The Rule Breakers

by Preeti Shenoy

  That morning, Shakubai was late as usual, and that set Padma Devi off on her usual rant. ‘I think I should start looking for another maid. She takes me for granted,’ she grumbled, as she sat on the sofa, drinking her tea.

  ‘I think you should stick with her. She is honest and reliable. Even if she is a bit late, how does it matter?’ said Bhuwan, looking up from his newspaper.

  Veda sat opposite him, going through the class plans for the junior classes. Sankalp had wanted to start summer workshops for the children this year, during their two months of vacation. Veda and the other teachers had been asked to submit reports of the activities they thought could be feasible. Since she was free in the morning and did not have kitchen duties anymore, Veda had taken to doing her work on the balcony, where she sat with Bhuwan.

  The doorbell rang, and even though Padma Devi was seated on the sofa right next to the door, she called out to Niranjan.

  ‘See who it is, Niranjan,’ she said, knowing well that it had to be Shakubai.

  Niranjan wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and opened the door.

  It was Shakubai, but with her was Kajol.

  As she walked in, Padma Devi said, ‘You can’t keep walking in here at any time you choose,’ she said. Then she spotted Kajol with her arm in a cast.

  ‘What happened to her?’ she asked.

  ‘I fell down, madam. Can I please speak to Veda didi?’ Kajol answered Padma Devi, while Shakubai hurried into the kitchen.

  Veda heard her and called her out to the balcony. But Kajol hesitated. Veda could see that Kajol was not comfortable speaking in front of Padma Devi and Bhuwan. So she stood up and motioned for Kajol to follow her to her bedroom.

  ‘What happened, Kajol? How is your arm?’ Veda asked.

  ‘The pain is slightly better today, didi. But it’s very uncomfortable. Didi—Sanju did not come home last night. I am worried, didi.’

  ‘What? How do you know?’

  ‘I went to his house at around 10.30 p.m. yesterday. His stepmother was there. His father was not around. I asked her where he was and she said she did not know. This morning, I went again. His father was there and he was angry because he knew that his money was missing. He asked me if I knew where Sanju was. I did not tell them anything, didi.’

  ‘Oh, God!’ said Veda. She wondered what to do about this.

  ‘Didi, please don’t tell Sanju’s father that Sanju took the money.’

  ‘I won’t, but doesn’t his father suspect it already?’

  ‘I don’t know, didi. He is very angry. But he does not care about Sanju. He only cares about the money. Please didi, we have to find Sanju,’ Kajol pleaded.

  ‘Let’s go and tell Kanika. We will figure out what to do,’ said Veda.

  She told Bhuwan that she had to go to Sankalp as there were some formalities that needed to be completed so Kajol could use a scribe.

  Bhuwan looked up, surprised. ‘Aren’t you having your breakfast?’ he asked.

  Veda had completely forgotten about it.

  ‘Eat and then leave, madam. Hot pooris and bhaji is ready,’ said Niranjan, as he placed two containers on the table, one full of pooris and the other with potato curry.

  ‘Please eat, didi. I will wait,’ said Kajol.

  ‘What about you, Kajol? Would you like to have some breakfast?’ Veda asked.

  ‘No didi—I finished eating,’ said Kajol.

  ‘Are you joining me?’ Veda asked Bhuwan, but he said he would have breakfast later.

  ‘Maaji, what about you?’ asked Veda.

  ‘Let the working people eat first. We don’t have any urgency. We old folk can always eat later,’ said Padma Devi.

  Veda wasn’t sure if that was intended as a jibe. But she was in too much of a hurry to get to Kanika. She wolfed down two pooris with potato bhaji, and drank a glass of water.

  ‘Didi, tea?’ asked Niranjan.

  ‘No, Niranjan, I have to go,’ said Veda, as she picked up her bag and rushed out with Kajol.

  They rang Kanika’s doorbell, and it was she who answered the door.

  ‘Oh!’ she said, as she hadn’t expected to see either Veda or Kajol. ‘Come inside.’

  Once they were seated, Veda repeated what Kajol had just told her.

  ‘What do we do?’ asked Veda.

  ‘I think we have to tell Sanju’s father the truth,’ said Kanika.

