SPLEEN

 

The day was Friday, Vicky was returning home with frown lines on his forehead from the Municipal School, where he studied, after being expelled from there. Dogmatic and dreamy, he was often the mastermind behind all the notorious acts that he and his friends performed.The plans he executed were very well thought of and strategized for his age. Whenever his plans failed, he was blamed for everything.Vicky never cared about that fact. He was a thrill seeker, one driven to conquer new challenges,to make plans to experience different things life had to offer. He was someone who wouldn’t fear the risks and the consequences that accompanied his acts. Sometimes he would get caught, but in most cases, he was successful in executing them. He treated himself with a cigarette whose incomparable savour and scent swept a feeling of happiness in his soul, every time he succeeded in executing a plan.

 

Vicky had planned to mix alcohol in his teacher’s drink, who had mocked his notorious friend’s mother, the day before. The alcohol was sourced by shoplifting from a wine shop. Vicky was not ashamed of what he had just done. Instead, he was proud of himself for making the teacher lose control over her steady walk and make a fool of herself in the school premises. Shaky laughter could be seen on Vicky’s face after executing his plan. Vicky hated school, the reason being his teachers always punished and shouted at him. He felt miserable all the time and not attending school kept him away from having to deal with it. However, he was worried about his future.

 

“What will happen next?” What am I going to do in my life? I’m just 16 and I have nowhere to go.”

“ I wish my parents were alive today.”  

 

A tear rolled down his eye, as he walked towards the Shree Shivshankar Mandir’s bhojanshala to eat the same dal-khichadi that he ate every day. He also spent some of his nights over there.

Vicky was a clever guy,someone who knew about everything that came under the sun. All his fellow friends often praised his versatility in worldly matters. 

 

Vicky was on edge about what he could do to make his ends meet. After being expelled, Vicky was always at his adda which was a pocket space created in between the self-built settlements of Kandivali village. The form of the adda was the uneven dumping of the broken furniture, punctured tyres, electric appliances, and torn fabric of the villagers. It was located at the junction created by the intersecting streets of the village. The village had this fish market - the street of odour - someday a sweet, ocean-like scent of the fish slowly turning into a pungent fishy odour and the raw, mild smell of the chicken turning into a sour, sulphur-like odour with days. The village consisted of the settlements of the Christian Kolis, the Bhandari Kolis, and the upper caste people who worked as railway officers earlier. Being home to different communities, each had its own culture and religion, the villagers had no grudges with each other. A church on one end, and different Hindu temples in between a network of gullies with houses placed one next to the other, and small open spaces that were used by the people to keep their furniture, hang their clothes, and gather to chit chat, made the village.

 

Around the swamped objects, where the sun rays seemed to be scattered through the leaves. Beneath a sky slowly tinting with orange, Vicky and his neighbourhood friends were spending some time conversing. They remembered the good old memories when they played games like Stop and Party, Pakda-Pakdi, etc. whilst they would occupy every corner of the street, run over the G.I sheet roofs, and dive into a pond next to a Shiva temple. Vicky said,

 

”Do you guys remember? that day? when I was running over these roofs and suddenly one of them broke and I fell inside Kamla Aunties room where I saw her husband without pants.” 

 

“Hahaha. And also when we were running all over the village to collect dry wood for the Holi Pooja, igniting it all in the store room itself. Remember all the bashing we got by the villagers after it?” his friend replied with laughter.

 

Vicky took a drag of his hookah his friends had arranged and everybody started laughing at what he said. They were also consuming whiskey to distract themselves from the reality of life.

 

The batch of teenagers from different settlements had a certain kind of connection with each other and each of them had their addas in the area where they lived. The whiskey made them lose control over themselves in no time. They were dizzy. Like riding a merry-go-round or walking as fast as they could in small, tight circles. Vicky’s throat was burning as if he ate a jalapeno and swallowed something hot over it. With every sip he drank, he felt the burn from his mouth to his stomach. His legs were wobbly, head was spinning and all his pride and inhibitions were gone. Vicky enjoyed this feeling of dizziness as he had a bad day. He was constantly thinking about the day and his value on this planet. 

