Possession
...of intentions and worst of selfishness, Nehruji can’t hasten Independence before 1960, if not further, as the reports say. He said all this in a single long breath, like the single puff of smoke that goes inside your lungs, smells, gives some, takes a lot, and leaves you empty. I sunk myself in the sofa, pressing my weight a bit further down.
Minute embers burnt their way through the dainty long off-white parched paper roll containing flakes of tobacco. AK stood up to the fading noon that would herald the twilight in an hour.
All this while, I adjusted my widowed white sari on my shoulders, as I watched the stub of AK’s cigarette rage a silent fire battle within, still burning itself to the hilt.
Do you see that, AK? It still burns after you stubbed it. We will burn this way till Independence is achieved.
Why Independence? Who is around to capably steer the country from the huge debt once the British leave? Just a handful of Nehru, CR, Sardar Patels… will that do? I think British dominance is quite needed. We need our rights first, Omu. Let the rights come in full. If you have them, Independence wont be far.
No AK, like this small house of mine, maybe inadequate but its independent. I would rather see Bharat as an Independent nation. We can, we have greats who have been across the world. Look at Sinha and Ambedkar. They are waiting with a draft for an Indian Constitution. But the British are not even ready to go through it.
Yes Omu, that’s correct. But we need to practice administration more. Thousands of miles can’t …
We should first be left free to ourselves, I interrupted. We don’t want to be deep-end-dent, I stressed, pulling across the word in a long rubbery stretch. My eyes fall on the sparkling eyes of AK. They were smiling at me, perhaps at my innocent emphasis without plausible reasonings.
You know Omu, what the word Independence...
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