The Coming of Kalki

by Poulomi Sanyal

  James on the other hand, was no such zealot and he waited anxiously for the next partner change as he fumbled his way through the kicks and punches that inevitably landed several inches off the mark. Zoya prepared for that final kick that would land James on the floor and in an arm-grip that ensured his surrender, but the kick never materialized. Zoya’s vision was blurring and her head was starting to feel light again. She knew it was coming; the blackout. She started focusing all her energy into staying conscious, aware in the moment and in the now but to no avail. She was rapidly slipping away and losing focus. Then came the kick. She saw it coming but was powerless to stop it because by then she had already floated partially out of the sentient world. Her head was buzzing with a myriad of sounds, of classical instrumental music playing in a distant castle, of chanting in an ancient language and then darkness. She fell with a thud to the floor.

  * * *

  “Zoya, it’s me Nancy. How are you feeling honey?” Nancy asked, splashing her face with some more cold water.

  Zoya squinted. She was lying on a long wooden bench at the far end of the University dojo, with Nancy’s eager eyes staring down at her. To her right she could see the tall silhouette of her sensei waiting anxiously for her recovery. The karate class seemed to be in suspension, with the remaining students gathered on the mat at a distance quietly murmuring while they looked on. Some were practicing their katas.

  “Nancy, you, where am….” Zoya managed to mumble.

  “You are in your karate class. I came to cheer you on today, remember?”

  “Oh, what happened?”

  “You passed out. The campus nurse is on her way.”

  “Zoya, how are you feeling now? Was it the kick from James? Mind if I check your pulse? We were worried,” came sensei’s voice as he walked over to Zoya’s side and kneeled next to the bench so that his face was level with hers.

  Zoya sat up and smiled. “Yes, of course, go ahead,” she said extending her arm in sensei’s direction. “Yes, the kick just caught me off guard I think, but I am feeling better. It wasn’t too bad,” she continued.

  It was a white lie and she knew it. The kick did catch her off guard, but she didn’t blackout because she misjudged the kick, quite the other way around actually. Zoya could remember the number of times this had happened to her before. It happened constantly, in fact. Many EEG and CT scans later, the doctors were yet to find the cause. So, her parents were talking to a shrink. If it couldn’t be explained by physiology, then it must be in the realm of psychology they said. But can everything be explained by the sciences we have discovered so far, Zoya wondered. Has mankind learned everything that is there to learn? Far from it, but we would hate to admit it. Such is the pride of the human race. Zoya didn’t like to discuss her ailment much and always tried to explain it away as a stray incident, because it embarrassed her. She did not want people to think that she was some sort of a freak, a psychological wreck, and now Nancy would know.

  “Your pulse is fine, no concussion, eyes look okay, but I suggest you go to the University medical centre for an opinion, just in case or do you want to wait for the nurse to get here first?” Matthew sensei suggested with his eyebrows wrinkled, expressing concern.

  “Thank you, sensei. I think I’d rather go to the medical center.”

  “I’ll come with you. Can’t let you off alone,” Nancy offered.

  Zoya got up slowly, picked up her backpack, thanked sensei and walked in the direction of the changing rooms with Nancy in tow.

  “Here, let me hold your backpack,” said Nancy, hurriedly snatching the pack from Zoya’s shoulders and hoisting it on to her own. “You gave me quite a fright there, you know. You should lay off these extreme sports, I tell ya. You never know what kind of injuries—”

  “It’s not that bad,” Nancy quickly interrupted. “Karate is for self-defence. Not just a sport per-say. These are troubled times and we should be prepared, don’t you think?”

  “Hmm, maybe you’re right. Still, I would never…hey, by the way, when you were passed out, I heard something strange.”

  “What was that?”

  “Something you were mumbling, some jumbled up words, seemed like a strange language. Do you speak any other language?”

  Zoya froze. She had heard this before. This is exactly what she hated about her condition. Who knows what she says in that strange language when she passes out. What if she was cursing? What if she was summoning the devil? What if someone actually understood? Does Nancy understand? Would she grill her more? Could she explain it off?

