"One who wanders everywhere, stays nowhere."
Sumeet and I reached Kerala at approximately 3 AM in the night and were received by a car. We travelled to our hotel and reached Kozhikode at 5 in the morning. Sumeet and I, then slept for four and a half hours and then travelled towards Iringallur. Our local guide, Vijay described Sarla and his main accomplices. He told us that Venkatesh is mostly bed-ridden nowadays and many are saying that he may not live long. Many of Venkatesh's old friends doubt Sarla's involvement in his illness, but Venkatesh usually laughs it off claiming that he has already given his only child, Meera to Sarla and she is the most treasured thing for him. He doesn't care what Sarla is or was earlier. His daughter loves him and he is satisfied with that only. Sarla has two brothers, Mukesh and Raju. Mukesh is a CA and keeps his brother's accounts and Raju is the enforcer of the gang. He is in charge of all the dealings after Sarla finalises them. Sarla has been trying to have a child with Meera for the last two years, but after Meera's past two miscarriages, he is now often seen going to the service women. Meera is the most educated of them all and is an accomplished painter and Kathakali dancer. Venkatesh's first wife, Bhanu Devi died after giving birth to her daughter, Meera and his second wife, Sureela died under mysterious circumstances. Sarla David rarely goes out and all his meetings are conducted inside his secured house. Other than Sarla, another brutal person rules here. His name is Anthony. He is originally from Sri Lanka, but fled from there and came here. He used to work under Venkatesh, but later decided to make his own gang. Venkatesh wanted to end the rift between them by marrying him to his daughter, but on the day of the wedding, Sarla and Meera came to the house after marrying. There was a huge fight that day and many households lost fathers and sons that day. Anthony wanted Venkatesh to marry his daughter to him as he promised, but when he decided to respect his daughter's choice and made Sarla his son-in-law, Anthony became his arch enemy. Sarla loves Meera a lot and he would not enter her room the day he visits the brothel. Other than that, Vijay doesn't know anything else.
We stopped near a small bus station. The bus station was remote and only two people except us were sitting there. Vijay asked a person in Kannada and he said something to him in Kannada. Vijay walked towards us and said, "Sarla has organised a small party at his house tonight. It will be a perfect opportunity to enter his house in the dark of the night. He looked at Sumeet and said, "Sarla is cunning and therefore you guys have to keep your attire and language like the locals." I said, "But, we don't know Kannada." Vijay said, "Don't worry. I will introduce you guys as vagabonds who are searching for jobs and are willing to do anything for some money." Sumeet smiled, "Okay. But, Harsh, keep in mind that the people here are not trustworthy and not for even a split second you can make a mistake." I nodded. Vijay and Sumeet took out some rope and slowly walked towards the two men and started strangling them. They threw the bodies backside of the bus station. After half an hour, the bus arrived and Vijay said in Kannada that we have to reach Sarla David's house. After some time, the bus stopped in front of a big house and we got off the bus and started to walk towards the main gate. Two men stopped us and Vijay described our situation. The two men looked at us and allowed us to get inside.
The whole house was decorated with marigold and jasmine flowers. The sweet scent of sweets and the fresh odor of young girls coming out from the bathroom was all the environment around the house. An old man was sitting on the swing in the balcony and was slowly munching on a small rice cake. I walked towards him and touched his feet. The man looked at me abruptly but then smiled and blessed me. He gave me a rice cake and pulled me to sit near him. He started blabbering something in Kannada and I smiled. He eventually understood that I don't speak Kannada and he then looked at Vijay. Vijay said that we have come here looking for work and want to meet Sarla David. The man smiled and said something to Vijay and then called a man. The man walked towards me and said in Hindi that Sarla David is currently in Thiruvananthapuram and will reach in the evening. For now, we should freshen up and rest a little. If we are hungry, we can feast in the kitchen. He showed us our rooms and went away. I changed my clothes and walked outside. The whole place was lovely and beautifully decorated. I walked towards the kitchen and saw a woman standing there with an aruvamanai and was cutting vegetables. Her hair was tied up in a bun. I walked towards her and she gave me a look. I waved my hands to show that I want food and where I can get it. The woman looked at me and smiled. Her smile was so beautiful that for a moment I forgot that I was hungry. She laughed and said, "I can speak Hindi. If you want food, there is bread and fried fish in the container. But, if you are a vegetarian you can eat lentils." I smiled, "Thank you. Actually, I was looking for a job and I heard that Sarla David is currently hiring people for his work. So, I along with my friend, Ranjit have come to Kerala looking for a job." The woman smiled, "Where are you from?" I said, "Delhi." She said grimly, "So far? I know unemployment is a major problem in India, but you shouldn't have come so far. Leaving your family to earn is not a good thing. Life is unpredictable and you shouldn't be so reckless in your decisions." I said grimly, "Yes, you are right. But, some miscreants killed my family four years ago and I was too incapable to even give them a proper funeral. So, I decided to earn enough money to at least make a shrine for them." She smiled, "It is not the best job if you are planning for the future. It has many unprecedented risks and there will always be a likely chance of dying." I smiled, "I don't care. I have already died once, there is no fear of dying again." She stood up and put a glass of water in front of me. She smiled, "Drink some cold water and think about it again. I don't see the man who can survive here inside you." She walked outside the room.
