Sahil used to boast that the watch he wore – one that showed the same time forever, 10.23 a.m. – was an original Seikosha Kamikaze that he had picked from a dead Japanese soldier’s wrist on the streets of Calcutta. He would proudly declare that he never fixed the watch because he wanted it to always remind him of the terrible phase he had been through in Calcutta. The truth, however, was that the watch just couldn’t be fixed – he had taken it apart many times. It had dawned on Sahil that the dead Japanese man on the street was not a soldier, and that he must have been a spy. The watch was irreparable because its gears were jammed by a small plastic casing, barely a millimetre long, that had disrupted the intricate mechanism from within – one that had no business being in the gear system, and yet was essential, as it carried a small amount of cyanide. Just in case things didn’t go according to plan. Sahil reckoned the spy must have been shot in the head before he could reach his wrist. He decided to keep it untouched. Till that evening, when he realized a two-bit singer could ruin his life. With his hard-earned life of honour and privilege flashing before his eyes, he followed Meera through the hall, enraged by her smile as she was being complimented by fans and industry stalwarts. He couldn’t stand her being the toast of the night, surrounded by an adoring crowd. Noticing that she wasn’t having anything to drink, he stormed into the makeshift kitchen and unloaded the cyanide from his watch into a mocktail lying around with one swift sleight of hand, and then signalled to a suited waiter. After slipping him a few hundred rupee notes, he charmingly asked him to pass the drink to Meera as a compliment. The waiter dutifully snaked his way to Meera and offered her the drink with a courteous bow while looking back to Sahil. To his surprise, the composer had vanished. A few awkward moments passed as the waiter apologetically looked for Sahil. It was Meera who broke the awkwardness by gracefully accepting the drink in order to put the waiter out of his misery.

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