‘This man is a sadist.’ I said, gnashing my teeth in anger. ‘A mad sadist. I can almost hear him chuckle with pleasure as you read the last line.’
‘He is devoid of feelings; a sociopath, true, but you will have to agree that he has a gift; a gift of persuasion, which he uses on his prey. That’s the reason why his discussions have caught the interest of this nation. Whatever he says leaves an impact and that’s the reason people can’t help but listen to whatever he has to say.’
‘Coming to think of it, he was very compelling when we met him for the first time.’ I said, remembering my first meeting with the Pundit. ‘He came in my dreams that night and the night after too. He has that magnetic personality which is very difficult to ignore.’
‘Yes and do you know why he is so persuasive?’
‘Why? You tell me.’
‘Because he is unaffected by the opinion of others.’ replied my friend. ‘He is a sociopath; a cold blooded man who can think. He is an enigma for others and hence they can’t help but get drawn towards him. Listen to another of his little entries.’
‘Why are women so dumb?’ began my friend. ‘Especially those that never leave the confines of their home? They always complain that nobody but their shadow enjoys their company but they never question why? If only they could question, the answer would be apparent to them. My wife, for instance. She has not studied much and is not knowledgeable about anything except for how many types of cooking oil there are and which type of curry will best suit a vegetable and she always complains to me that I do not listen to her. One day, getting tired of her protests, I tried. I talked to her about the new government and how the plans mentioned in its election manifesto would affect us, developing nation that we are. When I looked at her for her input, I saw that she was yawning with her mouth as wide open as her jaw could allow and her eyes were watering with the effort to restrain her sleep. What was the meaning of this? First, you complain that you are a shadow in your own home and when you are brought to the forefront, you long to walk into those shadows again! How ridiculous! “Strange are the ways of women” True, so true. This Neelu is no different from her sisterhood. She is slightly better than my wife in the fact that she understands her plight but she is completely clueless as to how to change her pitiable condition. She wants to dethrone her competition i.e. Savita but she has neither an army nor the proper weapons to do so. All she has is a burning will but wills never give you victories in a battle, resources and wit do, which she lacks. I have suggested to her this time that she should not let any woman come between her husband and her and that the holy institution of marriage requires total commitment and her husband should not be allowed to take it lightly. I also said to her that she should never put herself or her desires at last as such a practice is self-destructive and a short-cut to one’s own doom. One should always value oneself because that’s how we grow into better people. So now was the time to rise to the occasion and demand what was rightfully hers. She is now no longer passive and helpless as she was when I first met her but is full of that wonderful resolve which makes us do the most daring, unimaginable feats. But…’ He stopped.
‘But what?’ I cried. ‘What has the son of a *** written next?’
Bhrigu clearly looked depressed. The dark writing was taking a toll on his otherwise buoyant spirits. ‘But…’ he hesitated and then began. ‘But as I just mentioned, she has neither the resources nor the wit to win her this battle and hence she would undoubtedly fail. That is bound to raise her temper. Let’s see how well she deals with this quagmire next. It is all very entertaining and I am gathering a load of information on the behavior of this type of woman. The plain, meek and submissive, that is. The meekness, I now know, is just a façade and that all women share the pangs of jealousy and possession alike. Very instructive.’
‘Now the last note.’ said Bhrigu and again hesitated a little before moving on. ‘I have just come to know from a source that Savita has been murdered! By Neelu, no doubt. I was not a little surprised when I heard this news. As I correctly concluded before, Neelu lacked the arsenal that would win her the battle she was fighting and this was a desperate battle which she must win. Hence, there was only one way open to her. Covert action. If she could not win the battle, fighting boldly at the front, she had to eliminate the enemy with a correctly timed sneak attack and that’s exactly what she did. She did not come to me after her guerrilla-type victory and that’s fine. She is too terrified of the consequences now but I know that deep down she must be feeling a sense of elation; jubilation that she has achieved her goal. So now I can answer the riddle correctly. “How would the luckless wench now protect her husband’s name?” The answer is- Elimination. Very, instructive.’
