"This 4-year girl who was picked up by the rescue team from a..." "... riot-hitareaissotraumatized to even remember her name" "Enquiries about her relatives have revealed no results so far" "At a time, when the world was turning more violent with..." "... everypassingday,somewhere in India where there are 18..." "... differentofficiallanguagesand  as many varied religions..." "... alittleredwhitebuswas carrying two strangers back..." "... totheirhomesintheplains" "Couldn't your mom-in-law pick any other time to fall ill?" "Rushing back like this!" "What difference would a couple of days make?" "Your father-in-law is there." "Won't he look after her." "The train is at 9.45, isn't it?" "Oh God!" "You've to wait 4 hours at the station !" "Will you find the ladies retiring room?" "l'll manage." "Just relax." "Take care. I'm putting his cereal in the green bag." "Don't know..." "... howyouwillmanage." "I've packed the holy coconut in this plastic bag." "So don't go putting soiled nappies inside that bag" "Are you listening, Meena?" "Yes, don't worry" "Twenty past one!" "Hurry up now." "We'll be late I've packed you some food" "Don't buy any food on the train." "God knows who cooks that stuff!" "Jabber on and we'll miss the bus!" "I know, Papa." "Sister, come let us take our places" "Come and take the baby from that side" "Coming, Mamma" "Here, hold him..." "Careful!" "You'll bump his head." "I know, Papa" "Hurry up!" "My little sweetheart!" "I am going to miss you" "You'll forget me as soon as you see your other granny, no?" "Baby, so cute.-Look at him, Mala" " Santhanam !" "Girls, hurry up for getting seats in the bus." "Mr. Chatterjee, where are you going" " Hello, Mr. Srinivasan" "Raja, he only issued the forest- pass, you wanted to thank him" "He is the divisional forest officer" "So you are the famous wildlife photographer." "Hardly!" "But thanks for issuing the passes in short-notice." "You can't get away so easily Didn't doc tell you. I need..." "... somephotosformyoffice this imet" "With pleasure" "You Bengalis start conversing in Bengali when you see each other" "Shall I ask him?" "Same applies to you South Indians too." "Wow!" "as I told you it is misty again." "Beautiful!" "Dr. Chatterjee, are you going to the city by any chance-No, why?" "Raja, this is Mrs. Srinivasan, And this is their daughter Mrs..." "Mrs. Iyer, Meenakshi Iyer" "Hi" "You see, Doctor." "Meenakshi is traveling along with our..." "... grandson" " Mamaplease" "Quiet I'm not, but Raja is." "He is taking the Calcutta train tonight." "I am sure Raja will be happy to assist Mrs. Iyer on the way" "Well- Sure No problem" "That is great." "Meena is also going to Calcutta." "Mr. Chowdhury, could you help her find the ladies retiring room" "Sure, don't worry-You know how it is with a small babay" "You need so much of stuff." "No, he does'nt know yet." "But he'll help her..." "no free lunches, pal!" "I usually put her on the train myself..." "... buthisbosshadtochoose  today of all days to..." "Papa, let's get the luggage on to the bus now" "Will you have some now?" "My dentures?" " One minute..." "Here" "Why do kids nowadays make so much noise?" "This is the age for fun." "Let them" "Shall I put your eye-drops?" ""What's so special about rain anyway"" ""But for the first time, the rain feels special today"" ""Your body all so drenched..." "Aha!"" ""lt rouses such a sweet ache..." "Aha!"" ""My intoxicated heart dances with joy"" ""lf l lurch and tumble today, don't lift me up"" ""Don't lift me up Come tumbling yourself!"" ""Don't lift me up." "Come tumbling yourself!"" ""Ha!" "See, you choked!" "Ha!" "Your goose is cooked!"" "And then, my niece is with us now" "We're looking for a good Sikh boy for her" "Her father sent her from Lahore to stay with us till she's married" "So you can imagine!" "How to manage only on a salary, you tell me" "Lahore!" "Your brother is in Lahore!" "Still?" "My cousin brother... my uncle's son" "When Lahore went to Pakistan in 1 947..." "... myuncle'sfamilydidn 'tmove  to this side." "Too many investments in business." "But you know, finding..." "... asuitableboyfor her  there... it'squiteimpossible" "Very true" "That's enough, kids Don't make so much noise" "Take half, no?" " l have this vest" "As if that's enough !" "Come on, take this" "Want some masala?" "No thanks" "Sister..." "How old is he?" "How old!" "Almost one year" "Name?" "S. Santhanam." "Santhanam Iyer