The inspector was not in. He had just gone out on his motorcycle. The constable was there. He refused to take the complaint. And why not?

The inspector was not in. He had just gone out on his motorcycle. The constable was there. He refused to take the complaint. And why not?

Vakil Ukhchand had already made a telephone call to the constable. Vakil Ukhchand was the secretary of the ruling party. Who was Qurban bhai? Who were we?

We pleaded for half an hour and waited for the inspector for an hour and a half and then went away disconsolate. We would return in the evening. No one came with us that evening. Qurban bhai did not show any enthusiasm. He appeared completely engrossed in running his shop and had no time to even talk to us.

We too remained distant from Qurban bhai. The incident was trivial. But what about the constable? Anyone in Qurban bhai’s place wouldn’t want to get involved with the police. He would choose to ignore the incident, forget it as a foolish act of an uncouth man. And what of us? We… we felt that our friend had been attacked and we had been unable to do anything. We hadn’t been able to help in anyway. But we also felt that if we appeared too concerned, things would get more difficult for Qurban bhai. And we would still not be able to help. Also the realisation had dawned that despite what had occurred, it was useless expecting assistance from the police. We could only deal with this issue at a political level, for which we would require to increase our strength as soon as possible.

These were only excuses. The truth was that we had deserted Qurban bhai. Perhaps we couldn’t share his problems. But we should have made the attempt.

For several days there was no boisterous crowd at Qurban bhai’s shop like there used to be. Qurban bhai remained morose, spoke little and whenever he saw us, busied himself with work in the shop. He was smouldering, suffocating, but refused to open up. We didn’t help either. One day, I reached his shop and heard him say to someone, “What do you teach in history? You say the Partition took place!” No, it is still taking place, right now… but when he saw me, he fell silent and went about his work.

This story does not have a pleasant end. I wish you did not have to read it. If you do read it, think. Could there have been another ending? A better end? If so, how?

There is only this to say now. Many days later, I was passing through Azad Chowk. It has since been renamed Sanjay Chowk. It was Friday. I saw Latif bhai in front of Qurban bhai’s shop. Qurban bhai was locking up the shop. He was wearing a cap. Then the two men walked towards the masjid.

► The End

From The Bell
Publisher: Katha

Illustrations: Suman Choudhury