Mitron Dilliwala Read online

  All he had was a smile.

  She thanked and left.

  He ran towards Ayesha and picked the phone up from her to answer it.

  Chapter 3

  Kadavur village, Tamilnadu

  A drone was wheezing past the lush green crops. It crossed a cloth that had been hung between two coconut trees with a title made from vegetable colors, “Save Our Seeds”.

  People were flocking in and taking their positions in front of a stage made from bamboo shoots.

  An 80-year old man, Perunkilli, dressed in dhoti and cloth turban was addressing the crowd,“..Seeds are a package of culture, history, microclimate and region”s diversity. In the pursuit of productivity, we are losing diversity. It”s dangerous. Most of us have realized it by now. We should take this opportunity to thank farmers and volunteers who took part in this movement to recover and sustain 276 varieties of rice. More is on the way..”

  There was a vibrant cheer from the crowd.

  Acknowledging it, the old man continued, “We need to spread more awareness among people. Take it to more people and as a part of it, each of the attendants will be given 2 kg of seeds. Take it to your land, grow them, save seeds and each of you shall bring back 2 kg next year.

  ”

  One man in his 50”s walked next to Perunkilli and whispered something into his ear. Perunkilli”s face changed as he walked down the ramp and went to the shed that housed the seeds packed in cloth bags to be distributed to the workshop attendees. As he was close, he was able to notice police jeeps strutted around. Policemen with their lathis (batons) were keeping the crowd at bay and a few laborers were hauling the stored seed bags into the police minivan.

  With seething anger, Perunkilli went towards the head inspector and said, “We are doing this with local panchayat”s permission and we are not doing anything illegal. We grew this, this belongs to us, we can give it anyone, and you cannot stop us nor plunder our seeds.”

  The Inspector, as if waiting for him to finish, said, “The order has come from Central Government and we are just following it.”

  “What are you talking about? When did this happen?”

  The inspector was about to give it to Perunkilli but he preferred that it be read aloud

  “Hereby, according to Food Preservation and Provision Act, under Union government, all seeds either native, grown or hybrid belongs to the Government and all those parties interested in growing food must secure permission from a locally appointed officer and buy seeds.”

  “What is this?”, Perunkilli was in shock.

  “It was passed last night.”, replied the Inspector.

  “So much for a majority Government, eh..” said Nedunallan.

  There was commotion among the crowd. Perunkilli had to persuade the crowd to be calm and asked the Inspector, “What do you eat?”

  “Huh..Huh ..What do you mean by what you eat?” he carried a sarcastic tone.

  “This is just a ploy to destroy the last of native seeds in the hands of commoners and handover the proceeds to a few people who in turn can make money from selling seeds. They would go on to alter it genetically to a point where it cannot be used more than once, even if did it will be infertile.

  We have a practice called “Kuthir” that involves saving seeds in mud and cow dung to be used for harvest in the next season. We have been practicing it for generations and these people are planning to take it away from us.”

  The crowd surrounding the police was turning into a mob with every passing second.

  “A day will come when our help will be needed. This has 1966 written all over it. Back in 1966 rare native rice varieties were taken away from farmers and in the name of contributing to gene bank, everything was given to International Rice Research Institute in Philippines without bothering to keep few for ourselves and even relinquishing rights to ownership.”, said Perunkilli.

  The crowd was in a mood to retaliate but Perunkilli let the inspector take the seeds. As the Minivan faded into the distance, Nedunallan, a tall guy, who was standing next to Perunkilli asked him.

  “Why did we let them go?”

  Perunkilli looked at him and said, “These are dogs, we should talk to the master.” And he dialed from a landline.

  “It would be easy if we had a smartphone.”, Nedunallan asked him.

  “Tell that to the dead birds.”, replied Perunkilli.

  The phone rang on the other side..

  A lady picked up the call and said, “CM”s Office.”

  “Perunkilli”, he said.

  Chapter 4

  A day after the incident, Parliament house, Delhi

  It was a confluence of colors and people. The hall was filled with Kurta Pyjamas, Jute hats, Silk Shirt and Dhoti, Sarees, Churidhars, Lehengas. There was a clear division of groups among them. There were Ultra Nationalists, Hyper Nationalists and Nationalists.

  As it always happens in the parliament, the left and right were divided. It started with their seating.

  Nalan, 45-year old man, Tamilnadu”s CM just finished talking over the phone and he carried a sullen expression on his face. Watching his expression, the first one to reach him from across the table was Sekar Tollupudi, Telangana CM followed by Thamburan, Shehelawat and Amravati. They were respective CM”s of Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

  Nalan said, “They did it”.

  “Did what?”, asked Amravati.

  It took a moment for Sekar to understand it. He took his phone and dialed a number. Sekar too carried a similar expression after finishing his call. Thamburan called his secretary and inquired what was happening.

  “I don”t know yet, Sir. Will check”, and he took his phone from his breast pocket.

  “The Prime Minister of India on the floor”, announced the Dawali.

  Everybody stood up. Nalan and Sekar took their own time to stand up.

