‘Yes, they are like extended family.’ Saying this, Neha hesitated for a minute and added, ‘Almost....’
‘I believe Mr. Surinder Chauhan and Mr. Dipak Awasthi go back a long way. And the families decided to convert the business alliance to a social relationship by getting their children married.’
Neha nodded in concurrence.
‘But, the engagement was called off a few weeks before the wedding,’ Agni went on, his eyes fixed on Neha.
Neha looked up. Arya detected a fleeting glimpse of hurt in her eyes.
‘Manav was not ready at that time,’ she almost whispered.
‘I see. Ms. Awasthi, how did you feel about that incident?’
Neha looked into Agni’s eyes and asked, ‘What has that got to do with your investigation?’
‘It’s important for me to understand the circumstances leading up to Hiya’s murder.’
‘Where do I come in? Or, my family, for that matter? She was done in by a bunch of ruffians!’
‘Well, let’s just say, I’m exploring other possibilities.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The attack on Mr. Chauhan and Ms. Sen might not have been accidental, as it’s being made out to be.’
Agni noticed the colour fade on Neha’s face.
‘And that’s what makes it important for me to probe deeper into the events of the last few months.’
‘Are you accusing me of...‘
Agni did not let her finish. ‘I’m not accusing you of anything, Ms. Awasthi. As I said, I’m only gathering information. I repeat my question. How did you feel about the wedding being called off by Mr. Chauhan with less than a month to go?’
‘I was shattered, of course. What else can you expect?’ she paused briefly and continued, ‘I had accepted Manav as the man I would spend the rest of my life with. I had started dreaming of a future with him and planning for it to minute details, just like any other girl. And then...‘ Agni could see tears welling up in Neha’s eyes. She took time to regain her composure and then declared, ‘I don’t want to go back to those days.’
‘You were hurt. Were you angry?’ Agni did not pay heed to her pronouncement.
Neha looked up and locked her eyes with Agni. ‘I don’t know where you’re going with this, ACP!’
‘You didn’t answer me, Ms. Awasthi.’
‘You know, ACP, the line between hurt and rage can be very thin.’ There was a wry smile on Neha’s face. The icy cold tone of her voice made Arya’s heart skip a beat. Neha was almost challenging the two men to gauge her true feelings.
‘Were you close to Ms. Sen?’
Neha smiled again. ‘You mean Hiya? Well...she was the darling of the masses. Manav had decided to marry a showgirl! How does it matter whether I was close to her?’
‘That doesn’t answer my question!’
‘ACP, what do you expect? I’d be thick friends with a girl married to the man who ditched me almost at the altar?’
‘That’s a better answer,’ Agni smiled. ‘Have you been to the hospital to meet Manav?’
There was a sudden rush of cheer on Neha’s face. Her eyes lit up as she said, ‘We meet every day! I’m there usually in the evenings.’
‘You look happy, Ms. Awasthi.’
There was a sudden change in Neha’s demeanour. She looked alert.
‘I’ve never had any hesitation to admit that I love Manav. And I won’t hesitate to tell you this, ACP—I feel happy to be around him as he copes with his loss. To be of help, in whatever little way I can.’
‘You’ve clearly moved on, Ms. Awasthi. Do you regret having harboured your anger and negative feelings towards Ms. Sen and perhaps, Mr. Chauhan?’
Neha looked up. Her jaws were stiff.
‘It was quite natural for me to feel that way, ACP. I have no regrets.’
She looked at her watch and said, ‘And now if you are done, I have a few calls to make.’
Agni and Arya stood up.
***
As Agni and Arya were on their way out of the mall, Agni heard a woman call him by his name and he turned around. It was Anamika, the girl they had met inside Panache.
‘Sir, we didn’t finish our conversation....’
‘Indeed!’ Agni and Arya exchanged glances. ‘Although, I didn’t realise you had more to say.’
‘Ma’am is usually not here in the evenings these days. I get relieved around six. If you can come back around five....’
Chapter 12
Agni was back in Panache around five that evening.
