Atharv burst into laughter. ‘Thanks, brother, for enlightening me on the duties of a brave man. It might surprise you, but I know a bit of Sanskrit as well, though I am from the south. From whatever little I know of Hinduism, a brave man thinks of others first before thinking about himself. Sacrifice for one’s country is far more important than any concern for the self.

‘Api swarnamayi Lanka na mei Lakshmana rochtey,

Janani janmabhoomischa swargadapi gariyasi.

Which means, O Lakshmana, though Lanka is a land of gold, it does not appeal to me … For mother and my motherland are greater than even heaven.

‘And here is another shloka:

Namastey sada vatsaley matrubhumi tvaya Hindubhumi sukham vardhitoham,

Mahamangale punyabhumi tvadarthe patatvesh kayo namaste namaste.

It means, I salute you, motherland, the land of Hindus where I live happily, I salute my noble mother for whom I sacrifice my body.’

Atharv stopped. He had become emotional and his eyes were moist. He wiped the tears away and looked at Sahil intently, waiting for the latter’s reaction.

Sahil remained quiet for a few seconds before finally saying, ‘I too will do that, brother. Thank you, you have removed my doubts.’

He then walked up to Atharv and hugged him. Rohit too stood up and hugged Atharv and Sahil.

Rohit then said, ‘Sawant sir, Shekhar sir, we are ready for the doctor. Let’s get done with this procedure quickly.’

A few hours later, all five recruits had been circumcised, much to Shekhar’s relief.

‘Phew, we just ducked a bullet, Sawant sahib,’ he said, smiling, as he lit up a cigarette.

30. ‘ONCE IS A COINCIDENCE, TWICE IS ENEMY ACTION’

30

‘ONCE IS A COINCIDENCE, TWICE IS ENEMY ACTION’

The intercom was ringing. Atharv was drinking a cup of black coffee and reading the newspaper, his feet propped up on the small table kept in front of his chair. ‘Who is it?’ he asked no one in particular as he stood up and walked towards the blue intercom.

Nirav was still asleep in one of the two bedrooms of the small suite that the two were sharing in bungalow number 105. The team had returned with their trainers from Lansdowne the previous evening.

‘Hello, Atharv here,’ he said, when he picked up the receiver. ‘He is up, getting ready. Why, what has happened?’

He listened intently before saying, ‘Okay, sure. I will bring him along.’

As soon as Atharv hung up, he rushed into Nirav’s room. ‘Get up, Nirav! Man, it’s 9 a.m., are you planning to sleep all day?’ Atharv shook Nirav by the shoulder. ‘Be ready in two minutes. Shekhar sir has called us. It must be for some tutorial. As if we have not had enough already.’

When the two finally got to Shekhar’s room, he took them to a spacious hall, where the others were already gathered.