  Amol Gupta, the Home Minister, was walking next to Prime Minister and he took a note of it. His face had irritation written all over it. Sekar leaned close to Nalan and said, “You like irking him”, and laughed.

  Everybody sat and there was an invisible line with 29 State CM”s and 7 Union Territories that had a clear demarcation line that marked the southern part of India as they were sitting next to each other.

  “Thank you for coming here on such short notice”, said the PM Kishore Mangat.

  “Let”s get to the point. After a series of discussions, the Union Government have made an unanimous decision to take control of managing forests, education and agriculture.”

  There was a collective gasp among the members gathered there. He continued.

  “Our intelligence has been collecting information on these departments, I am sorry to say this but we will have to take control in order to ensure stability.”

  “What do you mean by stability?”, asked Nalan.

  “We need an unified Education system so that the next generation will be provided to start uniformly. We want to build a nation with a single language that will help us March towards prosperity and an economy that will be inclusive.”, Kishore addressed.

  “We are not getting it”, said Npongong Chief Minister of Meghalaya who collectively represented Seven Sister States.

  “Here we go again.. Talking about inclusivity…”, Amravati thought to herself.

  “What about the languages we speak? Should we all talk in a single language?”, asked Sekar.

  It was not right in any way to interrupt while PM was talking but the CM”s had to question them as they started to feel increasingly isolated with Union government”s policies and abrupt decision making.

  “Someone will have to make a sacrifice for our nation to grow”, said Home Minister.

  “Then Sacrifice your language”, said Sekar.

  “Do you even realize the implications behind a single language? How do you expect the people to say yes to this? This is madness.”, said Thamburan.

  Those who represented PM”s party were silent till this point. Now the
y started revolting at the mention of the word madness.

  Unfazed Nalan continued, “Yes. It”s madness. Madness. Madness... Stupidity. People, we are being distracted from an immediate problem. You have ordered state secretaries to take hold of granaries and seeds that are native to the region. Even your people have taken control of the seed bank in SOS organization in Kadavur, a small village in Tamilnadu which has been actively promoting the use of traditional seeds for decades now.”

  “Didn”t we tell you? Not just in Tamilnadu. Nallamala seed bank in Telangana, Vishakapatna Seva trust in Andhra Pradesh, Save Seeds Organization from Wayanad, Kerala, even our North Eastern counterparts were not informed about this. But nothing has been taken away from Rajasthan, Bihar or West Bengal Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.“, said Npongong.

  “Why did you spare them and not us, our people?”, asked Sekar.

  There was an increasing distrust in the air.

  “That was a necessity. We did not want to raise any alarms or raise suspicion, that”s why?”, said Amol.

  “No. you invited us here to inform us, not consult with us.”, yelled Nalan.

  “Remember the five southern states are ruled by our Agrarian party, Odisha and Maharashtra too are with us in this. You can”t just do this and walk away, you are going to face the consequences and they are going to be bad.”, said Amravati, and that was a warning, her tone implied it.

  “Stop it Stop it!” Said Kishore. He looked at Amol and motioned him to calm down.

  “We have a misunderstanding here. We are here to sort out our differences not to expand them. Let”s talk.

  ”

  By this point, Danaseva Party members (PM”s party) and CM”s started throwing abuses at Nalan and Sekar. The house was in chaos.

  The security had to be called in to escort the southern states Chief Ministers safely to their vehicles. Media got wind of the debate and started broadcasting news about the whole incident.

  The North Indian channels added their own version and accused Nalan and Sekar in eliciting the event. But one small channel with a negligible TRP mentioned insignificant news, “Delhi”s CM had to forego this meeting as he had to tackle the public and score brownie points among his voters in the upcoming assembly elections, he is betting big on curbing the smog that has been plaguing Delhi every winter.

  With a ruling party in the center vying to take over the Capital”s territories for themselves like a hungry wolf, he has taken the right step. It seems that they have a solution to solve the riddle. We will have to wait and watch”, an anchor reported.

  South channels celebrated this walkover from Parliament house as defiance and great victory.

  Only the people who were watching it didn”t realize that something unexpected was turning their heads on.

  It was tiny, unseen and utterly unpredictable.

  Chapter 5

  Bhatinda, Punjab

  The farmland has been prepared for the occasion. Mountains of leftover organic wastes from harvest, or the so called stubble, has been gathered from all around Bhatinda and added up to the pile. The pile of stubble was 30 feet tall and resembled an artificial mountain. In order to keep it contained, a temporary containment chamber was raised around the stubble.

  A huge stage had been built and dignitaries from Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi graced the stage. Delhi”s CM Bipul Sharma had a wide smile across his face. He was talking to a man dressed in a Black Armani Suit. Bipul was the center of attention among Media and the security had to cage them. Hasan was given a seat close to the stage. He had to fake a laugh to those who were trying to network with him.

  Yashwant Hegde, CEO of Yocon, walked up to the Diaz and held the mic, tapped it twice. He was short and the mike had to be adjusted to his height.

  “People of Bhatinda..!! Hereafter, you need not worry about the pollution in Delhi. Nobody is going to accuse fellow villagers of burning their stubble.”

