CHETAN BHAGAT 1? v I>UBI IF »,TIO INIDIA Copyright © Chetan Biiagal 2011 First in Rupa Paperback 2011 Second Impression 2011 Pii.blisli.ed by Eitp a Publicatioiis India Pvt Ltd, 7/16, Atisarl Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002 All rights reserved... No part of this publication may be reproduced stored, in a retrieval system^ or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical* photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers* The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work Disclaimer: f-oi aachtiiocrt); mihm has used iMrneis iUiOc icM places, upk and mst tiUicns as tht*\ ap*es»eul ul'ural 'tuit t>i todav and Morvreii itg. Tbtre ^ no uuentioij to miulv anv*hmg eke. Ptirmd in India by Gopsom Papers Ltd. A-2&3/Sector 64 Noida 201 301 Saks Centres: Allahabad Bengaiurii Chennai Hyderabad Jaipur Kathmandu Kolkata Mumbai To my mother io Varanasi To the holy river To the Indian student My readers, for their love and support. God who lodes after me, Shrnie Antony, who remains the first: reader and editor of my books, Aoubha Bang, for her suggestions at ail stages in the writing of this book. Nutan Beridre, Niharika Khaima> Michelle Perelra, Prateek Dhawa«» Zitim Dhawan and Aoerag Anand, for their great comments on the manuscript Saurabh Rungta and Kisliore Shanna, for their help in research. The amazing, amaang people o f Varanasi All the people I met during my travels and talks, who helped me understand my country better. My mother Refcha* wile Aiiuslia, brother Kcim% for being In my life. My sons Ishaan and Shyaro, who tell me. Its OK, Daddy during my lows. My extended family on Twitter and Facebook. Rupa and Company for publishing me. The filmmakers who chose to make my stories into hlim And once again, yon, dear reader, for wanting a revolution. i .clanks to i And / hopt not rust you hut oar %holc coti'iry will keep that spark ifiivt, ijfnr: is something an>/ about sayhr; - i ujrne from the land of a bdlion sparks Ihiif'k YOU! f mid, tiidvw nn m>*ir;ational speech at Tiluk Hall, 'Vmmmi The daps and whistles-were my me. to; leave, Security volunteers formed a. humm barricade and soon I managed a neat exit from-the hail 5Thank you so muchr sir* someone. said right- behind me.. I turned around to face my host 'Mr Mhhra? I mid, T was looking for you! "Berne call me Gopal! he said. Ihe car is over there! I walked- out -with the young director- of Gangalhch College, Copal Mlshra, His Hack Mercedes whisked us amy. from the crowded Vidyapaih Road,, "So you saw the temples and the ghats f Gopal asked. "Ikats aB Vdrmmsi has, anyway! 'Yeah, 1 went to the Vtshwanaih 'Temple, and Dashashwamedh Ghat at five in • the miming* f love this -city! I said> 'Qht.goodL What.did.you like best about Varanasif* 'Whiif 0(^;all0i^md;$urprmd, cThe morning aarii ai the ghats, 1 saw it for the first time, all those diyas floating at dawn. It was out of this world! Gopatfrowmd, 'What?'I said, 'Isn't Varmmtk mrti beautiful? "Yeah, Yeah., His.... ft is not thai! he-said, hut did not dahomte. • <:WM you drop me M Mmada 'Hotel?* T said. 2 * C H B T A N B H A G A T 'Ynui fhghl is onb1 ttn mornuii, Gopal said. "Why don't you come hot?