‘What do you know about the boy who disappeared from your campus?’ Joy asked Bobby, dipping a biscuit into his morning tea. Rising early, Bobby had displaced Joy from the bed. He had straightened it and laid out a brand-new costume and ironed it with great care.바카라 웹사이트
"Altaf Hussein. That was his name,"바카라 웹사이트Joy recalled from the TV report and pressed Bobby, who’d remained silent. "There was a lot of hullabaloo over it. Reporters claimed that Nationalist students had kidnapped him after some trouble in the university. It was an act of political revenge. Was it?"
Bobby finished ironing the costume, then quietly replied, "I didn’t know him."바카라 웹사이트
"But he must’ve known you; the whole campus does, it seems to me."바카라 웹사이트
Bobby shrugged and buttoned up the shirt, folding it neatly.
"He was your age, must’ve joined the university the same time you did. Like you, he wasn’t a local but someone who’d come from a nearby village and lived in the hostel. The reporters interviewed his family . . . a mother and some relatives."바카라 웹사이트
There was still no answer from Bobby, and Joy decided to edge closer to his target. "You might not have known him personally, but you must know what happened to him. It must be common knowledge on campus."
"Common knowledge doesn’t mean the truth,"바카라 웹사이트
Bobby spoke dismissively. "There are strong rumours that he has been kidnapped because he was a member of the group known as Liberals. If true, that’d be a matter of shame for the university, for Manhar, wouldn’t you say?"
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바카라 웹사이트
Bobby stared back at Joy. "He wasn’t kidnapped. Altaf has disappeared on his own. That라이브 바카라 common knowledge. The press is blaming the innocent, and those believing their story are fools."
바카라 웹사이트
"What do you mean disappeared? Wouldn’t he worry about how his poor mother would feel? Why would he disappear into thin air?"
바카라 웹사이트
"Not into thin air. He has gone to Iraq."바카라 웹사이트
"Iraq!"바카라 웹사이트
Finished with his ironing and folding, Bobby stood up and moved to take the empty teacups away. Joy stopped him. "Wait, Bobby. You must explain what you mean. How do you know he has left India?"
Sitting down on the bed, Bobby gave Joy a long stare. "You people in Kolkata don’t know Manhar. Don’t know what goes on here, not in the mosque and slums across the river. They are preaching jihad over there. Urging boys to leave their families, leave the university and fight the holy war. Their imams are telling them lies about Palestine and Kashmir, raising money to send fighters over to Iraq and Syria. Altaf has gone there to become a suicide bomber."
Stunned, Joy struggled for words. "What proof do you have for these things that you’re saying?"
Bobby stopped to think for a moment, then brought out his phone. Pressing a few buttons and scrolling through the entries, he seemed to have found something and held it up in front of Joy라이브 바카라 face. "Here라이브 바카라 proof."바카라 웹사이트
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With the sun streaming in and bleaching the screen, Joy had to turn the phone away from the window to get a clear view. It was the photograph of a soldier posing over rocky soil. The black flag of the Islamic State fluttered behind him. Holding an AK47, he made the victory sign.바카라 웹사이트
"That라이브 바카라 Altaf."바카라 웹사이트
Frowning, Joy took in the face, the eyes actually, as the rest was covered in black cloth. He made an effort to challenge Bobby.바카라 웹사이트
"How can you be sure it라이브 바카라 him? It라이브 바카라 only a photo from some social media site. Not only that, most of his face is shrouded, and only forensic experts can confirm if that라이브 바카라 Altaf."바카라 웹사이트
Bobby shook his head and was about to say something when Joy stopped him."You are making a serious allegation, Bobby. Do the police know? Have they seen this picture?"
"The police know."바카라 웹사이트
"Then why haven’t they informed the public?"바카라 웹사이트
"To stop a riot breaking out, to preserve “communal harmony”, as you people call it,"바카라 웹사이트Bobby quipped.바카라 웹사이트
Taking no notice of the jibe, Joy kept on, "If Altaf is indeed a jihadi, why then is the press calling him a victim of Nationalist terror?"
