Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel (23 page)

“Thank you, Mr. Ojha,” he spoke into the microphonein a surprisingly soft voice. “For
inviting me here, and for allowing me to witness the immense talent that your students have.”

He paused for a moment to stare at the audience. “I thought long a
nd hard about whether
I should come here, and what I would say to you all if I did. But then I realized something. It
doesn‟t really matterwhat I say.” He paused again, his voice growing quieter. “Few of you
will pay attention to my speech, or remember my being here after this session is over. Young
people rarely feel the need to listen to advice, and even more rarely follow it.”

“Because you are all immortals.”

 

The shuffling and shifting stopped abruptly. Students looked startled, and several of
them who had already drifted off sat up and started listening.

Mr. Dayal stared at the audience, a strangely contemplative look on his face. “When I
say immortals.” he spoke finally. “I am referring to the state of mind that people of your age
possess.” He smiled. “Living completely in the present, with the future nothing more than an
abstract concept. The magazines you want to read today. The film you want to see at the
weekend. The exam a month away that you have to study for.”

“But getting a job? Putting food on the table every day? Taxes, insurance, and p
lanning
the future of your family? That is all years away. The future is of no consequence to you,
because the gulf that separates it from the present is far too engrossing on its own. Why
worry about tomorrow when you are here right now, young and healthy and strong, and
bursting with the power to change the world around you as you see fit!”

“Childhood is often seen as the time of beautiful illusions. When you see the world as
you wish it to be. Reality is a closed box that is only opened a bit at a time. And that makes
the discovery all the more thrilling.”

“But once you begin to dig deeper,” Mr. Dayal continued, his voice now very quiet.
“you come into contact with the harsher realities. Some of you have to deal with abusive
families. Some of you experience neglect. Some of you live in poverty. Some of you have
lost a parent or a beloved family member. Some of you struggle with illnesses, a condition
which separates you from your classmates, that makes you feel different and alone.” Neel sat
up straighter, listening very hard. “It is a uniquely difficult time, childhood. The sense of
discovery is not always a blessing, and the thrill, or the horror, of finding out just how big
and complicated the world truly is, rarely occurs again. You come into contact with new
experiences everywhere, and how you understand them expands the boundaries of the world
as you see it.”

“But our minds are strange things.” Mr. Dayal paused, looking at the students intently.
“When we first come across something strange which we don‟t understand, our curiosity
compels us to examine it, and often we use humor to cope with that strangeness. For instance,
when first I came here, you were all amused by my appearance. You were joking and
laughing amongst yourself at the way I looked.” His eyes swept over the hall, and several of
the older students dropped their gazes uncomfortably.

Mr. Dayal spoke again. His expression had grown very somber, and his eyes were
suddenly as piercing as Doctor Fahim‟s. “So what would you say if I tell you that I was born
with a heart condition that prevents me from exercising, and that my thyroid gland is
defective, so that my body balloons up more every day without my being able to do anything
about it?” The students were all staring hard at him now, each face showing various degrees
of surprise and embarrassment.

“I was like this as a child
too.” Mr. Dayal continued. “All my clothes were too tight for
me, and I was hopeless at playing games.” His gaze did not falter, and his voice was steady as
he spoke. “Needless to say, I had a difficult time at school. You all know how cruel children
can be to each other. It did not matter that I was the brightest student in my class, or that I
was a good singer. It did not matter that I was lonely, and needed friendship and acceptance.
For the other children, I was simply the ridiculously, grossly fat one. I felt miserable there. I
felt I did not have a friend in the world, and that I was all alone.”

“Except that I wasn‟t. I was too miserable to notice it at first, but there were also some
good students there. Decent people who treated me with respect, and who eventually became
my friends.”

“So how should I deal with that part of my life? Do I stay stuck forever in that phase?

Do I live a life resigned to being the freak?‟ Mr. Dayal paused for a long moment. “It would
have been a tragedy if I did. Instead I studied, I held onto the few friends I had. And my life
improved.”

“And then I realized a very important thing. That all that I had suffered through school,
miserable as it had been, was not permanent, and I need not stay wrapped up forever in those
feelings and emotions.”