‘It’s about Ma’am...’ Anamika started hesitatingly after the initial exchange of pleasantries had been done away with.
Agni sat up straight.
‘What about her?’
Anamika looked around her. Agni had not seen a single customer come into the store since he had walked in. That had been his observation during his morning visit as well, which did not make a favourable impression about the state of the business. Agni wondered for a split second how Neha managed the rental. The next moment, he reminded himself that the owner of the mall had been her fiancé once, and the two families were friends. That might have led to favourable commercial arrangements.
‘Uh...um...It seems odd to me...’ Anamika hesitated again, ‘please don’t quote me....’
‘I won’t,’ Agni smiled reassuringly.
‘You know...they were supposed to get married...’ Anamika paused.
‘You mean, Ms. Awasthi and Mr. Chauhan?’ Agni checked.
‘Yes.’
‘So I heard.’ Agni concurred.
‘They were engaged. I saw the ring...’ Anamika paused briefly. ‘And then, something went wrong. Mr. Chauhan married the heroine.’
Agni smelt a whiff of resentment at the way Anamika referred to Hiya’s profession, instead of using her name. Anamika, apparently, was not too happy about Manav calling off the wedding with her boss with less than a month to go.
‘Ma’am was devastated. She would hide from us in one of the changing rooms and cry. I heard her....’
‘I don’t find anything odd in that! Don’t you think that was quite natural?’ Agni asked.
‘You are right...nothing odd about that. Everyone was shocked. And then, she changed. She plunged into work. This boutique became her world. She didn’t speak much. At times, she was very rude to everyone around her. The girl who stitches for us, and Pratik—well, he keeps accounts for us—no one was spared. Not even me! She yelled at me a couple of times. She later said that she had felt I had not been professional enough with some of the customers!’
Agni did not find that unusual. With the moving away of a loved one, something hardens inside. The world sees one as more efficient, more energetic than ever. One becomes more practical in a ruthless way, which sometimes makes one look a bit threatening to the world around.
Anamika continued, ‘And then the mishap happened. I was home having my morning tea, when I read the news. I thought about Ma’am and I couldn’t wait to see her. I wasn’t even sure if she would be here in the boutique. But when I arrived, she was already here! Her father was with her too. Later, they left for the hospital from here.’ Anamika stopped.
‘How did you find her coping with the news?’
The hesitation was back. ‘Sir, I may be wrong. After all, it’s just the way I looked at it. But Ma’am looked like her usual self after months! It was as if...how do I say it? It seemed to me as if a dark shadow had finally slipped off her face....’
‘How did Mr. Awasthi behave?’
‘When I came in, I saw him hugging Ma’am. He told her to have faith in God. It seemed...um...please don’t quote me, Sir...as if they were relieved! It didn’t look like someone close to them had been brutally beaten up and lost his wife just hours back!’
‘And how has Ms. Awasthi been ever since?’
‘Absolutely fine, Sir. She is very nice to us, like she used to be before that phase. She goes to the hospital every day to visit Mr. Chauhan, spen
ding only the morning here. She looks happy. I have a feeling she believes they will get back together.’
‘And what makes you say that?’
Anamika seemed to regret having made that comment. She cast another furtive glance towards the door.
‘Sir, I should not be saying this...I will lose my job if Ma’am gets to know....’
By then, Agni had realised that the girl was actually rather eager to share her story with anyone who cared to listen.
He gestured to her to continue.
‘I overheard Ma’am speaking to someone on the phone the other day. She said if she married anyone it would be Manav Chauhan and no one else. I wondered how she could be so confident...’ Anamika paused for a moment and said, ‘But then, come to think of it, Sir, Mr. Chauhan is single again. And Ma’am is taking good care of him....’
‘I know what you mean.’ Agni had wrinkles on his brow. Hiya’s death had indeed turned out to be a trump card for Neha.
He looked at his watch and stood up. He thanked Anamika profusely, who pleaded with Agni one more time that her opinion about her boss and, more importantly, her eavesdropping should not be brought to the attention of Neha.
Agni smiled and walked out of the store.
