Winds Of Change

The reporters took a few seconds to recover from the effects of the magnetic personality of Swamy Brihannala.

"The huge statue at the entrance, what exactly is that?" asked one of the reporters, looking at Brihannala.

"Oh that, it never ceases to amaze visitors in this ashram," she said with pride. "That is the most mystic form of one of the Gods from our Troika of Gods. It symbolises the union of the powers of a man and woman. Powerful beyond your wildest imagination," she explained in a mystical way. "But, that is not significant. What is important, is the research that we undertake here, in this ashram, to help reduce the effects of some of the most life threatening diseases in the world. I invite you all to take a look at our research facilities and spread the message across the world,” she stated, looking at one of her disciples.

"Please, this way ladies and gentlemen," requested the disciple politely, asking for the reporters to leave the hut now.

Brihannala closed her eyes again, and immersed herself in deep meditation.

Mumbai - Gaekwad House

As Milind sat going through some important papers, there was a call on his private cell phone. He picked up the call and immediately his expression changed from calm to fear and submission. "Hello...." he said, softly into the phone.

He just replied a "yes" in a mute tone till the call ended. And after the call finished, he slouched back on the sofa, his white kurta (shirt) now soaked wet in sweat. He had been asked for supplies again. He would need to make sure that this consignment reached its destination as demanded. He might not be spared another breath of life if it didn't reach the destination.

10 days later, Midnight.

The police patrol stood at the corner of the barricades, well hidden by the trees. They had been asked to check all big vehicles and lorries that plied on the the route to Nagpur, especially those that were coming in, from Mumbai and Pune. Beyond that, there was no other brief about what they were looking for.

Anyways, it was normal. The cops were used to this. As a constable brought tea for the 4 cops present, a huge truck came to a stop, screeching to halt in front of the barricade. The cops walked up to the truck to check the papers and identification of the driver, but, without any provocation the driver pulled out a gun and shot at one of the constables.

The others responded immediately, as they had been trained to do. Within seconds, they had a dead driver inside the truck and a truck full of children aged 7 years to 17 years inside. The cops were baffled as to how they were smuggling so many children without any noise. It was then that they realised that almost all the children had been drugged by an unknown chemical.

Next morning, at the Gaekwad Mansion, as Godha Gaekwad sat down to go through the day’s itinerary with Milind's secretary, Rupa, the cops walked in. Unlike the usual routine of sitting down in the dining area for tea, these cops came in straight up to Godha. Some of them were in plain clothes.

"Where is your son?" one of them demanded in a rough tone.

Godha, who until that moment, was glaring at the cops, for coming into her house so unceremoniously. She passed a sweet smile at that cop. Her eyes though, told a different story altogether. The face and name of this particular officer would register in her mind and she would not rest till she had completely destroyed his life.

"What do you need from him?" she inquired sweetly, however, her eyes looking at him viciously. "We have a warrant for him, for masterminding a child trafficking racket. Ask him to step out,” he screamed.

Godha stood up from her swing, her eyes murderous and her fists clenched hard although her countenance didn’t portray that, the smile on her lips unashamedly intact.

Few hours later, Mrityunjay came running in with the lawyers while the Cops sat waiting to escort Milind to the police station. As Mrityunjay came in, Rupa rushed forward, her face full of anxiety, as though she would start crying any moment. "Have you managed to....” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

"Not yet," reverted one of the lawyers, fear visible in his eyes.

After discussions back and forth, there was no option left. Milind had to go to the police station and let them arrest him.

The party in power had built a water tight case against Milind and it became impossible to get bail too. He was charged under theIndian penal Code of abetting murder of children, kidnapping, human trafficking, child trafficking and various other crimes. But they decided not to handcuff him, so as not to anger his supporters, who had gathered by the thousands outside Gaekwad mansion.

From the rear entrance of the house, Milind Gaekwad was taken to prison. Godha Gaekwad, stood next to her son, her expression stern, her eyes ready to kill but the smile intact on her face. She assured her son, that everything would be OK and that he would be out very soon.

The party members were all meeting inside Gaekwad House after Milind's arrest. The elections were looming and they had a fair chance to WINNING them. They could not let this setback affect them. If they did, then the ruling party would hunt them down one by one and finish them, politically and otherwise. They had to fight the elections, with or without Milind. There was no choice.

Unanimously, they elected Mrityunjay as the leader of the party and the new Chief Ministerial candidate. They would fight the elections under his leadership.

Godha watched in shock how her lifetime's worth of work was destroyed by the power of hungry men of her party, in a matter of minutes. On the outside, she promised her full support to Mrityunjay, but on the inside, she swore revenge. She would destroy him in such a manner that, he would not be able to stand up on his feet, ever again....