SATYAN 2
-5. Beans Are Split

A couple of days went by.  Vasudev called both Shiva and Sridhar to his cottage.  As the friends entered in, they were taken aback to see him looking at them with a forlorn face.  “What happened, Vasudev?” the friends almost asked in chorus.

“What is left to happen?” Vasudev sighed with a slight grin on his face that reflected melancholy more than any shade of happiness or contentment.

“Tell me something, Sridhar.  Didn’t you cheat your patient Mukund?”

Sridhar appeared aghast!  “W..What are you saying, Vasudev?”  he floundered.

“By denying you are only mounting your sins, Sridhar.  And you, Shiva?  Didn’t you coerce Sridhar into agreeing to your evil plans?”

Shiva could barely manage to speak!

Vasudev asked his guards to bring in someone and in a few moments a short, lanky man with a thick beard entered in.  Sridhar was shocked to see him.

“Now, would you deny not knowing him, Sridhar?”

“Paramhans!  W…What are you doing here?”  Sridhar asked bewildered.

“Good you could recognize him, Sridhar!  He has agreed that proper treatment was not given to Mukund!” Vasudev averred.

Paramhans assisted Sridhar in preparing the medicines that he recommended for his patients.

Finally, Sridhar gave in.  “Yes, Vasudev!  You are right!  I have been deceiving Mukund owing to which I have completely lost my peace of mind.   Shiva came to me a few days back and told me that Mukund would soon come to me to cure his cough.    He wanted me to give him such a medicine that would not relieve him from his ailment till the time the competition was not over.  I vehemently denied it.  But then, he insisted saying that among the ten participants for the final, he felt a threat to his victory only from Mukund.  Therefore, he somehow wanted to prevent him from singing in the final. He felt that this illness of Mukund has come as a God-send boon for him!  He put me in a fix with words like ‘Don’t you want your friend to win this competition?’ and ‘An opportunity like this would never grace me again!  Please help your dear friend win this contest!’  Finally, for his sake, I agreed although my conscience was hurting me.  Later after examining Mukund I realized that it was only an ordinary cough but to prolong the treatment I secretly asked Paramhans to deliberately skip out an important ingredient while making the medicine for him.  This actually would render the very purpose of the medicine redundant!  Since Mukund should not feel that my medicine is ineffective, I told him that he is suffering from some infection and hence recovery would take time.”  Sridhar concluded.

“I know what you told Mukund, Sridhar!”  Vasudev intoned.

“B..But how did you come to know about all this?”  asked Sridhar in amazement.  Vasudev began, “When I met Mukund, he told me that he was feeling much better after taking medicine from you that morning.  He further told me that this was the same medicine you were giving him right from the start of the treatment.  I felt strange as to how a medicine which had no positive impact on him for all these days suddenly made him recover and that too precisely a day after the competition.  It was owing to this thought that I could not relish the praises which that innocent lad showered on you, Shiva.  Initially I tried to dismiss this consideration as having no substance in it but I could not get it out my mind.  As I deliberated on it, I could even make some connections but I could not make myself believe that you both could stoop so low for achieving selfish goals.    I will tell you the thoughts which crossed my mind.

I know as to how desperate Shiva was to win this competition from the conversation we had that night.   Therefore, it was possible that he could yet again go to some extreme means for winning this competition.    Shiva must have seen a thorn in Mukund to win the contest whom I now know to be a very good singer.  Thus, when he learnt about his friend’s ailment, Shiva – who knew that Mukund consulted you when he suffered from any sickness –  may have met you and convinced you to cheat Mukund by giving him some ineffective medicine which would not work to his recovery thereby thwarting his participation in the final.  Now that the final was over, you may have given Mukund the proper medicine which has facilitated his recovery.

As these thoughts clouded my mind, I also developed a feeling of guilt in my heart for suspecting my friends in hatching such a deplorable conspiracy.  But then, I had to verify these doubts for which I once again met Mukund.  I asked him whether Shiva had immediately accompanied him to your dispensary on that day when our friend first learnt about his illness.  Mukund looked uncomfortable at my prodding but still thought over it.  Then, he replied that at the time when Shiva had come over he had just woken up from bed late in the morning.  Therefore, Shiva returned home after handing over the manuscript.  Since Mukund was appearing sick, Shiva told him that he would be back later and then go along with him to your dispensary.  I asked that boy about this because if there was any element of authenticity in my suspicion then it was apparent that Shiva would want to meet you first before Mukund, to take you into confidence in his wicked plans.  Mukund’s reply left me thinking.  It was possible that before returning to Mukund’s house, Shiva visited you and made you an abettor in this crime.  To get some incriminating evidence, I asked my trusted aides to bring along Paramhans but without your knowledge. My aides, without raising any suspicions, kept an eye on your dispensary and when Paramhans came out in the evening, they quietly led him to my chamber.  I threatened him with dire consequences if he did not speak the truth and finally Paramhans confessed.”

(To Continue)