His phone buzzed.
It was Arya. He had spent the last few hours in the office of Deepak Awasthi.
Chapter 13
‘I always knew that China Valley is one of the oldest restaurants in South Kolkata. What I didn’t know is that, it started off back in the seventies! It was the brainchild of Prahlad Awasthi, Deepak Awasthi’s father. Prahlad Awasthi was a visionary. Within a few years of its inception, China Valley became the talk of the town.’ Arya sipped his coffee.
Agni’s palms cradled his cup. His hands were cold. They were inside a Café Coffee Day outlet, close to the office of Awasthi Restaurants Pvt Ltd. in Gariahat.
Agni looked at the gang of boisterous college goers who circled a big round table, right opposite to theirs. ‘I remember, Arya. China Valley used to be a rage when I was in college in the nineties. Taking a girl to China Valley for dinner would win you brownie points and give you a head start among her suitors,’ Agni smiled, taking a generous bite of the smoked chicken sandwich.
‘Well...I could never afford a date in China Valley with my meagre pocket money,’ Arya lamented, remembering his poor run of luck with the girls in his college.
Agni placed his hand on Arya’s shoulder and said, ‘I’m sure there were other reasons beyond meagre pocket money for all those missed opportunities, my friend. But, let’s not digress.’
Arya brushed aside his adolescent regrets and continued, ‘China Valley kept growing through the eighties and nineties, launching new properties and takeaway counters in different parts of Kolkata. Around 2005, Deepak Awasthi even planned expansion beyond Kolkata. And then, a few years back, the slump kicked in.’
Agni had been listening intently. He used the paper napkin to wipe the mayonnaise off the edges of his lips, took a sip of his very strong black coffee and put down the mug.
‘Hardly a surprise. The city suddenly had several new options. Global chains started making inroads. People started experimenting with different kinds of cuisines. Kolkata became more cosmopolitan, which had an influence on the city’s culinary habits. Shopping malls started flourishing. Dining got linked with a day out in the mall or a movie in a multiplex inside the same mall. That did not augur well for a number of our traditional, stand-alone restaurants.’
‘Exactly,’ Arya exclaimed, putting down his walnut brownie and brushing the crumbs off his trousers with the back of his hand. ‘And China Valley has been struggling ever since to keep up.’
‘They have definitely lost the patronage of the elite. I’m sure that’s bad news for business!’
‘You are right. I found out they had recently pulled the shutters down on a few outlets in North Kolkata. Business down south is not looking good either!’
‘Which means Deepak Awasthi’s fortunes don’t look good enough,’ Agni said, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.
The conversation suddenly stopped.
‘What are you thinking?’ Arya asked impatiently after a while.
‘I am wondering if China Valley would benefit if it started operating from outlets inside some of the shopping malls in town. The footfall is high, especially with families trooping in during the weekends. And the crowd is mostly from among the best-paid people in town with propensity to spend.’ Agni’s voice drifted off.
‘You can never be sure. There would be stiff competition from some of the global chains. Not to mention the high rents these restaurants end up paying in the malls,’ Arya said. ‘I heard the restaurants have to pay either a flat rental or part with a percentage of their revenue, whichever is juicier.’
‘You are right, Arya,’ Agni bent forward, his eyes bright, ‘And that’s where it helps to have the mall owner in the family. You get room for favourable negotiations, you see. Or even, biased favours under certain circumstances.’ Agni washed down the last bit of his sandwich with the coffee.
Arya thumped the arm of his chair in excitement.
‘Oh yes! Why didn’t this occur to me?’
Agni continued, ‘The daughter already has a boutique in one of Manav Chauhan’s malls. The father was probably eyeing a bigger slice of the pie. For Deepak Awasthi, there was much more to that marriage than his daughter and Mr. Chauhan walking into the sunset holding hands.’
‘And Manav Chauhan’s sudden decision to call off his wedding with Neha put a spanner in the works!’Arya’s excitement was palpable.