  “Not that I know of,” she answered tentatively.

  “No? Any African languages?”

  “Nope. I was speaking an African language?”

  “I don’t know what language it was, but it was very strange. Could have been just gibberish, but it sounded like a chant. Aw well. It doesn’t really matter. Let’s hurry, the medical center closes at six.”

  Phew! “Yep, I am right behind you.”

  By the time they arrived at the University medical centre, it had stopped accepting more patients for the day and they advised them to go to the emergency instead. Zoya suggested that they head to the dorm since she was feeling fine. It seemed like a blessing in disguise actually, since she couldn’t help worrying what would happen if Nancy were to learn more about the uncanny nature of her blackouts.

  “Yo, are you crazy?” Nancy promptly objected. “You were out cold on that floor up there and that ain’t funny. We are going to the emergency room. I am not letting ya outta my sight till we do.”

  “But—”

  “Oh, just shut it woman. Your dad’s a doctor, ain’t he? What would he have said? You’re comin’ with me, like it or not!” Came Nancy’s sharp rebuke.

  * * *

  The emergency room at the hospital was packed as anticipated, but Nancy’s patience was unparalleled and in striking contrast with Zoya’s own irritability and annoyance. The doctor found nothing out of the ordinary and assured them that the blackout was quite natural, given the duel that was ongoing and the suddenness of the oncoming kick from Zoya’s opponent. Zoya’s secret was safe. At least for now.

  The duo left the hospital around nine thirty in the evening. There was a chilly breeze outside and rain clouds were heavy in the horizon. It looked like a light fall shower was in the offing. They had a fair bit of a walk ahead and no umbrellas, so they decided to race each other to the dorm.

  “Catch me if ya can,” teased Nancy.

  “You beatchya I can,” Zoya responded, speeding up.

  Soon the two were neck to neck.

  “Too slow. Too slow,” Zoya yelled, as she sped past her roomie.

  “Oh yeah? I think, not!” Nancy was gaining on her.

  Zoya arrived at the dorm entrance, totally breathless and laughing uncontrollably. Nancy was right behind.

  “Well, that was fun!” Zoya exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes, after they had caught their breaths.

  “It was, wasn’t it?”

  Zoya put her arm around Nancy’s shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

  “You know, you may just be the sister I never had,” she said softly.

  “Is that right?’ Nancy erupted into laughter, making Zoya blush a little.

  “Hey, are you going home for Thanksgiving?” Zoya asked.

  “Naw. My step-dad wouldn’t want me home, and I stay clear of him as much as I can. What about you?”

  I figured as much, thought Zoya. “Yeah, I’m going home. Hey, here’s a thought, come over to my place with me. Would you? Mom’d love to have you over. Oh, and you’ve got to try her turkey. It’s the best in the world!” she suggested enthusiastically.

  “Mmm, I’m in baby,” Nancy exclaimed, grinning ear to ear.

  CHAPTER ten

  Alejandro sat stiff in his seat of the Indian Government vehicle as it was led by the police through the narrow winding streets of Dwarka. His brain was working so fast that he could almost feel the imaginary cogs
turning and clicking inside his skull. Quickly, he pulled out his cell phone and typed a text to Nirmala:

  “What does Raju know?”

  Nirmala, who was eying him furtively at constant intervals through the corner of her eye, saw him type the message and then felt the vibration of her own phone in her pocket. Pulling it out, she hurriedly replied back:

  “Only that he is taking us to Rajkot. Not much more.”

  “Does he know who we were meeting?”

  “No. He gets his instructions from the Archaeological Survey of India.”

  There were no more texts and a tense silence prevailed inside the car. Outside, however, was a completely different atmosphere. The bustle and din of the crowded mid-morning Dwarka streets overcompensated for the silence inside their vehicle.

  Given the crowd, it would be fairly easy to blend in and disappear but equally difficult to move very fast. A Catch 22, Alejandro thought, his mind still churning furiously.

