My brush with the cops

MY BRUSH WITH THE COPS Foolhardy, bold and downright stupid were words that were often used to describe teens when I was growing up and rightly so. This incident happened when I was around 14 – a ripe old age! Allahabad was a one-horse town back then ( it’s better now I am told)- the main market in the area known as Civil Lines closed by eight pm and so you literally had to find exciting things to do – they were out there somewhere – finding them was the crux. Boys being boys, find them we did – sometimes simple enjoyable entertainment like landing up at the wrong wedding and eating dinner ( this is another story ) - at other times something silly / dangerous , much to our utter horror and dismay . However this incident was not a case of ‘all’s well that ends well’ - in fact, to put things in the correct perspective , this incident did not end very well at all - but certainly much better than it could have , if things had spiralled out of control as they are so often apt to – Murphy’s law and all that jazz! Let me set the scene for you. The Girl’s High school where this incident occurred lay mid-way between my friend’s house and mine (this guy is now my brother in law) and so this was a frequently travelled road. It was a girl’s boarding school as well! It was around seven in the evening and dusk was falling. As we cycled from his house to mine, we heard terrific music coming from the school basketball court on the other side. We could not look in as a three-foot high strip of cloth had been fixed over the wall. We did remember however, hearing a few weeks prior to that evening,that the very famous Uma Pocha (sister of the singer Usha Uthup ) would be performing at a dance at this venue . So here we were. The dance was due to start in an hour or so – the band were tuning up their instruments and there was some great free music for two bored teens to listen to – what more could we ask for. However, some added excitement was the need of the hour and that is what we got pretty soon. In order to get a better view of what was going on inside, we rested our bikes against the wall and climbed up. Then by standing on tip toe and pulling the cloth down we had a bird’s eye view of the proceedings . The band members ( the Neophiliacs - whom we recognized and who were the top band in Allahabad ) were busy with their instruments –they were in black suits and bow ties and we envied their luck , round tables with pristine white table cloths , chairs draped with red and white scarves , candles on the tables , balloons and miscellaneous decorations , coloured lights , strobes , the powdered dance floor and Uma Pocha testing the mike in her husky voice – check – check – mike testing one , two three ………. So, this was the good life. We on the other hand were in shorts and T shirts and looking scruffy , sunburnt and sweaty after playing in the sun all day - I had a ladies bike ( I have written about this lovely bike before) , while my pal had a gents bike with no mudguards – he wanted it to look like a racing bike !– I am giving you all these minute details just so that you can compare us with the privileged ones inside ! After surveying the scene for some time, boredom set in and so we decided to raise the bar & take things to the next level. Not sure whose bright idea this was but will not apportion blame . Looking back on this incident decades later I wonder why we were so stupid and why we did what we did in the first place . We got down from the wall, picked up some very tiny pebbles, climbed up back again ( it was quite a struggle as I was short ) and then began throwing the pebbles at the drum set and speakers which were quite close to the wall . We giggled each time we hit the target . We missed and we hit and we missed and we hit. This carried on for about fifteen or twenty minutes. No damage was done but people inside obviously knew that something was amiss across the wall as some pebbles landed on and near the band members as well. Then as we climbed up for the umpteenth time to continue the mischief, all hell broke loose. There was shouting , dozens of men could be heard running down the road in heavy boots calling out to each other ,torch beams zig zagged in all directions , searching for the miscreants on the dark walls , there were shouts of “ catch them “ and “ beat them” in Hindi . We stood no chance against the oncoming assault.( There was some abuse as well but I will leave that out ) My friend jumped down, got onto his cycle and sped off. I was caught and dragged off the wall. One or two canes rained down on by backside - meanwhile my pal, not seeing me, returned! That’s what good friends are for, I guess. He was also caught and we were both smacked and kicked a few times. Then there was the walk of shame and we were pushed & dragged into the school campus through the front gate. What we did not know at that time was that an hour prior to our indiscretion , someone else had pelted the band with large stones and the guards were on the look out from that time – that is how we were nabbed immediately . By now the dance was about to start and there was excitement in the air. The band had struck up a waltz. Well-dressed ladies and gents were walking in, hair set , make up in place , holding hands, smiling and chatting. The scent of their perfume and cologne wafted in our direction. Some looked with disdain as a few guards surrounded & questioned us in anger and everyone could sense there was some confusion. Our families were quite well known in Allahabad and some people who knew us walked by, thankfully without recognizing us. The icing on the cake was us being made to hold our ears and sit on the pavement. At that moment I wished that the earth had opened and swallowed us whole. We were told that the police would be there shortly, and we would be sent to jail. I was terrified and shed a few tears – poor me! Amidst all this tension a bright idea struck me ( I thought it was bright at that time ) . I told the two guards watching over us that we had just thrown one or two pebbles for fun and above all we had no bad intentions as the band members knew us very well and they would vouch for us as we were from respectable families – I also told them to confirm that fact from anyone in the band ( this was the truth by the way and band members knew us ) The band leader who was passing by at that very time was asked if he knew us – I could not believe it when he looked directly at us & said NO! Either he was drunk, angry or blind or a combination of the above. Even at that tender age my temper boiled, and I would have smacked him if he were nearer! Then an angel in the form of the main sponsor of the dance passed by – he was a big shot in the city and later became a Member of Parliament. He looked at two scruffy boys sitting on the pavement in the bright lights – asked what had happened – probably felt sorry and told the guards to free us and usher us out. He warned us never to be seen in that area again that evening. (We would never dare) We were shoved out rather roughly, scurried to find our cycles where we had left them and slunk home. You can bet , we never got into such mischief ever again .