actually" "Santhanam, say hello to the nice auntie here." "I 'm sorry." "Don't do that, you naughty boy" "Come here, baby." "Come, my little one" "Want to see the goat over there." "See the waterfall?" "Nice, no?" "What happened, sweetie, Don't want to see the waterfall" "It's too much !" "You can't be hungry yet." "Not after the lunch granny gave you." "This is newly bought." "Why don't you understand" "Excuse me..." "Are you listening?" "I think she's trying to call you" "Oh !" "Right, Thanks" "Hai" " Santhanam !" "You need some help?" "I'm sorry but can you hold him while I make his Cerelac." "Sure" "Hey!" "What are you doing?" "Come" "Are you okay, Sister?" "You should've got the seat next to her" "Ok, it is ready" "Thank you so much." "Oh, sorry!" "What's going on here?" "Give the baby a feed, breastmilk" "Where they come from" " He. . he's been weaned a long time ago" "Don't worry, I'll clean it up Do you've something to mop it up" "Come on, get up and move." "Come sister- Let me pass, will you !" "Don't trouble, Santhanam" "Here!" "don't have to make milk again" "Yes- Come, I'll hold you" "Do you mind if I sit here for a while" "Just adjust a little Good" "Will you join us?" "Oh God, started again" "Shut her up, please stop it!" "No, I want the walkman" "Where you want to go for the next holiday?" "We can go to Goa." " No." "Rajasthan or South India" "You go alone to South India -l'll say we'll go to Diega" "But Baby, mummy won't let you enter the water" "Shut up!" "I know why Mala wants to go to Diega?" "She should be punished for this" "Sing a song!" "I can't sing a song as I don't have my guitar lt is at the back of the bus -l'll get it" " No!" "Shameful!" "The clothes these girls wear nowadays!" "Excuse me, can I get the guitar please?" "Do you remember, Najma?" "When I saw you the first time..." "... allI sawwereyourhands under the burqa" "Which colour will we take from this?" "Want a drink?" "He wants one" "Starting very early." "Coke is better, can you just pass the half bottle here" "NO!" "Don't give it to him !" "Please!" "lt is only coke" "No, don't give it to him" "Wait, I'll give it to you Leave it, I will give." "Thanks" ""What is there to be said?"" ""What is there to be heard?"" ""l know it all You know it all"" "Pass the box" "You'll never get used to them unless you keep them on" ""Don't say a word!"" "Oh dear!" " What happened?" "l forgot my water bottle" "What is right there?" "I will get it" " Excuse me, may I have that bottle of water, please" "What!" " This water!" "Here" "Thank you" "Thank you for being kind" " How did you imagine, you..." "... canmanageallbyyourself" " Actually he is never like this." "He goes to sleep in the bus." "We have brought him twice before" "Must have been a lot younger then." "He is naughtier now." "True." "Please go back to your paper. I did'nt mean to disturb you" "Same old stuff about clashes." "What time does this bus..." "... reachthecity?" "Around5:00  Usually stop at 4:00 on the way" "That is when I had thought I will feed Santhanam - ls that..." "... hisname?" "Ratherformalfora baby of his age." "Why, it is another name for the God Karthikeyan" "Common Tamil name?" "And is that common too?" " Yes I mean to name your children after Gods  Goddesses" "Every other boy is Rahul, Rohit these days" "True. I wanted to call him Suresh, but we are from a..." "... veryorthodoxfamily." "My parents named him" "What do you call him at home?" "Santa" " Santa I had a friend named Murugan in college." "We what we used to..." "... callhim." "What?" "Murgi!" "( Chicken )" "Murgi, No, he is just Santhanam !" "It is quarter-past three  he seems to be asleep" "Shall we have rest while we can" " Yes!" "See this card, have you seen it!" "Now this!" "What do we do now?" "Well, let's take the short cut then." "The upstream road" "But the road is okay, I hope?" " The fair-weather road?" "Yes the same one lt's winter." "Should be okay I guess" "OK, let's go" "But... betteraskthe passengers." " Ask who?" "They're all snoring!" "Reverse the bus" "Watch out that side" "Come, boss." "Let's get down and see what's up" "Let us go ahead and see." "Listen..." "Wakeup lt's time for the evening prayer" "Which way is West?" "It's a total jam." "There's a long line" "They're getting off from the bus behind us too" "Our bad luck!" "God knows whose face we saw today" "What's up, sir?" " So many cars" "There was a accident there" "There