But at none of the first-aid centres was there any sign of the little frog, and as hour followed hour, Veena and old Mrs Tandon, and soon Mr and Mrs Mahesh Kapoor, and Pran and Savita, and of course Priya and Ram Vilas Goyal (who even began to feel themselves responsible for what had happened), sank into a deeper and deeper sense of hopelessness and desperation.
11.23
Mahesh Kapoor, while sympathizing with Priya and reassuring her that she should not be so foolish as to hold herself responsible for what was beyond anyone’s control, did not tell her where he placed the responsibility: squarely on her father’s shoulders. He was the Home Minister. It had been his duty to ensure that the arrangements were not susceptible to this horrendous eventuality. At least once before, in the firing at Chowk, L.N. Agarwal had shown either lack of personal foresight or unwise confidence in delegating authority to others who lacked it. Mahesh Kapoor, although he usually had very little time for his family, loved his only grandchild greatly, and was distressed beyond measure for his wife and his daughter.
Everyone stayed over at Prem Nivas that night. Kedarnath could not be contacted; he was out of town. Trunk calls were difficult to make, and he was not in Kanpur, where they had thought he might be on business. Maan, who was so fond of Bhaskar, was in Debaria still. Veena and old Mrs Tandon first went home in the flickering hope that Bhaskar might have gone back there. But no one in their neighbourhood had seen Bhaskar. They themselves had no telephone, and to spend the night alone at home would be unbearable. Their rooftop neighbour of the red sari reassured them that she would get in touch with the Minister Sahib’s house if they had any news. And so they made their way back to Prem Nivas, Veena in her heart bitterly upbraiding Kedarnath for being, as he so often was, out of Brahmpur.
Like my father when I was born, she thought.
By then Pran and Savita were at Prem Nivas as well. Pran knew he would have to be with his parents and sister, but he was afraid of distressing his wife unduly in her present condition. If her mother or sister had returned from their travels, he would have felt no qualms about leaving her in their care and staying over at Prem Nivas himself. But Mrs Rupa Mehra’s last letter had been from Delhi, and she was at this moment either in Kanpur or in Lucknow, far from where she could be of use.
That night the family discussed what could be done. No one could sleep. Mrs Mahesh Kapoor prayed. There was very little that had not already been attempted. All the hospitals of Brahmpur had been searched for Bhaskar, following the conjecture that he had been injured and taken there directly by some helpful person. So had all the police stations — but to no avail.
They were all certain that Bhaskar, intelligent and (usually) self-possessed as he was, would have either gone back home or contacted his grandparents if he had been able to. Had his body been misidentified and taken away for cremation by others? Had he been kidnapped in the confusion? As all the plausible possibilities disappeared one by one in the face of the facts, unlikely imaginings took on a credibility of their own.
No one could sleep that night. As disturbing as their own grief and anxiety was the sound of revelry that echoed through the darkness. For it was the month of Ramazan, the Muslim month of fasting. Because of the purely lunar Muslim calendar, the month of Ramazan had staggered its way back to summer over the last few years. The days were long and hot, and the deprivation great — since strict Muslims were enjoined even from drinking water during the daylight hours. After sunset, the relief therefore was the greater — and the nights were given over to feasting and celebration.
The Nawab Sahib, strict observant though he himself was, had, upon hearing of the calamity at the Pul Mela, forbidden any celebration in his own household. He was even more distressed when he heard that his friend’s grandson could not be traced. But such fellow-feeling was not general, or at least not universal, and the sound of Muslim celebration in a town where the news of the disaster had spread like fire, and must be known to everyone, was embittering even to a man like Mahesh Kapoor.
The phone rang from time to time, exciting their hope and fear. But they were messages of sympathy — or intimations from one official source or another that nothing had come up — or else calls that had nothing to do with Bhaskar at all.
11.24
The afternoon before, on the instructions of the Home Minister, a number of cars had been requisitioned in order to ferry the wounded to hospital. One of these cars was the Buick of Dr Kishen Chand Seth.
Dr Seth had decided to see a movie that afternoon, and his car was parked outside a cinema hall, the Rialto. When he emerged, sobbing with sentiment, supported by his hardboiled young wife Parvati, he found two policemen leaning on his car.
Dr Kishen Chand Seth immediately flew into a rage. He raised his cane threateningly, and if Parvati had not restrained him, he would certainly have used it. The policemen, who knew Dr Seth’s reputation, were very apologetic.
‘We have orders to requisition this car, Sir,’ they said.
‘You — what?’ spluttered Dr Seth. ‘Get out, get out, get out of my sight before I—’ He was at a loss for words. Nothing seemed severe enough retribution for their gall.
‘Because of the Pul Mela—’
‘All superstition, all superstition!’ said Dr Kishen Chand Seth. ‘Let me go at once.’ He took out his key.
The Sub-Inspector apologetically took it from his hand in an unexpected and skilful movement. Dr Kishen Chand Seth almost had a heart attack.
‘You — you dare—’ he gasped. ‘Teutonic frightfulness—’ he added in English. This was worse than bayoneting babies.
‘Sir, there has been a disaster at the Pul Mela, and we—’
‘What nonsense! Had there been any such thing, I would certainly have heard of it. I am a doctor — a radiologist. You can’t requisition a doctor’s car. Let me see your written orders.’
‘—we have orders to requisition any vehicle within a mile of the pipal tree.’
‘I am just here to see a film, this car is not actually here,’ said Dr Kishen Chand Seth, pointing to his Buick. ‘Give me my keys back.’ He reached out for them.
‘Kishy, don’t shout, darling,’ said Parvati. ‘Perhaps there really has been some disaster. We’ve been seeing a film for the last three hours.’
‘I assure you, Sir, there has been,’ said the policeman. ‘There have been a great many deaths and injuries. I am requisitioning this car on the express instructions of the Home Minister of Purva Pradesh. Only cars of active — non-retired — doctors are exempt. We will take good care of it.’
This last remark was just a soothing formula. Dr Kishen Chand Seth realized immediately that his car would be virtually disabled through misuse and overuse. If what this idiot was saying was true, there would be sand in the engine and blood on the calfskin upholstery by the time he got it back. But had there really been such a disaster? Or was this just another example of post-Independence rot? People were shockingly high-handed these days.
‘You!’ he shouted at a passer-by.
Taken aback, not accustomed to being addressed in this manner, the man, a respectable clerk in a government department, stopped in his tracks and turned a face of polite, perplexed inquiry towards Dr Kishen Chand Seth.