He used to go with his father to the sea on fishing trips. He had seen his village disappear from his sight, slowly, as the boat moved further away. He had seen the exclusive dance of the waves too. He was revisiting the moments spent with his father when the clouds appeared overhead, their shadows slowly spreading over parts of the sea. He was aware of the rush that lay hidden in these waters but had never enjoyed the serene beauty of the sea before in such a manner. He carefully observed the circles that the shadows of the hovering clouds made on the water’s surface, those brown and black lines. Some dark and some faint. While deducing these shades and hues, his domestic problems surfaced in his thoughts. He could see the shadows of financial inadequacies reflect on his mother’s face after his father’s death. He also observed that his uncle’s visit to his house had become more regular. His uncle often came to meet his mother around dusk and left at the time of the morning prayers.

He kept staring at the waves and his mind tried figuring out what lay buried in the depths of the water.

He dived into the sea and closely looked at the colourful and enchanting fish of all sizes that playfully swam around. When a fish came close to him, he felt it had something to tell, maybe a story. In fact, he usually felt that the sea was always ready to reveal its hidden truths to him!

The first of May was the first day of Asrar’s life in Mumbai.

A superfast train takes at least seven and a half hours to cover the distance between Ratnagiri and Mumbai. His friends Suleiman Vanu and Qasim Dalvi were well-versed with this city. They vividly described the hustle and rush of Mumbai through stories to their friends. So, during the journey the city was like a floating dream in their intoxicated eyes. They were impatient to see the city, to embrace its speed and become a part of its business. Asrar had seen so many films made on Mumbai—Bombay, Satya and Sadak were his favorites. In fact, he had seen Bombay several times and heard its songs on the tape recorder. He used to hum one song from the film quite often:

Tu hi re, tu hi re

Tere bina mein kaise jiyoon.

Aaja re, aaja re

Yunhi tadpa na tu mujh ko.

Jaan re, jaan re

In sanso mein bas ja re.

Chand re, chand re

Aa ja dil ki zameen pe tu.

Chahat hai agar

Aake mujh se mil ja tu.

Ya phir aisa kar,

Dharti se mila de mujh ko.

Tu hi re, Tu hi re

Tere bina mein kaise jiyoon.