
blrrck
little
face.
The
clouds
rvere
piled
abovc r:s,
e
normo,.ls
and
buleine,
higher
and
higher
into
the
red
herrvcn.
And
this
bort
i
nlig
on
the
w-irter.
trlv
lcgs
shook
and
I
srrr
dorvn
and
prrrved.
I
seid
the
Hantrman
ci:,t/i:a.I
sitid
,-7-
it
again
and
again.
\\/hen
it
u,ls
d,uk,
I
asked
Pascal
for
rrvo
srrcks.
He
ql-e
me
r\r'o
rvhite
sacls
m,rde
oicirrn..r.,
*'ith
drarvstrings.
"'\Vake
up,'
I
said
to
^\lr.iir,-:
u'hen
I rvent
dorvnstairs,
rnd
kicked
his
bunk.
He
c:rme
arv:rke
groping
for
his
pistol,
rvhich
he
could-n't
6ni
until
I
pointed
to
it,
benveen
the
maftress
and
the
rvall.
'Calm
dorvn,
you
jumpyfuck.Just
caLn
dou.n.
\\/e
have
to
share.'
He
said, 'Don't
er.er
do
that
ag:rin.'
He
.w,as
grorvlin€ ,
stretching
his
shoulders
up like
-ir
rooster
heal'ing
its
feathers.
I
smilecl
at
hirn.
'Listen,'I
said,
j.ou
fucking
sleepy
fu ck-drop
from
Kurnbhkrran,
do
you
want
your
half
or what?'
He
calculated
for
a
moment,
still
all
swollen
and
angry,
but
then he sub-
sided
with
a laugh.
Yes,
I'es,,
he said.
'Half-half
Hal-f:half.'
"Gold
is
good.
It
moves
and slips
on
yolrr
fingers
u'ith
a satisfying
smoothness.
When
it
is near
to pure
it
has
that
herrlthy
reddish
glorvlhat
reminds
1'ou
of
apple
cheeks.
But
thrt
afternoon
as
u,e
moved the
bars
fron-r
the
suitcase
into
the
sacks,
one
"vadkn
Mortini,
splash
Ef
,uerntouth,.u)ith
o
tzuist.
Let
tbe
henling begin."
8/17/2019 ChandraV_Eternal Don.pdf
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CHANDRA
one.
one
fbr
one
and
then
:or the
other,
u'l-rat
I
liked
"r'ls
the
u-eight.
The
bars
s:nJ,
a Lirde
longer
than
l:e:dtil
of
i'r-rv paln-r,
much
i:
t:;n
I
had
erpected,
-:
::.e\'
:e1r
so dense
ar-rd
I
c.,uld
hardlv
bear
to
...::
ir
mr-sack
IIv
face
-,ta*
a"i
,,tu
heart
con-
:r:J
I knerv
I
had
done
:.
\\-:en
\\'e
got
to
the
last
'.'.:jil
rr'ls
nrine,
I
put
it
:--',' ieit prnts
pocket,'tvhere
:
:-l :eel
it
ilrvavs,
slapPing
r,e.
Then
the pistol
on
--:her
side
at the
back
of
]
Iathu
nodded.
home,'he
said. 'How
-;:
Jo
vou
think
it's
u'orth?'
;lr:ile
u'as
slotv
and
falter-
:.:
I
lr,oked
dou'n
at hirn
and
:l:
--:1r'contempt.
I
knerv
ab-
,
---::1r'.'-nd
tbr
certain
and
in
,-.: i:st:nt
that
he
rvould
al-
,...',:
re
t
i,tfcri,
nothing
more,
-:
.'.:e elen
u'ith ten
or
nvelve
:.-rle
u'orking for
him,
but
..-'.'.':',.:
nothing
more than
a
:-.=:.'e-ircked
srnall-time
local bufroon,
:..:ied
up
into torterybrutisirness'rvith
a
:.-l
rnd
a
cl.ropper
under
his shirt,
:.r..:'s
Jl.
Iir-ou
think
in mpees
you're
a
:
','iipr-s1ni1g
bhangi,
nothing
more- Be-
:..-..c
lakhs
are dirt,
and
crores
are shit.
I
:--:.:gl'rt.
\\'hat
is golden
is
the furure
in
'.
