Anything and Everything

                “Look, Papa! A deer!” screamed Raghu with his hands vigorously jolting his father.

                “Sshh! You’ll scare it away son. It is a young gazelle” he moved his head around, trying to get a better view from the side window. “They are very shy and you are one lucky boy to see one at this time.”

                “Look, its staring at us” Raghu whispered, “I wonder where his family is?”

                “Stay put. Do not turn back. Any sudden movement will drive the animal away” he said rolling the glass down, using the driver control.

Raghu felt a slight weight on his right shoulder, but did not bother to turn back, for he had transcended the real world. It was only the deer and he himself that existed. The unbroken line of sight; the thrill of looking into the eyes of a wild animal barely five meters away; the obscurity of a mind that worked, perceived and felt different than his own, was a puzzle that he could have worked on for ages. This exuberance was shortly disrupted by a sudden jolt on his shoulder. He turned to look and it was his father, carefully locking the safety mechanism of his sleek rifle.

“Careful now, the muzzle is hot” he said slowly putting it away to the rear seat of the car. Raghu immediately turned to the window and to his horror, lay the gazelle; beautiful but dead. The stream of red that appeared from underneath its body continually expanded. “Isn’t this a beauty! Silent as the damn owl. Come on son, we need to load it into the car” he said in his deep voice and walked towards the corpse. Raghu - silent still - followed his father on his tiny feet.

“It is so small” said Raghu looking at the poor soul. “Yes, the big ones are tough to shoot, they keep running away” he bent down to take a clear look, “This must not be more than eighteen months old. Young ones are easy to transport, and so my favourite. Now look here” he said signalling his son, “Never shoot for the head. The impact destroys the precious skull. Always aim for the chest, here” he pointed at the wound, “just above the fore limbs. Do you understand?” Raghu was silent. “Now come help me load it into the trunk” and so he did.

“Why do we always kill them dad?” asked Raghu as they drove off the jungle road.

“Because it is a tradition. It is in our blood” his focus on the rough road.

“It is a wrong thing to do” he whispered.

“Says who?” he looked sharply at his son “Look son, there’s nothing called wrong, or right. They are just human devised aspects to make ourselves feel better. Everything that you see around is built by us, for ourselves, even our morals. These morals start fading away when you rise high. Be happy now” he patted his head, “we are up to a great dinner tonight.”

Both stayed quiet for a moment, perhaps reflecting on their words when Raghu turned to his father and said, “I learnt in school that killing wild animals is a crime. We can go to jail.”

“No one is going to jail son. Now, who do you think made the law?”

“Lawyers?” he whispered

“Close. It’s us. Humans. And what did I just say about things made by humans?” the rough jungle road converged to a better paved one. Shifting gears, he said “You are growing up. This is the time you should start learning things that they don’t teach at schools. Do you know what the law says? . . . .  It says that everyone is equal in its eyes. A very strong proposition.”

“Now think of a beggar, and his family. They do not have enough to sustain themselves. They stink, they riot and they spread filth. Do you think they are the same as us?”

“No” he murmured.

“Good. Now have you ever heard of a beggar winning against a well suited man?”

“No”

“Well, then don’t you think that the law is lying?”

Raghu kept silent. “It is complicated. But this is how the world works. They feed you with lies and stories of utopias with unicorns and . . . .and communism, transferring you to a dream that has no base, and when you are up there, they rip you down. Most people are trapped in this perpetual lying for their entire lives – thinking they can do better. But the truth is, everyone’s born different, some are born to rule, many to be ruled. And you are born to rule my son! Therefore you must be strong, never give in to the bitter sweet dream that everyone is a part of.”

The heat twirled down as time passed by. Both remained silent. It was a tough time for Raghu. All that he had heard of in the world, now seemed to quiver from its foundation. Why would the person who loved him the most lie to him? Was father right? All of his talks fit into place. But if right and wrong were tools made by us, then why did his words feel wrong?