"Because . . ."바카라 웹사이트Bobby made another attempt to leave the room with the cups. "There are some reporters who like to spread lies. They are funded by foreigners and want to say bad things about the Nationalists. They want to hide the truth."바카라 웹사이트
Rising and facing Bobby, Joy took a deep breath, "What is the truth, Bobby?"바카라 웹사이트
Madhvi called Bobby from upstairs, and his eyes flickered. Joy held his gaze, "Whatever the truth is, I just want to know that you are not involved in all this. Your mother and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. We want you to simply finish your studies here and come home." He thought he’d raise with Bobby yesterday라이브 바카라 meeting, the words that’d clawed at his throat listening to Dadhichi, those he’d had to gulp down remembering his promise. "Listen, all this talk about the nation being your mother is fine. Provided you know where to stop. Older people can sometimes mislead students; they can push them into . . ."
Now Manish Mishra joined his wife in calling Bobby and Joy over for breakfast. Breaking free of Joy, Bobby left the mezzanine, throwing his words back over his shoulder, "Tell Ma not to worry. I’ll be safe."
Devi was extra cheerful at breakfast, taking over the job of serving from her mother. Her Thursday fasting over, Madhvi showed a healthy appetite. Turning pages of the morning paper, Manish hurried Devi. It was an important day, the day before Ram Navami, when the celebrations were supposed to begin. "Too bad you can’t stay an extra day,"바카라 웹사이트he gave Joy a friendly nudge. "Otherwise, you could’ve seen how Manhar celebrates Lord Ram라이브 바카라 birthday. It라이브 바카라 special, especially the procession of devotees this evening and the fireworks afterwards."
"But he will be able to see it,"바카라 웹사이트Devi piped up. "The procession will start at 5 p.m., but the Kolkata train doesn’t leave before 8 p.m."
Mr Mishra nodded. "But the streets will be crowded, and Mr Sengupta might not have time to finish his bank work and catch it in time. We could’ve reserved a good seat for him if we’d known in advance that he was coming, couldn’t we, Vivek?"바카라 웹사이트
His eyes on his plate, Bobby was silent.바카라 웹사이트
"But you must come again, and bring Vivek라이브 바카라 mother,"바카라 웹사이트Madhvi started the parting rituals with a gift — a box of Manhar라이브 바카라 sweets to reciprocate the Bengal ones. She also had a clay idol of Lakshmi for Rohini to place in her household shrine. "Tell her not to worry about Vivek; he is with his family here."바카라 웹사이트Then Devi dipped her head, and before he could stop her, touched Joy라이브 바카라 feet in the same manner as his disciples had touched Dadhichi라이브 바카라.
Smoking a cigarette in the toilet, Joy went over the morning in his mind. Why had he come to Manhar? And had he done all that he’d come here to do? He’d managed to spend more time with Bobby than he had in recent years in Kolkata. They’d taken a walk together. He’d slept on his bed. He’d asked him the question that Mimi wanted him to ask. He had utilized his lie to Rohini to investigate an urgent matter. I can give my life to free the nation from traitors. A chill ran down his spine. What if it was all true? Mimi라이브 바카라 words came chasing after him from Flurys. The sword will be your talisman. Had Dadhichi handed him the sword to hunt down and terminate the traitors? He felt betrayed. How did Bobby fall victim to such a crafty villain, begin to dream such a terrible dream? Anguish swept through him, stinged with anger. He felt lost, like a late entrant — an actor who’d made his appearance a good many scenes after he was due on stage. After his moment had passed.
It was a mistake to have lied to Rohini, Joy concluded, flushing the butt down the toilet. The branch manager라이브 바카라 option, of doing nothing, didn’t seem reasonable anymore. He needed her more now than ever before — for Bobby.바카라 웹사이트
A bunch of young men had gathered outside the Mishra house, waiting for Bobby to join them. Joy didn’t ask him where he was going. He wished to give him a hug but the hazy photo of a boy on a mobile screen, face half covered in black cloth, stood between them. He had the same pair of intense eyes as Bobby라이브 바카라, fist clasped around an ugly-looking gun.
Excerpted from 'In An Ideal World' by Kunal Basu (pp. 208, ₹599.00), with permission from India Viking (Penguin Random House)
