Friday 15 November 2019

Fishy Chronicles 44: Bust-up At The Bank

I could feel Genie raise himself to look at the chaos unfolding. There were people screaming and crying and running about for cover.

I pushed his elbow off the back of my head and raised myself to stare in disbelief.

Some moron had half-heartedly driven his car into the bank's shutters.

I say half-heartedly because the bank's shutter over its main entrance had caved, but not given way. People were picking themselves off the ground and a mob was now trying to open the door of the car.

When it didn't open they started kicking and banging the car. I looked for Kuriakose Uncle. He was in a distant corner – Aunty and he staring at the scene with some distress. Near them a group of churchwallas were trying to lift them off the ground. I saw people running.

When we were able to compose ourselves, we got up from the ground and stared at the scene unfolding. The crowd rocked the car and people screamed and shouted.

Genie strode into the crowd and I ran after him. I knew he was going to try and save the bugger in the car. 


This is a fictional series surrounding, Genie, Fish and the narrator. The narrator has lost most of her money in a bank scam and is at the bank waiting for RBI* officials to turn up and explain the next course of action (Fishy Chronicles 43). However, an upset depositor drives his car into the bank's entrance and is set upon by an angry mob.

I grabbed Genie's arm and was dragged someway ahead until he shook me off. He plunged in and was pushed about by the angry crowd when he managed to get close to the man whom some of the crowd had managed to pull out of the car. They had smacked him about. There was blood on his face and he looked disoriented. I jumped into the crowd and felt terror immediately. I was pummelled and pushed violently and someone squeezed my right breast. In a rage, I poked a man in the eyes and everyone else within my flailing reach. I felt strong arms pull me towards the car. People rained blows on us and the motorist who started it all crawled into the car and sat dazed in the driver's seat. 

Genie pushed me into the car and I fell on the man's lap and his hands held me down involuntarily, instantly making me anxious again. I wriggled out, looking for a weapon in the idiot's car. I saw a magazine on the dashboard, rolled it and threw myself into the crowd again, hitting whoever I could reach with the makeshift stick.

Only, now, there were policemen beating everyone with sticks. We were pushed into the car's sides by people trying to escape the lathi charge. I felt the unbearable press of the bodies and screamed in pain feeling the door handle of the car press into my lower back. I punched, scratched and tore wildly at the people in front of me and I felt them move backwards slightly. But the police had them sorted. They thrashed everyone within reach and soon the crowd pushing us started thinning. 

I was pulled roughly and thrown to the side. Everyone was babbling at the same time, but the police were oblivious. They lunged for the man in the car and pulled him out. One policeman waved his lathi and hit a few more people before the space in front of us widened. I was pulled off the ground roughly and pushed in front. I tried to protest, as did the others, but we were thrashed some more and a while later we grew silent. 

It is amazing how quickly the sight of men in khaki can disperse a crowd. Even the chaiwalla had grabbed his kerosene stove, vessels and stand and disappeared. I couldn’t see any of the churchwallas or the Kuriakoses. Trouble had turned everyone's feet in to wings and they had miraculously transported themselves elsewhere. 

I heard a sharp barking in Marathi and I was let go immediately. Genie grabbed my arm, tucked it in his, nodded, smiled and shook hands with the Sub Inspector. I could hear the man say that Genie would be called in for questioning, but the SI smiled all through that threat and Genie started moving away.

“But, but...” I turned and saw people being herded into a large blue police van with strong grills on the windows. I couldn't see the car's driver.

“Shhh. Hurry up!”

“But...”

Once out on the road, Genie walked fast towards our car, opened the passenger side door, pushed me into the seat and shut the door. He immediately got into the driver's side, started the engine and took off.

“But... we're going the wrong way!” I said.

“Okay.” 

“Genie!”

“Didn't you notice the police vans and barricades blocking the road back there?”

“Er.” I waited a few minutes to ask a vexing question. “Arief?”

“Yes?”