is a road-block and god know how long we'll be stuck..." "... here." "Toobad" "What place is this?" "Where have you brought us?" "It's the shortcut route lf we hadn't stopped, we'd be at the station under an hour" "But what's the problem now?" "When will the bus leave?" "Hard to say. lt's a long line all the way to next level crossing" "So that must be where the accident have taken place" "Someone was just telling that 200 people have been killed" "Come on, go!" "Excuse me, can we please go- lt is ok!" "These guys are the limit, man !" "Look, what they're doing in Kashmir!" "Bloody terrorists" "Oh, come off it, man" "The doddering old fool looks like a terrorist to you?" "What happened?" "l don't know" "Mr. Raja... . hello are you listening!" "Are we there?" "No!" "It is not even the usual halt" "Some river bed or something" "Let me go to check" "Hi guys, what's up?" "Noone seems to know for sure." "First they said there'd been..." "... anaccident... a derailedtrainor something" "But I heard one of the drivers say there's been a murder" "The police are on their way." "Where is the conductor?" "He was here a moment ago" "Get back into the bus" "Someone said a tribal village has been burnt down" "Now there is a tribal uprising it seems" "What is up?" " Can you hold him for two seconds?" " Sure" "Where are you going?" "I'll just be back in a minute." "Listen!" "Be careful" "There seems to be some kind of trouble there." "Hang on !" "Why don't you go behind that pillar?" "I'll stand guard" "Here. . use this torch" "Thank you" "Stop the jeep" "What's going on here?" "Why's everyone roaming around!" "Get everyone back in the bus!" "What are you doing here?" "Didn't you hear what I said?" "I am waiting for Mrs. Iyer." "She's gone round the corner." "What is the problem?" "Problem, there is curfew on, Goddamit" "Asking me the problem- What curfew?" "A Muslim villager was killed this morning." "Just a personal feud..." "... butit 'sflaredupinto a communal riot." "Hey, get everyone out from here!" "Some extremist Hindus are looking out for Muslims ..." "... butcheringthem" "Youmean, the Muslims are butchering Hindus" "No. this is primarily a Hindu locality" "Some Hindu huts were burnt by the Muslims after the murder" "Now the Hindus are retaliating lt is not safe to loiter about." "Just go to the bus.Go!" "Will the curfew be lifted?" "I mean, will the bus start?" "It can't. lt can't even if the curfew is lifted. okay" "Some rioters - don't know which community yet..." "... rippedup thetracks." "Derailed a goods train." "Until that's cleared, nothing can move" "These bloody Muslims" "Why don't the mother-fuckers go to Pakistan where they belong?" "No, they will sit in India and multiply" "You think they'd be sparing us if they were the majoriy." "Shut up, and just get in before I put you behind bars." "Will there be a police patrol here?" "We will be patrolling..." "But we are not responsible for anyone who remains outside..." ". .the bus !" "Now move" "See if anyone's still out" "Look what they are doing in Amrika!" "Heinous crimes!" "Listen, Can you manage by yourself for the rest of way" "Why?" "What happened?" "Well!" "Curfew has been declared Communal riots have broken out" "Apparently some Hindu extremists are on the lookout for Muslims" "They are killing them." "But. ." "I. . but" "My name is Jehangir Chowdhury." "Raja is just my pet name." "I am a Muslim. I have to go." "Besides I don't want to ..." ". .endanger anyone on this bus" "But I thought you were a Bengali -l am... alsoa Muslim" "And this is primarily a Hlndu locality." "Now do you see..." "... whyI haveto go ." "Oh God!" "I drank his water!" "What is the matter, are you all right?" "Please don't touch me." "So your wife is back now." "Just get in" "No one'll get down." "Lock the door" "Hurry!" "Hurry up!" "Get into the jeep" "Mobile phone is of no use, Mr. Iyer." "This is beyond reach" "You are also not getting, I have been trying for 20 minutes" "Surround the bus" "No!" "No!" "Don't open !" " Don't open the door" "Open the door, you bastard!" "Or we'll burn down the bus!" "Name?" "Didn't you hear me?" "Your name" "Name?" "Didn't you hear me?" "Your name" "Suhel" "Suhel what?" "Suhel what?" "Your father's name, you mother-fucker!" "Suhel Rai." "Son of Sameer Rai" "Drop your pants" "Drop your pants!" " Drop you pants, you bastard!" "We... we...we'reall Hindushere" "Yes." "We're all Hindus" "We... areallHindus" "No" "Not