The sweat drops were racing over the forehead, to hit the ground.....Schumacherish speed, maybe more. Sacchu, swinging the chain, anti-clockwise, had revenge pasted in his eyes....malice on his face. Legs spread, arms folded, standing at the corner of Ramu's tea stall, drenched....in anger as well.

On the opposite lane, stood Rats. The Paul Newman look-alike.....dunno how he got his blue eyes. No emotions on the visage, no movement of the body...leaning to the post near the grocery store. All that he did was stare at Sacchu.....a stare as constant as 'k'.....and zip-zap his pen knife. Some focus.

At the end of the tea stall lane, stood Dharmi. Perched on his Ranger, right foot on the pedal, puffing his hair every now and then, adjusting his fingers on the brakes....somebody had to tell him, 'it was a Ranger, not a Duccatti'!! He was nervously eyeing Sacchu....waiting for the signal. The hockey stick was neatly tied to the handle....camouflaged to perfection.

Hiding behind his Fiat, parked near the grocery store end, was Viki. Crouched, on his marks & gotten set.....just ready to go. His eyes were fixated on Rats.....if Rats moved, he'd take off....coz Rats never moved and his movement served as a signal. He had his hockey stick case tied to his back, like He-Man....the master of the Universe.

In the tea stall, sipping his cup of tea as if it were a 1861 Bordeaux, sat Ron a la Corleone. In the grocery store stood Anki a la Scarface. For the last 15 minutes, they were just staring at each other. Messages were sent rapidly....it was REM, no SMS then...... inferences were being deduced, plans were being concocted at a fearsome rate. Their confidantes and cronies would crush bones, cut skin, spill blood at one signal, one wink, one nod, one war cry.

Someone was playing Van Halen's "Running with the Devil" on the second floor with blasters....induced by a October Sunday afternoon......it just gave the whole thing a cinematic feel. Someone should've given Coppola a missed call!

And even the most dangerous goons, most feared souls, most wanted criminals thaw.....thaw at the sight of a beautiful creature. How the opposite sex can divert adrenaline flows, deviate attention & twist emotions is a big mystery? Mausam always did that though. Returning home from singing classes, she always took the very road, the road where the curtains of a bloodbath were about to be raised. Humming a tune, displaying her winsome ways and pristine beauty, she fluttered like a butterfly past the bad boys. Vitriolic became virility in a matter of seconds...... weird emotional pyrotechniques took off in each heart. All the staring shifted to the fair dame, as she swung her way past the last lad, Viki.

She just stood by her name and just converted the rotten environment to something like what Wordsworth portrayed in Daffodils......momentarily. Coz the next feeling she initiated after a departure, was jealousy. And it just fuelled the diminishing fire and blazed it right up.....Ron & Anki jumped at each other almost at the same moment.....and just as Sacchu swung his chain at Rats, just as Rats slashed his knife at Sacchu, just as Dharmi accelerated to the scene......the primordial woman came to the scene.....a woman who has changed many a situation completely....for whom nothing is impossible, even if its teaching a bunch of deadly goons a lesson.

Viki shouted....."Bhago(run).....Anki ki Mummy ayi(Anki's Mom has come out of the house)'! Someone just pressed the 'fast forward' button.....Viki pushed his hockey stick towards Sacchu and started cleaning his Fiat, Anki removed the grocery list for purchases, Ron removed his Chemistry book and went to Mendelev's table, Sacchu met Dharmi and the evenings hockey match was being discussed, the chain was wound to the cycle handle. And Rats just stood there zipping and zapping his pen knife....no one cared....it was an old habit. After all a 13 year old could fidget with a blunt 2 inch penknife, couldn’t he? Foes became Friends instantaneously......such are the effects of being a Mother.....gosh some role....some status.

And by the way, i was blasting Halen that day, in my second floor dwelling.