Losing My Religion: Chapter 11 - Inspector Dogra

In this week's article of #LosingMyReligion series, I am posting snippets of Chapter 11, where Inspector Dogra catches Alex doing the insanely crazy thing! Read it now to know whether Rishi manages to save Alex!

CHAPTER 11

The drums kept playing, forcing Rishi and the others to hastily climb the mountain, irrespective of the lacerations that laced their body. They got bruises, tears, and cuts, but didn’t stop. They felt the cold seep in deep into their bodies, almost into their bones, but didn’t stop. They dragged their feet the entire night and stopped only when they reached the summit sometime early morning.

‘I can’t walk anymore. I’ll faint. We have to stop,’ said Alex, wheezing like a dog.

‘Okay, I think we should be safe now. But we can’t stop for long. Let’s eat something and continue,’ suggested Ranta. Ram Singh was carrying some fruit and water in his pack and shared that with the others.

‘The trick was in choosing a route that no one takes. Chandrakani Pass saved us. The risk paid off, otherwise they would have caught us,’ gloated Ranta, happy to note that they had managed to outsmart the Malanis.

‘Tell me honestly, Ranta,’ heaved Rishi, ‘would they really have thrown us in the river?’ The question had been on his mind since last night.

‘They would have banished you from the village, that’s for sure. But I can say there was still this little chance of them doing something worse. From what I heard you tried to knock down their temple, tried to influence their culture, and you have been accused of theft—these are serious crimes in Malana, Rishiji. They have thrown people in the river for less. Had they thrown you both into the river, no one would have known. And these people wouldn’t have bothered . . . they don’t care about Indian laws.’

‘What a nightmare! We are really grateful to you Ranta.’

‘This is my duty, Rishiji. You are my customer, I have to take care of you,’ he said. ‘My reputation was at stake. I had to bring you back safely.’

Rishi was touched by the man’s simplicity and code of honour. Pahadi people are such gems . . .

They removed the Malani clothes, which they had worn on top of their regular clothes, Alex used this time to wash the black soot off his face, and everyone took a break for ten minutes more before they moved on again—it was still not safe. The descent was easy compared to the ascent at night, and they covered good distance.

The group was still tense. Nobody spoke more than necessary.

‘I hear a dog barking,’ said Alex after a while.

‘What?’ Rishi asked.

‘Must be a police dog. Inspector Dogra patrols this area,’ informed Ranta.

‘We met Dogra on our way to Malana. He and Chauhan make a great comic pair,’ smiled Rishi.

‘Ek number ka kameena hai, saab. But it’s good that they are around. We are in a safe area now.’  

***

‘Mr Rishi. We meet again! You see, sir, I always keep my promises,’ said Dogra, and laughed.

‘Hello, Inspector. How are you?’

‘Good, good. How was your trip to Malana? You stayed there for long. Usually people return in a day or two.’

‘Yes. We liked the place.’

He nodded and looked at everyone. ‘Why is everyone bruised? I see even you are wounded, Mr Rishi. I smell something fishy.’

The dog was barking nonstop, even as the inspector talked. It was a large German Shepherd, jumping up and down, wanting to break free. It took constable Chauhan all his might to control it.

‘Sir, kutte mein maa chadi hui hai,’ said Chauhan. ‘He has definitely smelt something.’

‘Rishiji. This is a trained dog; he doesn’t act this way without reason. I hope you don’t have any charas on you. It’s a crime, you know,’ said Dogra, knotting his eyebrows in suspicion.

‘Oh, no. We’re clean. None of us has any charas. Nor do we smoke that sinful weed. I think we better get going,’ Rishi replied and started walking.

‘Ek minute. Wait, Rishiji. Chauhan, check the bags.’

The constable started checking the bags and the dog started sniffing everyone. It stopped at Alex’s bag and started barking.

‘Chauhan, open that gora’s bag and scan it.’

Alex broke into a sweat. He reluctantly gave his bag to Chauhan who found a bundle of Malana Cream inside; neatly packed.

‘Saab, we have charas worth at least a lakh here,’ sing-songed Chauhan.

‘Wah wah, Rishiji! So my hunch was right. You are smuggling charas.’ Dogra sounded ecstatic.

Rishi couldn’t react. Alex had done it again! Malanis were right! He looked at Alex and Alex looked at him.