all" "No them." "They are Muslims." "The old man and his wife. ." "Muslims..." "Your name please?" "lq..." "Iqbal..." "This could also be a Hindu name. Iqbal what?" "Iqbal Ahmad Khan" "You see?" "The bastard was trying to pass off as Hindu !" "You whore-son !" "We'll wipe out your whole family!" "Get up!" "Shut up!" "Step back" "Come, sir." "Come, Mr. Iqbal" "Let's step out for a while." "We need to talk..." "But I have to go to Calcutta" "Why are you afraid?" "We need to talk in private." "Just a few questions..." "Come on" "Go on, walk" "Najma, my dentures" "Here..." "Takethem" "You need your glasses too, don't you?" "Here" "He is not well. lt's cold, you see." "These tablets..." "Don't worry." "He won't need any of this where he's going" "No, No, Please" "Listen..." "Shut up!" "Where are you taking him?" "You stay put!" "Go on, move!" "Take this bitch too!" "What's your name?" "Mr and Mrs. Iyer." "Subramaniam Iyer." "And our son Santhanam" "You?" "Dubey..." "Hindu" "Brahmin... mysacredthread" "We are Hindu" "And you?" "Majumdar." "Bengali." "Hindu ls that the truth?" "Forget it." "Let's go." "It's getting late..." "Hey, Cohen..." "What happened, man?" "They would have killed me, man I am Jewish, I don't have a foreskin" ""Where, O where are You, O Merciful Lord!"" ""Where is Your abode?"" ""These my sinful eyes... "" ""When my sinful eyes cast their beseeching gaze... "" ""Where, O where are You, O Merciful Lord"" ""Where is Your abode?"" ""For what shall I wield this dagger O Lord?"" ""What can I pluck it out of Or plunge it into"" ""When You are all the world?"" ""To behold You... "" ""l will give up my life, my whole world"" ""Your glory illuminates everything with light... "" ""... whenmysinfuleyes cast their beseeching gaze"" "Where's your husband gone?" "Don't know Hindi?" "From the South, aren't you?" "Husband!" "Husband!" "where l don't know, he went off while I was sleeping" "Don't worry" "Are you staying on here, in the bus?" "Where can I go with him?" "Food" "Where were you all this time?" "The curfew has been lifted half an hour ago" "Working" "Listen, I have to make an urgent phone call." "I am leaving for the nearest town 2 kilometres away" "What are your plans?" "What do you mean by my plans" "What?" "The bus manager?" "Why do you want the bus manager, Papa?" "Wait... justa minute" "Mr. Raja, are you listening?" "It is my father-in-law He is very upset I told him all the women are staying in a hotel..." "... andweareperfectlysafe but..." "Will you talk to him?" "He wants to speak to the bus manager" "The bus Manager..." "Just say something." "Pretend you are the bus manager." "Just for one minute." "Please. ." "Papa, speak to the bus manager" "Just say something Say anything." "Come." "Hello Sir ... Hellowhat?" "Hotel?" "..." "TheNew Brahma Lodge, sir" "Yes, sir, Pure vegetarian sir" "No sir, There is no phone in the hotel, sir" "Speaking from the STD booth, sir, Madam wanted to make..." "... anurgentcall." "... theotherladies?" "Other ladies are in the hotel, sir" "Mrs. Iyer is perfectly safe, sir" "Curfew?" "Curfew is stil on" "Police will tell when curfew is off, sir." "Dont' worry" "What a dragon the old man is" "My, you are a good actor, eh You hardly gave me a choice" "I will give you the money later" "I may come back and get some shots." "First let us find some accommodation." "Everything is shut" "Hang on. there is a sweet shop open there." "Go and grab something to eat from that shop" "There..." "Those... giveme 12" "Ten... andtwo" "One dozen?" "Why don't you say so?" "What happened?" "Nothing..." "Every hotel, rest house dormitory... allbloodyfull" "But it is five to ten, We have no time to walk back to us now" "Hang on a second." "Excuse me, we have a baby here..." "So?" "If we could get some place..." "No!" "No!" "No place here!" "Excuse me, madam, What are you doing here?" "It is you again, what the hell are your doing?" "Don't you know the curfew will begin in about 3 minutes" "Yes... but" "Everything is full, you. lt is so hard to move with a baby..." "Ok, Ok, hop into the jeep" "There is a forest bungalow up ahead." "Just a few kms away" "Let us see what I can do." "Just get in" "But they told us everything was full" "Everything is." "But this place is quite isolated." "Almost abandoned. ." "The water connection has gone." "No maintenance for the last..." "... fewyears." "Butyou atleast have a roof over