  The nearest police station was probably not more than a couple of kilometres away, but thanks to the traffic, progress was extremely slow. Now, they were stopped again. There was a skinny looking cow with bells around her neck sprawled luxuriously across the road and staring lazily in their direction, without any intention of budging an inch. The policeman on the motorcycle in front of them disembarked, walked up to the bovine display and started tapping her on her behind with his baton while simultaneously shoving the animal sideways with his other hand, egging her to get up and move aside. Had it not been for the predicament at hand, this scene alone would have sent Alejandro into a laughing fit. But now was not the time. Nirmala, on the other hand, did not seem at all fazed by the circus-like antics playing out right in front of their eyes. Probably, she too was fearing for her life, but apart from that Alejandro imagined, she might be familiar with spectacles of this sort, having grown up in India. This amused Alejandro even more.

  It’s like we are in a high-speed police chase minus the high speed, he thought.

  In about fifteen minutes the cow was cleared from the road and the traffic had started moving again. Alejandro sat up straight and tried to regain his focus. He would have to look for the opportune moment, and then they would have to act fast, really fast. Within a minute or two at best. But the biggest question on his mind was still the same. What would be that opportunity, the cue for them to act, and more importantly, would it even arrive?

  Their convoy was moving forward slowly, but surely, through the winding dusty road. About twenty metres ahead, Alejandro could see a bottleneck presented by a single-lane railway crossing. The cars were maneuvering one after the other across this narrow crossing. In front of them, waiting to cross, there were still two other small cars and the police motorcycle at the head of their convoy. Behind, were the two remaining police cars that were following them. This level crossing was regulated manually from inside a little booth that was right next to the gate on one side. The crossing was open and there were no trains to be heard or seen. Alejandro took a deep breath and pulled his back pack off the seat and placed it between his feet on the floor. Then he opened the front pocket, slipped his right hand inside and waited patiently. Nirmala gave him a curious look. Alejandro raised his left hand and put a finger to his lips, urging her to stay silent.

  The motorcycle in front of them just crossed the gate of the level crossing and ascended the tracks when Alejandro gently tapped Raju on the shoulder.

  “Go slowly after the motorcycle has passed, okay?” he whispered into Raju’s ear, leaning forward.

  “Okay, sir.”

  “Now,” said Alejandro once the police officer in front of them had driven his motorcycle to the other side of the level crossing.

  Raju moved forward as instructed and mounted the tracks. And then, as soon their entire car had cleared the first gate of the level crossing, suddenly both the gates dropped. There was commotion everywhere. With some people screaming with panic.

  “Turn to the right and drive over the tracks. GO!” said Alejandro.

  Raju flicked his head backwards and looked at Alejandro in shock, frozen and unable to react.

  “GO, I say!” shouted Alejandro, quickly pulling out his trusty Browning Hi Power handgun from his backpack and pressing the muzzle to Raju’s head.

  Nirmala screeched, startled by this sudden development, and then she shrunk back in her seat, quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

  Raju quickly turned the car right and started driving precariously over the tracks. The ambassador clambered and cluttered bumpily along the tracks with the baffled-looking policemen probably still deciding whether or not it would be safe to pursue them given that a train was coming.

  “Faster, please. As fast as you can go Raju,” urged Alejandro, his gun still positioned solidly on the driver’s head.

  “But the train coming sir, we are all going to die!” Raju panicked. He was sweating profusely, and his heart was threatening to explode.

  “No, it isn’t. There is no train. Do as I say. The only way we’ll die is if the police catch up with us,” Alejandro insisted.

  Raju was driving furiously over the tracks now, his eyes still wide with awe and heart beating fast.

  “Are they following us?” Alejandro asked, now looking at Nirmala.

  Nirmala had already turned around in her seat, her back to the driver and was sitting on her knees facing the rear window to see if they were being followed.

  “No, nothing yet,” she responded.

  “In ten minutes, the train will come towards us,” Alejandro said softly, looking at his watch and then successively through the front and rear windows.

