Page 225 of The Circle of Exile
“Iram, we need to…”
The buzz of his mobile phone cut him off. She leaned her forehead on the cold glass, idly listening to him talk. That was the most soothing sound in all the world, aside from Yathaarth’s quiet sounds when he was suckling his milk from his early morning bottle — the only bottle he was allowed now.
“No, eight voter lists have already been vetted…”
Atharva could be talking voter lists or BLA selection, booth logistics or Panchayat reservation modules, it always soothed her, especially after a long writing session. She was having more of those nowadays. Yathaarth was growing up. He was 20 months old, walking, talking gibberish, understanding almost everything, and happy to be raised in this household of men. If he wasn’t hanging out with Dani bhai, he was in the kitchen singing around Shiva. If Atharva wasn’t taking him along to run tiny ‘errands,’ then Noora was stealing him to talk his own brand of ‘katha.’ He now came to her for food or when he was tired or sleepy. Iram loved that he was preparing for a greater circle at school. But she missed him too.
She didn’t dwell on the negative though. She had upped her writing speed instead, enjoying getting back to her earlier gruelling pace. And she discovered all over again that momentum begot momentum. The faster she wrote, the easier words flowed.
“One minute, I am getting another call. Let me call you back… Yes, Vikram… Time?”
Iram’s lost mind snapped back to the room. His voice had changed.
“Casualties?”
She turned, catching his gaze.
What happened?
He blinked reassuringly.
“Which axis is blocked?” His eyes went to his watch.
Iram now knew something was seriously wrong.
“Communication…? Hmm.”
Iram waited, eyeing that face that didn’t give anything away if he didn’t want to.
“Get hold of every ham operator you know around the village… what do you mean you don’t know? We worked on that list last month… yes, that one. Private one. I will get the retired army personnels activated… identify schoolhouses, temples, anywhere on higher ground. Mark them and start moving families. Preferably in one place. Don’t wait for orders from district office.”
“What is happening?” Iram asked him, now worried.
“There’s been a cloudburst in Sirmaur,” he muttered quickly to her before issuing commands on the call. “Get your local HDP workers activated, rope in any young men around, split them into search, medical, and supply teams… Search, medical and supply…” he repeated. “Hmm. Keep them working, or they’ll panic. I’ll be on the road in fifteen minutes.”
He ended the call and began to make another.
“Who was that? Your Vikram Rana?”
Atharva nodded, plastering his phone to his ear. “His village is washed out in just an hour. Looks like a cloudburst.”
“In winter?”
“There was a forecast of a warm weather system hitting South Himachal.”
“And the people?”
“They are taking headcount and making distress calls. Things will get clearer soon… Samar? Yes, I just got a call from there. Who do we have there…? Aside from him? Hmm… This is your time to step up.”
Samar’s voice was louder. Iram pushed closer to Atharva, listening to it — “…to come? I know you have Iram and Arth at home but I thought you would.”
“I am leaving in 15 minutes.”
“Let me pick you up. I have my Thar.”
“He mentioned neighbouring towns are also affected, including Paonta Sahib and Nahan. I have asked him to mobilise ham radios.”
“Good call. Let’s talk more on the road.”
