I spent a sleepless night. The flashes of the disgusting incident kept me furious the whole evening. I didn’t know what was destined the next morning – whether I will get more slaps & punches or will it be a giving back time – in any case I was sure that I am going to the venue no matter what may come. I had complete trust on my friends ‘cause I have been always blessed with good friends. But the irony was they were always too good - they never smoked, they never drank, they never went behind girls, and they never had any nexus with the underworld.
We were just 5 – Sandeep Prabhu – whose only aim was to become an Engineer & he did become one, Jatin Parmar – who had a dream like that of QSQT’s Aamir Khan, I think he still is in search of Ms Right, Sagar Prasade – who very badly wanted to be a BE but finally ended up taking a job in shipping, & Manoj Wankhede – nope he didn’t have any share in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, he was the most innocent & most puny among all us. (I am mentioning their full names because if they happen to search their names on Google they should be able to contact me).
I told all my friends to bring whoever they know, so that we don’t take the beating again. None turned up the next morning – except my 4 friends. Manoj kept telling me that he has asked few of his friends to come exactly at 10 am. The drama was ought to begin at 10 am as it was school’s interval time. I kept ignoring him. Butterflies started flying in our stomachs as it already was 9.55 am. And they should be some 50 guys, and we were just 5 studious people who never even knew to fist our knuckles.
Manoj suddenly started jumping saying his friends are coming. I wasn’t excited till I turned to look at them. Oops – each one was at least 6 feet in height, at least 80 kgs, hair till shoulder, they surely had a look of major gangsters - and they were 10 in numbers! The butterflies still were flying – but this time for different reasons. I started having fears about what will happen to the guy who slapped me the other day!
Manoj introduced all of them to us, and my friends had a ray of confidence in them. Each one I am sure thought - Thank God! We need not take the punches for Kennedi’s sake now.
The bells rang and it was recess time now – the judgment day has come. We started moving towards the school gate. I was in the front, my 4 friends just 1 foot behind me, and those 10 guys 1 foot behind them. It was an awesome feeling, and I felt like a God. I can now understand what power can give you – TOTAL CONFIDENCE. Except for the background score everything was happening just like Ram Gopal Varma’s stunt sequence.
We stood their unperturbed, and that bugger came with another friend of his – who was known for his underworld contacts. The other 50 guys kept themselves at a safe distance. I can see them hiding their faces, and behaving as if they didn’t have any hands in this particular incident. I was face to face with this bugger, and asked him to call the girl for whom we were fighting. I can see fear running across his face & body, and the feeling of repentance about why he even tried to get into this mess.
In fraction of seconds, our guys pounced on him, and before I could blink my eyes some 15-20 punches were showered on him and he already had started bleeding. None came to his rescue. One of my guys lifted his shirt, and said should I remove it out? I didn’t get what exactly he meant by that. It was later I came to know they were carrying swords too!!!
Another guy asked me slap him right away and to take the revenge then & there. It was so awkward for me, and I said forget it. Let’s move. And it was all over.
I happen to see the same bugger a couple of times later too, and he still puts his head down whenever he notices me. He runs an electronic shop now, and is happily settled.
Sometimes I wonder if I should have used the same technique to prove my power in the Corporate scenario. I am sure most bosses need this kind of treatment for all the bloody politics they play in screwing people’s happiness. But then people bleed only through one hole if we take the revenge, but if the honour of taking revenge is let to God the wrong doer will bleed from most of the holes!