Losing My Religion: Chapter 10 - The Great Malana Escape

In this week's article of #LosingMyReligion series, I am posting the entire Chapter 10, where they stage the great escape of Malana! Read it now and see whether they will be successful or get caught red handed!

CHAPTER 10

‘Rishiji . . . Rishiji,’ a voice came from near the window that was at the rear end of their second-floor room. Rishi, Alex, and Ram Singh, all got up and ran towards it. There, on the ground floor, stood Ranta, the owner of the Adventure Sports shop. Next to him, stood the school teacher.

‘What are you doing here, Ranta?’ said Rishi.

‘Shhh!’ whispered the shop owner, ‘Not so loudly. I came to drop a few tourists and heard what happened today.’ He looked concerned.

‘We’re in serious trouble. You have to do something. These people are insane,’ whispered back Rishi.

‘Yes. I’m thinking of a plan. They will bring you food at night. That will be the best time to escape.’

‘What? Escape! Where to, but? We’re surrounded by mountains.’

‘We have to take our chances, it’s the only option. I will make some arrangements for today’s guests and come back.’

And just like that he was gone.  

The school teacher stayed back to say, ‘Whatever you do, don’t get caught,’

‘Thanks. That was helpful,’ Alex retorted to no one in particular.

‘All right people, think, think,’ said Rishi. They started brainstorming on how to escape from the valley. Everyone’s sagging morale was now up. There was a faint chance of surviving Malana, and that ray of hope was enough to make them all spring into action.

For Rishi, it had been a relief seeing a familiar face outside the guesthouse-turned-prison. From the time they had been locked up, his head had almost burst thinking about a possible solution to the situation they were in. He had ruled out escape because they couldn’t even think about a way of getting out of the room, let alone the village. Convincing the Gurr or Malana court seemed like an impossible task, too; he couldn’t converse with them forget convince them to let them free. Moreover, they were really riled with him and Alex.

Sometime while roaming the confines of his room, his traitorous mind had even begun thinking about what he would do if he were pushed into the water with a stone tied to him. How would he escape? How would he cut the rope? How heavy would the stone be? He had no clue. Anything was possible in Malana, it was totally cut off from the world!

His heartbeat had increased, making his breath come out in short, ragged breaths. The cold was getting to him and everyone else. Right at that moment, he had felt utterly ridiculous about the worries of his life he had had back in Bangalore. Staying alive is the most important thing was the thought that struck his mind. The very tangible reality of not seeing another night suddenly cleared his perspective about life like nothing else before it had. Couldn’t it have been something else?  

He had redirected his thoughts back to hatch an escape plan, but hadn’t been able to come up with anything. Just focus on getting everyone out of here alive, he had told himself for the hundredth time.

Alex had been in a pensive-mood, too—smoking cigarettes and pacing up and down the room like Rishi was. Ram Singh was the only one sitting, silently watching them both. By the time the first hour of confinement had been up, he had decided to plead in front of the court to free him. After all I have done nothing; I am merely accompanying them, he had reasoned to himself.

But now everything was different. There was a possibility of escape!

‘Saab, best idea! Wear Malani cloth, move slowly from backside to mountains. When we reach till mountains, we free. Very, very dark, but we use light to climb. Good?’ Ram Singh asked. He had suddenly discovered courage after seeing his boss.

Right then Ranta returned, whispering Rishi’s name again.

‘Yeah, yeah, I am here. Tell me?’

‘I’ve managed to get a ladder. We can’t risk escaping from the front. After dinner, they will check on you and leave. A couple of people may sleep outside the guesthouse but nothing major. No one climbs the mountains at night, they are a death trap. So they wouldn’t think you would consider escaping.’

Death trap, eh? That’s a comforting thought. ‘Hmmm . . . what if we get caught? We need some disguise.’

‘Yes, good idea. I’ll get some Malani clothes. You wear them. Also, put some mud or kajal on Alexji. It’s dark out here. No streetlights. And in darkness firangs stand out a lot more than usual.’

Rishi nodded, looked at his fellow prisoners, and said, ‘All right, guys, let’s pack up. Don’t carry any heavy baggage, just the essentials. Also, after dinner, we need to paint you, Alex. You need to look a little dark-skinned.’

***

Two Malani men came to serve them dinner. It was just rice and dal. They waited till the “prisoners” finished, locked the door, and then left. Everyone was tense. No one said a word.

Around midnight, they heard the sound of a stone hitting the window and the soft thud of the ladder coming in contact with the wall. Ranta climbed inside and hurriedly gave them Malani clothes. His face was tense, and he continuously kept on looking towards the front door. 

‘You know, Rishiji, this might be my last trip to Malana. But I have to save your lives. This place could be dangerous. We can’t take any chances.’

‘Appreciate that, Ranta. We owe you one.’ Looking at others, he asked, ‘We ready?’

‘Affirmative,’ said Alex. ‘Ready for Operation Get-the-hell-outta-Malana!’

