The sky was bright with shining stars. Yamraj was looking down at the beautiful and grand city of Amaravati. He had hovered atop his bull over Mount Meru for some time, enjoying the view, before heading towards Amaravati. For some reason, worries related to Prithvi Lok were pre-occupying his mind.
People on Prithvi Lok seemed to no longer be taking Yamraj or his warnings on death seriously. Yamraj was getting worried about this.
Yamraj had gleaned this information by looking at the history of each individual reaching the gates of hell. As he worried about the lifestyle of the people on Prithvi Lok, Yamraj remembered Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva had always been important role to him. His genuine prayers worked and Lord Shiva appeared right in front of him.
‘What is making you worry, Yamraj?’
‘Prabhu, I was planning to meet you, as usual you have read my mind. I am quite worried about the way Kalyug is progressing on Prithvi Lok. There are still more than four lacs years left for Kalyug to end. However, the human society has seen a continuous decline in terms of dharma, wisdom, knowledge and emotional capability. The way things are turning out, no one will be able to help humankind.’
‘Yes Yamraj, a lot has changed in the last 100 years. First, they built monstrous machines and then powerful nuclear weapons that are no less than our brahmastra and now the Internet and new gadgets seem to have changed everything.’
‘The invasion of technology is not going in favor of the humanity. It has widespread implications on the society at large. But you do warn people even now to help them change their course of life. Right?’
‘Yes Prabhu, I do warn people about their bad Karma. Some people pay attention and expiate their karma. However, most of them are absorbed just in carnal pleasures. They tend to ignore everything. And then there is a lot that is fearless.’
‘Hmm, I understand what you are saying Yamraj. There is nothing wrong with pleasure but faith is important.’
‘The rush to hell seems to be the new game. Not many people really care of going to temples on a regular basis. They either don’t understand that there is a higher power above them or they just don’t care about it.’
‘So what is on your mind now?’
‘Well I didn’t really have a plan to intervene in Kalyug but I do think that some indirect intervention may be needed.’
‘Look Kalyug was designed in a particular way so if you have a plan to intervene, we will need to discuss it.’
‘Prabhu, I am planning to set up a team on Prithvi Lok.’
‘What kind of team are you talking about? What powers will you give to your team?’
“Prabhu, Frankly I have not given it a thought. I think times have changed and we can take some help from technology for this. We need a better system to message in the language that human beings understand.’
‘What language?’
‘The language of technology.’
‘Yamraj Please don’t do anything that you regret later.’
‘Prabhu I will take calculated steps.’
The Accident
Priya fell down at least twice as she walked towards the parking lot. She was simply in no condition to drive. She looked around to buy a bottle of water to sober up. Buying a bottle of water from the nearby kiosk, she splashed some water over her face and made up her mind to drive fast to pump up some adrenaline in her body.
Priya was on the unlit section of Sohna road, Gurgaon when she saw a truck coming from behind. The truck had its high beam on which irritated Priya. Priya moved to the left to give the required space to the truck so that it could overtake her car. However, the truck continued to follow her. Her apartment complex was not too far, so she did not panic and gradually increased her speed. The phone in her pocket buzzed, intimating her of a new Whatsapp notification. As she tried to take it out, she spotted a buffalo in the middle of the road. With one hand on the wheel, she desperately tried to steer the car away. Her foot hit the brakes so hard that she felt the jolt all the way up, through her spine. The car slowed down but the truck behind her did not stop. It hit Priya’s car from the back and the car toppled twice. Priya’s body plunged forward and her head immediately hit the windshield. The hit was brutal and she died on the spot.
The accident caused a huge road jam and soon police patrol car reached on the spot. They picked up her bag and found her contact details from her driver license. Her home was nearby so a police van rushed to her society. Sub Inspector, Birender, informed about the accident to the Head of Security, Malik. Malik immediately called her apartment. Priya’s brother Vibhor picked up the intercom
Vibhor was surprised at the late night call coming on the intercom and said, ‘Who is this?’
‘I am Malik, the head of security here. The police is here. Please come down. It seems that Priya has been in a road accident.’
‘What?’
‘You sister Priya has met with an accident. Please come down.’
Vibhor panicked and rushed to the lift without even bothering to tell anything to his mother. He tried to find his shoes but his mind was not working. He ran bare feet to the main gate. Malik was waiting for him.
Vibhor asked, ‘What happened to Priya? Is she fine? Where is she?’
Malik said, ‘I will go with you for the identification.’
Vibhor got into the Police van, in a state of complete shock. The van rushed towards the accident spot but Vibhor was still in an auto pilot mode. After some time, the reality hit him.
Vibhor saw three police cars with flashing lights bars behind the barricade. Right next to the barricade was a red car completely mangled due to a hard impact. Passersby had quickly gathered onto the street near the barricade to gawk and talk. Some were busy taking pictures and capturing videos.
Vibhor was too lost to react. The police officers had to disperse the crowd away from the car. They moved away but looked at Vibhor with sympathy. Vibhor bent down to see the insides of the car and saw Priya in her new dress. Blood was still trickling from her head but she was dead.