-;r
irs6f,s1,
the endless
possibility
of
it'
:
-.
I shoved
the sack
under
my bunk,
..:
jqing
the
last of
it under
rvith
my foot
.. \lrthu
s'atched
rvith
wide
eyes'
I
:-:::ed ml
brrck on
him
and clirnbed
up
:
:.e
deck
laughing
to
myself. I
was no
-:::er
rfraid.
I knew
him
now.
That
:.::rt
I
slept
like
a
baby."
Kl:ekar
snorted,
and
shook his
head.
-
l..J
tbr
vears
he slept
a restful
sleep
ev-
=:,'
r:ght,
u'hile the bodies
fell right and
-.::."
Sartaj
held up
a
rvarning
hand, and
I-.teLrr
uiped
the
sweat
fiom
his face and
::-.'-:ltere
d
quietly,
"They're
all of
them
::-e lucking
same, greedy
bastards.
The
::--.':ble is
u'hen one
gets
killed'
fir'e come
,:
to take
his
place."
"Qriet,"
Sartaj
said.
"I
want
to
hear
-L:-
'
1,t\.
The
speaker growled
again.
"The
day
:ier
the next,
I
saw, over the
water,
afar
.'.rav hi1lock.
\Vhat is that?'I
asked Gas-
:: l.
'Home,'
he said.
From
the bow
Pas-
:..i
cailed
to
another
boat
leaning
out
torvard
the
horizon.
'Aa,t-hcoooootc,'
he
called,
and
the long
cn'and
its echoiriq
re-
ply
rvrapped
about
mv shoulders.
I
r.'rs
horne.
'We
helped
to
beach
the
boet,
irnd
then took
leave
of
Prscal
and
Gaston'
Nlathu
rvas
rvhispering
threats
i1t
thenl'
but
I
shouldered
hin-r
aside,
not too gen-
tly,
and
said,
'Listen,
bo\-s,
keeP
this
quiet,
r,ery
quiet,
and
rve'li do
business
again.'
I
gave
them
a gold
birr
each-
from my
share-ar.rd
shook
hands
u-ith
them,
and thev
grinned
and
u'ere rr1'tel-
lorvs for
lif'e.
triathu
and I
u'a-lked
a little
rvay
dorvn the road, to
the bus stoP,
\\'ith
our
white sacl
8/17/2019 ChandraV_Eternal Don.pdf
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t3B
he said
to the driver
of
the bulldozer,
who
lvas
leaning
ag:rinst
a gargantuan
track.
"BashirAli."
"You
kno."r'.lvhat
to
do?"
Bashir
Ali
tw.isted
his
blue
cap
in
his
hands.
"It's
rn1'responsibiliry,
Bashir
Ali.
I'm
giving
vou
an
order
as
a police
inspector,
so
you don't have
to
."vorr1.
about
it.
Let's
get that door
dorvn."
Bashir
Ali
cleared
his
throat.
"But
that's
Gaitonde in
there,
Inspector
sahib,"
he
said tentativell'.
Sartaj
took
Bashir
A1i
bi.the elborv
and rv'rlked
him
to the
door.
"Gaitonde?"
'Yes,
Sardarji?"
"This
is
Bashir
A1i,
the dri.,'er
of
the
bulldozer.
He's
afraid
of
helping
us.
He's
frishtened of1'ou."
"Bashir
A1i,"
Gaitonde
said.
The
voice
\\ias
commanding,
like
an empcror's,
sure
of
its
consonants
and its
generosig..
Bashir
Ali
rvrrs iooking
at the
middle
ofthc door.
Sertaj
pointed up
at thc video
camera, and
Ali
blinked
up
at
ir.
"Yes,
Gaitonde
Bhai?"
he srrid.
"Don't
rvorrl'.
I
u'on't
forgive
).ou"-
Bashir
Ali
blanched-"bec"use
there's
nothins
to forgir-e.
Wc
are
both
trapped,
1'or.l on that
side
of
the door
and
me
on
this.
Do
rvhat
thev
tell
1'ou
to
do,
get
it
over
rvith,
ar.rd
go
horre
to
your
children.
Nothine
*'i11
happen
to
vou.
Nor
nou-
and
not Llter.
I
gir.e
r-ou
my
tvord."
There
u.as
21
prluse .