They smiled for the first time that night.

‘We’ll follow Rantga. Ram Singh, you will be the last,’ ordered Rishi.

They climbed down the wooden building from the back.

Once they hit the ground, they began walking in pairs, stealthily moving towards the mountains, passing house after house. It was pitch-black with absolutely no visibility; the lamps in all the houses were off. The air was freezing, and Rishi and Alex were almost shivering. They were not wearing enough layers to keep the chill away.

All four of them trundled ahead, when suddenly Rishi asked, ‘Where is Laxman?’

‘Baap re! We totally forgot! I’m not sure where he is,’ said Ranta, concern lacing his tone.

‘We better get him or these guys might kill him tomorrow,’ said Alex.

‘It’s too late to go back. Laxman will manage somehow. I will try to send someone for him. Let’s go,’ urged Ranta, not wanting to retrace his steps.

‘Wait. Ram Singh, do you know where he is?’ asked Rishi.

‘Maybe he sleep outside guesthouse, saab. Near to guards,’ the guide replied.

‘All right. I will go with Ram Singh and get Laxman. You both go ahead and wait after climbing a safe distance,’ said Rishi in a hurry.

‘Wait, Rishi. You are not goin’ alone. I will come with you,’ said Alex and turned around to walk with him.

Seeing Alex’s resolute face, Rishi agreed, and all four of them went back to where they had escaped.

***

Rishi and Ram Singh reached the guesthouse and began walking towards its front. Alex and Ranta waited for them at a short distance. Ram Singh located Laxman, who was sleeping at a safe distance from the guards in front of the guesthouse. Everyone had covered themselves with thick blankets to fight the dreadful cold.

‘Ram Singh, you wait here. I will get him,’ Rishi said and slowly moved towards Laxman.

He bent down and removed the blanket from his head.

‘Shit! This is not Laxman,’ he blurted out, and quickly put the blanket back over the sleeping Malani and stood still. The man moved a little but didn’t wake up. Rishi exhaled slowly but heavily into the night air; his breath enveloping him in white wisps. That was close! Ram Singh, I’ll kill you!

On the other side of the guesthouse, he spotted another person sleeping whose sleeping form looked like it could be Laxman’s. Rishi moved towards him and measured his length. Could be him, could not be him . . . tough to say in this darkness. He decided to risk it one more time and slowly opened the blanket. It was Laxman! Thank God.

‘Laxman . . . Laxman. Wake up,’ he whispered, his hands shivering because of the cold and his voice quivering because of anxiety.

Laxman woke up startled, blabbering, ‘Kaun hai, kaun hai,’ and tried raising himself. Rishi quickly put his hand on his mouth and shushed him into silence.

Laxman’s eyes popped wide open in shock.

‘I don’t have time to explain. You have to follow me. Let’s go,’ whispered Rishi.

Just as they were about to stand up, Laxman saw a guard getting up. He didn’t know what to do, so he quickly pulled Rishi down with him, making him lie down straight next to him—both of them praying fervently that the guard hadn’t spotted them. The guard seemed to be going up, possibly to check on the “prisoners”. But midway he stopped and changed his course. Now he was coming straight towards them!

Rishi panicked and slowly slid closer to Laxman, getting inside his blanket by the end of it. The guard walked right next to them and went ahead.

‘Pishap karne gaya hoga,’ whispered Laxman.

He had to go pee now? ‘Why is he taking so much time?’ asked Rishi after a few minutes.

‘Oooo, thand hai na, shaabji, time lagega. Thand me nikalta nahi na asani se,’ quipped Laxman. Rishi groaned. I’ll be damned if I get caught due to this!

They finally heard the guard walking back. He went straight to his bed and slept.

Rishi and Laxman quickly got up and hurried towards the others. Alex heaved a sigh of relief. Together all of them rushed towards the mountains.

Only once they reached the foot of the mountain did they switch on their flashlights. They had to begin their ascent now . . . and it was a dangerous endeavour. Hardly anyone had crossed these mountains at night. The steep slopes, loose stones, sharp edges, melting snow, slippery grass, uneven paths, and dense forests were a combination no traveller cocktailed on, especially at night. As they trudged on to the mountain, Rishi heard a distinct beating of drums. They know we have escaped!

*** [End of Chapter 10]

Read the previous parts of this series here:

• Prologue of 'Losing My Religion.'
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 1 - Broken Entrepreneur
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 2 - Show me a way forward
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 3 - Enter Alex
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 4 - Adventure Begins in the Himalayas
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 5 - Oh, the mysterious Malana Valley!
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 6 - Behind every man, there is a love story
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 7 & 8 - Trouble in the mountains
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 10 - Two goats will decide our fate

If you want to get a copy of the book, here are some quick links

• Amazon - Buy paperback in India
• Flipkart - Buy paperback in India
• Amazon eBook - Global

 You can also learn more about the book on my website - VishwasMudagal.com