Free THE PUPPETEERS OF PALEM by Sharath Komarraju

the police are doing. It has been four days since this happened and all we read in the newspaper is that the village has been closed off. Arey, if the village is closed off, how is the police investigating? Are they investigating? That is what I want to know.’
    The speaker was a big, bald man in a white shirt. He was Venkataramana’s uncle.
    ‘There have been other killings in the village, Sir. The police are treating this as a mass homicide.’
    ‘ Arey Madam, I am not worried about the other murders. I know it is sad, but I am worried about my nephew, na? His parents live in America and they are coming here tomorrow. What should I tell them, you tell me. You tell me!’
    ‘Don’t they live in Canada, Sir?’
    ‘Canada or America, what does it matter, Madam? They don’t live in India, na? Arey kya baat kar rahi hai yeh chokri! ’
    ‘Do you have any thoughts on why Venkataramana went to Palem, Sir?’
    ‘ Arey what is this? An interrogation? How will I know why he went there? Do you think he told us? These days do people tell their parents where they are going? “I am going out”. “I will be back in a few days”. “I will be back for dinner”. That is all they say. If he had told me he was going to Palem, do you think I would have let him?’
    ‘Why would you not have let him?’
    ‘ Arey , the boy is from America, Madam. What will he do in a place like Palem? He would get bored. I would have told him that.’
    ‘But he lived in Palem before, didn’t he?’
    ‘Ya, when he was a kid. But when you are a kid, you don’t get bored, na? He came here when he was ten, just a little boy. And he came to India only a few days ago. Do you think he would remember anything about Palem?’
    ‘If he didn’t remember anything, why did he go there?’
    ‘Now, is that my job? Is that not the job of the police? Ask the police, na? What are the police doing, that is what I want to know.’
    ‘Does he have any enemies in Palem?’
    There was a pause. The man looked as though he couldn’t believe the question that was thrown at him. ‘ Arey Madam, the boy is from America. America! Why will he have enemies in East Godavari?’ He looked away at someone outside the field of the camera’s lens. ‘ Dimaag nahin hai kya isko? ’ he said.
    ‘So do you have any message for the police, Sir?’
    ‘I think whatever they are doing is not correct. They should start investigating and find out who killed my brother’s son. We have friends in very high places. If they don’t start moving tomorrow, I will make them move. Arey! Police is supposed to catch the criminal as quickly as possible. Four days! Four days ago it happened and they still have not set foot in the village. There are some vested interests here that we will get to the bottom of. This is not correct. No, this is not correct.’
     
    The woman sat with her hands on her lap. Her sari pallu covered her head. Her forehead was bare and there were dark circles around her eyes. She spoke in a clear, measured voice, choosing her words with utmost care.
    ‘It must be a terrible shock to you, Mrs Reddy, to hear of the death of your son?’
    The woman nodded once. ‘It is always hard to deal with death in the family. When it happens suddenly like this, it only sinks in as time goes by and you start to miss them more and more—especially the little things.’
    ‘When did you first hear of it?’
    ‘Tuesday. It was early in the morning. I was just making breakfast when I heard something on the TV. When I heard his name, I came out and watched.’
    ‘It must have been a terrible shock to you,’ the interviewer said again.
    The woman looked at her and smiled. ‘You are still young. One thing you will learn about life is that it will go on.’
    ‘But surely, you must want to know who it is that –’
    ‘Killed him? Yes, I want to know. I wonder if it is true what they say in the papers. They think it is Aravind, don’t they?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘The boy was a good