Vibhor started crying loudly. What he saw was merely flesh and bone resembling life but not life anymore. He recognized Priya immediately as he had seen her chirping in the same dress, just a few hours back. Soon he had no courage left to watch her any further. He got up but was speechless. Sub Inspector then asked Vibhor about Priya, ‘Can you identify her?’
Vibhor had so many questions in his mind but he just gave an affirmative nod. Malik recognized his state of mind and stepped in to question the sub inspector about the protocol.
Sub Inspector replied, ‘We will need to take the body to the Civil Lines Hospital for the postmortem. This looks like a clear case of an accident but we still need to rule out any foul play. Nobody noted the vehicle’s number, so the investigation will be quite difficult. This stretch is quite dark but we will still look out for any cameras in this section of the road. We have already alerted the next toll booth about this accident and have asked them to be vigilant.’
As planned Himanshu had left the party 10 minutes after Priya as per their plan to meet her at her home. He found himself stuck in a massive traffic jam, in front of her society. He got down from the cab to find more details about the accident causing the jam. Even though the police had already moved Priya’s body, he identified Priya’s red car. He stood there for a while and looked at the car pointlessly and in shock. He saw a group and people and went to meet them. One of them narrated him about the sequence of events and also informed him about Priya’s brother. He also got to know about the name of the hospital. He cursed himself for letting Priya drive on her own but it was too late now. Priya had gone forever and he could never be with her again. Himanshu had his share of fun w
ith Priya but she was also the only close friend for him. He then called Neeraj to inform him about Priya’s death.
Yamraj Calling
It was late evening and Vyom was reviewing the list of his clients in the boardroom of his company, Yama Shama Pvt Ltd, a detective agency. The boardroom was small but the interior design was quite remarkable. Leather chairs with a Mahogany center table adorned the room. There were paintings on one side of the wall in the room and the other wall had quotes from famous leaders plastered on it. Vyom had started his detective agency about three years back. Despite his colorful past, he was a changed man now. The transition was not easy for him.
A commerce graduate from Delhi who lived in Punjabi Bagh, Vyom was in the trading business. He travelled extensively to China and Thailand in those days, for business. He always started his trip with the night tour of Bangkok and ended it with Shanghai. His buying agents who helped him in purchasing goods for his business also managed his nightlife escapades. The agents adjusted all expenses in the business invoices. At home, he was a devoted husband but this was just a mask to hide the monster inside him.
There were many stories about his escapades but one of them took a lot of time and money to douse the fire. Three years back, one of the girls from a nightclub got pregnant and she created a lot of chaos in his life. Few months after his previous visit to Thailand, she started messaging Vyom quite frequently and then threatening him. Vyom did not have the courage to go to Thailand to settle the matter. Vyom panicked when the girl threatened to register an FIR in the local police station in Thailand. It was going out of the hand when his agent negotiated a deal with the help of a local lawyer. The lawyer spoke to the girl and made her agree on a settlement with a huge monetary compensation.
There was no way to absorb so much money through over invoicing. Vyom had to sell one of his properties for the settlement. Alka, his wife, being a joint owner got to know about his extra-curricular activities. The mask came out and Vyom blamed it on alcohol. Vyom promised Alka that he would never make this mistake ever in his life. However, in reality, this never stopped. He stopped it actually much later, after a very nasty experience.
It was 7:00 pm now and Vibhor had to take Alka to a house warming party. Alka was ready for the party and was waiting for Vyom to pick her. On reaching the venue, Vibhor headed straight to the bar for his drink, Alka said ‘You’ve got to drink in moderation today.’ Vyom didn’t pay heed and continued walking towards the bar.
‘Vyom listen to me! You always have acidity issues after drinking and even the doctor has recommended moderate drinking. You know what you become after heavy drinking – nothing short of a monster, Vyom’
Vyom said, ‘Look those matters were related to my travel to Thailand and that too in a group. I am a changed man now. Just allow me one last drink and then we can go for dinner.’ Alka looked at him as if she didn’t believe any word he uttered.
Vyom pleaded, ‘I promise.’
Seeing there is almost no room for negotiation, Alka gave up but kept an eye on him. Vyom went to the bar and said, ‘Give me extra-large Vodka with very little coke and make it fast.’ He then turned and looked at Alka who was still watching him.
‘Here is your drink sir.’
Vyom gulped more than half of his drink and then asked the bartender, ‘Now fill it up with Coke and add some ice.’
The bartender smiled; he could see what was happening there.
Vyom went back to Alka and said, ‘These guys don’t even know how to make a normal drink. Anyways I will finish this quickly and then we can go for the dinner.’
‘Vyom, There is no need to drink fast. I can wait.’
It was too late. In a very short time Vyom could manage to gulp multiple drinks. Later, back home, he went straight to sleep. Alka, who paid no heed to her drunk husband, flipped channels for some time before sleeping.