*1 fee doinet 'Dr/jfV be foj uiai/ btguj; "III? uuvl U> com- home, he f ih,ve a drink together* I have the finest wh'ski m the tvorld' he said i undid / snook mv 'thanks, Gopal, hut 1 don t drink much" 4Cheim sir medrtnkH cm Mi people I had a drink with "the* Clrntm BhagaL' ' >at^hed 1 Thais nothing to hag about 'Jdk ~oy d if you want You hmt actuiiUv hove to drink tt ith sNoi like that, sir. I actually nmil to !io\\ o drmk l(h you' I sene in3 mfense eyes. He had m mv heÛy incites in the last six tit thihiu ihitil I finally agrn'd to cotoe / kreve he toidd persist* Okay Jre drrddd 1 $,?td, hop***i% I ^'ouidn* regret this later, \Excellent' Gopal said. V»i- duê icn kthmteiw* 'hi uti jh the J ax know Highway to r.Kui OongiTcch. The gumds ampus gates opened, Ike car srs to a hali at a gray bungcJcve,, tied a cutc ?it nor thai matched the college end hostel btdhhnp. *Vj mA m thi living rooto ck /.V pound floor it opened out to a -»>dmmfOit court-med lamr (Nia house/ / said a* f nd oh a cushy brown \elvif sofa, I noticed the Ktra-high ceiling. lfItMik>. I designed it mese'lf The u^tr.ufCf bud] iU but 1 supervised ,, e< vetting' Copal said, He proceed, d u* tin bar counter at the other end of die room. Ids the hungolow o fan engineering college director. You and your hu nds redded oiu , right?1 'How do you hiov/f / so id. 7 ves \ont know. Wen nod the book. Seen doe movie, Ac i,;i/ghld He hmid/hJ me > ' r >> »/ Hi *- filled >t#fi a generous Amount of- whiskv. 'Thank \>vu 'Sm&le i*taL, fweheôn aid! he .REVOLUTION 2 0 2 0 * 5 ike directors bungalow, buiym donfham a dM$rgh$m 2 said, "You aretti efenmamed, Ihe youngest director Ive ever.-seen! He smiled, *'H®w old areyout I was curious. i7w$t$iy~$ix!. Gopa! mid, a hint of pride in his . mice* "Not just the youngest, but also ike most uneducated director youve- met! "Umduca&df3 f never wmi to college! 'Whaif I. said as I twirled the ice-cubes in. my glass md wondered how potent this drink was, f did do a foke >4a < ar^spoudcucp degree! 'Wowi i wtd Ti hoi a joke to opm mm a big colLgt! hundred situiems a^^ :j\iufO}U auoss ail batches. Bach 1 * tying one lakh a ye^r liV al end) n-TvC y zixtecn-aore turnover:. And you inavguttitid Ihe rlBA câchwg t^day Vtatc another new business! K.qL ? sip. Ihi * Hooih A'h-.d ba >1* * v 'hroaK 'Da yor have beer?' Or winet I coughed. Gdpdsfacefdl Not only had I ignored Ins impressive business statistics, I had also rejected his whisky 'Not goodf Gopa! asked.. *lfs Gienpddich, four thousand a bottle. Should.t open Blue label? Thai's fen thousandu-hottte! It is not a-price mm I wanted to lei! him-but dMA 7 deot i drink whisky. Too strong for me* I said instead, Gopai laughed*'live life. Start having fine whisky You wiU develop a imie! 1 attempted another bip uod r iraui H" smded and poured mort wide, 0 *uy dtrtfk tn> d^vtL u. It nnmd tit h bat ûed mv sanity. ** w be t'tijuved. u ok /4 at- > of the uosld, speea irg ot^-it yoiu imonu is taboo ht 1 rh t} )ca share the ngu*er v>mt u sign, specially if you have lots. He seemed, to hmve put the question more to himself than to me, His dark eyes continued to bom into me, They-demanded attention, The rest of 4 • C H E 7 AM B ma OAT him - i>ham$h complexion modest fiee-feet-seven-inch height, side-parted hair • n as teossuringly normal " Yâh, of course. One should ennn>, , /' I said as he cat me* '\:ext}ear 1 wdl maktpve wo,id I realised he would keep pvrca >ting his salary until I demonstrated suitable awe. 'Five notes!* I said, my voice loud and fake, (iopal grinned, 'Baby, tat this fo? I have made it? is probably the T-shirt slogan he would choose. "Thais incredible? [ murmur en iv< vide nog ho^' I could switch the topic, i noticed stars winding up, 'IMiats upstaiisf 1 na-.*., 'Bedrooms and o terrace, Come, ! wdl show you! U e climbed up the steps and wall ed patf a room with a luxurious king- sized bed, 1 took in the panoramic view from the terrace, 'This was a wasteland, all of it My grandfather's old agricultural land,3 Gopal said. * Jen aermt 1 m ade a :gm$s: 'Fifteen, We had fifteen acres more? Gopal said, fbut we sold it to fund the construction;? "Every Indian city b building mails now' 1 suUt *India shining, Chttan-ji? he said and clinked his glass with mine, (rtepcl drank more than four times my pace. I hadni finished my first when he poured nts fifth. 