Last Tuesday one of my friends who is also my neighbor was in dire need of a new pair of shoes. So, we headed towards the Connaught Place as it is one of those markets which is near and much sorted than Karol Bagh, another close by market which is bursting at seams with shoppers any day of the week.
So, we got into his car and drove towards the heritage market. It was a lazy winter afternoon as the sun played hide n seek with the clouds. We took the Mandir Marg road instead of the Upper Ridge road as it was a short-cut to reach our destination.
The Mandir Marg road is a beautiful boulevard as it is a narrow stretch of tarmac with dense foliage on both sides. The road swirls like a huge python making its way in a tropical rain forest. The vistas are such that you will feel as if you are driving down the stretch in any of the hill stations in Himachal or Uttarakhand.
Just as we reached the middle of the road, there is a sharp hairpin turn. So, as the brakes slowed down the revolutions of the wheels to negotiate the turn, I saw a mysterious looking man squatted on the roadside with a large brown canvas bag on his side and a bicycle parked behind.
It was a deserted stretch of tarmac and this guy was casually sitting beside the road appeared a bit awkward. So, just out of curiosity I decided to investigate as what that man was upto. I got my friend to pull up the car behind some bushes.
As he killed the ignition we sat in silence and started observing the man. He was dressed in a white kurta and dhoti and had a big black moustache. He took out a beedi from his pocket and started puffing away. His body language suggested that he was definitely waiting for someone.
A mixed feeling of confusion and curiosity overtook the both of us as we watched in anticipation. A few minutes later a couple on a green Bajaj Chetak scooter pulled up right next to the man who immediately put out his beedi and became active.
As the man parked the dilapidated piece of machinery under a peepal tree, the middle-aged lady got off it and took a few steps towards the squatted man, who had now placed his big brown bag in front of him and one of his hand fiddling for something inside it.
The heavily built lady was dressed in a bright pink coloured salwaar-kameez with a matching dupatta. A thick black sweater protected her from the nippy weather. The man chewing a pan was stout and looked like Kader Khan’s half-brother. The couple exchanged a glance which was followed by complete silence in the air.
Taking a few steps toward the strange looking man, conversation commenced amongst the three. Our car parked behind the foliage we tried hard to listen in but could not only gather some muffled chatter.
But some negotiations were taking place, that was for sure. But what could they be dealing in? That too on a deserted road in the middle of a jungle? Could they be drug dealers? Or worse arms smuggler?
We were still scratching our heads when the silence in the air was shattered by sounds of a police siren blowing at a distance. Suddenly, the trio jumped into action and with a visible white police gypsy headed towards them the couple ran towards their scooter while the man in the dhoti flung himself onto his bicycle.
In the ensuing commotion, the big brown bag fell from his hands and surprisingly, a pile of bananas fell down on the asphalt.
Now our curiosity has reached a crescendo. I mean, if they were really dealing in bananas then why were they running away from the cops? I knew there was much more to them then what appeared.
Meanwhile, the trio on their respective modes of transportation disappeared into the woods as the gypsy slowly followed them.
Sure of the fact the sluggish speed at which the police van was moving would never catch the mysterious trio, I decided to take matter in my own hands and asked my friend to fire the engine and chase the ‘’
But just as we were leaving, for one last time I took a cursory glance of the surroundings for any piece of evidence read wannabe Sherlock Homes and a few metres away I saw something interesting. I stepped out of the car and walked towards it to have a better look.
Hidden behind the green shrubbery was a red coloured iron board with something written on it in bold white letters and it read:
“FEEDING ANY KIND OF FOOD TO THE WILD MONEKYS IN THE FOREST IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE UNDER SECTION 20 (D) OF IPC. OFFENDER WILL BE LIABLE TO Rs. 10,000 FINE OR SIX MONTHS IN JAIL."
– BY ORDER
COMMISSIONER,
MUNICIPAL CORPORTAION OF DELHI (MCD)
It was then that I realised that being a Tuesday, the poor couple were just offering some food to the monkeys as an offering to Bajrang Bali. Looks can be deceiving. Seriously!
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