  ‘No, didi. Please don’t do that. Sanju’s father is UNREASONABLE. He will hit Sanju with his belt. His stepmother also treats him badly. That was the reason he started working at the hotel,’ Kajol said, in tears.

  ‘Good lord—what a terrible fiasco. And honestly, all Sanju had to do was to study instead doing all this,’ Kanika shook her head.

  ‘He studies a lot, didi. But he blanks out when he sees a question paper,’ said Kajol.

  ‘I wish we had talked to him and helped him get over his fears,’ said Veda.

  Kanika nodded.

  ‘How about we go and ask that hotel owner, Venkat Rao, where Sanju is? We can say he was supposed to come to Sankalp for extra coaching, and then see what he says? We won’t tell him anything else,’ said Kanika.

  ‘Okay, didi, let’s do that,’ said Kajol.

  ‘Do you think we should let Ron know?’ asked Veda.

  ‘Yes, Ron can come along, if he is not too intimidated,’ Kanika said.

  ‘My father is not there, didi. He has gone to work,’ Kajol said, immediately understanding what Kanika was implying. She still felt very sorry about the whole incident.

  ‘Alright, let’s go. Give me a few minutes,’ said Kanika.

  ‘Where’s Shanta aunty?’ Veda said.

  ‘Oh, she is visiting her sister in Kerala,’ called out Kanika, from her bedroom, as she changed her clothes.

  ‘I hear it is a beautiful place,’ said Veda.

  ‘It is. It is lovely. Some day you must visit,’ said Kanika, emerging from her bedroom. She had combed her hair and changed into a smart salwar kurta.

  ‘Come, let’s go,’ she said, as she led the way.

  They went to Ron’s apartment and told him what had happened.

  ‘I think we have to investigate. We have to go and speak to this Venkat Rao,’ agreed Ron.

  A little later, a mini procession consisting of Veda, Ron and Kanika, with Kajol leading them, made their way through the main street of Sitawadi. People paused to stare at Kajol. Some asked, ‘Hey Kajol, what happened?’

  ‘I fell down. Have you seen Sanju?’ she asked each one who greeted her. She must have asked at least eleven people the question.

  But they shook their heads. Nobody had seen Sanju.

  They reached Venkat Rao’s hotel. The hotel was a tiny, nondescript hall, about 20’ x 15’ which opened out into the street. In front of it was a collapsible signboard that jutted out onto the street, which said ‘Balaji Hotel’. It was a small place, dark inside, with fading light-yellow paint on the walls. The plaster was peeling off in many places, and there were cracks on the wall. At one end of the room stood a low wooden table with large aluminium vessels that were covered with aluminium plates.

  Outside the building, to one side of the hotel, a thin man wearing a green vest, a red towel thrown on a shoulder, stood next to a large, flat pan. He was scrambling eggs on it. The iron ladle that he held in his hand made a rat-at-a-tat-a-tat sound as he scrambled them deftly at top speed, like a machine.

  Inside the hotel, cheap plastic chairs were arranged neatly around Formica-topped tables. Though the hotel was tiny and dark, it was surprisingly clean.

  The man in the green vest looked up as Veda, Ron and Kanika approached him. He recognised that these were not his usual customers and he stared curiously at them. Then he spotted Kajol.

  ‘Oye—kya hua, Kajol?’ he asked, pointing at her arm.

  To Kajol, it seemed like she was answering this question for the millionth time.

  ‘Fell down, Vijay bhaiya. Where is Sanju?’ she asked, speaking in Marathi.


  ‘He didn’t turn up for work. I don’t know where he is,’ he said, a bit too quickly, as he shiftily looked to the left and right. He was afraid of being seen talking to them.

  It was obvious to Kajol as well as to the others that he was withholding information.

  He definitely knew something about Sanju.

  ‘When did you last see him?’ asked Kajol.

  ‘I don’t remember,’ Vijay said, and continued scrambling the eggs.

  Kanika knew that there was only one way to make him talk. She took out two one hundred-rupee notes and quietly extended them to him, lowering her hand, so that the large pan he was cooking on blocked the view.

  ‘Vijay bhaiya, please tell us anything you know. His exams are in three days,’ Kanika pleaded.