 

”So what’s next? Is this the end of my life? Was I just born to get expelled from school? Schooling was never for me. I know I can do more in life apart from going to school.” 

 

All of a sudden an idea struck Vicky’s mind that he planned to execute the very next day. He wanted to repeat the mischievous act he had just performed, but now at a larger scale. He was dreaming of a wobbly world - where everyone is walking unsteadily with their head spinning. 

 

“Why don’t I mix the alcoholic drinks with other substances, very discreetly, in the dark.” 

 

Vicky had a wicked smirk on his face while thinking of his dreamy world where all heads are spinning. He introduced his plan to his gang, and they all cheered loudly at this plan. They were so loud, they woke the villagers from their sleep. A police van that passed their adda ,started chasing Vicky and his gang, but they all managed to hide in the corners of the street, without being caught. 

Vicky had a mild headache, a possible unknown bruise, a sore body, a general feeling of fatigue when he woke  up the next morning. He was restless. Constant thoughts about his plan were running in his head and he wanted to execute it desperately. He needed that thrill, it would make him feel good. He had a meeting with his group of trustworthy people , and he explained his plan to them. They were all from different parts of Kandivali. Most of them suggested Vicky to go and meet Santu Bhai, who was admired by many people he met.

 

“Are you Santu bhai?” Vicky asked in a low pitch.

 

“Ayy chotu, come here and tell him who I am.” A thick voice replied.

 

A kid playing around said: “He is a hero, he is a superhuman. The most dashing and intelligent person in our area. He is our beloved - Santu bhai.”

 

Santu Bhai was popular and everyone’s favourite as he often performed a lot of social work and  helped people in need. At the same time, he was overconfident and cocky, who believed  he was the most important person in Kandivali. He had all the necessary contacts and information that were essential to execute Vicky’s plan. 

 

“Vicky, my boy! How stupid are your school authorities to not know and acknowledge your intelligence, and simply expel you from school? Don’t worry! I am like an older brother, don’t be afraid! Call me whenever you need and go ahead.” Santu said. 

 

“Thankyou bade bhaiyya. Can we have a cup of tea at your place? I just want to stroll around your area and talk to you about the plan in detail.” Vicky replied.

 

Santu Bhai resided in a dense fabric of settlements made with rusty galvanised sheets. One could feel the warmth in that area due to the rustiness of the machinery. Ekta Nagar consisted of numerous self-built settlements which were home to most of the workers working in the industrial estate area of the Charkop, located adjacent to it. The settlements were located very close to each other and had narrow gullies passing through them. One could sense the density of the area because of the constant hammering sound coming from the small-scale industries, the unpleasant odour coming from the drainage lines that surrounded the settlements. When one stands on the main road over there, they can see the very dense fabric of self-built settlements on one side and the tall thorn-like buildings on the other side. The people residing there washed their clothes and utensils in the gullies in between their houses.

 

Vicky met Raja, Santu Bhai’s younger sibling, who was a hardcore alcoholic. He would chug a bottle of alcohol wherever and whenever he wanted without fearing anyone. He was always drunk, because of which Santu Bhai always kept an eye on him.

Later that day, Vicky, Santu Bhai and Raja thought of  visiting all the necessary places and exploring all the possibilities which would obstruct the execution of Vicky's plan .Varied contents would be added to the alcohol to decrease its value. The only thing Vicky could imagine was drunk people making chaos all around the streets of Kandivali. 

 

The next day, before the sun was up, Vicky left his home to meet Santu Bhai and Raja. They met at Kandivali Railway station, where they merged with the crowd. Firstly, they bought a lot of alcohol from various wine shops around the station. They preferred to buy Vodka, as it was cheap and had enough alcohol content, to make everyone feel dazed and dizzy. Raja, as usual, without any fear, picked up a bottle from the crate and chugged it down on the street itself.

