Dharam Yuddh - 5

“A hearty welcome to everyone once again, who has decided to join us in today’s Kabaddi match between our dear Sandhu of PPS,” A loud cheer drowned Sahni’s introduction, “And Pavan from KHS who has quite frankly stolen our hearts with his graceful fighting and constant tying with our captain!” 

I smiled. This was a nice introduction. Everyone cheered for me as well. I turned around and saw Sarathi beckoning me over.

“You don’t have to take off your clothes if you don’t want to. I can tell-”

“No, it’s alright.” I took my shirt and pants off, as some PPS boys started laughing at me. “We need to finish what we started. Properly.”

Sarathi gazed at me fondly and nodded. Vijay sighed. 

“Sarathi, I wish Sandhu could have asked you to fight.”

Sarathi spluttered.

“What? Why?”

Vijay didn’t answer but looked despondently at Sarathi’s chest. He shook his head with a great disappointment.

“Missed opportunity.”

“For who?”

Vijay looked at me as a smile tugged at his mouth. 

“Sandhu, of course.”

Sarathi burst out laughing and pushed Vijay, who grinned and gave me a thumbs up. 

I turned and walked over to the grounds, as Sahni finished the introductions and allowed us to begin the match. I had lost the final point last evening so it was my turn first. I touched the line and started reciting the key-syllables, slowly charging at Sandhu, who death-glared at me. I knew that glare. It was the one I gave Sarathi when I was angry at his smile. I laughed.

“What the heck are you laughing about?” He tensed up and slammed me down before I could even touch the target line. I flipped him over somehow and ran back to my side. He huffed loudly.

“You’re becoming a cheat. Influenced by Sarathi.”

I shrugged, and panted.

“What can I do? Sarathi’s a great influencer.”

Sandhu touched the line and rushed at me, slamming me onto the ground again. We tossed around for a couple times before he started to lose his breath. He punched at me, almost desperate to break my nose or face or something. I smiled again.

“You’re tired of fighting my face, aren’t you?”

He grunted and pushed me back onto the ground. I pushed at him outwards, a little too hard however as he landed back on his line.

He laughed mockingly at me. 

“You still can’t fight.”

I stood up and brushed the sand off my face.

“Hey, I’m not tired of fighting.” I bent down to touch the line. “I can last the whole day.” 

We ended up at halftime with the match still holding a steadfast tie. I walked to my sidelines, where Vijay and Sarathi passed me some water and an apple. 

“Pavan, I like this change.” Vijay winked at me. “You’re almost smiling like Sarathi.”

I adamantly shook my head. 

“Hai, bro. Leave me out of Sarathi’s smile.” I took a bite of the apple. It gave a beautiful and satisfying crunch sound. “I’m happy with my normal smile.”

Sarathi laughed, and folded his arms. 

“Pavan, are you missing something?”

I sighed and nodded. Of course Sarathi had seen me through. He continued with a nod and his usual smile.

“You know this, but I am just reminding you… Dharam is on your side, and your side only.”

I smiled back at Sarathi. Of course, I knew and I understood that perfectly now.

I walked back onto the grounds, my hands on my hips, nonchalantly drawing a random marking on the sand with my big toe. Sandhu stormed up and brushed it away.

“We’re not here for a drawing competition.” He scowled, and immediately touched the line, starting the second half. The resting Sahni stood up hurriedly and whistled, indicating the beginning of the round. 

As Sandhu circled me like a hawk eyeing its prey, I decided I wasn’t going to be his prey today. I remembered when Mohini, Sena and Rihanna had strolled through the halls of PPS three mornings ago, and the girls of the school had looked to Sandhu with fear as he gazed upon them with annoying and provoking eyes, filled with what could only be evil intentions. Contrastingly, I remembered the way the girls of Kurukshetra had looked up to Dharam with trust and admiration as he respectfully gave them his ideas about their welfare and was open to their points of interest as well, with his genuine smile and caring eyes.

I remembered the way Sandhu threatened those uninvolved students whose only crime was to eat their lunch, and the way Dharam had started a free breakfast club before first period for underprivileged students who skipped breakfast to get to the school on time. Many times Dharam would skip our group study sessions as he would be working long hours at his father’s friend’s pharmacy. 

People were fooled into believing they respected Sandhu, and Dharam, who should have been the true recipient of respect, was pushed out of the picture.

Now, Sandhu terrorised this cluster of schools in an unfair reign, and he still had the chance to never let Dharam get his worthy position.

Yet somehow, by a trick of fate, this great dictator was stuck against silly, little Pavan Sinha, Class 11B from Kurukshetra High, fighting away at an ongoing Kabaddi match, watched with bated breaths by an increasing live and online audience he had invited, alongside the sun setting on that warm summer evening, a day before the annual leave began.

I smiled. My Dharam that day was not to win the match. It was to take away the unreasonable fear for Sandhu that lay in everyone's hearts, and to show everyone the difference between fear and respect. 

~ ~ ~

I ran up to Sarathi and grabbed his left wrist, panting to myself. Vijay dabbed at some scratch marks on my shoulder and back.

