The Twilight Zone

Chapter: 1

A nonagenarian with a condition of health that can stop his breath any moment, chose to be ruthless without any concern for his imprisoned son and who mercilessly drove away his daughter-in-law and grandsons from his house unmindful of what would befall to them.

It was 10:30 in the morning. The District Collector was discussing important administrative matters with his subordinate officers including the Deputy Collector, Mr. Perugu Pernadham, in his office. A Circle Inspector of Police gate crashed into his office with the speed and ferocity lightening bolt of brushing aside the staff outside who tried in vain to stop him from entering. The Circle Inspector had the guts to announce that he had come to arrest Mr. Pernadham.

He rushed towards Pernadham and flashed the arrest warrant and ordered him to accompany him. Mr. Pernadham who was seated close to the Collector with a very confident look, suddenly felt his heart beating faster. It happened so quickly that the Collector had no time to react to what was happening. The man arrested, was none other than the only son of Mr. Viswanadham, an I.A.S officer, who retired as Chief Secretary to the Government Andhra Pradesh, some years ago.

There was huge back ground to this unusual daredevilry on the part of the Circle Inspector.

Chapter: 2

The Abids Road police station: One of the people who happened to be inside was so thrilled that the Inspector was able to arrest one of the top bureaucrats within hardly 30 minutes since he filed the complaint. He stood up and shuffled towards the Inspector shook him by his hand and congratulated him for the unusual alert and efficiency and profusely thanked him.

Just the previous night, this nonagenarian was rudely roughed up by his son in his house during some excited exchange of words and was so severely hurt that he landed unconscious on the floor. His servants superficially examined him and took him for dead. At his master’s bidding they carried the body to a large dust bin a few streets away from his house, and deposited the body was in a sitting posture.

The early morning sun had started flashing its rays, graciously dispelling the darkness of the night.  Raju, a rag picker, with his bag on his shoulders was rushing to the dustbin to pre-empt other rag pickers to take away any  salvageable things from it.

He pushed his hand inside the bin in search of some waste material such as broken plastics and liquor bottles. Very shockingly he felt something like a nose, hair, a face, fingers, and when his hand had dug deeper; he was able to identify a human being.

Hurriedly he cleared the rubbish covering the object and with all his might pulled out human body which he laid out the body near by a payment and it is still dark. God’s ways are strange: Raju had pulled out an elderly man who was still breathing; he wondered how he survived.

He stripped him of all the dirty material gathered on his body and then his clothes, whatever was left. He brought water from a nearby tap, and washed him as best as he could. After a little while Viswanadham started moving as he was gently bathed by early morning rays of the sun about to appear. Raju took out his own shirt and covered a good part of the old man’s body. He went to a nearby shop and brought a cup of hot tea and fed it to Viswanadham. After consuming the tea Viswanadham appeared slightly rejuvenated and managed to raised his head slightly and asked Raju, “where the nearest police station”?

Chapter: 3

This was the man seated in the Police Station after he had filed a complaint with the police against his son’s atrocious encounter with him the night before. It took the Inspector in the police station a little over half an hour to figure out fully what had happened. He then immediately rushed to the complainant; and asked, “Are you Mr. Viswanadham?”

“Yes” replied the complainant, who once served the State as Chief Secretary for four years.

Viswanadham also asked the Inspector, whether he had the guts to arrest a person of the rank of Deputy Collector against whom he filed the complaint. The Inspector got infuriated and he could not fathom how a person of that calibre could commit such an unimaginable and unpardonable crime against his own father.

Viswanadham once again asked him whether he would dare bring such a senior ranking man to book.

As if in reply the Inspector with a hurt and provoked look left the station post haste.

The Sub-Inspector who was totally flabbergasted  having witnessed all these happenings, went outside and brought a hot cup of tea and placed it before Viswanadham.

Viswanadham with his characteristic commanding voice then asked the Sub-inspector to bring in Raju who was waiting outside the station. He went out and nervously patted the waiting Raju on his back and asked him to come on in.

Viswanadham motioned to Raju to take his seat in the chair next to him and pushed his tea towards Raju. Viswanadham told the Sub-Inspector pointing to Raju very appreciatively in English, “It is this young man that saved my life” he added, “ if I am alive, it is entirely because of him.”

Chapter:4

“What should we do now?” asked Viswanadham, back in the usual get together of six of his friends including a woman, retired as a senior medical officer from a government hospital. They were all aged ranging from eighty-five to ninety years. Actually this group of friends of Viswanadham would meet periodically once in two or three months, just for fellowship and for discussing any matters of mutual interest, including an occasional condolence references to those who passed away before the day of meeting.

All these octogenarians and nonagenarians each had a problem with their sons and daughters who had little patience or care for their aged parents who they thought were of no earthly use to them in any way. They felt relief in sharing their woes and freely exchanging their thoughts.

