Madrakshash Chapter 3

The Rally of the Carnivores

On the outskirts of Bagdaon, a large thickly populated town in the state of Kudira, the State Administration organised a fair so that different warring factions can arrive on a truce. The elections were approaching. Various political parties were rallying their vote bases. An atmosphere of lies & deceits, fun & excitement, rags & riches was in the air. Yesterday's unknowns were becoming heroes and today's names were soiled to the limits of insanity. The atmosphere was wrapped up in blood and stained with dacoity. The spoilers and soilers thought that people didn't know much. Those who knew something didn't gather up enough courage and those who could muster up some courage either ended up in ditches or caught up between political games. There wasn't any need to hush up voices. People have had enough of a generations of incapable rulers. A new incapable ruler won't catch their attention. Moreover, they were stuck in a swamp of poverty and illiteracy. The swamp was as thick and deep as evil itself. The murky waters of the swamp held more secrets than the fortunes of all the Kubers put together. The swamp glued people to where they were. Even the bravest and the most intelligent ones could not escape it's grasp. Seeing this, people gave up the fight altogether and accepted their fate. They were in no mood to fight any other outside nuisance. This fact was known across political circles very well. Those vying for power knew that there would not be any popular resistance to their way of plundering the land. Afterall they were the masters. Someone had to come forward to rule and there they were. They themselves couldn't be sure of when their yearning for power turned into greed for power. Power has an infatuating experience. No drug is as ecstatic as power. So, the usual case went like this. Most people accepted their fate and a few fought for power amongst themselves, in a shameless way. 

A fair in Badgaon was not just a fair. It was a well calculated timing to set off their political brawl. Badgaon was famous for being the epicenter of drug trade. The trade the drugs was so much profitable that yesterday's pickpockets who became drug peddlers started living like kings. The competition for such trade also went up humongously. Every big criminal, trader, politician, businessman etc put their lot to control this trade. Whoever has Badgaon had the choke point of the nation's finances. In every elections, politicians could mobilise millions from this town alone. The fair was one such event to gather all the warring factions and negotiate a fix amount for political donations. No one could afford mistrust and what other than open air could dispell it, without bloodshed?

 Badgaon was kept away from news, people and world. Politicians were fattened with so large an amount of money. Why would they complain? Moreover, some cunning politicians burnt their fingers by attempting to control the trade, and they were never heard of again, not even their families could be found. They were as good as dead because not a single piece of evidence could be gathered about their existence. Their whole clan was wiped out from the earth. That was a lesson which no politician could ignore. From then on, politics and drug cartels had arrived on a professional contour. Drug cartels gave a lot of money and in return, were given free pass. That fair was one of their signature style of the professional relationship. At that day, people came to the fair, as usual, unaware about the significance of the events going to happen then. People knew about drug trade. People knew everything. Yet, they turned themselves cold against the happenings. They knew the consequences. And, afterall, the fair was one of a happy thing in their impossible lives. Why would they refuse one moment of light in their long night of darkness? 

Everyone arrived finally. There were safe arrangements for their negotiations. Everyone knew the drill and it was of no great significance to anyone. They still arrived so that they could cut out a deal with less pay. During the negotiations, one of the drug cartel could not reach the deal. It's representative hastened out in anger. This was so unusual for everyone. Even when the representative was leaving, nobody could say anything. It was as if all of them weren't prepared for such turn of events. Signalling some danger, all the guards came into promot action. The remaining representatives of other drug cartels and politicians sensed the heat and started making calls to their bosses. The atmosphere became tense in no time. On the other side, people were unaware of the new change of events. They were rejoicing, buying, eating, laughing. Some children were giggling on the swings. Some women were vomiting down on the sky swing. None knew what was about to come. They got a meeting fixed with the evil itself. The news of a walkout had already reached the bosses. It had been long since anything of that gravity happened on this neutral ground. Politicians and officers made quick arrangements for safe custody of  their families. The other drug cartels ordered mobilisation of their troops. More vehicles, weapons and men started arriving on the ground. The bosses cancelled all their appointments for unknown times. People in the fair also sensed some unusual change in the surroundings. The fair was abruptly cancelled and people were hawked back to their homes. 

The representative of the drug cartel which walked out belonged to " the Moruga", the greedy ones. The Morugas were feudatories of the old empires. Democracy brought some changes which were not acceptable to them. When their lands were being transferred to the government, they unleashed a reign of terror on their population. The government had to intervene and most of their lands were distributed amongst their kins, as a gesture of compromise. These feudatories were eyeing at the prized Kingdom before the struggle for independence. Soon after independence, the kingdom was dissolved and merged into the nation. Even though they got their lands back yet they were very angry that they lost the kingdom. The new bosses of the cartels shared the same blood and greed of their ancestors. They considered the whole drug trade to be their own inheritance which was illegally occupied by politicians and businesses together. They wanted to get rid of others but they kept waiting for something. On the evening before the walkout, they found that something. The walkout was well planned. The other cartels and politicians knew everything about the Morugas. They knew what was they up for. They kept their eyes and ears open. The government deployed the best of their spies to keep an eye on their movements. For many years, all the spies could send back to their bosses was that the Morugas always felt angry about the way the kingdom slipped out of their hands. Meanwhile, the negotiations were on move. The Morugas bargained and quarelled a lot during the negotiations but then they would be coerced into agreeing on the set amount. The baton of the Morugas were passed onto a new generation. The new ones were well educated and groomed. They weren't as loudmouthed as their predecessors were. The newer ones were quick to reach a negotiation and were pragmatic in their demeanour. The spies also sent report back to their bosses that the quarels became infrequent and grudges were not held as dear as earlier. Seeing all these changes for so many years, everyone else believed that the Morugas were cowed down. Everyone was made to believe in their fabricated lies. Everything was going on smoothly, till that day.