WILD SUMMER ECHOES

EPISODE NINE

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” –Helen Keller

Like they say, time stands for none and on that night, time sped in such a way that Sandip wished he had the power to freeze it to a standstill.

The news of the spreading riots reached Sandip and his father. Govind Singh was worried about his shops. Dinanath was also concerned but he could not do anything about it due to his inability to move. They were sitting in Dinanath’s room and watching television. The images displaying on the screen were horrific. There seemed to be no control over the mob fury. They went about destroying anything and everything without a care in the world.

The city looked like a war zone for most of the night and day as rampaging crowds of stone throwing youths torched scores of homes and shops, assaulted men who opposed and fought police in street battles.

Govind Singh decided to go and check his shop but Sandip and Dinanath tried to desist him. There was one more person from their neighborhood who was willing to go with Govind Singh. In spite of Sandip’s apprehension, Govind Singh and the other man ventured out tentatively to check their shops.

Ten minutes after they left, a group of people who were rioting around that area entered their colony and damaged houses with rods. People huddled inside their homes fearing their fury. The rioters threatened all and demanded money and other valuables from the residents. Sandip made efforts to call the police but the line was dead. He tried his cell phone but he realized that the signal was down. There was a loud banging on the door. Dinanath asked him to open the door and when Sandip opened the door, some men barged into the house and broke the television set. Sandip struggled to stop them and they pushed him away. They ransacked the house and searched for valuables. Sandip fought with them to put an end to their savagery but they grabbed a glass flower vase and broke it injuring him with splintered glass shards. Just then another set of rioters barged in with torches of flames. Sandip muscled his way through them to help Dinanath and his first instinct was to take Dinanath away from the assault. Dinanath pounced on the men to stop them from destroying his house but they took hold of him and dragged him outside. By then the house was set on fire.

Sandip would never forget the next few minutes of the night. His life changed in those deadly moments…….

As the men dragged Dinanath out, Sandip rushed after the men and tried to pull back Dinanath. He pleaded with them to let Dinanath go but the sirens of approaching Police made their decision. They forced Dinanath and two other men from the neighborhood inside a waiting van and fled amidst police firing.

While Sandip chased the van, someone caught his shoulder and yelled, “Your dad is trapped in the market. They are setting fire to the shops.” Sandip raced across the streets towards the congested market…

Women and children were trapped inside their houses. The fire was raging out of control spreading fast and furious. People were screaming unable to breathe. The Police and Para Military forces tried to save trapped people.

As the lethal night wore on, it got more and more difficult to maintain sanity amid the scene of devastation and arson. The middle class district of the city was in shambles.

When Sandip reached the market, the shops in the area were ravaged and fire fighters were battling to control the roaring blaze. The police were using teargas and shelling to clear the area. Sandip searched his father desperately. He pushed the men aside and rushed towards the shops that were on fire. One of them was his father’s. Medical emergency team had arrived to take the injured men away. Sandip searched from one face to another for his father. He could not find him.

In spite of the warnings from fire fighters, Sandip approached his father’s shop and he heard feeble sound of someone moaning. He blindly followed the sound through the smoke and found Govind Singh on the floor unconscious. A paralyzing fear gripped him and he sprinted across to feel his father’s pulse. He felt it and took deep breathes. The smoke and fumes were stinging his eyes making them water.

He tried to wake his father up but he was not stirring. He felt helpless. Mustering all his efforts, Sandip lifted his father, hauled him over his shoulder and carried him to one of the stretchers. He went with the medical team to the hospital. The doctors told him that Govind Singh might have inhaled the toxic fumes too much. They took him to the emergency ward and Sandip waited for the doctor’s diagnosis endlessly. The night wore on and he hoped for the nightmare to come to an end. He had hurt himself while tackling the hooligans in his house and his legs were bleeding. He got first aid done on it and washed his face off soot, dust and dirt. There was a constant stream of injured people on stretchers. As Sandip waited outside the ward, his thoughts were with Dinanath. He prayed that his dear uncle would return hale and hearty. He did not have mobile phone to make calls or inform anyone. Others in the hospital mentioned that signals were down and no one could be contacted.

The violence did not appear to abate and by early morning, shoot at sight order was given. News reached Meerut but Sahana and Mallika could not contact anyone in the city. None of the phones worked and they could not talk to Dinanath or Sandip or Govind Singh. All bus and train services to New Delhi were terminated and the city border was sealed. Sahana and her mother grew restless and anxious.

By evening they were informed that the city was slowly coming under control. One of the families who attended the engagement ceremony was going back to New Delhi that evening. They offered to take Sahana and Mallika. They never expected to find the shock and horror that awaited them back home.

One night, that was all needed to turn their lives upside down.

To be continued…….