"The
rvord
of
Glncsh
Grritonde."
81'the
time
Bmhir
Ali
had
climbed
up.
to his
seat on
top
ofthe
bulldozer
he had
rrndcrstood,
ir sccnrcd,
his
role in
the
sinr-
ation.
He
put
his
cap
on his
hcad
rvith
a
nr.irl and
pointed
it
bachvard.
The
engine
gmnted
and
then
settled
into
a
steadl'
rotrr.
Sartaj leaned
close
to
the
speakei.
The
left
side of
his hcad,
from
the
nape
of the
ncck
to the
temples,
rvas
caughtln
a
srveeping
pulse
of
heat
and
pain.
Ualtonde.'
"Speak,
Sardarji,
I'n.r
lister.ring."
'Just
open
this
damn
door."
"Oho,
yotr tvant
me
to
just
open
this
door?
I
knorv,
Sardarji,
I
larorv."
"Knorv
r'vhat?"
"I
knorv lvhat
)'ou
w2rnt.
You
want
me
to
just
open this dirrnn
door.
Then
1'or-r
\vant
to
arrest me
and take
me
to the
st:r-
tion.
You
\vrrnt
to be a hero
in
the news-
papers.
Yotr
rvirnt
a
promotion.
Two
pro-
motions.
Decp
dotvn )'ou
want
even
morc.
You
want
to
be rich. You
lvant
to
be an all-India
hero.
You.rr.ant
the
Presi-
JKETCHBOOK
BY DODO
LE
CURRY
/-flHn
inrisiblc
cook hcrc
is
clearly
setting
out to
mlkc
n curq',
but
I
rvhat,
cxactll'.
is
a currl')
Asking
an Indian isn't
much
help,
since the
-"vord
"curn/'
seems
to
have
been
popularized
by
the English
(as
r,r,as the
sruff
in
that
jar);
the relationship
of various
similar-
sour.rding
Indian
terms
to
the r.vord
in-
voh'es
a
fair
amount
of conjecrure.
When
Eneiish-speaking
Indians
sar"'curry.,"
they
usuallr'mean
a stew flavored
rr.itl.r
a subde
,
customized
mlxnlre
of
spices and
finished
rvith
anv
of an
assortment
of thickeners,
enrichers, and
narural colorings.
Request-
ing
a rnore
precise ans\\.er
is fike
asking
a trrble
of
French
rruckers to
define
a
cirssoulet.
This kitchen
scene,
dr:ru'n
by
the
Frerr.']r
rrnist
Dodo
in 199u,
on licr
lerur,'
from
a
joLrrner-
to
Indi,r,
acnrallv rells
us
nrorc
lbotrt
French
notiorri
of tooJ
rhln
about
Indian
cookirrs.
The
cloth-cor-cred
table belongs
in
a
French
kitchen, rvith
Grand-mdre
setting up
for
he r
blarrlu;tte
dt r,;,itr,
irnd
not in
an Indiirn rrrsoi.
Even
the
rvrrllpirper,
dcspite
its motil,
hints
nrorL'
ilt
thc
conciergt-'s
loge thrrn at
the
open
fire
lntl
fiene
tic
cacophonv
of an
In-
dirn kitchcn
in hrll
srving.
Obviouslr.,
the
irtirl
\r';l:
h.Lr
ing I lirrlc
tirn.
\o
proud Indirrn
cook rr'ould
forgo
thc
crrreful
hand-roasting
and
hand-
grinding
of
spicc
mi-\tures-the
corner-
stones of L.idian
cooking-in
far-or
of that
jar
of curn'porvder.
And
don't
bet
on
the
pitcher
of cream:
Indiirn
cooks favor
)'o-
gurt
(u.hich
provides
a
*'elcome
acidic
tane)
and
coconut
milk
(.rvhich
adds
srveetness
and
richness).
That
beaLrtiful
rectilngle
of
bufter
rvould
have
dripped
off
the
edge of
anr.'table
south
of
Darjeeling:
in
lndia,
butter
is
slou,h'and
ever
so
at-
tentivell.cooked
until
it
rakes on
the
but-
terscotch
aroma
of
a clear
and
golden
ghee. Lemons?
