Terror on the Divine - Part 1 : Behind the mask

Chapter 1 - College Life

Lahore-based Adyapak settled in Goa during the partition of India and Pakistan. Motivated by the stories of Indian freedom fighters and the sacrifices, he joined the Indian army and had served for 25 years in an infantry regiment. He was a brave soldier who had survived a stint at Siachen Glacier, and a daredevil who entered China and lost his leg in the war but still survived in spite of the pain. After a few months of treatment, with due respect, and with all formalities, Adyapak was felicitated for his bravery by Government of India and also local members of Goa. He was the first person to be a part of an infantry regiment in the army from the state of Goa. It is a state where even today, they follow the Portuguese culture; for a person living in such an environment, joining the military itself is a great achievement.

His patriotism didn't allow him to sit quiet, and after his retirement from service, he served as a guest lecturer in Bangalore and motivated youth to develop patriotism. The ex-serviceman continued to fight against social evils, and he was a noted personality among the people and fought against the corrupt politicians. We were students of Mr Adyapak. And we followed his path too.

He named us the 'Fantastic Four' because we were a team of four who actively participated in all the rallies that Adyapak conducted — we were highly motivated by the principles and the intentions of Adyapak. Our relationship was more than that of a follower and leader; he always treated us as members of his own family.

I remember him standing at the door of a train while leaving Bangalore and he had said, "Be prepared, I will call you when I am ready." There was no time for us to ask about the details as, by then, the train drew out of the station.

After his departure, we followed in his footsteps. Our fight against social evil continued, and we didn't even spare our college administration. Our first step was against the fee structures and also against lectures supporting and giving extra attention to the students of higher officials like the son of a deputy commissioner and the son of a MLA. The protest was so powerful that members of ABVP also joined hands with us. We had got enormous media to support too. The media projected us as the 'Four Musketeers'. Our actions made the college staff recommend our names to the university to dismiss us from college. But, the university chief rejected the proposal, understanding the aftereffects of dismissing us; instead, he had sent a notice to the college staff to concentrate on their work. And, fear had set in about us in the city, and our families were afraid about the path we had chosen. They were fearful of the threats to life that we received. There were a few days where our parents had spent sleepless nights and advised us to leave the path we were following and to come back home. They even suggested that we discontinue our studies and start a business. The seed Mr Adyapak cultivated in our soul was not to sit in some corner and earn money. The seed was a plant now, and it wasn't going to be easy to de-root it.

The college staffs were a little relieved from their worries as we had written the last exam paper for that academic year. And, they were waiting for us to leave college as soon as possible.

As mentioned earlier, we were a team of four, literally the fantastic four; while our other batch mates were worried about their future plans, and were eagerly waiting for the result day to receive a certificate as graduates of archaeology, we never wanted to go home, as we knew our parents were waiting for our arrival to get us to start working. My father, a bank accountant, had already paid an advance payment for a shop to start a grocery stall; he had the intention of setting me up in that business so as to keep me busy. He had called me last night and said, "Arjun, it's time up for you to start your own business and take care of the family. I will be taking retirement from my job by next month." Yes, I could understand the responsibility of being a father; his concerns were to keep me safe and prevent me from getting involved in social causes. But, my field of interest was different; I was an archaeologist, and I couldn't sit at a grocery shop selling nuts. I wanted to evade my father's plan at least for a few days, so I asked, "Could you allow me to breathe for a few days? And we will decide on it after a while. I mean, after returning from a trip." He disconnected the call without having the courtesy to give me an answer.

My other three friends – Balram, Satwik and Chirag - were smart enough to avoid a similar situation from their respective families. They did message their parents telling them about their trip to Goa, and after confirming that the messages had been delivered, they switched off their phones.

Balram, who was fair, good looking and a heavy built kickboxer, had competed at national levels, representing the state, ending up as a runner up twice. He had a vision problem, and that was his weakness; he knew, and we knew it too. It had been three years; we had cautiously taken care of his weakness by ensuring the rest of our batch mates were unaware of it.

Satwik and Chirag were identical twins; the only way to recognize the difference between them was a black spot on the right corner of Satwik's forehead. They were both hardcore Brahmin, both well-versed in the knowledge of Sanskrit shlokas and mantras. Their interest in the Mahabharata and Ramayana had got them to choose archaeology. They wanted to prove that the great Indian epics were not myths but had happened in reality. They were keen on finding out all the possible shreds of evidence to show that Sri Krishna and Sri Rama were real.

The twins chose Goa as a vacation spot with a purpose, as everybody knows Goa is a place of beaches and a place to have fun, a perfect getaway place but, it also has one among the only three temples of Lord Brahma in the world, and the temple of Mahalasa made them choose Goa as the destination for our vacation.

And, me, Arjun Dev, I had a goal - I wanted to be a thriller writer, a bestselling thriller author. As a result of which, I initiated a plan to write a book with the title 'Breathing Symbols'. I was taking help from Satwik and Chirag in sorting and jotting down the required information to write a book. And, I had two weaknesses – cigarettes and Sahana.

I was standing alone on the hostel terrace looking at the view of the campus, enjoying the raindrops falling rhythmically, with a cigarette in my right hand, memorizing all the fun and fights of all those days during we'd spent in college.

The day had come for us to depart and move towards our destiny, choosing a career, setting up goals to achieve and a small family to stay with, till our last breath. And to me, my small family needed to include Sahana, and I was expecting that from the day we had become close friends. I indeed had tears at the tip of my eyelids with a tsunami of beautiful memories. The first teardrop fell when I lit the second cigarette. Meantime, a strident voice interrupted, saying, "What the hell on this world are you doing here?" Balram came close to me, followed by Satwik and Chirag. Trying to hide my tears, I said, "Nothing," and took another puff.

Balram glared at me, looking deep into my eyes. "It's drizzling, I can't see your tears, but I can feel it, Arjun," he said, and I felt his tears too. The next moment, we wrapped our arms around each other with our eyes closed. We were not only partners fighting against evil, but we were also emotionally attached. I am so thankful to Mr Adyapak for helping us to develop such a deep bond between us.

At that moment, I was a bit confused. Were these emotions and tears in my eyes due to the emotional attachment with my team, or was I missing Sahana? I firmly believe it was Sahana whom I was missing enough. It had been four months; I hadn't spoken to Sahana from the day I proposed to her, asking her to be my life partner.

"Don't worry; we will be together forever." Balram interrupted my thoughts and tried to convince me. But he had no idea about what the tears were for. And I went ahead and told him the truth. "Ram, I don't know why you are so emotional when I am worried about missing Sahana. Sorry, I tried to control my emotions, but I wasn't able to."

Chirag came forward, and then Balram and Satwik surrounded me.

The next moment, Balram caught my wrists, Satwik tied my arms, and Chirag slapped me. They hit me so much; it was like having hot chicken with an ice cube.

"What the fuck, man... He is worried so much about Sahana," Balram shouted, giving me another punch.

The punching act was not happening for the first time, it was a punishment which we always used to give each other, and it had happened between us many a time. To be frank, I was the one who had been the recipient the maximum number of times. They even tied my legs and said, "Mr Smoker, spend this night counting stars, and we will be back after sunrise."

They ran from terrace, locking the door after shutting it.