Agni finished off his coffee. ‘But don’t forget the Awasthis and the Chauhans are friends. A reconciliation can always be in the cards. The daughter, in any case, has vowed to marry Manav, come what may. That’s what I heard from the girl working at her boutique and I have no reason to disbelieve her. As for Manav, he may decide to move on, to try and get over the loss of his love, and go back to Neha.’
‘And that’s great news for the floundering restaurant business, among other benefits!’
‘Exactly, Arya! And in the process, everyone benefits from Hiya’s death. All it would take is to stage an attack, and the circumstances of her death would throw up a completely different motive without the actual beneficiaries looking bad.’ Agni rubbed his brow.
The two men left their seats.
‘Manav Chauhan did mention that he has enemies. The question is how much can we trust his friends!’ Arya exclaimed as they headed for the exit.
Agni was somewhat relievedto leave the café. The song they had been playing inside was from a Bollywood movie about a serial killer and it had been distracting Agni for the last several minutes, reminding him of the personal loss he had suffered last year when several women in Kolkata had fallen prey to a ruthless killer, the shadow of death looming large over the city.
Chapter 14
Agni pulled up the hood of his jacket and took a long swig of the whisky, draining his glass. He was in the balcony of his flat, his eyes fixed on street lights that looked dim through the light mist. With ornate decorations for the festive season all over, the South City Mall was a behemoth of concrete, steel and glass in the horizon. The illuminated interiors visible through the transparent walls looked depressingly desolate at this hour of the night.
A dog barked at a distance. A car swooshed by, its headlights forming cones in the mist. The only other sound came from the hammers of workers giving finishing touches to a pandal at a distance.
Agni put the empty glass down with a dull thud. He picked up his laptop and typed in the ‘search’ bar:
Tollywood actress Rituja
Rituja had been in his mind ever since he had seen her at the bar the other day.
His eyes went first to her pictures that charted her journey from the doe-eyed fresh-faced girl-next-door who had become the city’s sweetheart overnight to the voluptuous sex symbol she had transformed into, inhibitions i
n front of the camera steadily slipping with every passing year in the recent past. In her interviews, she attributed that transformation to ‘demands of roles’ and ‘changing tastes of the audience exposed to global cinema’. In reality, she had been struggling for a few years now to ward off competition from younger girls and much to the dismay of her fans, had resorted to not-so-aesthetic exhibitionism to pull in the crowds.
Agni scrolled down the laptop screen, skimming through news reports about Rituja. As he neared the bottom of the page, he suddenly stopped. A report higher up had caught his eye.
He scrolled back up and opened a report that was headlined:
Tolly girls get into ugly spat
Agni read through the report:
Come to think about it. Movies are just like any other business, with people having conflicting opinions about each other, just as people working in any other industry would have. So while you and I like to bitch about our bosses and colleagues, actors are no different!
However, what makes them special is the fact that, while most of our snide remarks stay within our groups of buddies in the canteen, the statements our celebrities make about each other kick off serious controversies and become headlines in dailies.
Yesterday, a sedate Tollywood studio was livened up by a spat between the seasoned diva Rituja Bose and reigning heartthrob Hiya Sen, who are working together in Aniruddha Goswami’s under production movie.
Aniruddha Goswami, recipient of two National Awards, is making a foray into mainstream Bengali movies with his latest project, which is being viewed as possibly the best, and the last opportunity for Rituja Bose to rise from the ashes and make a comeback after a string of flops.
The two heroines make no effort to hide their now famous animosity on the sets. Rituja Bose, without any doubt, is not among the admirers of Hiya Sen, considering the latter’s meteoric rise in the industry and the number of projects with large production houses Rituja has reportedly lost to her younger co-star in the last couple of years.
Reportedly, Rituja had been kept waiting for hours for a scene she shared with Hiya, who turned up characteristically late. Rituja walked up to her and making sure she was heard by all and sundry, including a number of journalists, said, “So you finally found the time from f***ing your millionaire friends!” Rituja, of course, had been referring to Hiya’s rich and famous friends, especially the dishy Manav Chauhan, whom she is reportedly dating.
The Colours of Passion Page 4