“Forty minutes? One point has been going on for forty minutes?” I sighed and looked up at the sky. Sarathi looked at the ground with a clenched jaw.

“Pavan…”

I turned to him and nodded.

“I know, I have to keep fighting.” I turned to walk back to the centre, when he put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me. He looked into my eyes with deep, loving eyes.

“Do you know how to play Kabaddi?”

I grinned sheepishly and shook my head, as Sarathi laughed.

“Something about it just makes sense.”

“Pavan, you do know the rules of Kabaddi. Just remember it.”

I glanced at his little smile, his eyes sparkling. Vijay gaped at us, his mouth shaped perfectly an ‘o’. He grabbed my shoulder as I turned to go back. 

“Pavan, did you understand what he said?”

I shrugged. 

“We’ll see.”

I walked back onto the centre with folded arms. It hadn’t been half time, but simply a two-minute break I had taken. Sandhu had used those two minutes to rub some more oil onto his various body parts. I laughed to myself. It wasn’t like the oil helped him in any way as I could still grab him and push him to the floor with ease. He stood back up on seeing me return to the middle and grinned sneakily, walking towards me rubbing his hands together. 

“Forty minutes!” He leant forward and grabbed some sand, throwing it dramatically onto himself like Bahubali. I laughed to myself again. 

“I am going to finish you off this round.”

I shrugged and leant forward, brushing my hands on the sand slowly. 

Sandhu must have not liked my silence as he charged at me with gritted teeth and fell upon me, pinning me to the ground. I remembered Sarathi’s words. This wasn’t part of Kabaddi! This was wrestling. 

“So be it, Sandhu.” I whispered into his ears and rolled him over to his side, landing myself firmly on him and pushing him down. His little muttering of the syllables were barely audible but Sahni was too afraid to make him lose marks for not speaking them clearly. I laughed into Sandhu’s murmuring face, partially on the ground and struggling to get back up.

“I can’t hear you!”

Sandhu grunted heavily and pushed me off, as I tripped and fell a distance away and he stumbled back to his line. I panted. This was my time, he was unready, looking back at me expecting me to lay still and accept my fate of constant tying. I was not going to let him get this point. I stood up and raced towards him. I grasped him from the back in a big bear hug and fell onto my back. A large “Oof!” went throughout the crowd as we all heard a loud crack. Sandhu hurriedly turned his face in discomfort and looked at me with, what I was pleasantly surprised to see, a little hint of worry.

“Was that your rib cage?”

Sahni stood up and whistled, as I grinned back at Sandhu. I nodded and rested my head back onto the ground. Sandhu realised where he was, dangling in the air, still caught in my tight embrace, a hundred and eighty centimetres away from the line. He pushed my hands away and stood up panting, looking around and understanding the soft smile on Sahni’s face as he applauded slowly and nodded, the cheers which had risen in perfect harmony throughout the watching crowd like a Mexican wave dance. Sandhu scoffed as he stepped back and brushed back his hair. He had lost not because of an exceptional show of brawn by this lanky eleventh standard student whose only form of exercise was the sun salutation rounds. Sandhu had forgotten the main rule of Kabaddi. 

Never stop repeating the syllables “Ka-ba-di”.

He turned his head to me and stood watching my chest rise and drop with struggle for a little while, after which he limped forward and bent down, passing me his hand with a graceful grin.

“Good game, Pav-”

“Get away from him, you big bully!” 

I pushed myself up in intrigue of seeing this last-minute defender, who had arrived at the scene after everything was over, like those useless police officers in Bollywood cinema. I grinned upon seeing Dharam race up to the centre of the field, push Sandhu out of the way, and lift me up. My grin widened as I saw Dharam let out two strands of tears.

“Don’t cry, Dharam. I’m alright.”

“My foot, you are! I could hear your bones break from the very back!”

I looked him in the face. 

“You-you were here the whole time?”

Dharam stood me up and walked me over to the side, where Sarathi and Vijay hustled over, joining us. 

“Yes. Yes I was.” He blushed for some reason and sat me on his cycle. He turned to Sarathi and Vijay and glared at them.

“Are you both happy now?”

Sarathi and Vijay looked at each other, and then grinned at me.

“Of course, we are!” Vijay punched Dharam’s arm. “You are the next class president for sure!”

Dharam shook his head and got onto his cycle, kicking it so that the right pedal came up. He started backing out silently as Sarathi followed and kept a hand on the handlebars.

“Dharam, do you think he did this for you?”

Dharam furrowed his eyebrows and squinted at Sarathi, then turning to me with the same confused look.

“No?”

I shook my head softly and smiled at Sarathi. Dharam blinked blankly at me and chuckled at Sarathi.

“What have you done to him?”

The bumps on the road to the clinic next to the bookshop were unexpectedly comfortable, as I leant my head on Dharam’s shoulders and eavesdropped on Sarathi and Vijay cycling alongside and arguing about what movie Sarathi should take Roohi and Satya out to watch. Dharam smiled softly at me through the mirrors and I closed my eyes and held the broken bones in my ribcage with a light grasp. It was a perfect end to a perfect, eventful week.