Benyamin - Yellow Lights of Death

I felt no misery on hearing that the ruler of my land is no more. Not that I had any enmity towards him, but it was a fact that commoners like Majid felt no attachment towards him, as was evident from Majid’s nonchalant reaction to the chancellor’s death. I’ve never seen him mingling with the public. His election campaigns were rather formal. But even so, he was bestowed with the opportunity to win and rule, purely based on his religion and origin.

In short, the days of solidarity had ended — that’s it.

On our way back, I worried about the mysterious Uthiyan Cheral Tamil Kazhagam. ‘What is it?’ I asked Majid.

‘Who knows? There are a total of twenty Tamil associations in Diego. Must be one of them.’

I’d never heard of them. Twenty associations and one Majid. Another door has been thrown open for investigation.

The Little Emperor

AFTER LEAVING MAJID at Port Louis, I reached home and found Valyapapan sitting in the courtyard, miraculously alert and fresh, after a long time. I’d never seen such energy, enthusiasm and grace on his face as on that day.

‘Where were you? I’ve been waiting for a long time.’ He stood up when he saw me.

‘What happened, Valyapapan?’

‘Didn’t you hear about Guna? Come, let’s pay him a visit. ’

I was surprised. Valyapapan, who doesn’t bother attending the funerals of relatives, wanted to go to the chancellor’s? Anyway, I didn’t ask any questions. He was coming out after a long time. I thought, let him get some fresh air. Let that help him get out of his foggy dreamland.

We left by boat.

Francis House was the official residence of the chancellor. It was the holiday home of Pondicherry’s first French governor general, Francis Martin, and later came to be known by his name.

When we parked the boat in front of it, some Public Security officials stopped us, but then a senior guy recognized Valyapapan and accompanied us to the house. I went up with them as far as the portico of Francis House. It was only then that I understood the high regard in which Valyapapan was held by the senators and officials. They respected and admired him as if he was a senior head of state. A circle of them escorted him. The respect seemed to be borne out of the thought of protecting themselves, if, even by one-hundredth of a chance, he became the ruler of Diego. Becoming a government official involves having a peculiar mindset and training. Everyone cannot be one. I wasn’t keen on becoming a part of their act, so I moved back and sat on a bench in the middle of the lawn.

It was fun watching the proceedings from there. The Public Security officials and senators darted in and out of the house. Nobody bore any signs of the grief or trauma of a death; their concern was more about executing their duties. The aim was to gain the appreciation of their superior officers and perhaps a promotion. That was the only burden that VIP deaths inflict on the living lot, I thought.

After a while, many of the personal staff of ministers came and sat on the benches next to me. Though I couldn’t make out their conversation, it had the cheer and jeer of palace gossip. A couple of times, the Public Security officers requested them not to create a security issue by gathering and talking, but none of them paid any heed. They continued with their discussions. Throughout, a fat guy in that group kept turning back and staring at me. Either he was wondering who I was, or we must have met before, that’s what I deduced. Then, he stood up, walked up to me, and called my name to check he’d got the right person.

‘Do you recognize me?’

‘No. ’

‘Try again. see if you can place this face in any of your memories.’

I tried hard, to no avail.

‘Little Emperor, it’s me!’

Daniel D’Silva! Yes, it was him. The front bencher in Division A. The boy with a bass voice, because of which we’d predicted for him the career of a radio jockey. He was the only one who used to mock me by calling me ‘Little Emperor’.

‘Da, you’ve become too fat to be recognized! What do you eat so much of?’

‘This belongs to the fisheries department. So, the size is here to stay.’

‘But this is a bit too much. I couldn’t recognize you at all!’

‘What do you do now?’

‘Me. well, I’m yet to find a job.’

It’s after I said this that I realized that I had begun saying this only recently. To be precise, after attending Mohan’s award function. Till then, I used to introduce myself as a writer. It seemed I had lost confidence.

‘Even now? Seriously?’

‘Yeah, but I’m looking.’

‘That’s sad. The grandson of someone who should have been ruling a country is now hunting for jobs in the same country. There’s scope for a news feature.’

‘I’m thinking of writing it myself,’ I joked.

‘You know, I used to call you “Little Emperor” not to pull your leg. I was jealous. If I were in your place, I would have stepped into politics right then. I’d have played the sympathy card in the election. And would have become at least a deputy minister by now. You still have time. The hook should be “scion of a great family that’s relinquished its power to the people”—you can reach the skies. If you’re interested, tell me. I’ll work with you.’

‘I’ll think about it.’

‘Don’t take it lightly. I’m serious. I’m fed up of these frauds. I’m sure you’re better than them. If I’m with you, I can eat my meal without a guilty conscience. I can tolerate everything else, but these buggers have an itch every fucking evening! I have to then find girls. Do you know how this eighty-two-year-old died? From an overdose of Viagra!’

We saw Valyapapan stepping out.

‘Isn’t that your emperor? he asked me softly.

‘Yeah, see you then.’

‘Give me your number. Let’s catch up soon. We need just the Andrapper name in order to do well. You don’t know its value in Diego, but I know. Especially at a time when democracy has become rotten.’

I bid him farewell and helped Valyapapan climb down the stairs. While in the boat, my thoughts were devoted not to Daniel D’Silva’s words, but his voice. The voice that we once thought was deep enough to make him a radio jockey. I didn’t notice anything special about it now. His was now just an ordinary voice. The wonders of childhood are often an exaggeration of our ignorance.

Power

‘THIS IS A death I was waiting to hear about.’

When we had been on the water for a while, Valyapapan said that as if to himself. In the rumble of the boat, I couldn’t hear his words clearly. Did he really say that? I looked at his face doubtfully. But I didn’t have to ask. Valyapapan’s mind was then like a red-hot boiler with thoughts simmering; it had to spill out words somewhere.

For the first time, Valyapapan opened up to me.

‘I was afraid my time would come to an end before I heard about this death. Now I’m relieved. I got the news, and I saw the dead man in person. Now I can die peacefully. Philip Gunavardhane. You should have seen him lying dead. The craving for power was etched on his face.

‘I know it’s cruel to celebrate someone’s death. But sometimes, it can be justified. Son, it’s not the outrage at someone who took away my fortunes, or jealousy, it is the fury of being stabbed in the back. However much I tried, I couldn’t wipe out that feeling. Even if it was only enacted within my mind, I spat on his face before I left the place.

‘You might think that it’s the sorrow of not becoming Diego’s ruler that chained me within a room. That it’s the madness of a man who has lost power. Not at all. I never wished for power. If I had, I could have easily become the chancellor of this country. But that was not what I wanted. This land, by all means, belonged to us. Nobody presented it to us for free. We won it as part of a big business deal. I now bear the shame and burden of losing it. Haven’t you wondered why, I, like a joker, follow the daily menu of King Manuel II? Like me, he was also fated to hand over his powers. My parody is a reminder of that. A mocking reminder.