In the middle of the night, Vyom suffered from severe acidity due to acid reflux. After an initial immense discomfort, a big burp choked him. With this even normal breathing became increasingly difficult. Vyom tried to breathe normally but it was very difficult. This was proving to be one of the worst acid reflux episodes that he could remember. In severe discomfort, Vyom tried to wake up Alka but she was fast asleep. All this happened in less than a minute but it looked like an eternity to him. Vyom thought his final moment had come. His whole life, including his bad deeds, started flashing in front of his eyes.
Suddenly the room became very bright. A tall shadowy figure walked towards him. The shadow became clearer and he could see greenish blue skin. The person was wearing red robes and carried a mace in his hands. He had wide eyes painted in a dark Azul shade, his jet black hair set free. He soon realized that it was Yamraj, Lord of death, walking towards him. Vyom almost froze and continued to watch Yamraj walking towards him. Yamraj was taller than what would have imagined.
Yamraj came close to him and said, ‘Vyom you have spent your whole life in carnal pleasures and have crossed all moral values and boundaries set for a family man. Your past record is not clean either. You had a chance to change but you decided to continue cheating your innocent wife. Time has come to end your sins. The last ‘large’ drink that you had tonight would be the cause of your death.’
Vyom was not sure if this was real or just an illusion. Everything in the room looked normal except he was face to face with Yamraj. Vyom could not speak anything. He had heard stories of heaven and hell but never fully believed in them. He turned to see Alka, during his last moments. She was sound asleep.
Yamraj continued, ‘You have committed many sins. Money laundering, cheating on your lovely wife, what not? Thank God, you have no kids. In your absence, they would have suffered too.’
Almost magically, he found his voice back. He exclaimed, Yamraj Ji let me explain. You are right. I was living a meaningless life so far but I will try hard to change.’
Yamraj looked at him with no pity in his eyes, ‘You are a liar and you just can’t change. Even tonight at the party you were in no mood to leave your drink until your wife firmly asked you to do the same. You continue to cheat even now though your means are different.’
Vyom began to speak normally now, ‘Yamraj Ji, I will immediately change my lifestyle and lead a simple life. I will stop chasing women and quit drinking.’
‘Vyom, you should realize that this is all linked to Karma of your present life and your past life. Karma will always catch up with you and all sinners will meet the same fate. Vyom, why did you waste your life like this?’
Vyom pleaded, ‘Yes I was missing direction but I am changing slowly. I can work harder and create good karma for myself.’
‘It is too late now. You had your chance.’
Vyom quickly fell down to his knees and said, ‘Prabhu, please do not take me, I am ready to change for good. I have so much to do. Everyone deserves a second chance.’
This was all part of Yamraj’s bigger plan. Yamraj thought for a while and then said, ‘You will have to prove yourself. Prove yourself as a worthy man. I will not tell you what to do and will just watch your actions. If you do something worthwhile, things may change.’
After saying this Yamraj disappeared.
Vyom was in a state of trance and he could not distinguish between reality and dream. Everything felt quite real to him but there was an element of doubt. He tried to fall sleep but his mind was racing. Every word of Yamraj was echoing in his mind. He thought about his own bad habits.
A sense of guilt crept within him. The Thailand issue had shaken him up for a while but he had forgotten about it after sometime. He had again taken to drinking heavily and continued with his nocturnal activities. This time was different though, along with the feeling of guilt he also had a lurking fear of his death.
Next morning he got up earlier than usual. He could vividly remember previous night’s incident. He thought to himself, ‘Did I speak to Yamraj last night? Was it a dream? If this really is my second chance then I need to d
o something about my life’s mission.’
He started thinking about the purpose of his life. He decided to change his line of business. However, with his limited experience in trading, his chances of getting a corporate job were not looking good. He desperately wanted to discuss this with Alka. Alka was busy in the kitchen.
Vyom said, ‘Alka I need to talk to you about something.’
Alka said, ‘Don’t you have any work right now? I have a lot to do right now. Get ready for your office and then we can talk.’
Vyom said, ‘I don’t want to continue with my business anymore.’
Alka exclaimed, ‘What happened? Are you still drunk? I can get some lemon water for you?’
‘Alka I am serious. I want to talk to you on my future plans.’
‘OK let’s talk.’
Vyom said, ‘Well last night I had a frightening experience.’
Vyom then narrated his last night’s experience to Alka. Alka listened to him patiently. After Vyom finished his narration Alka said, ‘You are saying things that make a lot of sense. At the same time, I don’t believe your Yamraj story. It sounds like a bad dream with a good outcome. You have made enough money and we live a decent life so there is no need to chase money. Now you need to find your mission.’
‘What if all this really happened? What if Yamraj actually came to take me?’
‘In that case changing your lifestyle and work profile will matter even more. What do you have in mind?’
‘I think I may be good at identifying people who have habits similar to mine. I am not sure however what career option will suit me.’
‘Vyom Just think about starting a detective agency?’ With your experience, you can expose people easily. It may be your turn to make our society become a better place. You are responsible for this mess otherwise your life was going smooth, as per your convenience.’
Vyom said, ‘Well don’t start with me again! I am quite stressed right now. No one can change overnight. I can do a modest start and your idea is good. It will suit me. Let me think about it and then we can discuss again.’
Sinner's Game: Karma will chase! Page 1