“Where did he go?”

“No idea.”

Genie's white t-shirt was ripped, it was dirty and his hair was messed up. He had a bruise forming on his left cheek and blood from his split lip had dripped onto his shirt.

He saw me staring at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Stop somewhere and I'll look at that cut on your lip.”

“Mouth to mouth?” Genie's mood suddenly lightened.

I boxed his arm and he groaned. I felt bad immediately. “Sorry!”

“That's okay.” He parked near a building and turned to look at me. He turned my face towards him and gently touched my jaw. I winced. “We'd better go to a doctor.” 

“Yes. Best,” I said glumly. My left eye was shut, swollen and painful. My body was sore and my right side hurt. Besides, someone had pulled a handful of my hair and I felt blood on my sore scalp. 

Genie started the engine and slowly moved out on to the street.

“How is it you were able to get the SI to let us go?” I prodded Genie.

“I told him what happened. That we weren't involved.”

“Huh.” From the corner of my eye I saw Genie look at me and turn away his head immediately. “But... the let-off seemed inordinately quick,” I said.

“Maybe.”

“Perhaps if I was alone I'd have been on that van.”

“You were lucky today,” I saw the corners of Genie's mouth turn up.

“How do you know that policeman?”

“We've had chai together.”

“Interesting. How come?”

“Wouldn't you have wanted to be a fly on the wall then.”

“Indeed.” I waited for Genie to elaborate, but the silence stretched. “Well?”

“What can I say,” Genie shrugged his shoulder slightly. “It was a happy coincidence... for us... that Jeevan was there. Once he understood that we were protecting the driver, he let us go... with the proviso we'll present ourselves at the police station whenever we are asked to.”

“He didn't ask for our details.”

“He knows our address.”

“Convenient!”

“Yes,” Genie grinned.

“You're pulling a fast one on me, Genie!”

Tchah, tchah, tchah! So distrustful even after knowing me so many years.”

“Bullshit! Don't make it about me!”

“What's there to say. I know him. We go back a long way. He knows where to find us and it was our lucky day,” Genie was grinning, his eyes firmly on the road ahead.

I glared at him. I was going to get to the bottom of this. Hopefully. Someday.

Genie stopped the car and pushed up his dark glasses. I was surprised it hadn't got crushed in the melee. Or perhaps he had never taken it out of the car. I couldn't remember. He leaned towards me, forcing me to press backwards into my seat, and opened my door. He turned his head, too close for comfort, and murmured, “Go in. I'll be right there.” 

I was annoyed and didn’t respond. I got out shakily and turned towards the clinic. I held back, groaning silently. There were women standing up in the open area of the waiting room. Some of them started to smile. I saw some Peaceful Society ladies staring after the car and not taking their eyes off Genie.

Suddenly the day seemed endless. Luckily, no one was interested in me. As soon as the sexy Genie stepped into the waiting room, a seat became vacant, he was pushed into it and women began to fawn over him. 

“... oh dear...”

“... are you hurting?”

“... the wound looks painful...”

“... which idiot would dare lay a hand on you!”

“... you poor, poor, poor thing...”

I wanted to vomit. I closed my eyes tightly to block out the sight and sounds. Ugh!

I felt a body sit next to me. I opened my eyes and Genie grinned. He answered all their questions patiently. Soon, the other patients graciously waved us into the doctor's chambers.

“Oh my God! What happened to you!” Dr Sharma said. He immediately started looking at my eye, while Genie gave him a swift, sanitised version of today's events – minus our brush with Sub Inspector Jeevan X. 

“Well,” the doctor said, after working swiftly on us, “going by your injuries today and what I've just heard, both of you were very lucky. I'm giving you painkillers. Get these x-rays done and show them to me today. Off you go. Next!”

We said goodbye to the other patients and set off towards the car. Hopefully, the day would seem better after a painkiller. We gulped our respective doses and went off to the hospital. 

*RBI = Reserve Bank of India

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