Monday, December 25, 2017

THE TIMES OF S.K. POTTEKATT – 4




An encounter with Death

S.K. Pottekatt was down and out in London. He had traveled non-stop for fourteen months through different continents and landed up in London, broke. He had just enough money for his voyage from London to Bombay. He had to wait and the cost of living in London was high. His reserve was sufficient only for a month’s stay. The passenger ship was heavily booked and that too leaving the English shores after a time-gap.

Pottekkatt did a clever move. He met V.K.Krishnamenon, the Indian High Commissioner   in London. He had carried an introductory letter too. Menon lived in the mezzanine floor of the palatial building leaving the main floor-area to his deputy. Menon used to browse through files till two o’clock in the morning. His office hours started at 7.30 am. In spite of the grueling grind, Menon didn’t accept even a penny as salary.

Pottekkatt was introduced as a writer and he sought Menon’s help in publishing his books translated into English. Interestingly, it was Krishna Menon who started Penguin Pelican Publishing house with an English friend in 1935. Graciously enough, Menon agreed to this proposal and asked for the manuscript! That was a shot in the arm. Pottekkatt lost no time in soliciting Menon’s help for a passage to India. Menon obliged. He rang up one Mr.Ranganathan, Head of Indian Commerce Dept. in London and asked him to do the needful.

Overjoyed, Pottekkaatt made a bee-line to Ranganathan’s office. However, luck was not in favour. The nearest passage was months away. Pottekkatt didn’t have money to pull on.

Can you embark on  ‘Indian Enterprise’,a cargo ship? Ranganathan asked.

Pottekkatt was ready for anything. In fact, he didn’t have a choice.

But there is one condition. You can’t smoke anywhere on the ship. Its cargo are ammunition and explosives.

That didn’t pose a problem to Pottekkatt. In fact, he wanted to quit his smoking habit and this would be a god-sent opportunity for doing so.
Next morning, at the hotel lounge, an aged Pakistani gentleman bumped into Pottekkatt. He was a business man and a globe-trotter.

Don’t you want to see more countries, brother? 

Yes but I don’t have any money on me. Pottekkatt was frank.

No issues. You can still visit France, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Turkey.
That’s the Orient Express. You cross the desert in a truck to reach Iraq. From Basra (Iraq), one takes a small voyage through Persian Gulf to Bombay.

The cost would be much less than that of the ammunition ship. Time would be curtailed as well. The total duration of the voyage would be twenty-one days whereas  the Orient Express based itinerary took only fifteen days.
The proposal went straight to Pottekkatt’s head! He was a born traveler, after all !
He immediately started collecting transit visas of the respective countries.
However, at the back of his mind he was troubled by his assurance that the he gave to Ranganathan. If the cargo ship arrived, he would immediately ring up Pottekkatt. In order to avoid such an eventuality, Pottekkatt would leave his hotel early and wander through London streets. Moreover, he had to arrange for the transit visa from the Yogoslavian consulate who were rigid and unfriendly. They suddenly declared that Pottekkatt’s application was sent to their HQ in Belgrade and it would take time. Still there was no guarantee that the outcome would be positive. Denial of transit visa was a common affair.

In a moment’s time, Pottekkatt’s high hopes were razed to ground. There was no other go other than dropping the Orient Express plan. Pottekkatt was back to square one. The only option left for him was to go and meet Ranganathan.
Naturally, he cold-shouldered Pottekkatt. 

Where were you, Mister? We telephoned umpteen times…
See, I arranged a passage for you on His Excellency’s request. Finally when it was ready, you were nowhere in sight.

Pottekkatt started an apology spree. He desperately needed a berth in the cargo ship.
No use, a bad news was in store. The ammunition and gunpowder ship had left London the previous day.
Pottekkat was flabbergasted. It was his seventeenth day in London waiting for a passage.

On the twenty-third day, as he was browsing newspaper at the hotel-lounge, a news item caught his attention.

Cargo ship ‘Indian Enterprise’ explodes and sinks in Red Sea. 74 out of 75 perished. Noor Hussain who escaped had gone to the upper-deck to smoke a cigarette.

Pottekkatt rushed to his room and took out his diary. There was the description of a dream …in which his late father visited Pottekkatt, embraced him and cried nonstop. Pottekkatt too cried. He was woken up in his sleep, still sobbing.

Catherene La Rose

 He had gone to Ranganathan’s office to arrange for his voyage the previous day!

Pottekkatt immediately rushed to meet Ranganathan in his office. Ranga didn’t utter a word and gave his customer a close embrace. Pottekkatt’s passage was cleared in a ship named Jal Azad in two day’s flat!

***************