  He realized the folly in his words and there was a pause.

  “After years of research, we have come up with a solution that”s fail-proof. I present you, our Chief Researcher, Hasan..”

  He looked at him and called him to the stage, Hasan denied it first and clasped his hands together and signaled no but he insisted. Hasan came up to the stage and Yashwant hugged him.

  “Our company would have gone to the ground if Hasan had not come to us at the right time. We were sinking, Hasan was our lifeboat. I am honored to have him work for me. All of this was his idea”, he concluded and got down. There was a sound applause.

  And now it was Bipul”s turn to take the stage.

  Dressed in a traditional white kurta, a staple from his anti-corruption movement days, he believed in proper governance but he was besieged by political vendettas that he was never ready to face. Somehow he managed to keep his party afloat amidst all controversies. There were moments when he thought of giving up but by this time he was spent. This project was his Light at the end of the tunnel for him. There were numerous hurdles even for a man of his power of position and caliber.

  Since Delhi has been suffering constant pollution which no government or its policies had been able to solve, United Nations has labeled it as the worst city to live in. He took it up with his team to change the status quo and betted heavily on the Odd-Even car scheme. It didn”t work much, as it had its takers, bypassers and naysayers. Desperate for a solution, an intern who was working with the party suggested the use of biotechnology to curb the pollution. One thing led to another, after consulting with his Think Tank, he flew on his own to Bangalore and met Yashwant three years back. Hasan and his team worked on it and here he was. He held the mic firmly.

  “Yaroon.. My friends, here we are, at this historical point. A start, for a greater life where all of us can co-exist without blaming each other forever. Till this point, there was a debate among intellectuals and common public alike, that farmers in Haryana and Punjab should be held responsible for the pollution situation in Delhi, for killing people.

  No. No, No... Many were asking questions about why farmers are not letting it decompose naturally.

  Not many can understand the reason behind this, it”s simple. It”s about a simple return on investment economics. It takes a lot of time for it to decompose naturally, so it”s human nature to get faster returns. So our fellow farmers took the easy way, burn them and get rid of them. And of course the government could have done it, collecting it from farmers and decomposing it, but it was not feasible, again basic economics.

  But everything must come to an end. Following our model, the world”s biggest cities are going to use this. I have not revealed what”s the plan yet!, Yes…

  With the help of Yocon engineers, a super bacteria have been created. I have been promised that this bacteria has a high metabolism, in other words, a kilogram of bacteria can decompose ten tons of stubble in a single day.

  Not bad for a tiny organism, It”s good. Actually great.”

  He drank water from a bottle and continued his speech. “Once this proves successful, we will spread it far and wide across the nation. Delhiites are in for a surprise winter.”

  As he continued his speech, he was elated and representatives from the Central Government. The Minister of Forests, who was supposed to be at Chief Minister”s conference held in Delhi was forced to be here in order to showcase that ruling central government and Delhi”s government are in this together.

  In reality, they weren”t. They were clawing at each other for blood.

  But this was a cautious move in order to inform the people of Delhi that they are not fighting each other. “All this cozying will last only until the elections, after that I will crush this bastard with my bare knuckles.”, thought the MoF.

  “Now we are going to make history”, and he waved his hand.

  There was a huge LED television that displayed the events taking place a Kilometer and a half away from the stage. Employees of Yocon, who had been waiting all day for the theatre drill to be over,
were finally relieved. They would not call that a Dumpyard but it had a compound, a laboratory. They called it a controlled environment.

  They connected a pipe from a huge tanker that was fitted to a spherical wall within which the stubble was held.

  “And once the bacteria was loaded, it will start its work at night. It works under the cover of darkness. We are going to witness pollution-free Delhi.”

  There were claps and hooting all over. Bipul left the stage followed by his colleagues.

  People, who were expecting a colorful light display by the bacteria, were feeling cheated, except for the triumphant burning of crackers, which was an irony. Hasan, who was waiting for all of it be over so that he can go back to work, left immediately after CM”s speech.

  As Bipul got down to address the media, they started throwing in questions

  “Why did you choose to do this close to election time?”

  “If you had done this year or two earlier, 560 people would not have died from breathing-related illnesses? More than 10000 people would not have suffered from Bronchitis, lung disorders if you had fast-tracked this project?”

  “What is the cost of this project?”

  “Why didn”t Punjab or Haryana”s CM did not join you for this event?”

  “Do you think this stunt will help win the elections?”

  “Did the PM avoid your invitation to this event?”

  “Why weren”t you invited for PM”s meet that is taking place at Delhi?”

  “What if this fails? Will people accept you?”

  “What”s your take on Central Government”s move to retain control of forestry, agriculture and native seeds?”

  “What is the name of this bacterial species?”, the reporters were huddling for answers.

  Bipul was a pro at this, he was calm.

  “We have named the bacteria “Mitron””

  The reporters bursted into laughter.

  “You can laugh, but I am not taking a dig at anyone. Since this bacteria is going to be that “Friend in need” for Delhiites, It”s been named “Mitron Dilliwala””