Page 162 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

“I’m staying awake with you,” said Ata Gelong.
Every time the train halted, we rushed to the door and asked people passing by, “Is this Katpadi
Station?”
It was 5:00 am at Katpadi Station. Outside, the dawn had just broken. As we disembarked the train, the
woman from Sikkim gave Choki a card.
“If you come to Sikkim again, don’t forget to phone me,” she said, grinning. “You can be our special
guest.”
“Thank you,” said Choki. “We will.”
A fat and dark taxi driver said, “Taxi?”
“Yes, taxi,” I said. “Humko phone karna hai.”
“Sorry, no Hindi,” he said. “Little little English.”
“I want to make a phone call. Give me your phone, please.”
He smirked. “Want to call? No phone?”
“No.”
“Okay. Here. Call.”
I dialed the Liaison Officer’s number on his black-and-white NOKIA cellphone. The LO didn’t pick up
my call. I called him again. He picked it.
“Sir, we are at Katpadi Station,” I said.
“Sorry, I am out of town,” he said. “You can come by taxi. You can call Assistant LO.”
“That’s okay,” I said, “but which place should we head to?”
“R.J. Mansion, near Christian Medical College Hospital. The cabbie will take you there.”
I returned the phone to the cabbie. “You know RJ Mansion?”
“Many R.J. Mansion in Vellore,” he said.
I tapped my head, trying to remember the hospital’s name. “Um—”
“Christian Medical College Hospital,” said Ata Gelong.
“Get in,” the cabbie said.
After an hour on the road, the cabbie stopped the taxi beside a red building. “Here R.J. Mansion
Lodge.”
“Where is Christian Medical College Hospital?” I said.
“There,” said the cabbie, pointing at the mega-structures behind me. “Many big big buildings.”
The sight of the massive buildings sent shivers down my spine. “I want to make a call again. I need
your phone, please?”
He grinned. “Twenty rupees.”
“What a devious man,” I muttered, grinning. “Okay, okay. This is not happening in my country, but I’ll
pay for it.”
“Everything is money in Vellore. Nothing free.”
“No problem.” I slogged to the corner to avoid noisy traffic. “Assistant Liaison Officer?”
“Yes, who is speaking?”
“The LO told me to call you. I have brought my baby for treatment. We’re waiting beside RJ mansion
lodge.”
“Stay there,” he said. “I am coming.”
I paid the cabbie the taxi fare and waited for the ALO. Five minutes later, a fat guy carrying a white
satchel, arrived.
“Hello? How was your journey?”
“Fine, sir,” I said. “ALO?”
He nodded. “I am Rinzin.”
“Dorji Wangdi.” I shook his hand. “Is that the lodge we’re staying in?”
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