Vicky and Santu Bhai stacked up the original bottles in the dilapidated buildings near the station. These buildings were 100 years old. No one dared to enter them because some assumed that they were haunted, while others thought that these buildings would fall anytime soon.

 

Raja drowsily started asking questions while walking in a zig-zag manner, 

 

“Where are we?Have you kidnapped me? Do you know who I am? I can make your life a living hell ”

 

Just keep your mouth shut, you spoiled brat,  follow us in whatever we do quietly “, said an agitated Santu.

 

They bought all the equipment they needed for their task, bottle lid openers, stickers etc. were brought from the markets around.

He then headed towards Ekta Nagar. Vicky knew how to bribe people. As he walked past the Datta Mandir road and the village, he asked the lab assistants and chemical experts of the Chavan Hospital to help him in his task. He bribed them with either free alcohol or money. As he moved to Ekta Nagar, Vicky walked towards the chemical factories, where he tried to convince the factory workers to work for him. He promised them a share of the profit he and his team would make. All they had to do was to dilute the alcohol with methanol or ethanol and flavor it. He decided to flavor the drink because it would get more addictive and people would buy it on a larger scale.

Amidst this chaos, Vicky found out about the financial problems of the workers who lived there. Some of them were in desperate need of jobs. He promised them with whatever they needed and gave them some money.They had no problem believing  him because they had learned that Vicky was like a younger brother to Santu Bhai.

“Santu bhaiyya, What is this? Is this the way you take care of your younger sibling?” yelled  Raja. 

“You never fulfil my needs. I never feel happy to have you as my brother”, he added. “I am fed up with drinking this boring alcohol every single day.” 

“You will never understand what my body wants. Why would you? Do you even care?” Raja began to wail. 

Santu retorts, ” Keep your mouth shut. It's my mistake that I never stopped you from drinking alcohol, that’s the reason you have turned out like this.”

 “I don’t want alcohol anymore Bhaiyya. I need something better.”

Santu was baffled. He asked in a low tone, “What do you want, Raja?”

“I want…. I….”, Raja paused.

Santu Bhai repeated, losing his cool, “What do you want Raja?”

Drunk Raja, looking at his brother’s face, said in a low voice, “I want drugs”

Santu Bhai slapped Raja tightly. Raja got back to his senses all of a sudden. He walked away angrily. Santu Bhai was worried for him, but he paid no attention at that moment. Santu Bhai was always against consuming and trading drugs.

Vicky stood aside, deep in his thoughts. 

“What did he just say? Drugs! Sounds…interesting?... What if?.... Why not…?” , he wondered.

Vicky thought of talking about his idea with Santu Bhai, but the sound of the slap was holding him back. He took a deep breath and said , “Santu Bhai, I think, what Raja said about drugs.” 

Vicky constantly looked at Santu Bhai’s face to check if he was interested in listening to the plan. Santu Bhai stood with a blank face.

Vicky continued, “Maybe we could spike up the alcohol we sell, with some kind of drug, to make it more addictive. More people would get affected by this, plenty of them would lose control over them and we could earn more money.”

Santu Bhai stood silent for a minute and thought about it. He didn’t seem angry, which brought a smile to Vicky's face.

Santu Bhai said, “This sounds interesting, but I don’t know what it would do to the consumers. I just don’t want anyone to face any serious consequences or to die, because of whatever you do. Also, if you get caught, it would be very difficult for me to get you out of the prison."  

Vicky thought for a moment. He thought about all the consequences that would follow if he got caught while doing whatever he had in his mind. The next moment, he saw in his eyes, the dazed and dizzy world and the changed life of people around him.

Young Vicky, in a confident voice said, “Santu Bhai, I think we should go ahead with the plan. We can spike up our drinks with Amphetamine and sell it at higher prices.”