'You mg-a1*1 teres I n to king for style? he tinned when / refused arefilL 7 don t drink much, Really? I said, I checked the time; 10:00 p.m. %twhMUmeMyoueatdmnerrhemked 'Up to you?I said, though I wished hed decide to mt right away, "What is the big hurry? Two men, one educated, one uneducated. Having a.good time? Gopal said and raised his glass- in the air, I nodded out of -<&urte$y. My stomach rumbled for food, We came downstairs to sit down in the living room again. R e v o l u t i o n 2020 * 5 "Pidri uit ally go to tin, professor^ dattgiaers house?' Gopal nsktd I smtkd, 'Love makes u^ do stupid things.1 (jopal IuuxIh d out loud, He gtdped hL Jraik hottcjns up, then grabbed the half empty bottle fo make hh sixth tipple, Xtmf % "get stupid things, * am fucks yon* (bpal said. "Units harsh, I soul 'Is that why ther? is no Mrs director ytt?y Caputs hood trembled m he continued tv pour hi* dmiL 1 wondered if I diould stop lumfiom drinking mote 'Mrs DirectorV Gopal smtrh d Hen ipped the wh ;sky hottk tight 'Easy? OmnLyon are drinking ioofasz Its dangerous* (k*pai plonked da bottle on ih: toffee taHv. 'Why dongewus! Who is going fo fuikmg cry fo? me? Ifl hve, I wetn to injoy If I die, who cares?' 'YowrptmnisF Gopal shook Ms head, "Friends ?4 Jaî^ Gopal Ifs irue, no His lavish house fdt cold and isolated, I took the whisky hottk and placed it back in the hm *Fmtmisi, ehf l$md> 'Surprising, given you are doing so well' "What well, Chetm-pf Gopal said, now completely drunk and, presumably, completely honest i k pointed io the hay 7 K ?tr*eo eesi "n e>nd the silk carpet under our feci m cpuck if with pte$t$- who had visited the college. I w picture imuM also he there soon, When -he-hadn't returned in twenty minutes took me to the bathroom, I knocked at the m will have to bre&k.tm door! the maid-said, V- 1} who had come as a chief' guest for a college orienMtmn pmgrmnmei .fyecmm involved with forcing open random toilets in The rustle -ofsheets on the hospital bed. woke mefromrny nap, rlhe bedside ved 3:00 a. nt I had brought o pmsed-out Gopai to the Hospitalin the. Lanka, area of Vmmmisi Gop-al sat up: on the Bed mm massaging his temples. His hangover reminded me of my college days. However* here th director had hinged on alcohol, not. # student. here aB :m0ttf'He looked surprised, not let my m a sheepish grin. is: head to stare at the-opposite wail 4 life Gopair •mswm i smua up- after a minute.-1 should leave, catch some sleep be) ignt, i wamecz. m the door. Do you think I am a. good person> Chetan-ji?' ?3 he asked, ogam I shrugged my shoulders, 1 doni know you, talk well Tmaied me^good. You seem-fine? I said. You think soV pfl Tri p SOLVL I 1 0 1 ® # 7 'You \e tcL>:i t d o lor, »H ^ x{>ensh\ whiskies can be harmful" he smiled: and gave, u brief nod, T wm drtnk less? he said, "Anything elsef lor >"eyoreiy, •• nv, v io v j."',' f checking mv wotsm T 4iy ^nndefi r ^ oici y>f f,v«.< £ ** ma u w, oori:5 ? eenorm, ht uud ' * V,?: wv 'r , jui } i j U^f mi ^f Whose o j nt: I u w ^ >l ". 'ynd" 1 ^ ^ J / fV*- ur: //ji I °f arid .U.udd hmt if1 *< m >? Vu^cvw i-ii, 1U " ! ,'w- »J" r , g :css I,**: e' no! Mml, OK i^-/'' 1 Am t™ zd heiV * v.. no? ? ~xiia sadhu at* 1 f , t iv ' iUot* fcn all their thvoiloii u>4 iagethcu duUl how ihm'i} ke> d he*! i aUiufhcd the onatogx Cut nary hot* eh

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