‘Alex. What the hell is that? Where did you get so much of hash from?’ he asked with clenched teeth. He was livid at him and hoped to God he had a plausible explanation for this.

‘Enough of nautanki. Practice your histrionic skills elsewhere. This is Dogra’s area. No one fools me and no one smuggles charas out of here,’ bellowed the cop.

‘I . . . I can explain,’ said Alex to Rishi. ‘While she and I . . . uhh . . . explored the cannabis plantations one day, I saw a Malani man hidin’ a few packets in a bush. Seemed like he wanted to collect ’em later, I guess. He threw them in a hurry and ran away. I’m really not sure why. So, I kinda, just, uhh, checked the packets and picked one up.’

‘And why didn’t that Malani notice you?’ asked Dogra.

***

‘Calm down, Alex,’ said Rishi. ‘Dograji. See, we are innocent. If you want, you keep the charas and let us go. It was just an accident. We have nothing to do with that charas.’

‘Keep it, saab. Ek-do laakh ka maal hai,’ said Chauhan happily.

‘Shut up, Chauhan. How many times should I tell you not to open your dirty mouth?’

Dogra fell into a deep thought and after a minute said, ‘Okay. You know Rishiji, you are smart. If not for you, you would have all been in jail for at least next ten years. Chauhan, take that packet. Rishiji, you can go now. But do not meet me again. And if I were you, I would get out of Himachal Pradesh right away. You don’t want any more trouble.’

They thanked him and started walking.

‘One more thing,’ said Dogra. ‘Because you were honest, I’ll leave you with a tip. Be careful while you head back. There have been several shootouts today in the mountains. There is a huge movement of charas. Two smugglers have been shot. If you hear gunshots, put your hands up and don’t run. I don’t want to see pictures of your dead bodies in the papers tomorrow.’

‘That’s not reassurin’ at all. We don’t have any protection,’ reacted Alex instantly.

‘Nothing to worry. Just be cautious. The activity is on the southern side, near Jari, where the smugglers have easy access to roads. All the police are stationed around that area. Your path to Manali is safe.’

Everyone was dumbfounded. ‘We have to move on, we have no choice,’ said Ranta, and they all reluctantly trekked ahead.

***

To their dismay, they did hear faint gunshots somewhere far in the mountains.

If there are no police in this area, then can anyone tell me who is firing at whom? If the cops are not around, why are the smugglers shooting?’ asked Rishi.

‘It might be two rival gangs,’ shared Ranta.

‘It just gets bloody worse,’ muttered Alex.

‘Or it could be the police dispatched from the Rumsu side,’ added Ranta.

Rishi didn’t say anything. What have we got ourselves into? We escaped a situation to get caught in a bigger one. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. There was real danger lurking in those mountains, danger that could take their lives. He looked at everyone; they were silent and tensed. ‘We have to be prepared,’ he spoke up suddenly. ‘Ranta, make us a map. If we see smugglers, we run. We run like hell.’

‘No, no. We run zigzag. Remember, they’ve guns and they’ll shoot. We’ve to escape the bullets as well,’ added Alex, taking a leaf from his Iraq war experience.

‘Okay. We run zigzag in any direction to possibly escape. We might get separated. So we need to know how to reach a destination,’ Rishi concluded.

Ranta explained all the possible routes of escape. All of them noted it on scraps of paper they could find in their bags.

Rishi felt a little more confident now.

***

The mountains were as silent as a grave, the silence only made dreadful by the rustling of cedar trees and the whispering of grass through the winds. They continued to walk for an hour when Alex tapped Rishi’s shoulder.

‘What?’ Rishi asked.

He silently pointed towards something down in the valley. Rishi looked below and shared a look with him. 

‘We’ll rest here for some time. You guys go ahead,’ Rishi said, and separated from the group along with Alex.

They climbed down the valley to see the thing that had caught Alex’s attention. As they negotiated their way down the steep slopes, they heard the crying calls of vultures that were circling in the sky. 

‘If we slip, we are dead meat, man,’ Alex said.

‘Thanks for the heads-up, bud,’ quipped Rishi. ‘And, on second thoughts, let’s not do this. We are still not out of harm’s way. I, honestly, do not want to escape all that we have been through just to get stuck here . . . getting gunned down by some lunatic smuggler.’