your heads" "Thanks officer." "You saved our lives." " That is my job, isn't it?" "But will there be anybody there..." "like caretaker or something" "Oh, there is caretaker all right" "But look, you can try and find something else later" "The curfew lifts again from 4 to 6" "And it is not much of a walk." "You can try then, Mr." "Iyer." "Mr. Iyer, but right now" "Turn right" "Officer" "Yes" "Well, after you left last night..." "Some fanatics got on the bus and picked on this Muslim..." "... couple" " Anoldcouple,We don't know what happened" "Yeah, well. reports keep coming in." "We're investigating" "Watchman !" "Watchman !" " Yes, sir" "Come, hurry up" "Unload this baggage." "Sir and Madam will stay here" "Open up a room." "Get water in a bucket." "Understand?" "Can they get some food?" "Some rice and lentils perhaps?" "Yes, sir. I can get the food" " Okay." "Get a room ready" "Come on, hurry up!" "Come on, come on" "What about the other room" "Other room is not in use, sir." " How?" "What do you mean?" "All broken sir, no use, sir" "Here... keepthis" "No one comes here nowadays, sir." "My income's gone down" "Fetch hot water in a bucket and keep it in the bathroom" "Well, the bedroom is somewhat clean  he has decent linen I have also asked him to get some hot water." "It was a mistake to come here." "Should've stayed in the bus only" "Stayed on the bus!" "After all this?" "Oh, for God's sake Meenakshi" "What do you expect in the middle of a riot?" "Five-star luxury?" "I have done the best I could I asked you what your plans were." "You made your decision I didn't know there would be only one bedroom" "Watchman !" "No use, sir." "It's not fit to live in" "What did I tell you, sir?" "Hot water ready for baby's bath, Room is clean" "Come Santhanan, Let us go" "What are you taking for lunch, Madam?" "Chicken or egg curry" "We are strictly vegetarian" "Well, I'm not." "Make chicken curry for me" "Chicken curry for Sahib." "And for you, Madam?" "Nothing" "Nothing?" " That's right." "Nothing" "Go on hurry up. I'm hungry." " Yes, sir" "Exactly what you think you are doing lyers' are Tamil Brahmins and very strict vegetarians" "We never eat food cooked by strangers." "God knows what caste he belongs to!" "You want everyone to find out the truth." "For God's sake, we are in the 3rd millennium." "This is 2001" "And don't give me all that Tamil brahmin bullshit." "I have loads of Tamil friends." "None of them hang on to. ." "... castelikeyou." " You won't understand" "Damn right I won't Thank God for that" "And you can please relax about that room. lt is all yours" "Just shut up, no!" "Madam?" "Madam had her food in the room." "Rice and curd" "Don't worry, sir" "Just live together for 25 years, and it'll all work out" "I too used to fight a lot with my wife" "Look at me now." "No one left to fight with in my old age..." "Some more chicken, sir?" "Who is it?" "It is me, Raja" "Yes... okay" "Can I take my stuff" "Tea, Madam?" " Not now." "Where's Sahib?" "Gone" "Gone, where?" "How do I tell you, Madam?" "Sahib picked up his luggage  left I saw it with my own eyes" "When" "You sleeping with baby, no That time" "Fighting with husband not good" "Sahib eat alone..." "Notgood" "Oh God!" "why did I leave the bus?" "what made me trust a total stranger and a muslim at that!" "Dear God!" "please save me" "where shall I go with this little child now?" "I should never have saved his life!" "How could he do this to me?" "Just go off on his own because we had a little disagreement?" "The caretaker told me that you have already left" "Did you believe him?" "I am sorry" " What for?" "I was pretty mean this morning..." "you'd beenso helpful..." "It's understandable." "After all you don't know me" "There's no saying what I might've done if..." "Don't!" "I said I'm sorry!" "It's okay" "You mean that?" "Of course!" "honestly?" "honestly" "You have nice hands." "Soft yet strong..." "How steady are they?" "Pretty steady." "I think ...why?" "Shantanam!" "I'II just go get him" "Mind if I take some shots of him?" "Yes." "I mean no..." "You didn't tell me why did you ask me" "Asked what?" "About my..." "Shantanam!" "Naughty boy!" "what's in that?" "Another camera?" "Yeah..." "Santa!" "God!" "It's quite heavy. ya!" " Oops!" "Be careful" "Okay..." "I use it for stiIIs. wait." "Let me open the cap for you" "Now aim at those greens up in that branch." "Don't drop it." "what branch?" "It's all just a