Korok’s father’s lawyer was, for a change, a good man, and was kind to the boy. He would occasionally feed Korok after the father was produced before the judge. The lawyer did not earn much, because ‘friends of the court’ were not paid much by the government, but he had a shop selling electronic goods at Balangir chowk, so he did not mind.

And so that morning after he took the bus and reached Balangir, Korok sat on an old bench towards the back of the court while the judge waited for Korok’s father to be brought in. When the man was finally brought in, the prosecutor, that is, the lawyer who was speaking on behalf of the police and the government, stood up and told the judge that the police wanted another date, a month later. Police had been very busy over the Deogan agitation, and had not been able to investigate the timber theft.

The judge nodded. Policemen were busy, and the criminal had already been arrested, so this was not a problem.

‘Okay,’ said the judge. ‘Produce this man at the next hearing of the case on 10 October.’

Korok’s father was taken away. His lawyer did not ask for bail, because there was no point.

The lawyer walked out of the court and Korok followed him.

‘This is how they keep stretching the case,’ the lawyer told Korok. It was not the first time he had said this. The lawyer didn’t much like the way things worked, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

They walked along the row of rooms in the court, and went outside. Under a tin roof which did not have walls, sat some of the lawyers. It was their office as well as the court canteen. A man was selling tea and samosas in a corner. In another corner, some people sat with typewriters, working on documents which people had to submit in court.

‘Come, we will have samosas and tea. How are things at the village?’

Korok told the lawyer that everybody was all right, now that the leaders had been released, but Jadob was worried that the government was free to do what it liked because the villagers had lost their reputation.

‘Hmm. Yes. You can’t fight the government. You can talk to them, and wave banners and signs at them, but ultimately they do what they want. I am sorry about your father also. The judge knows there is no proof against him, but he doesn’t care. He works for the government too.’

They sipped the very sweet tea from dirty glasses under the tin roof. Korok usually never drank tea, because he didn’t have any at home, but didn’t mind free food anywhere.