  “What?” screamed Raju and Nirmala almost simultaneously.

  “But, h…how do you know?” Nirmala added, stuttering.

  “Will explain later. Okay Raju, this is it. Slow down. Slow down. Stop the car. Right now. Do it!” Alejandro sounded ferocious. This was so uncharacteristic of him.

  The car came to a screeching halt. Alejandro hastily disembarked and went up to the driver’s door, still pointing his pistol in Raju’s direction.

  “Get out of the car!” he screamed, holding Raju’s door open. “Go, now, run, blend in with the crowd. Leave the city, if you can.” And with that, he fired a shot into the air and another into the car’s rear window. The glass shattered with a terrific clang. Nirmala cringed. She was out of the vehicle, standing next to Alejandro.

  Raju made a run for it. A train whistle sounded from the track right in front of them, but the train was not yet in view. Alejandro quickly grabbed his backpack from the car and hoisted it over his shoulders.

  “C’mon, let’s go. We run that way,” he said, pointing to the direction opposite to the way Raju went.

  “Run where, and then what?” asked Nirmala, panting.

  “We blend in with the crowd.”

  They both started running. The head of the oncoming train began to materialize from the bend in the track towards the horizon. That was their cue to pick up speed. They scrambled through the bushes and dusty unpaved ground as fast their legs could carry until they got to the end of the bushes and to the edge of the road that ran parallel to the train tracks. Here, Alejandro slowed down and quickly grabbed Nirmala’s arm to hold her back. By the edge of the road was a large banyan tree stretching its numerous branches across the sky and planting its large network of aerial prop roots around them like a mesh. Hiding in the shade of this tree, they gasped for breath.

  “Where to now?” asked Nirmala after catching her breath.

  “Can we board a bus?”

  “We could…”

  “Where would that take us?”

  BANG!! They heard the impact in the distance.

  “The train, it hit our car,” said Alejandro, wincing slightly.

  “Yes, it will be a good distraction. Do you think anyone will be injured?”

  “Highly unlikely.”

  “Oh, how come?”

  “The train was far enough away t
o slow down when it saw our vehicle. It wasn’t able to stop completely, hence the bang. But it was a mild bang, did you hear?”

  “That’s true. Clever!” Smiled Nirmala, truly impressed.

  “I thought it through, else I wouldn’t have done it. Okay, now the bus, where does it go?”

  “It depends on which one we take. There are several routes that ply on this road. Some long and some short distance.”

  “We take the first one that arrives.”

  “And cross our fingers?”

  “Yes, exactly.” Smiled Alejandro. “I think I hear one coming now,” he added.

  “Okay. Don’t open your mouth on the bus. If you don’t talk, you may get mistaken for an Indian. If you open your mouth though, there’s no chance,” said Nirmala with a coy look. “We are in luck. It looks like a long haul. Ready?” she continued.

  “Yes ma’am,” Alejandro replied with a teasing smile, failing horribly at an Indian accent.

  “By the way, I meant to ask. Why did you fire those shots?”

  The bus was drawing near. It looked air conditioned. Possibly an inter-city coach. Normally they were pre-booked, but Nirmala knew how to hitch a ride on one of those. She smiled gratefully.

  “Good question. If they find Raju, he’ll tell them I pointed a gun at him. The shots I fired add credibility to his story. That way they won’t think he is in cahoots with us and will let him off easy.”

  “Brilliant!” Beamed Nirmala as she sped forward to hail the approaching bus.

  CHAPTER eleven

  Chris was in his tiny London flat making lunch on a Saturday afternoon when he decided to call his mom. He made it a point to call her at least once a month. Otherwise, she got really worried and emotional.

  “Yeah Mom, just making some sandwiches…”

  “Yes, of course I’m eating well. You know I am a foodie…”

  “Oh, they have excellent bread here and the cheeses, mmmm. You have no idea! You have to come visit sometime—”

  “Yes, of course Rob can come as well. He’s my brother, Mom. He’s always welcome here…”