blur!" "That is the focusing ring." "Keep turning it till the image becomes clear." "what colour are the leaves?" "yellow or green?" "Greenish yeIIow. no." "yellowish green I think" "Stop it or else I'II hit you" "That's my camera" "By the way. where is Santa?" "Santa" "Shantanam" "What did you get?" "A peIe!" "The stuff these kids keep eating!" "Why. my dears?" "Isn't the food good where you have put up?" "Don't worry." "Aunty" "You know. this tamarind water makes you digest anything!" "And this belly here isn't a stomach." "It's Tungsten!" "Tungsten !" "wait till you faII iII!" "God knows how long this damn curfew will go on!" "Oh." "Mr. Iyer!" "where you are putting up?" "At a forest bungaIow. actually." " wonderful!" "Luck is favouring you." "Food is okay there." "I hope so?" "It's not bad we couldn't stay in the bus." "No toilet, nothing" "A Iot of inconvenience for the ladies" "Then at last we found a cycle van and I come" "And I bring that handicap boy hismotheralso" "That'sgood" "You know what happened to that muslim coupIe. no?" "Just this morning the muslims have burnt down a Hindu village" "And I heard. the Hindus are going to take revenge!" "No chance of this curfew ending in next couple of days." "Mani." "I've to take Santhanam to the bathroom" "Excuse us" "Very nice meeting you once again." "Sir" "It could have been you..." "should we go in here?" "alright" "hello Mr  Mrs Iyer?" "Are you okay with the place where you are or have you come here looking for another place?" "I don't think you'II find any place now." "Everything is full." "actually we are quite comfortaIe." "Thanks" "But we are worried about getting back though" "Is there any chance that the curfew will be lifted by morning?" "actually we have to catch a train y tomorrow night" "My husand has a deadline to meet so" "deadline?" "I am a photographer Ihaveto submitsome photographs to my editor." "I also do photography as my hobby." "What kind of photography do you do?" "Fashion?" "well." "I have done some fashion too." "But..." "But he mainly into wildlife photography we had gone up to the hill to take some photographs" "And he has to hand over the photographs to his editor" "Oh really?" "Nice to meet you" "My name is Rajesh by the way." "Rajesh Arora" "Let's see. maybe I couId arrange for some transport for you tomorrow morning." "A convoy of army trucks will e leaving tomorrow at 6.30 in the morning." "If you wait on the.." "...head of the road." "I mean in the forest road. the convoy will be passing by that road." "I can request them to pick you up" "That's great" "Yes." "let's go" "But please don't mention this to anyone." "You see everyone is anxious to get back as quickly as possile" "OviousIy we can't have them all" "But will you be get ready that early?" "Of course" "I  my wife really appreciate your help." "we'II be ready at 6.30 sharp." "officer." "call me Rajesh" "By the way. how are you going back to the bungalow?" "The same way as we came. walking" "No. that's not safe, taking that road after the sunset weII. we will be going back in the same direction we will pick you up in one hour." "will that be fine?" "That would be wonderful rather." "Thanks for your help." "How old is he?" "He'II be completing one year on the 20th." "Ah!" "Sagittarian!" "That explains it." "No wonder he's so friendly" "You know. you guys look awfully young to be parents though" "Your wife looks like she could be in college herself" "I was until year before last." "I finished my M.Sc two years ago what was your suject?" "Physics" "And when did you get married?" "Right after my graduation" "So you couldn't even wait till she finished her Masters. eh?" "How exciting." "You guys must have been terriIy in Iove. no?" "tell us all about it" "would you care to join us for some tea?" "Yes." "let's go" "Six teas..." "Sorry." "tea or coffee?" "Anything will do." "Coffee for me please" "Yes of course..." "Five teas and one coffee" "OK so now tell us." "how did you meet?" "See?" "He's feeling shy." "Cho chweet!" "well... it's not that..." "we hardly know you!" "weII. that's easy." "I am Amrita she is mala SonaIi" "And that's Khushoo with your son" "I'm er..." "Iyer..." "Mani." "Short for Subramaniam." "I'm Meenakshi..." "And that's our son Santanam" "Shantanam!" "what kind of name is that?" "Iyer?" "You're tamil!" "But you don't have a tamil accent though your wife has" "But not you." "How come?" "He was brought