  Vijay furtively glanced around, and in a second, he pocketed the money.

  They looked at him expectantly.

  ‘Meet me at 11.30 a.m., near the arch. Today I get off duty then. I can’t talk here,’ said Vijay. ‘And go inside and order something now,’ he said.

  Kanika and Veda looked at each other and nodded.

  ‘Come Ron, this is one hotel in Pune you haven’t tried out,’ Kanika said.

  Ron smiled. ‘Yes, I’ve always wanted to try this one out, but haven’t had a chance to,’ he said, shaking his head.

  They went inside, sat down and ordered four cups of tea.

  The other diners looked at them curiously.

  ‘We are from Sankalp. We came to campaign for children to join,’ Kanika addressed them.

  ‘What is this Sankalp?’ asked one of the men, who was digging into a misal pav.

  ‘It’s like a free tuition, Bhavu—but only better,’ Kajol replied.

  ‘Free tuition?’ he asked, disbelievingly.

  ‘Yes,’ said Kanika, and she explained Sankalp’s mission and objectives in Marathi. She then handed out some brochures, printed in Marathi. Vijay too turned to look inside, to listen to Kanika. She had a small audience, and she managed to convince many of the diners to bring their children to Sankalp. She did all this even before they finished their tea.

  ‘I am very impressed, Kanika. Do you always walk around with those brochures in your bag?’ asked Ron.

  ‘Always. You never know when you might meet the parent of a potential student,’ said Kanika, shrugging.

  After they finished their tea, they headed to Ron’s apartment, where they waited till 11.30. Then they made their way to the arch. They wondered what Vijay knew about Sanju, and whether he would have any useful information. But it was mere speculation. They wouldn’t know till they spoke to him.

  ‘Didi, I am so nervous,’ said Kajol.

  ‘It’s okay. We will find out soon. It seems like he has some information,’ said Kanika.

  ‘Do you think he will turn up? After all, we have already given him the money,’ said Ron.

  ‘Oh yes, he will turn up,’ replied Kanika.

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Ron.

  ‘You just know, Ron. People are honest here, that way,’ Kanika assured him.

  Ron was puzzled. Here was a man who was taking money for divulging information that they needed. And yet, Kanika trusted that he would show up. India worked in strange, mysterious ways that he did not understand.

  They waited near the arch for Vijay, their eyes squinting in the hot sun, hoping he would turn up soon. Ten minutes later, Vijay arrived. He walked with a limp. He had changed out of his earlier attire, which Veda guessed were his working clothes. He was wearing a shirt and trousers now.

  ‘Where can we talk?’ he asked, glancing around. He spoke the Mumbaiya dialect of Hindi. Veda thought that he sounded exactly like the people they depicted in Bollywood gangster movies.

  ‘Let’s go to a restaurant and sit inside?’ suggested Kanika. She did not want to take Vijay to Ron’s apartment, as she was not sure about the kind of person Vijay was.

  They went to their regular coffee shop and ordered fresh lime sodas for everyone.

  ‘I can give you all the information, but it will cost more money,’ said Vijay shrewdly. He had taken in the surroundings and thought he would hike up his price.

  ‘What? How do we know that what you have to say is useful?’ Kanika asked.

  Vijay said, ‘Madam—whatever I tell you is right. He came yesterday, asking about question papers. I know everything about it, as I used to run the operation for Agni dada. I was a driver, madam.’

  Vijay hitched up his trousers to show them a scar running from the back of his left knee, right down to his ankle. ‘See this? Last year, I was injured, and I am unable to use this leg. That’s why Agni dada got Venkat Rao to employ me. Your boy Sanju—I know where he is likely to have gone. I told you—he turned up yesterday, asking about the question papers. Now you decide whether this information is worth it or not,’ said Vijay, as he leaned back in the chair and sipped the cold lemonade.

  Kanika, Veda and Ron exchanged looks. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind. Ron reached into his wallet and took out ten hundred-rupee notes, holding them like a fan and waving them in front of Vijay.

  ‘Will this do?’ Ron asked.

  It was impossible not to miss the gleam in Vijay’s eyes as he looked at the notes.

  He nodded.