Viswanadham got up and gave a detailed account of his own unpleasant experience with his son. He had to fight back tears, as he related an incident. Then he gave details of an event when he had passed a motion involuntarily in his pants resulting in a minor chaos in his house and outburst of his daughter-in-law over this

He continued, “One day last week, she returned from the college where she is working as a lecturer and as soon as she entered the house she encountered an odour and assumed its cause. She was terribly upset and crashed into my bedroom when I happened to be fast asleep.

She awakened me violently by hitting my forehead and demanding an explanation for what had happened. She physically forced me to clean the entire room after darting a broomstick towards me. And I had no choice except to obey although I did not have the energy for it. Later in the night my son returned and after being told of what transpired, instead of sympathizing with me, loudly yelled at me using foul language. And in a fit of rage he forcibly pushed me to the wall, hitting my head in the process; he continued shouting, “You are not allowing us to live in peace even for a day.”

It is this incident he was narrating to his friends, also expressing frustration that he was not even allowed even to hug his grandchildren.

The stories of other friends’ lives were not very different. They also poured out their own miserable experiences with their family members. They were now trying to explore a solution to their common problem. Viswanadham suddenly stood up and blurted out a plan when others were silent and unable to discover a remedy.

He said, “Look, we were all big officials at one time. We all earn hefty pensions of at least thirty thousand rupees or more and we engage servants such as nurses, cooks and others. We will live harmoniously in the new setup independent of our children and without any mental agitation.

By this I would also suggest that after we establish ourselves in the new environment.  We will also take up the rehabilitation of a few destitute elders and also a few orphan children in order to provide an opportunity to become  useful citizens of our great country.  We need not regret for bequeathing what we have earned to children who never bother to take care of us in the evening of our lives”.

As soon as Viswanadham concluded his speech the rest hailed his project clapping their hands loudly.

They said, “This would surely help us live peacefully and with self- respect”.

They also expressed optimism that the society would endorse the concept with empathy.

Chapter: 5

Later, as Viswanadham was having dinner with his family, he brought up the subject and plan he had discussed with his friends. He asked his son for his cheque books and pertinent documents and deeds. He was determined to join his colleagues in the new living arrangement.

He said, “I do not want to be of any annoyance to you any more in any manner.”

Unable to control his temper over his father’s proposal he got up and slapped his father with such ferocity that it sent the old man into a state of unconsciousness; he dropped on the ground. Though it might look incredible the servants under instructions, removed the body, taking him for dead, and dumped into a dustbin in a far away place, three to four streets away from the house.

Chapter: 6

The plight of the elderly friends was tragically similar with their own families. They also demanded the bank books, etc. from their children after telling them about their decision to lead the rest of their lives with a group of friends in a separate residence.  But their children were least prepared to endorse the idea, so, all these elders were cleverly, but inhumanly disposed off in a manner that people bought the stories of natural deaths. One of them died in sleep. Another fell down in the bathroom, fatally injured. Yet another just collapsed while about to take a cup coffee due to massive cardiac arrest: like it is said ‘there is many a slip between the cup and lip.’ Still another suddenly stopped breathing as he was narrating to his children about the earlier days of his life. And so on. No one had the slightest notion that they were all murdered in cold blood, but the facts were camouflaged by their advanced years and no doubt was ever raised.

Chapter: 7

Viswanadham reached his house after filing his complaint against his son. He called his daughter-in-law and demanded that she should leave the house forthwith, with her children, reminding her that the house was his property and that she immediately forfeited her local standing in the house. The old man demanded his pension money which he had given to her; she returned it without a word. Viswanadham, who got his son behind bars, left no doubt to the daughter-in-law that the old man meant what he had said and she had no choice except to do as ordered. She left the house with her children,  never to return.

Then, he brought Raju inside his house and got him bathed and cleaned. They drove to Raymond’s shop and Viswanadham bought Raju a beautiful new dress. Later they drove to a five star hotel for a sumptuous lunch. Both of them had visited 5 star hotel Oberoy the entire atmosphere looked so strange and unfamiliar with Raju to an extent of being confused. He was not able to take the food served,  over  powered with a sort of fear and complex. Then Viswanadham assured him that there was no need to feel diffident since after all we are friends and paying for the food.

After lunch they returned home and as they were nearing the threshold of his house Viswanadham could not control passing a motion, dirtying the hall as it happened earlier. Raju helped Viswanadham change his clothes and wash to render him fresh enough to relax on his bed,then personally cleaned up the hall without any compunction. A little later perhaps exhausted and strained  Viswanadham slipped on the floor and fell down causing himself some injury. Then Raju after seeing the condition of Viswanadham took him on his shoulders to a hospital.

Then Viswanadham, traversing the memory lane, recollected an incident when his father carried him in an identical manner to some hospital for necessary attention.  He felt so happy and grateful that he embraced Raju very heartily and tightly as he brought him memories of love and affection he was showered with by his parents.

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Original Story: Sanku. Ganapathi Rao

from the book “Nippula Toofan”

Translated by: Mandalika Satyanarayana