Osmania Biscuit XII Part IV: The Ragnarok

Yuge atthavIs Vitevari Ubha, VAmAngi RakhumAi dise divya ShObha,
PundalikAnche Bheti parabrahmAhegA, charaNi vAhe BhImA uddharilE jaga,
Jaya Jaya deva jaya Panduranga, Hari Panduranga,
Rakhumayichya vallabha RAhichya vallabha pAve jivalagA,
jaya deva jaya deva.

There is a flourishing Maharashtrian community in Hyderabad, centering itself in the areas of Koti, Gowliguda chaman, and Sultan Bazaar-Badi chowdi (there is a huge Maharashtrian community in Kalyan nagar colony also, but this not the time to discuss that). And it does its bit to add to the colour, culture and splendourof Hyderabad (or 'Hydhravaad').

The above four lines are taken from Vitthala's aarthi. This is sung with full vigour at the very famous Janglee Vithoba Temple near Gowliguda chaman, the very mention of which reminds me of my cousin Seenu. He is about 5-6 years elder to me, and he is already a Judge (dont ask me what court and all). But before he became a judge, he was once a kid. He was born after his five elder sisters, and he was given a lot of attention and a lot more care. His mother was intensely protective and wary about his well-being. And so it was that he was not allowed to learn even cycle, because of the fear that he may fall down. Young Seenu was better than that. Every evening, he used to tell his mother that he was going to janglee Vithoba Temple, but he used to straight to the "Royal Cycle Taxi" just adjacent to the temple. He practised riding velocipede around the temple premised which acted as a velodrome. After an hour or so, he returned home duly with kunkuma on his forehead and a noticeably big MandAram flower in his ear.

But now, Lingam and Co. found themselves heading exactly to that same temple after getting down from the bus just before Imlibun (which, incidentally, is no longer the biggest bus-station in Asia. The latest one is at Koyambedu, Chennai) and walking along the narrow lanes of the Old city. Though they didnt know it, they were no longer followed by Satyam's men. But there was a more sinister force looking out for them, and unlike the previous case, these men were intent upon inflicting maximum damage to our party here. The Satyam-Killer Gang's Stand-by Members' Association (SKGSMA) did not take the insults of our hero Lingam lightly. They were ready to pursue these people till the end of the world if that is the case.Both the parties reached the temple, and sat down on the platform around the big tree there. Now, there was only one guy from SKGSMA who knew what Lingam looked like, and he was presently relieving himself at that chattakundi a little ahead of where Lingam and party lay.

A few minutes passed, and nothing happened. Presently, the guy who had seen Lingam returned chewing (and spitting) pAn. And he could recognised Lingam from afar and then...
Both the parties saw him,
Both the parties saw each others' faces,
Both the parties nodded, understanding the situation,

While Nagaraj and his wife sprang from the platform in order to run, Lingam just got down, stood up to this full height and clenched his fists. Now, the SKGSMA didnt expect any resistance... They were suddenly in doubt. Nagaraj's wife called out to him, but no reaction. And at that moment, some words escaped Nagaraj in a language he had never heard in his life--

"He is beginning to believe!".

Nagaraj's wife got terrified and both of them ran away, unable to comprehand what just happened. But there was no looking back for Lingam. This was the moment he had been waiting for throughout his life-- To face his archenemy.. none other than Obul Reddy. When they were seated near the tree, Lingam overheard some conversation that astounded him-- That he appeared for EAMCET, and he had got a good rank of 2347, and he was dearly looking for a paid seat in EEE dept. of CBIT. He was late only by 5 minutes but some ^%$*%&* snuk up from behind, and took away his dream.. something he had nurtured since the last 23 days and 47 hours. And so, the dormant volcano in Lingam's heart was suddenly smouldering, ready to burst any time. But he controlled his anger looking at his weak cousin and his wife. No. They wont be able to bear it.

But now, there is was staring menacingly at the three people about 15 paces in front him. Fear, was not an option. He gave a loud shout and started charging (in slow motion) towards them....

Here follows what actually happened because coincidentally (?), Lingam's Osmania Biscuit packet got finished, and he is really not that honest (or even believable) when he is not eating O.B. His version from this part on, is really incoherent and implausible.

So, there we are! Lingam is charging towards Obul and gang. The other two men plainly saw what was going to happen. The guy would charge, and blow away even a sturdy guy like Obul. They plainly looked at each other and vanished from the scene.

And there was Lingam still charging towards Obul. Plainly, Obul was a bit scared, because he was alone now, and he didnt know what Lingam was capable of, in hand-to-hand combat. But something unexpected happened just then. Lingam did not charge directly into Obul. He veered to the left a bit and ran away into the street behind Obul as fast as he ran up towards him. A nonplussed Obul looked here and there, and without thinking, his feet started working themselves up and he started running behind Lingam-- this time, he wont leave him!