up in calcutta." "My in laws live there" "You should hear his BengaIi." "Speaks like a true CaIcuttan" "My father wouldn't even believe he's tamil when they first met" "tell us how you met?" "Come on. how you first met?" "How did we first meet Meenakshi?" "In a bus." "Rememer?" "Right." "In a bus we were on our way to a forest in Assam" "A place called Kaziranga." "Have you heard of it?" "She had gone on an excursion with her friends. just like you" "And..." "I'd gone on an assignment." "He is a photographer." "specializes in wildlife and all that." "So... was it love at first sight?" "hardly!" "She almost broke my head with a telephoto lens!" "why?" "I was photographing her as she was adjusting the focus" "Oh come on!" "Don't tell me she's a photgrapher too!" "Not exactly." "It was my camera she was looking through" "And then you fell in love and got married!" "where did you go for your honeymoon?" "where did we go for our honeymoon." "Meenakshi?" "To another forest near Madurai. in kerala what fun!" "what was it like?" "well... it's around a lake called Periyar" "we had a little cottage by the lake at the edge of forest" "I got some great shots from my window" "Don't tell us that's all you did on your honeymoon." "Take pictures" "No. of course not." "Have you seen Chidamaram?" "The temple?" "See!" "I keep telling y'aII we must see the South sometime!" "Meenakshi  I lit lamps around the temple at twilight" "It's the most beautiful sight in the world!" "we also lived in a tree house by the way." "Oh!" "A tree house!" "For a whole week!" "where?" "also in kerala." "On top of a hill." "in the middle of a rain forest" "There was no electricity." "So we ate by the light of oil lamps" "unless of course. there was a full moon" "we didn't need lamps then." "did we Meenakshi?" "Oh my God!" "Look at this child!" "He's eaten up all the sugar!" "Turn the jeep around" "Turn left" "Get down." "Hurry!" "help clear the road." "Hurry!" "Hurry up!" "This is the longer route but we have no choice" "Stop!" "Stop!" "There's a child there" "what happened?" "where's your Ma?" "And father?" "Is there anyone here?" "Anyone at all?" "Just hold him for a second She must be coId. no?" "This is a Hindu village." "Burnt down by muslims today." "Bastards" "You must be coId. no?" "Thanks." "I hadn't realised I was" "Aren't you being bitten to death by mosquitoes?" "You forgot that I've spent many nights in many forests." "Here. use this." "Is Santa asleep?" "At last!" "He was unusually cranky this evening" "Must be awfully tired." "It's been rather tough on him. this journey" "Yes." "I suppose so." "I think he's missing his grandparents though" "And his father too, surely?" "Oh. he's used to his father being away on tours all the time" "what does your husband do?" "Why?" "He's a wildlife photographer." "Didn't you know?" "The bindi on your forehead. do you always wear it?" "Even at home?" "Yes." "It's... just a custom." "I suppose I've always worn one" "It's high fashion now." "Even Madonna wears one." "She used to" " Right she used too" "No electricity." "I'II give you Ianterns" "OK" "As a boy I kept asking my mother why she didn't wear one" "I'd no idea it wasn't a muslim thing" "I mean I used to see all the other BengaIi ladies my friends' mothers." "It looked so beautifuI. this deep red dot" "Isn't that where the third eye is supposed to be where the Hindu gods and goddesses..." "Right" "There's possibly something there." "I read a book on Yoga that said all of us have a gland in that same position and we can develop it  it can function like an aII-seeing third eye" "The pineal gland." "That's what my father-in-Iaw keeps saying" "He's an endocrinologist" "really?" "Besides being an old dragon!" "Yes. and a highly respected one at that." "He is very thorough" "And yet he believes in the caste system?" "Just like his daughter-in-Iaw." "despite her Masters in Physics!" "Let's not talk about all that now." "Right." "Let's not spoil the evenin'" "How calm the night is!" "would you believe there is riot raging over somewhere?" "I just can't forget the old couple." "And the little girI. who even doesn't know whether she is Hindu or muslim" "You know when Mrs.Gandhi was killed By her Sikh bodyguard ...'84. wasn't it?" "You were probably too young to remember..." "I was 13" "Every Sikh. anyone in a turban  a beard was a potential victim" "There was a grocery shop at the head of our street" "There