‘The hideous creep!’ I shouted. ‘Come with me to the temple. Call the inspector too. We have enough evidence to indicate that Neelu had been but a pawn in this murder. She was just a tool, that’s all. A tool that would help him gain more “wisdom” on women. The sick freak! He should not be allowed to roam free!’
‘This is not enough for arrest, Sutte.’ Bhrigu said. ‘That man is well connected. Even if we do, he is bound to find a lawyer who will prove that his arrest is a joke. And for what would we arrest him? For aiding and abetting homicide? His lawyer would expertly play with the written words, as they all are trained to do, and prove that all he was doing was helping Neelu and there was no way for him to know that she would take this course. Also, it would be difficult even to get an arrest warrant against him. Whatever he wrote in the notebook were his private thoughts and thoughts, however dark they might be, are never enough for arrest. Action is. We have no case against him.’
‘So what can we do?’ I cried, helplessly.
‘We have to get a confession from him.’ replied my friend. ‘A direct confession where he accepts that his machinations were solely responsible for the actions of Neelu. Then we can capture him without the fear of his release.’
‘And you will do that?’
‘I will try my best.’ he replied. ‘Now get ready for another shock.’
‘Another shock?’
‘Yes. You remember when Neelu mentioned that she was seeing the Pundit, Manjunath almost blanched and after this disclosure he kept quite, as if he himself was guilty?’
‘Y…yes.’ I said, trying to remember the episode. ‘What about it?’
‘You won’t believe me but this Pundit had many under his influence and Manjunath was one of them.’
‘What?’ I almost had a heart attack with shock. ‘Manjunath too?’
‘Yes.’ replied Bhrigu. ‘You see, Neelu was desperate for her husband’s love and attention. Manjunath, on the other hand, yearned for the love and respect of the one woman he loved to distraction, Savita.’
I could not reply anything as my brain had almost crashed, processing so much.
‘He too was helping Parichay Mishra solve a riddle and gain another interesting insight into the nature of women. Listen to this.’ He cleared his throat and began.
‘A maiden so lovely was blessed upon this earth,
The envy of every woman she became and of their evil mirth.
Every man sought her attention; whether he be cupid’s god or a man of no mention.
In that lot was one so after her heart, he could nor help but outpour the cravings of his heart.
She looked at him once and held up her face in silent reproach,
The man could hear, oh! so clear, the last sigh of his dying hope.
Now tell me, O enlightened one, for your wisdom is supreme,
If the chance to make her his own should ever arise again,
How would the luckless hunter now approach his game?’
‘So Manjunath is the luckless hunter, isn’t he?’ I asked, deeply disturbed.
‘Yes.’
‘And Savita…’ I swallowed and the pain was terrible. ‘Is the…is the…’
‘Game.’ he completed the painful sentence for me. ‘I am afraid, yes.’
‘I didn’t know that a practical minded man like Manjunath would be into such thugs. He is a business man and business men are known for their pragmatic nature, is it not?’
‘It is not always true.’ said my friend. ‘There can be many shades to a person; and my studies have shown that the more practical a man, the more he is vulnerable to a passing passion at one point in his life but this, of course, does not apply to Manjunath.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he is a business man by accident and not by choice. His father was an entrepreneur and the business that he established was inherited by his son without question.’
‘So what kind of a man is he?’ I asked. ‘I remember you telling me that you thought his character to be quite interesting.’
‘Do you want to hear what Parichay Mishra has to say about him?’ he said with an uncomfortable smile. ‘His opinion on Manjunath is the same that I felt when I first met him. The difference is that I changed mine but he stuck to his. Here is how his connection with Manjunath began.’
