Episode 2: PUSHPAK VIMAAN

Rewind…Time: Same day, 12 PM

"Hello, Ma" called out Pushpak, as he entered his humble home in Chintar village.

"Arey Beta (son), I did not notice you come in"

His mother was pleasantly surprised to see Pushpak. She had been washing utensils in the kitchen and had just sat herself down to watch a movie.

She wiped her wet hands on her saari and came forward and hugged her son.

 "Did you get time out from practice?" asked Ma

 "Yes"

 "Did you see the hoardings in the      village? You are everywhere",

said Ma, her eyes welling up with tears of pride.

Yes, he had seen them, it was all too surreal and it had all been such a meteoric rise for him. His life had changed overnight. Two years ago, Pushpak wouldn't have imagined playing in any format of cricket let alone a 20/20 PPL team.

He had of course to thank Nishi for a large part of it. Nishi was his junior, who had come like a ray of sunshine into his life during his sophomore year in college. She had been instrumental in getting him to sign up for the selection at the state level. Yes, the financial help aside, her words of encouragement had been the true pillar of the success he had achieved so far. Even during those difficult days, when his father fought a losing battle against cancer, she stood by him thick and thin, pushing him forward to realize and follow his dream to play cricket.

It was Panchimda who first noticed his talent when Pushpak was probably 10 years old. Pushpak continued to go from strength to strength, he trained hard and he was dedicated to the cause. Pushpak had formidable defense and it was next to impossible to get his wicket. Furthermore, he was a menace with the bat too; he once went on a spree to score consequent 4s and 6s in an over in a friendly match against the Cricket County Club. He stayed on till the very last over, holding onto his wicket but ended up losing the match in spite of an outstanding personal score since it was a one man show as far as his team was concerned. Panchimda was no expert but like any Indian was an avid lover of the sport. The amiable man he was, it took very less effort to convince the coach at the Emperor school, where he worked as a peon, to come and watch Pushpak play. It did not need any further convincing than that because the coach knew talent when he saw it and he knew Pushpak was indeed a diamond in the rough. Ever since then, it had been like a dream ride for Pushpak.

Presently Pushpak's mother was explaining her woes to her son, "Beta, I don't know why you bought this satellite TV. Too many remotes, I don't know how to even get to the channel where your match will be shown today. I am going to watch it at the school instead". He knew she could very well watch the match at the stadium from the VIP gallery but she wanted to be at the village school with her friends and the other village folk, who were nothing short of family to her. The spirit of her husband, the late schoolmaster, would be there too, she believed, watching the match with them.

"It's simple Ma, let me show you" reasoned Pushpak.

"No need, I don't think I will understand" replied Ma. She was too excited and anxious at the same time, and anything explained to her would have just gone over her head under the circumstances.

"By the way Beta did you happen to speak to Nishi recently? It's been a while since I spoke to her. Is she coming to watch you today?" asked Ma

"She promised she would. Let me call her now and follow up. She should be

at the hostel" said Pushpak

Pushpak called up the hostel and asked for Nishi.

To his dismay, he got her friend on the phone instead.

"Nishi left for her home yesterday. Is this Pushpak?" the friend

asked

"Yes" replied Pushpak

"Hey Pushpak, best of luck today. Nishi has gotten us all of us tickets for today's match. We will all be there to cheer you." she shrieked in excitement. Pushpak knew the girls were more enthuse about the opportunity to meet the celebrities and the reigning cricket superstars than watching a rookie play his maiden game.

"Thanks" replied Pushpak and hung up.

He had already tried Nishi's cell phone a few times before and it seemed to be switched off. It did not surprise him, Nishi was highly absent minded and often forgot stuff like that. He knew it would have been easier to get her on the hostel phone. He never tried the home landline since Nishi had told him how her father always eavesdropped on the other line.

He felt a bit disheartened, he would have loved to hear her cheerful voice before his maiden match. Sure she would go on and on, she could be very talkative but there was something so comforting about her childish and wide-eyed candor.

