First Meeting with Mr. Narayan
It was a hot afternoon; the tempers were soaring at every corner of the dilapidated chawl as I made my way towards Mr. Narayan’s abode. A bespectacled bachelor in his late fifties opened the door with a gentle smile on his face.
“I have been expecting you for a while now. What took you so long?”, he replied as he bolted the door.
I stood near the door perplexed about what was happening. I never took an appointment though and this man here claims that he was expecting me. Strange.
“How many spoons of sugar would you like?”, Dadu asked. Mr. Narayan was fondly called that by the kids in the chawl. He was there go-to person for any problem they faced and he would be there to sort it out with their respective parents.
“Sorry, I just had my share of tea, a while ago”, I replied while wondering to myself, maybe the Godman only saw big things in the future. A man standing near the tapri with a tea cup in his hand might not be of much interest.
He nodded as he made a cup of tea for himself and sat opposite to me with an unnecessary smile on his face. It all felt like a façade where everything was shown to be nice but in reality, they were no different than everyone around. However, in the case of Dadu Narayan, he was a unique piece in himself.
“So Ryan, tell me, what can I do for you?”
“You can start by telling me your journey. You were a retired railway employee, a couple of years back and now you are the face of the rising cult in the suburbs of the city. How did you make it here?”
There was a knock on the door. He smiled again as he stood up and went to address the little kid in the red t-shirt with a decapitated batman figurine in his hand. Narayan asked to excuse himself as he lent his ear to the boy to chatter his problem to him. After he had finished listening to the issue, he walked towards the kitchen, brought out an orange candy, and handed it to the little boy, who was waiting patiently in the corner with his head bowed down.
“Yes, Mr. Ryan. What were you saying?”
“Your journey”, I reminded.
“Yes. Yes. Ryan, do you see me as a Godman?”
“Does it matter, what I think?”, I responded.
“Yes, it does. Especially you.”
“Me? I am just a nobody, why me?”
Dadu smiled as he leaned back and started to narrate his side of the story.
“It would be wrong if I say that the religious awakening was more of a sudden occurrence, it has always been there since childhood. It’s more like a way of life for me.”
He paused for a brief moment and continued, “If a person remains selfless and helps people overcome their struggles through the almighty’s teachings, they often simplify them as God. Everyone knows the teachings but they don’t really know how to apply it. I just help them with that, nothing more, nothing less.”
“A facilitator?”, I enquired.
“Yes, Ryan. A facilitator. It’s people’s gratitude and their overtly simplifying nature, that they have started to revere me as a God. I am just a humble servant.”
Humble servant, okay. I often hear that now and then, I wondered to myself.
“Can you throw some light on the allegations that had surfaced a couple of days ago, of you being involved in drug trafficking? Is it true?”, I enquired.
“Do you believe them, Ryan?”
“Can you please answer?”, I stressed.
“I saw you near the tapri for the last couple of days. I even know that you have been inquiring about me with everyone around.”
He paused as he got up and poured the leftover tea from the container on to the cup. “Have it, I know you didn’t have it today.”
I was surprised and taken aback by the gesture as words fumbled out me, “Why did you choose me? I know your people aren’t friendly with the journalists and haven’t allowed one to be present around.”
“Yet you’re here”, Dadu smiled.
“Exactly, why me?”
Mr. Narayan walked towards the almirah, grabbed a familiar-looking paper plane from the top shelf, and handed it over to me.
“All in good time”, he whispered.
Period.
rroopeshkumar 