“So that is what I want to say to you all today.” Mr. Dayal said, and his smile was now
as wide as it had been at the beginning. “New experiences surround you at this age. I know
young people feel emotions much more intensely than their elders. It is at once a gift and a
curse. To handle it all sensibly, you need proper perspective.”

“The perspective to know the difference between what is truly important, and what only
appears to be. To understand the true worth of your life, and what makes it meaningful. Not
money, or popularity, but whatever helps make you a more complete person. That requires
introspection, and the courage to ask yourself,
honestly,
what you want from life.”

“Don‟t
get so consumed in your emotions that you allow them to dominate your life.
The person you have a crush on doesn‟t like you back. The sport you wanted to excel at is too
difficult. Your grades are inadequate and your parents are upset with you. Life seems
overwhelming. These and other experiences suddenly become your entire world, so that they
seem like life and death events. But they are
not.
And you should never let them become so.”

“Your life means more than the sorrows of your personal tragedie
s, or the helplessness
you may feel sometimes. It is a beautiful, extraordinary thing, life. Made all the more
precious because of its fleeting nature. Understand that a lot of the sorrow in your mind is
only a product of the constraints society puts on you. There is more to life then getting good
grades, or being a star. You will understand that better and better as you grow older.”

“And then one day,” Mr. Dayal paused for a long moment, and all the students as well
the teachers leaned in closer. “You will realize you have become truly mature adults.” he
smiled again, but this time there was a hint of soberness in the smile. “And you will
understand what holds meaning for you. I can‟t tell you what that is, because we all have very
different desires from life. But on that day, you will look back on your school days and
wonder why such little things had seemed so important at the time. That day you will
remember what were the really important aspects of your school life. The friendship of your
schoolmates, the love of your teachers and families, and the experience of life stretching out
in front of you forever. Of being immortals.”

“And so I will leave you now with these thoughts. Don‟t think your life is over because
you are different,or don‟t fit in, or are having problems in life that seem insurmountable.
Those are all a part of growing up. When I was invited to speak at this school, I wanted to
refuse. I did not believe I would have the courage to return to a place where I had been so
miserable for so long. But then I realized something. I was no longer that scared little child of
yesterday. I was no longer the fattest kid in the class that everyone made fun of. I was now a
mature and educated young man with an unfortunate disease. And that is when I realized I
was miserable no longer. I have many friends. I have a family that loves me. A job that I
adore. I even got engaged.” he raised his hand to show the gold ring glinting on his finger.
“To the most wonderful woman in the world, I might add.” he added with a sudden, boyish
grin. “And so I was able to come here, and stand on this stage and speak to you all. That is
the message I have to give to you all. Thank you so much for listening patiently, and I wish
you all the best in life.” He started to step back, and then remembered something and stepped
forward hastily to the mike again. “Oh, and also, work hard and study well, and all those
other things.” He stepped back again, and this time gave a little bow.

Applause and cheering broke out across the auditorium, and for the first time in
memory, a guest speaker at the school got a standing ovation from the students as well as the
teachers.

Several of the students, specially the older ones, continued cheering loudly as Mr. Dayal
left the stage and made his way back to Mr. Ojha. The prefects tried half heartedly to get the
students to quiet down. Mr. Dayal passed by Neel, and he felt the sudden urge to call out to
him, and tell him how he was different too. But the impulse passed, and then Neel joined
Aryan and his other classmates in the cheering. Mr. Dayal‟s wide smile was back on his face
as he nodded and waved to the students, and then he exited the hall with Mr. Ojha.

Neel filed out of the auditorium with his classmates. For the first time, he was actually
thinking about what a guest lecturer had said to them. He was going over Mr. Dayal‟s speech,
and it amazed him how personal the message felt. It was as though he had been speaking
directly to Neel. All those feelings of not belonging with his friends anymore, of being
different…

Then the entire school broke out into chatter, and he could hear children talking
excitedly among themselves all around him.

 

“God, I could totally relate to everything he was saying…”

 

“You know, I‟ve felt exactly the same way myself, so many times…”

 

“It was like he was talking justto me…”

 

“I used to be teased all the time, too. That‟s when I realized Shalini was my only true
friend…”

 

“Well,” Aryan said, walking slowlynext to him. “That was a lot more interesting than I
thought it would be.”