Santu Bhai knew a few chemists, who could help him prepare the amphetamine pills at cheaper costs. 

Vicky followed Santu Bhai to the chemist in the Chavan Hospital, whom Santu Bhai had known for years.

Santu Bhai introduced Raja to Laxman, the chemist. Vicky explained to the chemist, whatever he wanted.

“Listen Laxman Bhai, I want you to make Amphetamine pills for me.”

“This sounds very fishy, can you tell me the reason? Is there an emergency?” Laxman asks in curiosity.

 

Vicky retaliated, ”Just do as I say okay! Your name wouldn’t be taken anywhere. I'll give you my word.”

 

“But…. But…. I..”

 

“If you refuse to do the task, you will find a packet of illegal drugs in your daughter’s school tiffin box, TOMORROW!” 

 

Laxman thought about his 14-year-old daughter. He had no option other than to nod his head and quickly complete the task.

 

Santu was unable to comprehend, whatever he had just witnessed. 

 

He asked hesitantly, “Vicky, I have always praised you for your intelligence, but what are you doing? Please, make me understand.”

 

“Calm down, Santu bhaiyya. Trust me, it is an excellent idea. We will spike the alcohol with drugs that are used for medication, and when consumed in larger amounts, this alcohol would be addictive. Consumers will beg us for more alcohol. This is business. Just imagine people drinking this and strolling through  the streets -It would be unreal - people will  move around with no grudges, giggle and laugh for no particular reason - help each other to walk steady and end up walking unsteady together - the world would be a better place, isn’t it? - just think about the thrill we could get in doing this, just imagine.”

 

Santu reacts positively praising Vicky,” Brilliant! Vicky, Superb! What an idea! Let’s go ahead with this but make sure that the drugs don’t kill anyone. They just need to be addictive.”

 

“Sure Santu bhaiyya. Laxman bhai will take care of it.”  

 

All of them reached the service sectors of Charkop where every plot and cluster appeared to be the same. There were factories, homes, educational hubs, godowns, shops, and stores, etc. Some residents had their own private gardens in their homes while some of them used creepers and climbers as a design element for their facades. All of the houses shared the same central courtyard where some played cricket, some made rangolis, some put up a chair outside their houses to sit and giggle.The entire space seemed like one large home. It was very easy for one to get lost within the lanes of this area. Within this, businesses at various scales emerged .It seemed like a perfect place for sealing the bottles and packing them together in different boxes, without anyone having any idea of what was going on.  

 

The last task was to sell these products to a large number of people. But a question popped in Vicky’s mind; Where will they get the consumers to buy these products?

 

Vicky decided that the local smoking addas on the western side of Kandivali was the perfect place to execute this task. The people present there were always ready to buy alcohol at cheaper rates regardless of the brand. Vicky and his friends had many contacts around that area. Some of the popular addas were Turzon point- a place which seemed like the end of dwellings and the start of dense jungle, the Crematorium lane where no one was present during the night time and many more. These addas were blindspots of Kandivali where no one could ever find out what was happening, where no one would dare to enter because these areas were so dark. These spots were exactly where Vicky could carry out his plan without any complication and would earn more than he had ever dreamed of.

 

Vicky targeted the middle-class teenagers who visited the nightclubs frequently. Most of them who Vicky knew lived on the Datta Mandir road. It was a quiet street with gated communities on either side of it, and it was easy for Vicky to trade these bottles at night. He built good relations and friendships with most of his customers. 

 

”But Vicky, what if these people go to the police …”

 

Vicky interrupted and replied with a smirk, ”Santu bhaiyya, these people will think a 100 times before even approaching their parents! Forget about the police.”

 

They gained a different kind of joy from this task. It's like a little game you play with people, and every time you get away with it ‘you win’. It is all about the thrill of making common people go spinning. But what were they going to do ahead?. They kept repeating this for the following months. Santu thought to himself that someday if they were to be caught, the only person going behind the bars would be Vicky, the mastermind.