was this middIe-aged Sikh gentleman used to come there to buy eggs and bread" "One day a group of guys got together  chopped his arms off what" "Just like that" "I remember even as a boy." "thanking the powers that be that I was a muslim and not a Sikh" "And yesterday. just because you gave me a name ...something a husband usually gives his wife. isn't it?" "well....here I am." "Sitting here telling you all this!" "Raja don't!" "Let's talk of something more pleasant" "what's that sound?" "It's not raining. is it?" "Dew...dropping from the leaves" "It's the most soothing sound in the world" "Sir!" "Sir!" "Go in and lock the door Hurry!" "He is asking us to go in and lock the door what happened?" "Five six men chasing one man." "killing killing!" "Hurry!" "Inside!" "Keep Santa quiet." "Lock the door." "I'II go and..." "Just listen!" "Come inside!" "where do you think you're going?" "Don't start playing a hero." "Raja!" "what about Shantanam?" "what about us?" "If you get killed out there. what'II happen to us?" "Have you thought about that?" "Meenakshi. are you okay?" "They k..killed him!" "They killed him." "Raja" "The -blood...it sprouted out like a...j-jet?" "Meenakshi. forget about this." "Forget that it happened. okay?" "It's so easy...so easy to kill a man" "Don't leave me." "Raja..." "Don't leave me alone..." "Mani..." "Right here... go ack to sleep" "Sorry." "This is all that was available." "apparently some VIPs are travelling and everything's taken" "Anyway. this place is haIf-empty." "So... what did you expect in the middle of a riot?" "5-star luxury?" "what was the name of the place?" "which place?" "where we'd gone for our honeymoon?" "waynad..." "That's the district." "It's about an hour away from calicut" "You're talking about the tree house. aren't you?" "Have you actully been there." "Raja?" "we Both have. haven't we?" "No." "I mean really?" "Yes." "alone?" "why do you want to know?" "And the temple?" "Chidambaram?" "You haven't really been there?" "well." "I've always wanted to" "I...you'vebeen to so many places where are you going next?" "To Laang." "It's a forest in Orissa" "tell me about it" "It's on the banks of the Mahanadi" "Of course there're animals there elephants." "Ieopards." "Bison." "Bear" "The river is supposed to be full of crocodiles" "I have never photographed crocs before where're you going to stay?" "ProbbaIy at one of the forest rest houses" "There's one on top of a hill." "It's called Puranakot" "alone...?" "Yes unless you come along with me..." "I..." "Santhanam's water it's probably..." "I'II just... what do you want?" "I'II get it to you" "Minakshi" " It's not how my name is pronounced" "How is it pronounced then?" "with a douIe e" "Meen is fish in tamil." "So..." " MEENakshi..." "I have a lens like that in my camera" "Fish-eye lens" "May I pass?" "...Sorry" "Give Mama the comb" "My little darling!" "what is it?" "what's what?" "why are you smiling?" "Like some tea?" "Coffee!" "Forgotten I'm a South Indian?" "I'II try  get some coffe here." "but I can't promise" "Oh." "Santhanam!" "Don't do that way" "There's a small coffee place up ahead." "I'II see what I can get" "He's gone away..." "He's left us and gone" "Meenu!" "Here!" "Over here!" "God!" "we were out of our minds with worry where's Santhanam?" "Left him in the train?" "Ah. there he is!" "My bay!" "My little boy" "Poor fellow must be so tired!" "Let me introduce you to him." "he is Mr. Jahangir Chowdhury." "we'd have een lost without his heIp." " Jehangir...?" "But your father said Raja!" "Raja is what his friends call him" "His real name is Jehangir Chowdhury." "He's muslim" "Here. hold him" "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "Jehangir Sahi" "I'm Mani." "Suramaniam Iyer." "Meenakshi's husand" "My father-in-Iaw told me you promised to help Meenu through the journey" "I really don't know how to thank you" "It's no problem at all." "Your wife and son are perfectly safe" "I should be off." "I've to get back to the office" "Do you have transport?" "we'II be happy to drop anywhere you Iike" "I'm sure the driver is here." "Goodye." "Goodye Santa" "Good bye Mrs. Iyer." "Bye Mr. Chowdhury Thanks once again" "I'd better call Papa." "He must be getting really frantic!" "Papa can you hear me?" "It's me." "Mani" "Yes. the train has arrived." "I'm speaking from the station" "Yes. they are both here" "For you" "Goodbye." "Meenakshi" "Goodbye." "Mr. Iyer"