Indians
are far
more
likely
to
use lirles,
r'inegar,
t:Lmarind,
or
pow-
dered dried
mango
to
gir,'e
zing to
their
curries. And
thet'
eat
ra\r'
and
cooked
onions-never
leeks.
Ifan
Indian
sketched
a French
kitch-
en, u.hrt
rvould
rve
see? i\llai'be
a
big
jar
ofghee,
some
coconuts, and
one
ofthose
pretn'jrrs
of dried
htrbts de Provence.
-J
rrres Pr.;Tunsox
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8/17/2019 ChandraV_Eternal Don.pdf
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VIKRAM CHANDRA
ninq
fonverd,
pistol
lield
in
front
of
bim.
"Cet
back, get
back."
Thcn
Bashir
Ali
was
gone,
ar-rd
Sartai
rvas
leaning
against
one
side
ofthe
doonvay,
and
Katekar
on
the
other.
An
icy
rvind
carne
out
and
Sartaj
felt
it drf
ing
the
su'eat
on
his
face
and
his
forearms.
Suddenlr',
for
a mo-
inent,
he er-rvied
Gaitonde
a1l
his
air-
conditioners,
the
frigid
climate
control
rvon
by
his
audaciq'.
And
for
a
moment'
rising
from
someu-here
deep
in his
hips,
unbidden
and
nauseating,
like a buolant
dribble
of
bile,
rvas
a
tiny
bubble
of
ad-
flooded
rvith
rvhite trcon
radiance'
gcn-
erous
and
encompassit.tg
and
cletrn.
Al-rd
irr the universal
illumination
Grritonde
sat,
revealed,
a
black
pistoi
in
his
left
har.rd,
and
half
his head
gone.
fl'
nrs
night
uhen
Sart,rj cemc
up
the
I
m.tal
stairs.
He
left
trndcrnelth
him
the
symn-retrical
roor.us
of
the
cube'
nhich
the
nlo
police
coumissioners
be-
lorv
1'ere
ne11,
snlling
a
slfe
house.
The
three
lab
technicians
u'ere dusting
it, and
Katekar
u'as
guardiug
lt
rt'ith
i1
Pro-
prietor's
fierce
u'atchhrl-ress.
Sartaj
stood
ihadorted
in
tl're
1ee of
the
rnetal
door.
There
u'ere reporters
u'aiting
behind
a
rorv of police
ieeps.
He
checked
his
col-
lar, and
ran
his
l.rands
trlong
the
sides
of
his
rurban,
arrd
step.ped
out'
In
the
flare
ofthe
flashbulbs,
he
found
that
he
could
not
leale
behind
Gaitonde's
.tare.
Gei-
tonde hird
looked
at
hin-r
in
the
I'rst
sud-
den
light;
his
right ele
had bulqed
uith
"
,',.rrni.
intensin'.
S.rrtri
hed
seen
the
fiagile
trrcen'
oi
pink
lines'
the
hrrd-
black
oi
the
cupil.
rhe
.hining
seep
ot
fluid
tiom
ile
ln.ide
.onler,
u'hich
de-
spite
himsef
he hrd
lhouqht
of as
a
tear.
Bl,t
it
.r',rs oi"lr-
the
bodv
reacting
to
the
gigrrntic
b1o*'
thrt h:d
erploded
even-
ihing
tiom
rhe
chir.r
uP
oil
the
other
side
of
his
tice,
slicin3
iron
the
leti
nostrii
into
the
torehetd.
"Enoush.'
S;nai
said.
:.:d
shoddered
l+t
his
u'a1'througl-r
the
pl-rotograpl.re
rs. Soon
he
u,rrs at the
u'heel
of
a GrPsl',
rvir.rdirlg
through
the
heat,y
trafllc.
He didn't
knorv
u,heri
he
rvas going.
He
thought,
It's
finisl-red,
Sardarji,
finished.
It's
only
rvork.
Enough.
But
he
could
still see
rvater
slap-
ping
against
tl're rust-brorvr-r
side
of
a
boat,
a cloud-laden
s}ry,
a
figure
sitting
irl
tl.re borv
lookir-rg
toward
the
horizon.
Sartaj
rurned
tl-re
je
ep's
rvheel
violently
to the
left
and
rvas
now
driving
along
a
familiar
road,
rvhich
led
to the
sloping
beach
at
Kausa
rvhere
he
used
to go
pic-
nicking
during
college.