  ‘Talk,’ said Ron, as Vijay pocketed the money.

  Chapter 32

  March 1997

  Cafe near Sitawadi, Pune

  ‘Look, I have some conditions. The first is that nobody should know about this. If the police ask me anything, I will deny that I met you. The second is, you cannot ask for proof of anything that I am going to tell you. You can either believe me or not believe me. The third is that you listen to me without interruptions,’ Vijay said.

  Ron concentrated, trying hard to understand what Vijay was saying.

  ‘I will translate for you later, Ron,’ Veda whispered to him.

  ‘What did you say?’ Vijay turned towards Veda and asked sharply.

  ‘Just that I would translate for him later,’ said Veda.

  ‘Hmmm, okay,’ Vijay frowned.

  ‘Vijay bhaiya. We believe you and we will not interrupt,’ Kanika said, eager to get the information. She gestured to Veda and Ron to be quiet. Kajol sat as still as a rock, listening to every word.

  ‘See, I know all about this question paper-leaking business,’ said Vijay.

  Kanika nodded encouragingly, hiding her impatience. She thought he was showing off.

  ‘The question papers are set in Pune, the headquarters of the education board, two months before the board exams. Strict confidentiality is maintained. The people who set the paper—they discuss, debate, revise and agree. A month before the exam, they are sent to a printing press. Now, the location of this printing press is not revealed to anyone, except to the education officers. After it gets printed, the question papers and the answer sheets are dispatched in batches to various divisions in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Kolhapur, etc. Just a few days before the exams start, the boards of these cities send these bundles to “custody centres”. The custody centre will allot spare rooms to store the papers. There will be one policeman, one board official and two peons, who will accompany each truck to the custody centre. The policeman is fully armed, mind you. The policeman and the education officer will keep vigil the whole time at the custody centre. About four hours before the exam begins, the question papers are taken from the custody centre to the exam centre. The seal is opened only when the exam begins. Do you understand the process?’ Vijay asked.

  Kanika took a deep breath. ‘Wow—I had no idea. Yes. I understand,’ she said. Vijay indeed knew the process in detail.

  ‘Can you now see at which points it can leak, and how easy it is for someone with Agni dada’s reach to get hold of a copy?’ Vijay asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Kanika nodded.

  ‘I was one of the drivers that Agni dada “placed”. I was the one who was driving the van from Pune to Nashik till last year.’

&
nbsp; ‘Oh, I see,’ said Kanika.

  ‘It was a well-planned operation. We have our regular people for making a copy. All I had to do was stop at a designated point for a tea break and leave the back of the truck unlatched. In fifteen minutes, once I finished my tea and toilet break, I would leave. Agni dada would have got the question paper in two hours.’

  ‘What a well-oiled operation,’ said Kanika. Veda, Ron and Kajol just listened with rapt attention.

  ‘Yes, but last year I was attacked. It was one of Agni dada’s rivals. His men stopped me, and they wanted me to open the door of the van, as they wanted a share in the question paper business. Have you heard of Muthanna?’

  Kanika shook her head.

  ‘It was Muthanna’s men. I had a narrow escape. I managed to deliver the question papers, but business was badly hit, as Muthanna too had got copies. So, this year, instead of making copies in a centre in proper Pune, the copies are being made in an isolated shed behind Maldhakka goods yard. And that is probably where you will find your boy—what is his name? Sanju?’

  ‘Yes, Sanju,’ said Kanika.

  ‘Now, why I went into this much detail—it is because I wanted you to know that it is a serious business, and I know what I am talking about. This boy Sanju came yesterday and insisted on seeing Agni dada. I told him to go away, but he wouldn’t listen. Then he pestered Venkat Rao so much, and also showed him some money. He said he could pay. Venkat Rao told one of his guys to take Sanju to Maldhakka. I am not sure what happened after that. But that was where he was last headed,’ said Vijay.

  ‘Will you tell us how to get to the shed?’ Kanika asked. Her heart was beating rapidly, having heard all this information.

  ‘It’s not hard to find. You can go to the railway yard. You will see it about a thousand metres away from where they load the trains. It is a large godown-like structure, grey in colour, no windows. It is a massive shed, fully secured.’