‘Today.’ said my friend quoting the Pundit. ‘A man came to me when it was almost dark. He said his name was Manjunath Gupta and that he was a sweet shop owner. He told me that he had got my reference from one of his friends, Kailash, whom I was helping and the good results that he was enjoying in his love life. He too, wanted the same good results. I looked at him from head to foot and saw nothing even remotely interesting in his mundane personality. All women, no matter how different they are from each other or what their vocation is, are inherently interesting. They have something or the other to offer every time they open their mouths, even if they, themselves don’t know it. That’s why they make a fascinating study. My wife for instance. She is the very picture of ignorance and I can’t exchange an intelligent word with her. As my wife and companion, she offers nothing but when she becomes my study, she automatically becomes interesting because even when her mind is in a primitive state, her unconscious brain is polished and has reserves of valuable data only because she is a woman. Men, on the other hand, have no such reserve as they are far less evolved than women. Even the most interesting of men are of no significance as a study but its there company that I enjoy. That’s the irony of it all. This man, on the other hand, is as dull as a door nail and hence I thought of spurning him but he looked so miserable at the thought that I would turn him away that I was amused. I started getting interested in the problem which had so troubled him. If he, in some way, becomes a tool to understand women, I will have him and if not he will be turned away at once.’
‘This man is something else all together.’ I said. ‘His ideas…they…they are stranger than even yours!’
‘But then again.’ said my friend. ‘There is that ring of truth which is so hard to ignore. Now listen to this addition.’
‘Manjunath Gupta’s condition has fitted well into this riddle and hence I am thankful that he came to my doorstep. He is suffering from a common grief which is unrequited love. The woman he desires does not desire him back and hence he is in a pathetic condition. The interesting thing is that he is married and he would not disclose the name of his wife but one thing is for sure that he does not desire his wife in anyway; the one woman he is legally approved to desire. He says that his wife is a good woman and a good mother and they have a comfortable relationship but she can never occupy the place he has given to this other woman. This line he repeats like a parrot. He says that he has loved this woman, again her name he would rather keep a secret, right from his teenage days and that he has thought of no other but her since. He talks about her with stars in his eyes and on the slightest notice, prepares to give me an account of her innumerable qualities. I had to chide him many a time to stop his obnoxious habit at once but he is not coming to terms with my protest. He is a fool; that’s what he is and if a fool romances he will be terrible at it. No doubt the good woman has stayed away from his advances. Any woman with a modicum of sense would do just that. I have become thoroughly bored with this man and would not like anything better than to kick him out but for one thing. This woman he loves, I find her quite fascinating. I have picked up one or two of her qualities from this insufferable man and I find her very stimulating. She has a mind of her own and reminds me very much of Pratigya, my favorite Shishya. She can make decisions and also bring a change around her. She knows her value and would do nothing to disrespect herself. That is why the fool is so smitten by her. She is way out of his league and what we cannot have becomes no less than oxygen to us. We feel as if our survival depends on it. This man worships this woman for that very reason. If, by any mocking chance, he had got the chance to marry her, he would have shied away from it because then there was this danger of his insignificance becoming apparent. He knows he has no shot in reality and his sub-conscious mind has given the same evidence and so safely he lets loose his desire, well protected under this assurance. But the fool has told me that this good woman is suffering; that she is hurt. Now I know that the weak women tend to look for a manly shoulder to cry on as they do not have enough substance to support themselves but the strong? What do they do? I have got a golden opportunity to understand another kind of woman. Strong, assertive and independent. If a meek woman like Neelu can display unstable aggression by a little help then strong ones like the fool’s queen could display a fleeting meekness; a behavior displaying lack of confidence, as it were, when they are weak. And if that’s possible then it will only go on to prove that a strong woman is a woman after all. I will give the fool the most potent weapon with which he has the chance to come closest to this woman’s heart than he had ever done before. If it works then the riddle will be solved and the answer- Sympathy. It will also prove that the fundamental nature of women was the same throughout. They are strong and independent only as long as the conditions are favorable. A profound conclusion. But for now, I will wait.’