 

“I know.” Neel agreed. Under the teacher‟s watchful eyes, their class formed a line and
made their way back to their class in an unusually thoughtful silence.

 

* * *

 

Neel sat once again in the huge control room in front of the computer screen. Arjun and
Negi and Premi were standing quietly to the left, looking on.

 

“Form the information Kundan gave us,” Doctor Fahim was tellingNeel. “Our best bet
for getting answers would be spying directlyon the meeting they have set up.”

 

“Won‟t Kundan knowI‟d come after them, after he told me everything?” Neel asked.
“He must‟ve told Malik Saket about me by now.”

“Not if he wants to keep his business
safe.” Arjun spoke up. “Kundan‟s entire practice
rests on his reputation for being the best when it comes to secrecy and safety. If it gets out
that a child was able to enter his stronghold, assault his legion of bodyguards, and get
information abouthis clients out of him, he‟ll never get another contract again. Kundan will
try his hardest to keep the matter quiet.”

“Which means we still have the element of surprise.”
DoctorFahim said. “You have to
remember that Kundan isn‟t even sure which one of his contacts you were after, and why.
The meeting place has been arranged by Alok Mehta, and will be heavily guarded. He will
bank upon the fact that it would be impossible for anyone to fight through the army of armed
men to get to him.”

“But that is what I‟ll be doing?” Neel asked, looking at Doctor Fahim and Arjun.

 

“Something similar.” DoctorFahim said. “We will go into that later.” He nodded to
Divya.

She opened the picture
of a poster onscreen. “A concert in aid of wildlife has been
arranged by Phlicer, with famous singers performing in support.” she told Neel. “The concert
will take place at Charkha Stadium, and we think the meeting will take place in a small cabin
at the back of the grounds.”

“It doesn‟t seem like a very safe choice.” Neel commented. “He‟s picked a really public
spot for the meeting.”

“On the contrary, Saket is
making a very smartmove.” Arjun said. “The place will be
swarming with Mehta‟s security personnel without anyone thinking it strange. People will be
too busy with the concert to care about what happens in the hut, and a charity concert is not a
place the police would suspect of being a set upfor any illegal activities.”

“Okay.” Neel nodded. “So I just jump in and start interrogating, like I did with
Kundan?”

“It‟s a little more complicated than that.” Arjun said, folding his hands across his chest.
“Saket is not a coward like Kundan, and your bully tactics won‟t work on him. You will have
to be more subtle.”

“So how will I get the information from him?” Neel asked him.

 

“You won‟t.” DoctorFahim said. “This time your role will be a different one. You will
be the diversion while your partner does the work.”

“I‟ll remind you that the situation is
much more dangerousthis time.‟ Arjun added.
“This is not the controlled situation you faced inKundan‟s gym. There are innumerable
factors to account for in these type of situations, and things can go very wrong. Planning can
only get you so far. A lot will depend on your presence of mind.”

Neel nodded. “I think I can handle it.” he said. “But who is going to come with me?”
“Our choices are very narrow, for people with an in depth knowledge of the case as well
ascybernetics.” DoctorFahim said. “You and Divya will be going to the concert.”

 

“Oh!” Neel stared in surprise at Divya, who grinned back at him.

 

* * *

The cool night air swept through the stadium as Divya got out of the rented car. This
was a lot more field work than her job required, but she was the one who had suggested the
plan in the first place when the operation was being planned, and she was the only person in
the inner circle of the project who had the skills and knew enough about the case to know
what to look for in the laptop. The plan was simple as long as nothing unexpected occurred.
She hoped it would go as smoothly as the earlier one had. Crowds milled around her, waiting
for the concert. Most of them were college level youngsters, but some older fans of the band
were also present. Even though the entire concert was only a front, Mr. Mehta could not be
accused of skimping on the arrangements. A vast canopy had been erected, the area inside the
tent brightly lit and extensively decorated. Giant helium balloons were tied to the canopy and
floated high in the air, featuring the band and wildlife aid posters. Several refreshment stalls
had been set up outside which were attracting a lot of customers. It was hard to imagine the
scene of cheerful revelry as a facade for criminal activities.