They slowly approached a watch tower on the road where a stout, young man stood in his uniform. Father rolled down his window pane, “We are leaving with our trophy, thank you for the time” he said holding out his right hand. The forest guard shook his hand then looked at his palm. A wide smile covered his face, “The light is falling dim, you should hurry back Akash Sir” he said raising his brows.

“Thank You officer, please tell Raghav Babu that I shall see him tomorrow” his foot on the pedal, “have a pleasant evening!”

“No one can touch you if you know the ways of the world. There is only one rule and that is money. All I want is for you to learn this rule and forget everything that the world feeds you.”

“We should not have killed the deer. It was not made by us, or for us” he said firmly.

“Of course it is” he replied thumping the steering wheel “we are hunters, every animal is made for us to kill. Only the fittest survive, be it in the wild, or the society” he sighed and continued “remember son, there are only two kinds of people in this world. People who can do things and people who cannot. I killed the gazelle! I did it because I can, in every aspect and that is the end of it.”

Home was not far. The large bungalow was home to the two, a butler, a chef and a few other servants. Ismail Bhaiya took care of the car while the others began preparations for the night. Akash slouched his fat body back to his room and Raghu ran to his own.

The next day was busy, Raghu was taken to school and the two wouldn’t see each other for until the next holiday. Akash left early and arrived late at night every working day. He was a sly man, who had learned the tricks to take care of the business from his father; the tricks to survive luxuriously from the world. Sometimes he would get around with his officials at the factory and discuss his philosophies of life and business. None could vouch for him to be a good man, but none could deny that he was a good businessman. A terrific combination to eminence. ‘Keep your emotions away from your business’ was his golden rule, that was framed and hung neatly in his office. All his officials at the factory knew his story by heart, because he never hesitated in narrating it.

‘When I was a kid, I thought that all clowns wore makeup. One day I tried to scrape it off of a sleepy one but all that oozed out was blood. It was then that I realised that some people are born clowns, and others, ring masters.’

On one such occasion, Mr. Khanna, the chief engineer of the factory discussed the need of new, remodelled packaging machines for their shampoo products. “I will talk to Suraj when he returns” said Akash sipping his coffee.

“I do not think he will be returning any soon, besides there has been a lot of commotion in the city lately”

“If you are talking about the bomb discovery at the airport, then it was a rapid response taken by the CISF. The bomber was caught minutes after he planted the bomb.”

“Yes, but the rumours are that the next target is an industry. We are the largest unit in the state, we should take necessary precautions.”

“We have the same level of security as the airport. The incapable bastards would be apprehended even if they think to sabotage us. Relax, and do not base your judgements on rumours” he tossed the empty cup into the garbage can “I must go now. I need to visit someone”

The meeting with Raghav Babu was complacent and laudable. He was the Range officer of the forest that guarded Akash’s house. Having known him for the past few years, and the shrewd businessman that he was, Akash could predict all that Raghav Babu had to say. “I will share what I have, if you share what you do” were Raghav Babu’s words that comforted Akash. “I will take care of you, if you take care of me” was his response every single time. Their relationship lacked sentiments, just as his relationship with everyone else, perhaps even his son.

Killing a protected animal on protected land is no joke. It was only when half a month had passed by when Akash and Raghav Babu breathed in relief. The smirk that Akash had on his face never left. He could handle it all.

It was just another day at the office when Akash ran through the stock at the factory. “Turn on the T.V. there has been a bomb blast moments ago” someone screamed from the outside. From the comfort of his chair, he switched to the news channel.

‘Xavier high bombed at 2:05 PM, fatality estimated to be in thousands’ read the headline.

The remote dropped from his hands in horror. He rose up and rushed for the door, but his foot was caught in the cables. He dropped flat on the ground, knocking himself unconscious.

One terrorist had been caught the next day. After weeks of inhumane treatment the only words he muttered were, “We did it because we can!”