"Ok Ma. I have to get back to practice" he said suddenly realizing that he had just a few hours left before the match. He leaned forward to touch his mother's feet.

"God bless you son, your father will be so proud. Do well" said Ma her choking with tears

"Try to meet Panchimda, if you can" she called out to Pushpak as he was leaving.

"I think he must still be at the school" said Pushpak

"Yes probably, still just drop in and see if he is there" reiterated Ma

As Pushpak stepped out of his house, he was surprised to see that the villagers had already crowded around to catch a glimpse of him and to offer him their prayers and wishes.

"Beta, play well" "Jeetke Aa" they called out

Posters calling him Pushpak Viman were plastered everywhere. He had indeed put his small simple village on the map.

From his house he caught a glimpse of Panchimda's house that was just around the corner, though there seemed to be some sort of ruckus going on. Panchimda's old TV was lying outside on the ground and it had been shattered to pieces while utensils were now being thrown out. Seth's henchmen were at work and Panchimda was obviously not at home.

"What's happening?" he asked as he pushed his way into Panchimda's front yard.

"Son, go play your match. Don't interfere in Seth's business," warned the henchmen.

Poor Panchimda. Pushpak had tried to help Panchimda with money as soon as he had landed his contract but the egoistic man he was, Panchimda just wouldn't hear of it. He wished he could stay back and do something to help him. He promised himself to return the next day. Presently, fighting the thugs wasn't going to help anyone.

He got into his air-conditioned SUV that was his pickup to and from the hotel.

Back at the hotel, he was told his team owner was waiting for him at his room.

He gathered his pace slightly worried if he had kept the superstar team owner waiting for long. He was told that Bollywood's reigning king was a generous man and a sympathetic mentor to his team players, especially to newcomers. Pushpak assumed that he probably had dropped in to wish the team's newest and one of the most expensive buys this season, the best for his maiden match. Pushpak was the player to watch out for, as per cricket pundits.

When Pushpak entered the luxurious suite, Sahil Shah, who was wearing his trademark casuals and black shades yet looking so effortlessly dashing, came over and gave him a hug.

"Pushpak pushpak pushpak or should I say Pushapak Vimaan. So, all geared up for your first match, huh?" asked Sahil.

Pushpak smiled in respone.

"Are you feeling nervous?" enquired Sahil

"No, not really" replied Pushpak confidently.

"Great, great....So, I thought I would just come over and have a few words before the big match. Come,come sit down".

He then signalled his bodyguards to leave.

Once they were alone, Sahil straightened himself up

  a bit and Pushpak could feel the      atmosphere get tense

"So here is the thing Pushpak. All eyes are on you today. You are expected to score an easy century in your maiden match, as per expert opinion"

"Well sir, honestly speaking nothing is predictable, we don't know if we would win the toss, what our opponent's strategy would be?" Pushpak reasoned

"True, but here is the thing. Sports is a business and there's a ton load of money and other interests at stake here. So while we are going to make this match appear a bit unpredictable it's actually going to be as per plan"

"I don't understand…"

"You won't open today. You will come in third to bat, but I need you to lose your wicket when you are in your second over and I need you to score below 10 runs"

"You mean.. be part of ….match fixing.." asked Pushpak stupefied by the proposition.

Sahil appeared clearly uncomfortable talking about it and was trying to maintain his composure and his words curt, lest the situation got tricky

"Pushpak, while this seems like a bitter pill to swallow, you should know such things come with the terrain. You aren't the first and you wont be the last one either. In the business of cricket, you will have your glory days where you will be able to stay true to the game but today you will need to do as I say" explained Sahil

"I don't need to tell you what happens if the word gets out" he warned

"Yes, it will be the end of your career"

"Are you threatening me?"

"No brother, I am just stating facts" said Sahil in the most non-chalant manner ever as he got up, patted Pushpak on his back and walked out of the room.

Pushpak felt utterly helpless. He knew he could just walk out but that would mean the end of aspirations for many including his own.

With less than 5 hours to go, he needed to make a decision soon.

Time: 1:30PM