The
curving
rva-
terfror-rt
lined
rvitl-r tiny
fishing
villages
had been
a great
secret
then.
Norv
there
u'as a huge
1'ellorv
hotel,
built
in
an
epic
'arc
to
maich
the bay.
The
hotel
belonged
to l tin-rily
in
tl.re
construction
business,
and the
perrnission
required to
build in
ir
l.rotected
,rrea
hrrd
conre
Jiont
I
nrinistcr
close
to Gaitonde.
There
n'as nothing
to
be dor.re
;.rbout
it r.rorv.
The
villirgers'
sor.rs
and
daughters
r.'orked
in
it, as gardeners,
u'aiters, rrnd
r.nirids.
Tl're l'rotel
u',rs
far
rhei.rd
in tl.re
tl;rrk
but
Sartaj
co,.rld
see
it
clearlr',
like
irr-r
eltormous
rvall
stretcl'rirlg
iion-r right
to
le ft.
In its
rooftop
bar,
Sartej
had once
drunk
a Scotch.
FIe
veered
to
tl-re
side of
the
rorrd
ar-rd
stopped
t1-re
Glpr)'.
Sartaj
sat
for
a
lor"rg
u'hile'
Tl-rerl
he
mor-e
d the
jeep
ir.r a slorv
halt
circle
across
the road,
'and
ri,ent
back to
Kailashpada.
r
miration.
He
took
a deep
breath.
"Do
vou
think
the building
u'ill
holdj"
he said'
Katekar
nodded.
He
u'as
looking
in'
tl'rrough
the
door,
and
his
face
n'as
dark
rvith
iase. Sartaj
touched
the
tip of
his
tongue
to
his upper
lip, felt
the
dryness,
andlhen
they
u'ent
in.
Sartaj
rvent ahead,
and
at
the
first door
inside
Katekar
u'ent
by
him.
Behind
them
follou'ed
the
rus-
tling
of
the others.
Sartaj
rvas trf
ing
to-
hear
above
the thunderous
ur.rclenchir.rg
of
his
heart.
He
had
done
entries
like tl-ris
before,
and
it
never got
better.
It rvas
ven'
cold
inside
the
building,
and
the light
u'as
low and
lururious.
There
rvas carPet
Lln-
der
their
feet.
There
u'ere
four square
rooms,
all
white,
all
empw.
Ar-rd
at
the
exact
center
of
the
building
\vas
a
\-erv
steep,
almost vertical,
rnetal
stirircase'
Sartaj
nodded
at
Katekar,
and
then
fol-
lowed
him
dorvn.
The
metal
door
at the
bottom
oper-red
easily,
but
it
rvas
verl'
l'rear.y,
and
rvl-ren
Katekar
finally
had
it
back
Sartaj
saw
that
it
rvas as
thick
as a
hatch
to a
bankvault.
Inside
it rvas
dark.
Sartaj
rvas
shivering
uncontroilably.
He
moved
past
Katekar,
and
now he
sarv
a
bluish
light
on the
left.
Katekar
slid past
his shoulders
and
'ivent
out
rvide, and
then
they
shu{fled
fonvard,'rveapor.rs
held
rigidly
before
them.
Another
step
ar-rd
now
in
the
nerv
angle
Sartaj salv
a
figure'
slroulders,
in
front
of a
bank
of
haze-
filled
TV
mot.titors,
a brorvn
hand
near
the controls
on
a black
Panel.
"Gaitonde " Sartaj
hadn't
meant
to
shout-a
gende
admonitory
assenion
rvas
the
preferred
tone-and
norvhe
squeezed
his
voice
dorvn.
"Gaitonde,
put
1'our
hands
up
verv
slowly."
There
was
no
movement
from
the
figure
in
the
dark-
ness. Sartaj
tightened
his
finger painfully
on his trigger,
and
fought
the urge
to
fire,
and
fire again.
"Gaitonde.
Gaitonde?"
From
Sartaj's
right,
rvhere Katekar
was, carle
a
very
smal1
click,
and
even
as
Sartaj
turned
his
head
the
room
rvas
I.*i+/
;i'/
{.ffi
r1
'Just
once,
Ict like
to
be
able
to
usrite
a check
u:ithout getting
throttsn
in
jail."