03:02 Read Online Free PDF Page A

thought of it that way.
    ‘Well, the lights always come on soon, so we’ve never had to bother much about that. The longest we’ve needed to run it has been two hours a year ago when the substation had a breakdown.’
    ‘And you’re assuming the lights will come on in a few hours.’
    He stared at me. The thought of anything else happening had clearly not occurred to him.
    ‘Whatever the breakdown is, we have to assume that it will be fixed soon enough.’
    It was Mrs Khatri speaking and I turned to her. Something was bothering me. Back in school, my NCC commandant had told me that every good soldier had an instinct for trouble, that certain something that made him move just when a bullet came his way, or sense when there was an ambush waiting. An instinct that gave maybe a sliver of a second of forewarning—but that was usually enough to save a life in combat. I had been in the infantry wing of the NCC, and he had told me that he saw the same instinct in me. He was another man I had disappointed with my career choice. My decisions may have taken me down a very different path, but those same instincts were kicking in now.
    ‘Mrs Khatri, you know what they say, hope for the best but prepare for the worst.’
    ‘What do you suggest?’
    I realized every eye in the room was trained on me. People were in a celebratory mood after the generator had been fixed and I knew that I was spoiling the mood. Still, I had to say what was on my mind. Something that my parents, teachers and bosses had long told me would keep getting me into trouble unless I watched myself. Well, I had committed myself, and so I went on.
    ‘Why don’t we just keep one lift running and all the other lights out till there is sunlight? If the lights come back by then, we don’t have a problem anyway, but in case they don’t, then at least we’ll be sure to have enough juice to last the night and beyond.’
    A couple of people groaned, perhaps the thought of living for a few hours without fans bothering them, but Mrs Khatri nodded, looking relieved.
    ‘That sounds like a fair suggestion.’
    She nodded at Anil and he rushed out of the room with Nitish to get working. With the lift running, it seemed like every single occupant had come down. My neighbours were there as well, and Mr Guha came over to thank me.
    ‘A man came from the hospital and they’re saying things there are more under control. The doctor will be here in the evening to work on a solution. I was really panicked in the morning when I realized my heartbeat was irregular and that the pacemaker had stopped. Thank you.’
    Several of the women had set up makeshift stalls and were serving drinks and snacks. I heard someone grumbling about cooking gas but I didn’t linger to listen further. Children were racing along the pathway leading to the parking area. Someone had brought along a battery-powered CD player and a couple of the younger folks were dancing to some rap music, much to the visible annoyance of Mrs Khatri. I was standing in a corner, nursing a Coke that someone had handed me. It was lukewarm, but that didn’t matter. It felt like there was a party or a carnival on. It’s amazing how people can be when they don’t have a TV to mindlessly sit in front of, or the internet to surf, or WhatsApp or Facebook to connect with people. Or indeed, in my case, work calls to attend. Without any of those things to do, people were doing what they perhaps did before we got all these electronic crutches—they spent time with each other.
    As the sun slowly began to set and the party intensified, I thought that perhaps, in some ways, the power going was a good thing and it disappearing once in a while like this may actually get people to have more fun.
    Later, that old adage would come back to me: be careful what you wish for.
    It was 6:30 in the evening, and as it began to get dark, I saw renewed signs of worry on people’s faces. Till then, I think most people had not even contemplated