I walked outside the kitchen and stumbled on a big, fat man. He looked at me and grunted. I apologised and walked towards my room. He kept looking at me for some time and then he walked inside my room and looked at Vijay. He asked something in Kannada and Vijay said something in Kannada. The man looked at me and smiled, "Fresh meat. I like it. You can rest today, but from tomorrow you will not have a single second of rest. He laughed and walked away. I looked at Vijay and asked, "Who is he?" Vijay said, "He is Raju. Sarla David's brother. He is the best wrestler here and is notorious for strangling his enemies with his bare hands. Beware of him." I gulped down some water and Sumeet looked at me and said, "Remember that here only Sarla David's power reigns, so if anything happens wrong, UCID cannot intervene and rescue us." I nodded. He then said, "Good. Sarla will be here till the evening. Take some rest." I lay down on the floor and the cool breeze coming from the window made me sleep peacefully.
I opened my eyes and saw Sumeet was folding his mat and was looking at me. He said softly, "Wake up, princess. We have some work to do." I chuckled lightly. He walked towards me and pulled me up and said, "Sarla David has returned and has called us. He has been told by Vijay that we don't know Kannada, but fortunately he knows English and can speak with us comfortably." I smiled, "It's a good thing." Sumeet and I walked outside the room and saw Vijay was standing in front of the door. He looked at us and said, "Don't say anything unnecessary. Just answer as much as you are asked." We nodded and walked behind him till we reached a room filled with an enchanting aroma of sandal incense. We stopped in front of Raju who looked at us and grunted. A few minutes later, a tall man with a muscular body and a big handlebar moustache walked towards us and sat in the chair. He asked, "What are your names?" Sumeet said, "My name is Ranjit Thapar and he is my friend, Suraj Singh. We have come here looking for jobs." Sarla looked at me and said, "I am told that you two don't speak or even understand Kannada. Then, why have you two come here looking for jobs? Something looks fishy here." I replied, "We searched for jobs everywhere, but we didn't find any work that was rewarding like this job. So, we thought that we should come here and ask for a job." Sarla smiled lightly, "Rewarding job? I don't think you have any idea about the kind of work that happens here. What do you think I do?" I replied, "You have a business of trading. You trade things from here to foreign countries." Sarla rose and walked towards me and said, "Which foreign countries?" I replied, "I don't know. I know that you always need new men and currently you are hiring new men." Sarla smiled, "And why do I always need new men?" I replied, "Because of your ever flourishing business, you are always in need of new employees." Sarla laughed, "Raju and Mukesh. Test both of them and see who is better suited for what type of employment." He patted my shoulder and said, "You are a funny man, boy. I will keep a keen interest in you." He smiled and walked away. Raju walked towards me and said, "He is Mukesh. He keeps Sarla's accounts up-to-date." A big man with a pot belly walked towards me and said, "You don't have to prove anything to me. I don't need more men. Stay with Raju. He is always getting in trouble. The more men he keeps around him, the better." Raju said, "You can keep the lanky one, Mukesh. I will take the muscular one." Sumeet looked at me and said, "Fine." Mukesh said, "Meet me at 5 in the morning. The earlier we start counting, the more we can count." Raju looked at me and said, "You don't have to do such things. Just eat and come with me whenever I call you." I nodded. Mukesh and Raju walked outside the room. Sumeet and I walked towards our room and lay on the floor to sleep. I closed my eyes and slowly fell asleep...