‘I have to see what’s there. Those bags hint at somethin’. I can just feel it in my guts.’

Rishi took a deep breath. ‘I’m definitely going to regret this. But let’s do it.’

As they carefully got down the tough terrain, they saw a shattered body hidden between two huge rocks. There was blood splashed all around. Rishi took a big stick and tried turning the body. Its face and skull were smashed.

‘Dear God,’ he said. The blood looked fresh. The concoction of the sight and the smell was so nauseating that Alex puked instantly, and, seeing him, Rishi puked too.

‘Why the fuck are we here, Alex? Let’s just go.’

‘Wait. Who’s this guy?’ asked Alex, taking deep breaths.

‘Maybe a smuggler?’

‘Looks like that. He must’ve slipped while climbin’ down the mountain. Bitch of a sight, eh?’

Rishi just gave him a disgusted look.

 ‘What’s in those bags? Let me check, and then we’ll go. Promise,’ said Alex pointing to the two bags that lay next to the smuggler’s dead body. He opened them up and began probing. ‘Aaaaaand, I was right! Malana Cream, baby,’ he rejoiced, sniffing a packet, his eyes taking on a different gleam altogether. ‘Should we take it?’

‘Are you kidding me? What’s the matter with you? We just escaped an arrest!’

‘Okay . . . forget it, let’s go,’ said Alex, but his voice lacked conviction.

They climbed a small distance when Alex suddenly stopped. ‘No, I can’t do this. Always. Keep. The. Spoils. You should always keep the fuckin’ spoils, Rishi. That’s the rule of war. That’s what we did in Iraq,’ he said, and began climbing down.

‘Son of a bitch! You and your Iraq gyan. You will get us killed! Don’t touch the bags . . .’

‘They are worth at least twenty-five lakh rupees if we sell it in Delhi or Goa. And it’s a lifetime’s supply of Cream—the best charas in the world! You really want me to throw them?’ shot back Alex as he began packing the Cream in his bagpack.

‘Yes! Throw away the charas, Alex!’ Rishi shouted in anger. ‘The police dogs will catch you or we might get caught by smugglers. What’s the matter with you?’

‘Rishi, our money’s gonna get over soon. You might go back to Bangalore and find a fancy-ass job but I can’t. And I don’t wanna go back. I need money. Simple. And I’m willin’ to take the risk.’

Rishi didn’t know how to react. The hash had totally blinded Alex. He gave up.

‘Fine. Do whatever you want. But you are putting everyone’s life at risk again.’

‘I’ll gladly take a bullet for you. But trust me, nothin’ will happen. Rumsu is hardly two hours from here. What can possibly happen? Let’s go, please,’ said Alex.

‘You are impossible, Alex,’ said Rishi with disgust, as he started climbing up the mountain. Alex followed behind.

They reached Rumsu by evening. Rishi was still so pissed off with Alex that he didn’t speak to him. Even the next day, when they journeyed back to Manali, he kept silent.

Sitting on the steps of a travel lodge in Manali that evening, Alex finally said, ‘I know you are exhausted with the whole Malana incident. But you’re gonna become normal in a few weeks as its memory fades. I had similar experiences in Iraq, so believe me. Now, comin’ back to the hash. We haven’t committed a crime. We just picked up somethin’ that was lyin’ around. No big deal. And I believe it has fallen in to our hands for a reason, trust me.’

‘You’re hopeless! You know, I can clearly see written in the newspapers: “Bankrupt entrepreneur Rishi Rai now behind bars for smuggling charas!” And I thought it couldn’t get worse . . .’

Alex chuckled out aloud listening to him. ‘Buddy, I’ll always have your back. Plus, technically, I took it, so, if need be, I’ll handle it.’

‘I am never the one for drama, but don’t say those words to me again, Alex. You and I are in this together, till the bloody end, whatever that may be. None of this “I’ll handle it” shit will do. Got that?’ Rishi said in a dead-serious voice.

‘You my bro, man. You my bro,’ Alex said, and hugged him.

‘You bet,’ said Rishi and finished his beer. ‘We’ve had enough of the Himalayas. Need a change of place. You’ve anything in mind?’

*** [End of Chapter 11]

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 9 - Two goats will decide our fate
• Losing My Religion: Chapter 10 - The Great Malana Escape

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