Well, there’s bigger fish in the sea now. We have got to set our plans for the next big job. I have a feeling I know who the next man will be and the next and, finally, the biggest fish of all in this endless, polluted ocean. I’ll be there, directing operations, behind the scenes, right in the heart of it, and in broad daylight with the coloured banners, the coloured flags, the cleared highway. I can predict it. My timing is perfect. Only this time I’ll be at a safe distance, watching. He’ll be blown to extinction, and others with him. This time the entire funeral will be dramatically presented on a colossal stage. But first, the streets will be swiftly cleared. The blood washed away together with the pieces of flesh. People will tread those streets, place their dusty feet on that very spot. They’ll remember nothing. The monuments, the statues, three times larger than life portraits will tower over the common highways and somewhere in a remote hamlet the stories of rebirth will emerge. As for me, I’m waiting for the next job. I’m a professional. That’s my only skill.

From Distant Ophir

IT WAS TIME to think seriously of a bridegroom for Sulochana. Her mother was a widow and she was eager to see her daughter settled as soon as possible. Meena, Sulo’s mother, was assailed with a barrage of questions:

‘Meena,, what’s happening about your daughter Sulo? How old is she? Isn’t she getting on in years? Not settled yet? Soon she’ll be past the marriageable age. It is time you found a suitable proposal for her or she’ll be on the shelf. All the younger ones are getting married, no? Education is one thing …. It is very good that she has her degree and all that, but young men are not looking only for education today. They want a wife who will be at home, looking after her family. Not that education is not important, especially if she can help supplement the income … and if she goes abroad, she too can work and they can have a good life. Better find a good matchmaker who can arrange all these things—dowry question, family connections, all the details …’